Faith Home March 2009

Extending the waterline and replacing the hardware wire on the shade house were the major projects for SFP on the recent trip to Faith Home. Other team members upgraded a house for a family and held Vacation Bible Schools. Water is now available at the shade house and adjoining garden. The rusting hardwire wire was replaced with small chicken wire which was treated to prevent rust. Trino and two of the teenage boys were a tremendous help on the project. Trino and Santo have planted melons, cantelope, cucumbers, and squash. They also have a bed of sweet potatoes and a plot of yuca, an edible root crop. Mangos, oranges, giant lemons or pumelo, papayas, and bananas are at various stages of growth. The shade house has radishes, celantro, hot and sweet chiles, and about 50 tomatoe plants growing.

The gear box on the tiller locked up and teeth were stripped off of several gears. So we are looking at repair or replacement. With the garden expansion a good tiller is a necessarly tool to increase food production.

Here are a few pictures. Sorry I couldn't include more at this time.




Extending the water line for irrigation


Shade House wire was replaced




Trino helped with the work



Radishes






Tomato plants in shade house



Santo waters a bed of cilantro


Planting beds

Those bananas I planted last year

navel oranges

Soursop or guanaba

Local fruit


Two rows of squash

Expanded Garden

Mr. Leonard, Ti Paradi garden

Mr. Leonard has returned from Ti Paradi and the garden is doing well. He said the greens are almost large enough to thin out and eat some. Goats had eaten up an outside bed so he wasn't too happy about that. He thinks they need a goat proof fence. The folks at Ti Paradi have been watering the garden and he was impressed at how fast it is growing. Also very happy about the ample water supply. He is really excited about the project but would like to be able to check on it every day. My favorite line from Steve was, "Mr Leonard is talking of planting coconuts, mangoes, breadfruit and papaya in the near future there. I told you he wouldn't be interested in doing this half-way." I would not have expected anything less from him.

SFP Update

Time seems to pass so quickly and already we are looking forward to spring here in the Midwest. Mark Scott and I visited with the folks at Flat Creek Baptist Church near Sedalia, MO. on Sunday February 22. Mark gave a financial report Sunday morning and presented a slide show on Faith Home Sunday evening. I reported on the project at Ti Paradi, Haiti and then presented a slide show on the shade houses and a new design we would like to incorporate. It was truly a blessing for both of us. Flat Creek has a real heart for missions and being mostly farm people they can relate to the sustainable food ministry. It was great to answer their many questions and see their interest in helping people help themselves.

In Bombardopolis, Haiti 3 of the 4 adult missionaries have full blown TB and two of their sons tested positive on the tine test only. Rich Byers, Faith Leach, and Steve Leach are all taking the complete treatment and Jacob Leach and Ty Byers are on a preventative maintenance medical schedule. Please be in prayer for all of them.

Please keep us in your prayers as we investigate other opportunities that have come up and that we will make wise decisions.

Mr. Leonard is currently down at Ti Paradi to teach and work in the gardens. When he returns we will have an update on the progress being made there. Steve Leach has taught him how to use the shredder and he took a load of shredded manure with him on the trip. We send down a new type of Papaya seed which has been planted in the Leach's shade house. When the plants are large enough they will be shared with the folks at Ti Paradi. In addition we just shipped down more pesticides for the gardens and a couple of pump type dusters for the Sevin dust.

I will be leaving for Honduras March 13 and returning on March 22 along with a team from Sedalia, MO and Fay Scott from Florissant. I hope to work on some landscaping around the shade house, dig a water line, and work on the tiller. The tiller stripped several gears in the gear case assembly and one shaft is bent. Parts are very expensive and it may be more economical to purchase another tiller and use this one for spare parts. That's something we will have to think about. Gardening continues at Faith Home and I hope to bring back a fuller report when I return.