Hope for the Island Sustainable Agriculture

Hope for the Island is challenged feeding our staff because of food shortages on Siargao Island. Vegetables are hard to find. When stock does arrive it is always expensive & poor quality. All produce comes from Mindanao, 710 hrs. land travel & 4 hrs. by sea away! Local people eat little or no vegetables & import produce. When it does reach the island it is 4 times the cost. Locals survive off meagre amounts of fish & rice each day or may not even eat.

Selected Hope for the Island staff recently completed in depth training as interns David, TJ and Jeremiah at Aloha House Farm. These recent developments make us one big step closer to getting this Agriculture project underway. After months of searching for farmland & praying for God’s direction & provision, our prayer has been answered!! Hope for the Island has made the down payment on a 3 hectare (7.4 Acres) parcel of land strategically located along the national road & at the centre of the island!! We felt this land was the most suitable compared to others we had looked at, although the price was out of our range so the search continued. With all the foreseeable expenses on the horizon & limited financial resources we continued to trust our God. Just before leaving to Canada I got a call from the owner of the 3 hectare lot who is a Mayor we have worked closely with. He told me that he was willing to sell it for the price we had offered. With nothing finalized or legal we prayed about it until our return from Canada. The survey was done last week to section off the 3 hectares & the land transfer to Hope for the Island is in process. I am blessed to share this praise report & know you rejoice with us. Our God is in control & we have confidence that He will continue to lead as we take the following steps in faith!
Please continue to partner with us & expect great things from the Lord!

OBJECTIVES
-Operate with integrity a farm that is uniquely 100% organic.
-Implement Biblical principles by giving our first fruits of produce to feed malnourished children in areas we reach out to with God’s love each week. Build new bridges of Christ’s tangible hope & love to the nearby village of Jamoyaon.
-Make the ministry sustainable so as not to be solely dependant on financial support & imported food sources.
-Provide Hope for the Island staff with healthy food to help build our resistance against sickness & diseases that we are exposed to daily.
-Supply local markets with affordable locally grown produce. Minimize malnourishment, lowered immune systems & the eventual rampant outbreaks of disease.
-When in full operation, utilize the farm as a training centre for local farmers who are currently reliant on expensive toxic fertilizers & pesticides. Increase profit margins for farmers who barely break even, are exposed to hazardous materials & consume produce from these harmful agents.

START UP COSTS IN ORDER OF PRIORITY – Canadian Funds
Farm Land: Balance due after down payment $10,000
Transfer taxes & fees $2,000
Storage shed & perimeter fence $3,000
600 meter Electrical service wire & meter $1,200
Deep water well -materials & labour $4,000
Staff housing $25,000
Basic Equipment-including seed & supply $9,000
Greenhouse $1,800
TOTAL $56,000

Helping Hands!!
Hope for the Island is blessed to have David & Tami back with us again. Their current commitment is for 5 months. They will be helping with the Agriculture project & ministries in Jamoyaon. During their 1st month they have been focusing on learning some of the local dialect & working with children. This is preparation for a move to Jamoyaon where they will be staying for the remainder of their time here.

Natascha continues to be a blessing. Her 1 yr. commitment is half finished! She has really adapted well to the life & culture on the island. The youth & staff have warmed to her because of the ways she has stepped into their world with the love of Christ!

Jeremiah left us a little over a week ago. He is missed by all! Everything he did reflected wonderfully God’s heart. Beyond the countless ways he impacted the lives of those around him, the time he spent here was one of great personal growth for him. Here are some of his parting words as he reflected on his time in Philippines...

How can I share with you the smells I encountered walking from the airport to the Manila streets for the first time? Humidity that seems to suck every molecule of moisture from you like a child slurping that last drop of juice through a straw. How can I take you through the streets in the back of a jeepney, where inevitably you are bound to hit your head entering through the cavelike opening in the rear, stepping on toes before being molded inbetween
bodies that utter not a single word of protest? How can I reveal the awe & wonder of the morning sunrise signaling the start of a new day before bathing in its golden shadows as you paddle out to lonely waves calling for company with their salty shouts? How do I express the sheer joy of the wind & sand flowing through your hair on a scooter designed for 1 ½ persons , yet sitting three deep, traveling over the rocky roads?
How can I get you to identify with the love & compassion of a people who still have to travel & wait in line for the use of the community water source & bathroom (if they are fortunate enough to have one) yet offer what could potentially be their last meal for you in their breezy homes? What can I write that relays the overwhelming joy of finally understanding a word that has kept you from communication & now the window has been lifted & the fresh air & light of relationship can finally flow freely? How can I explain how a long table in the middle of a room can take people from all ages, walks of life, countries & cultures & transform them into a family by adding plates & pancit? How do I tell of the frustrations of breaking the last drill bit midjob,
knowing the nearest replacement is a day’s journey by sea? What words would give justice to the emotional stresses acquired embarking on such a trip on a vessel that few would take on a lake let alone high seas in the wind & rain. Words fail! The biggest question is for me. Where do I go from here? How do I continue to pour out Christ's love with a heart so fractured, its pieces belonging to so many loved ones I may never see again?
I am so blessed to have such an extended family & could never imagine living a life behind a cubicle like a bird with clipped wings. Thank you Jesus for giving me a new heart to be able to love unashamedly & without limit. Thank you for fulfilling that spirit of adventure that is within all of us, waiting to be released upon submission to your will. Find something worth living for & pursue it! Jesus has jumped off the page. He is no longer just the wise man assembling ragtags
& misfits, but the Son of God arrayed in glory & splendor. He is calling. Answer that call & experience a life of joy that you would have never known existed before. What better guide than the one who has the keys to unlock the hidden desires of your heart.

You can now donate on the website
http://www.hopefortheisland.org/ email: hopefortheisland@shaw.ca
Hope for the Island Canadian Corporation.
We appreciate your financial and prayer support.
Financial contributions receipted donations.
Cheque or money order payable to
Hope for the Island Ministries
94 James Carleton Drive
Winnipeg, Mb R2P 0T4
If you did not receive your tax receipt by email for 2009 notify us and we will make the change hopefortheisland@shaw.ca