Southeast Asia (MNN) – In places where economic instability, poverty, and persecution govern day-to-day activities, FARMS International offers Gospel hope through microloans and business training. These opportunities are changing families and whole communities in Southeast Asia.
Caleb with FARMS oversees seven to eight of these programs throughout Southeast Asia. He says, “We do microloans. So we allow people to take small loans so it’s manageable – not overwhelming – and we try and empower them so that they can build their own business and grow it themselves. This allows them to do their ministry work too and help their churches out and the communities around them.”
Natural Disasters and Persecution
These loans are interest-free and allow families to work their way out of poverty with dignity. FARMS has implemented this system in places all over the world, including some hard-to-reach places.
“This year, we’ve had flooding,” Caleb says. “So, some of the programs, their fields were flooded out; they lost all their rice for the year. And these situations are hard, and we try to walk along with the leaders and pray with them and help find solutions with them. But these are real challenges that we face on a day-to-day basis.”
In addition to natural challenges, many of the families that FARMS works with face significant persecution for their faith in Christ.
(Photo courtesy of FARMS International)
“We work in a lot of closed countries at the moment, and so therefore there’s a lot of persecution. And even just this past year, we had a friend was martyred. So there’s challenges like that that come out of it, especially in the Christian community. At the moment, there’s countries at war inside themselves, and this has caused major issues with the program. And so we, all we can do is really encourage them, pray with them, be there to listen and be a helping hand.”
Caleb asks that the Church be praying for FARMS and its partners. He encourages people to pray that locals will not be discouraged by persecution. Pray also that FARMS would know the best way to encourage these persecuted brothers and sisters.
“Pray for their mentality, that they can have a mentality of Christ. And that there’s abundance in God — that they don’t have to live in that poverty mentality.”
Multiplying the Impact
Even with the pain and suffering caused by persecution, the Church is being built up. FARMS is currently hoping to establish a holistic, natural farming ecosystem in a closed Southeast Asian country.
A generous donor has provided a $5,000 matching gift to help fund the project. Every dollar given, up to a total of $5,000, will be doubled by the donor. The end goal of $10,000 for this initiative will continue FARMS work of providing microloans to help Christians achieve economic stability.
If you would like to help FARMS with this new project, you can give securely here. You MUST write “Purpose: Matching Gift Project” in the donation notes.
Please pray that God would provide the needed funds to begin this work.
Header photo courtesy of FARMS International
