AsiaStories

Many men and women in rural areas in East Asia have few options for income. Ted Wong* is committed to using business and entrepreneurship to teach believers in rural areas how they can support themselves and their ministries. His vision is to provide rural farmers with a cash crop. This could provide an additional source of income as well as allow more time for ministry. Zhe Wang Hu* and Jia Liang* are two of the men Wong works with.

Jia Liang* shoulders a heavy load for a 29-year-old. Because he was the first to come to faith in his village, he is looked to as the leader of their house church. He balances leading this church with raising a family and farming the rice, soybeans, yams and coffee that sustain his extended family.

As a result of ongoing agriculture projects in East Asia, many hundreds have heard about God’s love for the first time. Many have been through intensive training to help them make a living.

Here are just a few success stories:

Two years ago, IMB missionary Al Hoopes began supervising a program that teaches Filipino villagers the basics of agriculture, herbal medicine, community development and moral values. Now, approximately 600 people have graduated from the program and have built vegetable and herb gardens near their homes. The program has changed the lives of many Filipinos, including a woman named Rowena Gonato who resorts to her newly acquired training when her children grow ill.

This area is known for terrorist activity. Even though Saachi Sarkar* can’t see the men with guns and bombs, she knows they are watching. Not many outsiders venture this far into the jungle. The terrorist group allows her entry because she has something useful to teach – farming and nutrition.