Growing More Than Food-Farming God's Way in Malawi: Three Weeks in Malawi | Part 4 of 6

Sometimes I look back at how certain people have come into our lives, and I can't help but smile at how God works.

On our very first trip to Malawi, while we were at JFK Airport, we met a couple who happened to be heading to Malawi too.

Of course, we started talking!

We learned they were involved with Stand as One Ministry, an organization teaching agroforestry and something called Farming God's Way.

Little did we know that conversation in an airport would eventually lead to a partnership we're now so excited about.

I don't believe anything is a coincidence with God, and this is one of those times when I can look back and see how He was bringing people together long before we knew what would come of it.

It Started With a Conversation at JFK

Through our connection with Stand as One Ministry, we've been able to send people from Shine Malawi to Mitongwe for agricultural training.

Our latest student, Armstrong, has spent an entire year as an intern there, and we're excited to welcome him back this month!

He's returning with knowledge and experience that he can share with our Shine Malawi team as we begin putting these farming methods into practice.

During our September visit, a team from Mitongwe also came to spend the day with us. They toured our farms, looked at what we're doing, and offered suggestions for how we could improve.

It was wonderful finally getting to meet this team in person, and we're looking forward to receiving their assessment report.

But we're not sitting around waiting to get started!

Our Project at the Mill

One of the projects we're most excited about is transforming the property around Shine Malawi's mill into an agroforestry demonstration farm.

Why the mill?

Because that's where our people already are every day! Our chief is there, the mill is busy, and it's a place people from the surrounding community regularly visit.

It just makes sense.

We want to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables, both to help provide for the ministry and potentially sell to bring in some income.

But there's an even bigger reason.

When you drive through the countryside around Mzimba, you see field after field of maize (corn) and soya (soybeans).

These are important crops, especially for feeding families. But growing the same crops repeatedly without restoring the nutrients in the soil can eventually leave the land depleted.

And that's something we want to help change.

Our hope is to turn the mill property into a place where people can actually see different farming methods in action.

We want to grow more varieties of food, improve the soil, plant trees, make compost, and show what can happen when we work with the land instead of continually taking from it.

Imagine people coming to the mill and seeing fruit trees, vegetables, healthy soil, and crops growing at different times of the year.

Then imagine them going home and trying some of those same things on their own farms!

That's what excites us.

We're not trying to tell farmers who have been growing food their entire lives that we know better. We want to learn alongside them, share what we're learning through Stand as One, and see what works in this area.

And if we can help families grow more food throughout the year instead of depending on one main harvest, what a difference that could make during Malawi's hunger months!

Ten Schools and a Whole Lot of Porridge!

Another part of Shine Malawi's work that we're passionate about is its school feeding program.

Shine Malawi works with ten schools to help provide meals for children, especially during the hunger months when food can be scarce.

On our first trip to Malawi, we had the opportunity to visit some of these schools.

We met the children, helped cook the porridge, and even got to hand it out.

There's something special about actually being there and seeing how the program works first hand.

And the process is pretty awesome!

The schools grow their own maize and soya. After harvesting, they send their crops to Shine Malawi's mill, where they're processed into porridge flour.

That flour then goes back to the schools so they can prepare meals for their students.

When the harvest is especially good, the schools can sometimes provide meals throughout the entire school year, not just during the hunger months.

How wonderful is that?

For the past few years, Giving Basics has helped provide seeds and fertilizer to get these programs established.

But from the beginning, the plan was for the schools to eventually become self-sustaining.

Last year was our agreed-upon transition point, so we've stepped back from providing those farming supplies and are allowing Shine Malawi to manage the program.

And yes, stepping back can be hard!

When you care about people, it's tempting to keep stepping in and helping with every need. But that isn't always what's best in the long run.

We've been thinking of this as a little pruning. Sometimes you have to cut something back to give it room to grow stronger.

That's our hope for these schools. We don't want them to depend on Giving Basics year after year. We want to see them flourish on their own, and that means trusting God with the process, even when it's uncomfortable.

Something we've been thinking about through all of this is how much faith it takes to trust God with the outcome.

In Leviticus 25, God instructed Israel to let their land rest every seventh year. Imagine depending on your crops to feed your family and being told not to plant for an entire year! God was asking them to trust Him to provide.

And I think we're learning a little of that ourselves.

Stepping back from helping the ten schools isn't easy. We want them to succeed! But faith means doing what we believe God is leading us to do and trusting Him with what happens next.

Just like pruning a tree, we're hoping that stepping back will give Shine Malawi the opportunity to grow stronger and flourish.

We're praying for good harvests, wise decisions, responsible crop rotations, and, most importantly, faith to trust God through the process.

Taking It to St. Patricia's

We're also beginning a similar project at St. Patricia's Secondary School.

The school has started growing maize and soya, with the goal of eventually producing more of the food needed to feed its own students.

And we're hoping to take it even further.

We would love to introduce Farming God's Way methods on the school property and eventually offer hands-on agricultural classes.

Can you imagine students learning how to grow their own food, care for the soil, and use those skills to help support their families someday?

That's the kind of education we get excited about!

We also hope to bring cattle onto the property in the future.

Not just for the animals themselves, but because their manure can be used to make organic fertilizer.

We're working toward something similar at the mill, where we'd love to produce enough fertilizer to use on our own crops and eventually share with other farmers.

This is especially important right now.

The Fertilizer Problem

Farming in Malawi isn't easy, and fertilizer has become another challenge.

Prices are high, supplies can be difficult to obtain, and counterfeit or poor-quality fertilizer has been found on the market.

Imagine spending what little money you have on fertilizer, working hard to plant your crops, and then discovering that what you purchased doesn't contain the nutrients your plants need.

For families depending on that harvest, that's a serious problem.

International conflicts have also affected fertilizer prices and availability, making an already difficult situation even harder.

That's another reason we're so interested in learning how to restore the soil naturally and produce more of our own fertilizer.

Composting, using animal manure properly, protecting the soil, and growing different crops won't solve every problem overnight.

But they could help reduce dependence on expensive outside supplies.

And when you're trying to feed children and families year after year, that is important.

Even the Animals Need a Little TLC!

Something else we've been encouraging is better care for livestock.

This might sound common to those of us who have always had access to food and water, but when families are struggling just to meet their own needs, caring for animals can become another challenge.

We talked about the importance of making sure livestock have adequate food, water, and proper care.

Healthy animals can provide so much for a family, whether that's food, income, manure for fertilizer, or offspring.

But we have to care for them if we expect them to provide for us.

And really, isn't that part of being good stewards of what God has given us?

Why This Matters So Much to Us

One of the things I've learned through our work in Malawi is that helping someone today and helping them prepare for tomorrow are not always the same thing.

Both are important.

If someone is hungry, we want to feed them.

But we also want to help them grow food so they aren't facing that same struggle year after year.

That's why we get so excited about projects like these.

The feeding programs, the mill, the agricultural training, and the plans for St. Patricia's are all connected.

We want to see children fed, families growing more food, and communities having more opportunities to provide for themselves.

We know there will be challenges. Farming depends on so many things we can't control, including weather, pests, resources, and the success of the crops themselves.

And we're still learning!

But I keep thinking about that couple we met at JFK Airport.

At the time, it was just a conversation between people heading to the same country.

Now, Giving Basics, Stand as One Ministry, and Shine Malawi are working together toward something none of us could have planned that day.

We're excited to welcome Armstrong home, hear the recommendations from Mitangwe, and see how our little project at the mill develops.

We're also praying for Shine Malawi's ten feeding schools and for St. Patricia's as they begin growing more of their own food.

There's a lot of work ahead, and we can't wait to see how it goes!

Want to Help Us Keep Growing? 🌱

We'd love for you to be part of what God is doing in Malawi! Your donations help support sustainable farming, agricultural training, and projects that help schools and families provide for themselves.

Would you consider partnering with us to help these projects grow? Every gift makes a difference!

❤️ Donate through Giving Basics: Donate Here

Please include a note with your donation specifying "Malawi Farming Projects" so we know where you'd like your gift to go.

A Prayer for Malawi

Father, thank You for bringing people together and opening doors we never could have planned ourselves. Please bless the farmers, the schools, and the families working so hard to grow food. Give them wisdom, good growing conditions, and fruitful harvests. Help us be patient, learn from one another, and use the resources You've given us wisely. Most of all, teach us to trust You even when we can't see what comes next.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Coming next week: St. Patricia's Secondary School!

We're going to introduce you to some of the students, share what's happening at the school, and talk about why education and sponsorships are such a big part of our hearts for Malawi.

Thanks for following along on our Malawi adventures!

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