Let me tell you about Hope Church where we are working this month in Draganesti-Olt, Romania. They have begun many ministries serving the community, surrounding areas and even the world. One of which is A Fishing Rod Not a Fish project. Here is a summary of what that project does from their Facebook page.
About
We exist as a Christ centered community outreach seeking to develop self-sustaining communities starting in Romania and reaching out to all the nations.
Description
Due to the lack of jobs, locals are forced to go to industrialized towns within a radius of 150 km or to other countries to work and provide for their family. Many families are without a stable or even seasonal income. In these conditions, individuals of working age are unable to provide a decent living for their family.
A Fishing Rod Not a Fish exists to provide support and resources for families and individuals to start and develop their own mini-businesses. "The ROD" represents the seeds and plants for gardening, greenhouses, chickens, goats, cows, beehives, etc. Such resources allow families to provide themselves with food and a financial income from selling their harvest. This project gives them the satisfaction of providing for their family and contributing to the needs of their society.
Alongside supporting community development, missionaries are able to create a self-sustaining income for their family allowing them to continue the work God has called them to in Romania. The financial overflow from the missionaries harvest creates a cushion for incoming missionaries.
General Information
Opportunities to come alongside our ministry:
1. You can provide financial resources used to purchase what is necessary for the start of a mini-business.
2. You can contribute a "ROD" (e.g. cow, goat, beehives, chickens, seeds and plants for gardening, etc.)
3. You can promote the project at your church, within your organization or through social media.
I'm excited to be involved and today I was blessed by this project. I have been feeling a bit sick the past couple of days and I woke up with my throat on fire. I've got nothing for it…..that is except the honey that our contact, Tavi harvested for us from his bees. And yes, those bees are from the project to help him continue to be a missionary here in Draganesti-Olt. He currently has no supporters, but God provides even still. He provides honey for Tavi and his family to sell. And it's delicious.
So naturally I looked on pinterest to see what I could do with the little I have. I would have liked to make these honey lollipops with cinnamon.
But I improvised.
Here is the reicpe fro Jane's blog on the Chick n' Coop: http://thechickncoop.blogspot.ro/2012/03/homemade-honey-lollipops.html. I'm already intrigued by her blog and how she follows Christ. Check her out!
You will need at least a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of raw honey from Tavi, a non stick surface, a candy thermometer and 10-12 sucker sticks. You can also add flavors such as lemon or cinnamon if you would like. A 1/2 tsp. should do the trick.
First lay out your sucker sticks, spaced apart, on your non stick surface. I used my silpat mat. Pour your honey into a heavy sauce pan and boil at medium to med. low heat for about 10 minutes. You will want to see your honey reach 300 degrees F. If you do not have a candy thermometer you can test your honey by dropping a drop or two of it into a cup of very cold water. If it hardens it's ready. If it's still soft to the touch, keep boiling.
Pull your honey from the burner once it's reached 300. Stir in your flavor, if you are going to use any, at this time. Pour over one end of the sucker sticks. Pour slowly. When the honey is really hot, like right off the burner, it will spread out more over the stick and form a very uneven circle. Your first few suckers might be thin and very misshapen. Your honey will start to harden quickly so by the 4th sucker or so you should see a more even circle and also a thicker sucker. Go back to the thinner suckers and pour over them again if you want to. The thinner suckers were very sharp on the edges once the honey hardened, so I would recommend making them thicker.
Of course I was missing cinnamon, sticks and the candy thermometer. But I made it work, World Race style.
Something I've been learning this year that all I've ever needed, His hand hath provided. Sometimes it comes in cash, sometimes a shower, sometimes a bed and sometimes in honey.
