Tuesday, December 9, 2008

December SFP Notes

Merry Christmas from SFP

Wow! Another year has passed! It is difficult to realize that time can pass so fast. It has been a wonderful year with numerous opportunities for SFP to minister.

In January, we sent a large pack of garden seed to Haiti. March saw a new shade house at Zorange, Haiti. March also was a time for work in Honduras with a new garden tiller and large shade house. Over a long Memorial Day weekend I visited with Leo Paez of Rescue Ministries Mexico and visited the rescue centers at La Junta, Madera, and Cuidad Juarez. In June Mark Scott and a team from Lindsay Lane Baptist Church traveled to Faith Home in Honduras for a week of ministry.

In September the folks at Faith Home shared pictures with us of a very good corn harvest from their garden. They harvested two pickup beds full of ears of corn. Since that time they have increased the size of their garden.

We have sent 8 bales of peat moss to Haiti aboard a trailer being shipped down by Global Compassion. This will help the people at Ti Paradi in building better beds both inside the shade house and outside. We also included garden pesticide dust and snail bait for the gardens at Bombardopolis.

Northwestern Haiti was hit with 3 hurricanes in a row this fall and there was a lot of destruction. Roads and bridges were washed out and food supplies were getting slim. We were able to help out with cash contributions to assist in purchasing food or other emergency needs. About the same time floods devastated parts of Honduras and Faith Home was hit very hard. Again we were able to send money to buy food and help out with other emergency expenses. God had allowed us to accumulate a small cash reserve and we were blessed to be able to respond to these emergencies.

Chuck Martindale and his team built another shade house at Zorange, Haiti in November. The people at Zorange seem to make really good use of the shade houses. It is truly a blessing to work with Chuck in the wonderful work that is being done in the Zorange area. Go to his website, truthem.org to read about his work with the voodoo priests and priestesses. It will bless your heart.

We were concerned about the proper amount of shade needed to protect plants in the shade houses. I put the question out on a professional garden forum and received some wonderful help from people who are trained in these areas. The result is that we will be replacing the shade cover at Faith Home with a new type to test this new information. The new cover is aluminet 40%. It provides 40% shade with less heat because of the aluminet reflecting heat but allowing light to pass through. We have had requests from several other missionaries around the world for help and we want to do the best job possible.

We have found an open pollinated sweet corn seed from the University of Hawaii that is grown there year round. We believe it will work in our areas of ministry also and seed has been ordered. Another person from the gardening forum is sending us a type of tomato seed, Yasenichki Yabuchar, that is supposed to produce fruit at high temperatures. I also sent research notes to a group from the University of Southern California that will be building a school in Haiti and also want to start a food growing project. Bulk garden seed will be purchased this month to send to Haiti with the Global Compassion team in January. SFP has a new blog, sfp2008.blogspot.com, and this update will be posted there also. .

Pray for the missionaries at Faith Home in Honduras, the Leach and Byers families at Bombardopolis, Haiti, and the Trueloves and Linda Blankenship at Mare Rouj, Haiti. Also lift up Leo Paez of Rescue Ministries Mexico. Leo and his workers are in constant danger as the drug wars continue around Juarez, Mexico.

Thank you so much for your prayers and gifts through out this past year. We look forward to all that God would have us do in the New Year


In His Service,

Joe Perkins
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Mission Statement

Mission Statement MISSION STATEMENT OF SFP As Christ’s ministers we dedicate ourselves to the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. We further dedicate ourselves to set a Godly example to those we serve through a Christian lifestyle, bear witness of what Christ has done in our lives, and share the Gospel message with the lost. We pledge ourselves to respect the work of other ministries, to lift them up in prayer, and to work with them for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom. We further pledge to be good stewards of the monies with which we are entrusted and to hold ourselves accountable to God and to those who contribute to this ministry. We seek no glory other than that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God the Father. Sustainable Food Production, SFP, is a Christian based organization dedicated to helping people help themselves by growing better gardens and healthier livestock. We are a small group of believers representing several church denominations and operating as a part of Global Compassion Ministries. Our goal is to introduce improved gardening techniques, provide quality seed, and improve goat and chicken production in order to strengthen families and promote food production independence. Our work includes but is not be limited to: Soil and water conservation Soil improvement Building plant beds for intensive gardening Building both large and family size shade type green houses Experimenting with new crops and improved varieties of current crops Animal husbandryIsaiah 58:10If you extend you soul to the hungryAnd satisfy the afflicted soul.Then your light shall dawn in darkness,And your darkness shall be as the noonday.