So neither he who plants is anything, neither he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:7 This is an overview of Tierra de Gracia Lutheran Farm in Venezuela.

In the tropical climate of Venezuela, there are two seasons.

Six months of rain. Much of Venezuela receives 60 inches of rain annually, but most of it from late May to mid December.

Six months without rain. By the end of the dry season, water levels in streams are low.

During the dry season, crops wither while insects feed on the leaves.

There is the risk of wildfire.

During the rainy season, weeds and fungus suppress crop growth.

As in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-9, there also are obstacles to the growth of Christian faith in rural Venezuela.

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod missionaries planted the Word of God in the hearts of people here in the eastern Venezuelan state of Monagas 50 years ago.

But since then these rural churches have experienced many hardships.

In these rural districts today, unemployment runs as high as 80 percent of the population and typical family income is less than 2,000 U.S. dollars annually.

Poverty can tempt people to give up all hope.

In this impoverished environment, many infirmities result from malnutrition and contaminated water.

Because of these economic conditions, none of the rural churches can afford fulltime pastors and closed their doors years ago.

This is a shame, because the formation of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela began in these rural parishes as well as Caracas.

When members of the rural churches moved to town they formed the core groups of some of the largest Lutheran congregations in Venezuela.

At one time Sunday attendance in the rural churches of Rio Chiquito and Quebrada Seca, the two communities hardest hit by economic problems, averaged 80 people per week.

By the late 1990s, however, typical Sunday attendance had dropped to less than 20 when there were Sunday services..

The rural churches that remained open were only holding worship services one or twice a year..

Still there was a hunger for spiritual as well as material bread..

For these reasons, the Lutheran Church of Venezuela has supported the development of an agricultural mission as a project of Cristo Rey Lutheran Church of Maturin, Monagas.

Dale and Sandra Saville were sent to Monagas as agricultural missionaries after many years of successful mission work among the Navajo in the United States..

In cooperation with Pastor Adrian Ventura and other members of Cristo Rey, Dale developed a business plan for a working farm to accomplish two objectives.

First objective: Train rural residents in better methods of agricultural production and marketing to help them improve their incomes and standard of living.

Second objective: Generate funds to support a pastor and evangelistic team for the rural areas.

There is the potential for agricultural improvement throughout Venezuela, but expecially in the state of Monagas.

The soil in Monagas is among the most fertile in the country with the capacity to produce a remarkable variety of crops.

Livestock production could benefit from genetic improvement.

There is great demand for poultry.

Another possible method of raising income is the raising of exotic birds for export.

Dale Saville and the Cristo Rey farm committee spent a long time looking for the best land.

Work on the current site, about an hour's drive from Maturin, began in 2002.

They found 140 hectares of good land, but it was overgrown with weeds.

Fences and a paved road divided the property into two parts.

A river formed the eastern and southern boundaries with enough water to irrigate 67 hectares. Irrigation is critical for crop production during the dry season.

The farm's soil was ideal for irrigation, an alluvial mix of clay, loam and sand.

At first the workers hand only crude hand tools to clear and cultivate the land.

Thanks to donations, mechanical implements became available.

But there was still a lot of work to be done.

The farm comittee acquired title to the land in February 2004 with the help of a loan from supporters in the United States. The congregations of Maturin, Rio Chiquito and Quebrada Seca gathered for a celebration on the farm.

The farm was officially named Tierra de Gracia (Land of Grace) Lutheran Farm.

In March 2004, the farm was able to buy a 75-horsepower tractor with contributions from churches in North Dakota and Montana.

Two tillage implements were included as part of the purchase.

The churches that raised money for the tractor and implements were rural churches small by North American standards.

The tractor was immediately put to work clearing and cultivating land.

With the addition of the tractor, development of the farm has progressed much more rapidly.

A lagoon to catch and hold rainwater for irrigation was built in 2005 with more funds from the rural churches..

The lagoon has the capacity to hold 1.5 million liters of water...

In 2005 the farm initiated livestock production with four bred cows. All soon calved and one gave birth to twins.

Fences, corrals and livestock pens were built.

This includes many kilometers of electric fence.

Teams of volunteers from the United States helped build fence as well as with other construction projects in the last four years..

The farm now has,more than 20 hectares of pasture which, enough to maintain 70 cows, 100 goats and 100 sheep.

The cows have been artificially inseminated with Tarentaise semen donated by a U.S. cattle breeder to improve the herd's genetics.. Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, St. Louis, Missouri, along with Lutheran World Relief, has supplied the funds to buy four more cows.

The livestock program also now includes five sheep and 15 goats. In addition to producing young, the sheep and goats will graze between the trees, keeping the orchards clean.. The goats were purchased with money donated by St. Peter's Lutheran Church of Columbus, Indiana.

There are more than 1,200 citrus trees in the farm's orchards...

There are 245 passion-fruit vines and 85 guava trees.

Early in 2006, 3,000 new papaya trees were planted to supplement the production of 2,000 established trees. Papaya is the farm's most profitable crop and the plan is to plant 500 new trees each month of 2006.

Other crops include corn, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and squash.

Jos Lus Rivas is the farm's general manager. As of this year, the farm's administrative committee includes Jos Lus, Pastor Armando Ramos, Americo Rengel and Dale Saville, along with Pastor Francisco Cabarcas and Eduardo Castillo as liaisons with Cristo Rey.

A small house serves as the farm's office and visitor's center.

A second house serves as a home and office for Pastor Armando Ramos..

Pastor Armando was ordained August 1, 2004, at Cristo Rey Lutheran Church.

Armando grew up in rural Venezuela himself although on the western edge of the country in the state of Barinas.

Since Pastor Armando's arrival in Monagas, the Tierra de Gracia evangelistic program has made tremendous strides. Roca de Eternidad (Rock of Ages) Lutheran Church in Quebrada Seca now has weekly attendance of 20 people. In 2005 there was one baptism and seven confirmations.

Bethel Lutheran Church in Rio Chiquito has increased Sunday attendance to 27 people. In 2005 there were seven baptisms and six confirmations.

Rundown facilities in Rio Chiquito and Quebrada Seca are being repaired. A new roof for Roca de Eternidad is nearly complete while new bathrooms are being built at Bethel.

Amichel, Ventura, a deacon at Cristo Rey in Maturin, assists Pastor Armando in caring for the rural churches.

Another member of the evangelistic team is Yumira Valderrey as Bible school teacher.

Volunteers from the United States have helped with vacation Bible school as well..

Eduardo Flores, a member of La Fortaleza Lutheran Church in Maracay, served as a vicar under the direction of Pastor Armando. He worked with the youth of the rural churches and provided musical accompaniment during worship.

The youth of the rural churches in Rio Chiquito and Quebrada Seca have become very active..

Bethel and Roca de Eternidad sent 12 to the Lutheran Church of Venezuela's annual youth gathering in 2005.

Evangelistic activities have included three vacation Bible schools and four prayer vigils at the rural churches as well as door-to-door visits with approximately 1,800 people.

At Tierra de Gracia itself, Pastor Armando leads about the workers in daily devotions. In addition, weekly adult Bible studies draw 35 to 40 people to farm from the nearby village of Banco de Acosta.

On January 20, 2005, Pastor Armando performed the first baptism on the farm. in a special service with 75 people from Banco de Acosta and Quebrada Seca in attendance,. The child, Jos Enrique, was the son of one of the farm's employees.

On Sunday, June 12, 2005, Pastor Armando conducted the first formal worship service at Tierra de Gracia with 156 people in attendance. Four adults were confirmed: Jos Lus Rivas, Leobardo Gamboa, Marelis Bolivar and Javier Alcantera.

Land has been set aside to build a church near Pastor Armando's house to continue the important ministry in the immediate vicinity of the farm..

Perhaps the results of the Tierra de Gracia project can best be read in the faces of these children . ...Let the little children come to Me and do not forbid them, for of such is the Kingdom of God. Luke 18:16

For more information, see the Tierra de Gracia Web site:

finca.ilv-venezuela.net