After our return to Panama at the end of December, we immediately began to prepare for the Missouri State University’s Christian Campus House group. This was our first time hosting a group from MSU, and we had a wonderful time. The group worked on sealing one of the ponds on the farm, which is a quite tedious task. They made significant progress on the pond and also led a one day VBS in the Comarca with the Ngobe. This group was such a joy to host and a real encouragement for us as missionaries. It is good to see young people wanting to take part in missions and an organization like the Christian Campus House, who is helping mentor and encourage these students to follow Jesus. A special thanks to all of you who have been a part of campus ministry on our university campuses in the US. You are making a huge difference in young people’s lives.
At the end of February, we traveled to Atlanta to be a part
of a week- long mission’s festival at my (Bethany) home church in Atlanta. This
is a wonderful time to reconnect with people at Mount Paran, spend time with
fellow missionaries, and meet new contacts through the home visits each
missionary has during the week. One of our home visits was hosted by my former
high school teacher, Mrs. Crosby, and it truly meant a great deal to me for her
to set up a nice meal for us to meet other people from Mount Paran interested
in what we do through LHI in Panama. We were also able to speak with some of
our friends who are recently retired from the mission field and get some good
advice and encouragement. At the end of the week, we continued our travels to
Alabama, and spoke at Spring Road Christian Church where Corey and I attended
church our first year of marriage. We were able to reconnect with the
leadership of the church, as well as, friends, and share what God has been
doing in Panama recently.
The development of the farm continues as time and money
allow. In January, we harvested a few trout grown in a pond that was
formed by damming one of our spring branches. The trout were just a trial
to see how well they would grow because the water is warmer than one should
really consider for growing trout. However, the trout grew at an
acceptable rate, and we plan to restock soon, now that the rainy season has
returned. The emphasis of the fish production on the farm will still be
tilapia, but having a spring cold enough for trout gives us a wider range of
applicability in varying altitudes and regions of the world.
Over the last few months, we have been doing a chicken breed
trial. It is hard to pin down exactly what breeds of chickens are
available, so we have 4 different groups that we are growing out to look at
meat production, egg production, and feed conversion in each variety. We
continue to use the greenhouse (far roof visible in the picture above) to test
and trial different crops and varieties of crops, and thankfully, the plastic
roof has made it through the windy dry season with only limited damage.
In February, we were blessed to hire a second full time
worker on the farm. This was necessary as just taking care of the plants,
animals, and keeping the weeds chopped down is at least a full-time job.
Having the second employee allows us to keep the maintenance jobs happening and
have time to slowly develop new demonstrations as money allows.
Continuing to develop the farm, as well as, finishing the dorms is critical
right now as we have training groups of both Ngobe and international trainees
that are planning to arrive at the farm in the coming months, and we still have
a lot to do to prepare for them.
We have accomplished a lot so far this year thanks to your
generous donations to LHI. However, with the monthly land payment, farm
development, and needing to complete our dorm and classroom for use with the
upcoming training programs, we are in need of additional financial support.
Please consider donating to help us finish the dorms and continue to develop
the demonstrations on the farm in order to house and teach those that are
anxiously wanting to come and learn on the farm. If you feel the Lord is
leading you to donate to the ministry of LHI, please make checks payable to
Lasting Harvest International, and send checks to 45 NE E Hwy, Warrensburg, MO
64093, or visit our website to donate via PayPal. Please remember that when
donating via PayPal, they do take a small service charge. Thank you for being
our partners in serving the people of Panama.
Your partners in reaching the world,
Bethany, Corey and Anne Courtwright
Bethany, Corey and Anne Courtwright
