Today’s post was originally written for Alliance Life by Lori and Chelsea, CAMA international workers serving in Guinea. Check out The Alliance’s website to view the original version.

In 2014, the Ebola virus devastated Guinea. As our CAMA Services team responded to the outbreak, we began to work with Jérémie, a local Alliance pastor with a deep love for the Lord and a desire to see Guineans overcome generational poverty and embrace self-sustainability.

Alongside Jérémie, we started to care for the widows and children of those who had died from Ebola. This work gradually and unexpectedly grew into the Guinea Agropastoral Project (GAP), a holistic ministry initiative that seeks to transform the agricultural and animal husbandry practices of local farmers as we demonstrate God’s love and care to them and their families. GAP encourages Guineans to recognize the blessings God has placed in their community and the environment. Once they understand the value of their local resources, Jérémie and our CAMA team guide them to provide sustainable income for their families.

The Need for GAP

Although rich in natural resources and agricultural potential, Guinea is pervaded by malnourishment and food insecurity. With limited financial resources, many families are forced to decide who is worthy of medical care and a primary education. Each year, they experience “hungry months” as they run through food reserves from the previous year’s harvest and await their opportunity to reap a new harvest. They live just one crisis, illness, or drought season away from catastrophe.

Thanks to all your prayers and generous support of GAP, struggling Guinean families are receiving education on regenerative farming practices, consultations on current farming practices, and recommendations for culturally appropriate technologies that can be used to increase harvests. Our aim is to guide, encourage, and demonstrate God’s love in tangible ways—or, as we call it, “agricultural discipleship.” Our connections with local families create many opportunities to share the gospel and what better way to build relationships than by cultivating His creation with beloved friends and neighbors!

Even with the progress we’ve made, there’s still so much more work to do as we pursue our shared dream for the people of Guinea—to progress “from the begging bowl to the breadbasket.” This means we desire for all who are hungry and hopeless to find sustenance, sustainable livelihoods, and hope that overflows to those around them.

What Your Generosity Has Accomplished

Shortly after we began working with Jérémie, a village donated over 30 acres of land to him. They believed that having him as a neighbor would bring them benefit and blessing. He has since developed this land into a thriving experimental farm where he demonstrates culturally appropriate and innovative farming and animal husbandry practices. The farm keeps expanding, and in recent years, he has added holistic family development and farming seminars. Initially, local farmers were reluctant to try new methods. Now they are doing something we never expected—paying their entire cost of travel and room and board for these trainings. They come expecting Jérémie’s teaching to improve their lives.

Jérémie has also expanded his impact through a biblically based, family-focused seminar on development. It has been very well received by local churches. Even non-Christians attend the seminars, acknowledging that the value of Jérémie’s teachings motivates them to set aside their resistance to biblical ideas.

Since the Ebola crisis, the prayers and giving of the Alliance family have enabled Pastor Jérémie’s vision to evolve and expand across the country. From helping vulnerable families impacted by the crisis learn how to best use fertilizer to provide extra income and put more food on the table, the work has expanded into a multifaceted ministry to empower Guineans economically, physically, and spiritually. At Macenta, the original GAP site, nearly 1,000 men and women have learned how to feed and support their families by growing crops and raising animals through sustainable, God-honoring methods. Hundreds more have attended development seminars associated with local churches. In more and more parts of Guinea, the gospel is being proclaimed and demonstrated to those who desperately need to understand God’s love for them.

GAP’s Future

God has blessed our team with four couples who have training and experience in agricultural development, discipleship, and women’s and children’s advocacy and mentorship. To display the full range of possibilities for Guinean agriculture, we are seeking to establish a demonstration farm in each of Guinea’s four climate zones. So far, we have farms in various stages of development in three zones. These farms also provide holistic opportunities to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of each family member. The entire family must be involved for sustainable development to succeed. CAMA Guinea is partnering with a local pastor to create a new GAP site near Conakry, the capital city. This local church plans to establish an agricultural farm, a retreat center for pastors, a refuge center for local believers facing persecution, and a care center for vulnerable women. We will be consulting with the agricultural and discipleship initiatives on this farm.

This year, our team is also preparing to launch new work in the mountainous regions, where we will have the opportunity to advance the gospel among Guinea’s largest people group. Many of this group are subsistence farmers and consider themselves torchbearers for the majority religion. By using biblical principles relevant to the culture, we aim to share our knowledge and experience in agriculture to build relational bridges that awaken desperate, isolated, and lost people to their need for the spiritual nourishment only Jesus can provide.

For nearly 10 years in Guinea, CAMA has woven the gospel into our work to see lives transformed and communities restored. These outcomes will always be at the heart of our dream for the people we serve. Guinea is a country rich in resources, but the people are starving in every conceivable way. They are lacking food and suffering from preventable problems. They are chasing religion but have no hope. We long to see many Guineans choose Jesus. With your continued generosity and prayers, we will empower Guineans to better provide for their families, overcome physical and spiritual poverty, and, in turn, empower others to do the same.