Missions

I know many of you like being in the middle of God’s work and one of FCFI’s main missions is to give ordinary farmers, like me and you, the opportunity to jump in and use our abilities to further God’s Kingdom. Let me share a story: As a young farm kid in the late 1960’s I developed an interest in the country called Romania. It was a communist run country at that time but God gave me a keen interest in learning all I could about it. And I felt that God would take me there someday and work with orphans. Now fast forward to the start of the 21st century, when I read some articles in the Successful Farming magazine about a FCFI mission trip to Romania. It took a couple years but I finally convinced my wife that I should go. My daughter and I made the first trip there in 2003. We were privileged to meet and work with FCFI missionary farmers, Clark and Sue Phillips from Collinsville

NY. They spent 6 years of their lives developing and running a milking parlor style, 150 cow, dairy farm in conjunction with Caminul Felix, a large orphanage in Oradea, Romania.
That trip I fell in love with the Romanian people, (Clark and Sue, too), and the country, and I have returned on mission trips for 16 straight years up until the travel restrictions of the last couple years. Through the years I have used my “farming” skills to remodel churches and homes, construct buildings, fix equipment, share the love of Jesus and pertinent to this story, start up a nursing home facility built from scratch. Then when government regulations became overbearing we transitioned the nursing home into a youth camp center in 2014.

Now jump ahead to 2022; recently my brother Kevin, who is the pastor of Martintown Community Church called me with a question. His church wanted to help with Ukrainian refugees, many of who are seeking shelter in Romania, how can we help? I called Pastor Alex who has been instrumental in all my involvement throughout the years. As I shared with him the gift that was offered, he spoke through tears of joy, and told me that he had been asked that day, if he could help find a place to relocate 70 kids from a Ukrainian orphanage near Kyiv. Alex told them to bring the kids to our camp, and although he had no money to support them he would be trusting God to provide. The church’s monetary gift was an overwhelming confirmation that God could and would provide, starting even before the need was made known!

So around 70 kids came! They left the orphanage and that night their town was heavily bombed. Great timing, you say? Alex said, GOD’S PERFECT TIMING!!
Isn’t it great to be a part of God’s work and to see how He fits everything together? An old folks home to a temporary orphanage??? Who would have thought it!!

So back to you; You don’t have to be someone “important” or “special” to do God’s work, just be tuned in and listening for God’s prompting and then get ready to jump in,(not too much different than farming). God made you for a purpose so get going and do it! There is no one better if He has called you! Most of God’s work through the ages has been done by “ordinary” people. So make yourself available to God and remember FCFI wants to help you in any way we can! You’ll never know how God will use you until you start.

Steve Cernek, FCFI Board President