A little over a year ago my wife, Kat, and I began to work on a dream we believe God gave us which we call Restoration Farm. As we planned and worked to make the dream come true we were often asked one of the following questions. What is restoration farm? And because we are in our early sixties the question "Why are you doing it?" To answer why we are doing the farm we always began with sharing what the farm is about. Kat and I believe the what leads to the why.
Restoration Farm is a dream that developed over the course of several years. It has its roots in a question that I asked Kat one day as we drove to a conference in Fort Collins, Colorado. We were driving along listening and discussing “The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson. At one point I turned to Kat and asked, “So what is your dream?” I was expecting her to say to follow me in my dream of doing an inner city ministry. What she shared was nowhere even close to that and in fact it was a dream not involving a ministry at all. I was shocked and disappointed. Let me explain why. You see I had been praying for God to show me through Kat what ministry He wanted me to do. I was not expecting the words that came out of her mouth. That was three years ago and at first I put what she said away and ignored it.
While counseling another couple about their dream of having an organic farm Kat shared how she would like to also have a farm like that. As she spoke I realized what she was sharing was similar to what she shared on the trip to Fort Collins. I decided to listen and help her reach her dream because within her dream my dream of ministry would be revealed.
That brings me to what Restoration Farm is. It is a farm that grows vegetables and fruits without using chemicals, a farm that raises a few goats for goats milk used to make soap and a farm raising egg laying chickens.
As a ministry the farm will provide an RV for pastors and missionaries to use for free. Some missionaries need to unwind after returning from the mission field and so we wanted to provide a place for them to do that. Some pastors like to get away from things for a few days to seek God’s direction in their ministry. The most important part of this ministry is providing a safe place for fallen or wounded servants to come and seek the healing that only God’s Holy Spirit can give. God has given me a heart for the down trodden, the broken, and the discouraged. Servants of Jesus also face what all of the rest of us face. Like us they need a safe place to go and find the healing for their wounds.
Because of Kat and I are both in our early sixties people almost always ask, “Why would you want to begin an organic farm at this point in your lives?” Our answer is we believe that we become the foods we eat. A diet consisting of fast, processed or fatty foods leads to many of the health problems our society faces today.
We believe the Restoration Farm is a dream God has placed in our hearts. If God gave us this dream then He has a reason for us to do it at this particular point in our lives.
We believe there should be a balance between eating raw foods such as vegetables and fruits and cooked foods such as meat. We have decided to grow chemical free vegetables and fruits to sell to people and to teach them how to prepare those vegetables and fruits for delicious meals. The secondary and maybe the most important reason for the farm is to provide a safe place for missionaries and pastors to come and spend a few days to seek God’s intervention in their lives.
We began our search near the Kansas City, Missouri area but it seemed the more we looked the farther God led us away from that area. We finally found a ten acre piece of land five miles outside of Stover, Missouri. We knew that God led us to this place the day we first walked the property.
For more information about our farming methods or for how the ministry to servants will work please email or give us a call.
Larry Clark
913-636-1862
lnclark1950@gmail.com
http://therestorationfarm.blogspot.com/
REAL Men RoCK is a blog for men and women about the issues men face. REAL Men RoCK = R ighteous, E ncouraging, A ccountable, L oving Men R ely on C hrist's K indness
Monday, June 25, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Blessings from Stover, Missouri
The past two months have been interesting and exciting. Kat and I sold our house, purchased a small 28' RV trailer and moved to Gravois Mills, MO at the end of March. I transferred to the Walmart in Versailles, MO and Kat was hired there as well.
It is amazing what happens when one goes from living in a comfortable home to a space similar to a sardine can. Every day was an adventure in not bumping into each other as we got out of bed, made breakfast and got dressed. You can either get annoyed with each other or find humor in each time you are bumped or have to climb on the couch to get out of the way of the other.
The pace here is a lot slower and I have found myself satisfied with driving 45 - 50 miles an hour and in no hurry to get to my destination.
Our house in Louisburg closed on March 16th and we closed on our farm north of Stover on May 14th. We moved out of our house in Louisburg on March 16th and moved down to Gravois Mills on March 23rd. We closed on the farm on May 16th and moved into the house May19th. The day we moved into the house was an interesting one. We rented a small U-Haul truck and a young guy we work with helped me load it. We pulled up to the house and I backed the truck up to the back deck. We opened the door and unloaded about five boxes. Then the young guy and I walked down to where we planned to put the barn. When we returned we found Kat sitting on the ground near the deck. She fell and fractured her left arm. We spent the rest of the day at the hospital. Later I returned and began unloading the truck by myself and after about an hour two of our neighbors drove down our driveway. They helped me finish unloading.
Kat is doing fine and her arm seems to be healing well.
When we moved one of our biggest concerns was finding a new church. I did some Internet searching and what appeared to be interesting churches were clear on the other side of the Lake of the Ozarks and would require a 60 to 80 mile round trip drive each Sunday. One that caught my interest had similar worship to what we were use to, was a fairly new church plant but it was a Free Methodist church. My experience with the Methodist church was not a positive one so I ruled it out. Our first Sunday here we went to a small church and the message was all about the end times which was not an encouraging message. The next Sunday we decided to attend the Free Methodist church because I felt God telling me not to judge a church by it's name. What we found was a small church of about 50 people and the worship and message that day not only left us encouraged and refreshed but reminded us of Vineyard. As we drove back to our RV we both emotionally knew God had led us to our new church home. The church is named Lake Hills Community Church and it is our observation that the pastor and his wife have worked hard to create a safe environment where almost anyone can feel comfortable yet hear a challenging and encouraging biblical based message.
The farm is beginning to take shape. We had a small barn built which will serve as a barn for our goats and will have a full kitchen in it for Kat to make goat milk soap and cheese. We have placed the RV down by the pond but as of right now we do not have electric for it. We are going to purchase a small solar panel to get that taken care of. We will not be hooking it up to a septic tank since it is several hundred feet away from our main house. The barn has a full bath with a washer and dryer so that when we do have a visiting pastor or missionary they can have a place to do their laundry and get refreshed.
I have purchase several pieces of equipment for the farm which includes a riding mower, a walk behind tractor and a pull grader. Each of these items we were able to purchase at a 10 - 15% savings.
We look forward to all of the things we will do here such as building our hoop houses, planting crops, raising goats and chickens, but most of all to serving pastors and missionaries by providing a safe place for them to come and get refreshed and healed.
I want to end with this. The farm is not perfect but it is perfect for us. The land is a clay/rock mixture and the layout is not exactly flat. Kat and I were looking for property close to Kansas City but we feel God led us here. We aren't sure why but we do believe He not only has a blessing for us here but also a ministry. We also agree that the past two months with living in the RV and Kat breaking her arm have been two of the best months we have had in our marriage. I guess the message is it is amazing what God will do in your life when you follow the Holy Spirit's guide and are content with what God has provided.
You can follow our adventure at http://therestorationfarm.blogspot.com
The past two months have been interesting and exciting. Kat and I sold our house, purchased a small 28' RV trailer and moved to Gravois Mills, MO at the end of March. I transferred to the Walmart in Versailles, MO and Kat was hired there as well.
It is amazing what happens when one goes from living in a comfortable home to a space similar to a sardine can. Every day was an adventure in not bumping into each other as we got out of bed, made breakfast and got dressed. You can either get annoyed with each other or find humor in each time you are bumped or have to climb on the couch to get out of the way of the other.
The pace here is a lot slower and I have found myself satisfied with driving 45 - 50 miles an hour and in no hurry to get to my destination.
Our house in Louisburg closed on March 16th and we closed on our farm north of Stover on May 14th. We moved out of our house in Louisburg on March 16th and moved down to Gravois Mills on March 23rd. We closed on the farm on May 16th and moved into the house May19th. The day we moved into the house was an interesting one. We rented a small U-Haul truck and a young guy we work with helped me load it. We pulled up to the house and I backed the truck up to the back deck. We opened the door and unloaded about five boxes. Then the young guy and I walked down to where we planned to put the barn. When we returned we found Kat sitting on the ground near the deck. She fell and fractured her left arm. We spent the rest of the day at the hospital. Later I returned and began unloading the truck by myself and after about an hour two of our neighbors drove down our driveway. They helped me finish unloading.
Kat is doing fine and her arm seems to be healing well.
When we moved one of our biggest concerns was finding a new church. I did some Internet searching and what appeared to be interesting churches were clear on the other side of the Lake of the Ozarks and would require a 60 to 80 mile round trip drive each Sunday. One that caught my interest had similar worship to what we were use to, was a fairly new church plant but it was a Free Methodist church. My experience with the Methodist church was not a positive one so I ruled it out. Our first Sunday here we went to a small church and the message was all about the end times which was not an encouraging message. The next Sunday we decided to attend the Free Methodist church because I felt God telling me not to judge a church by it's name. What we found was a small church of about 50 people and the worship and message that day not only left us encouraged and refreshed but reminded us of Vineyard. As we drove back to our RV we both emotionally knew God had led us to our new church home. The church is named Lake Hills Community Church and it is our observation that the pastor and his wife have worked hard to create a safe environment where almost anyone can feel comfortable yet hear a challenging and encouraging biblical based message.
The farm is beginning to take shape. We had a small barn built which will serve as a barn for our goats and will have a full kitchen in it for Kat to make goat milk soap and cheese. We have placed the RV down by the pond but as of right now we do not have electric for it. We are going to purchase a small solar panel to get that taken care of. We will not be hooking it up to a septic tank since it is several hundred feet away from our main house. The barn has a full bath with a washer and dryer so that when we do have a visiting pastor or missionary they can have a place to do their laundry and get refreshed.
I have purchase several pieces of equipment for the farm which includes a riding mower, a walk behind tractor and a pull grader. Each of these items we were able to purchase at a 10 - 15% savings.
We look forward to all of the things we will do here such as building our hoop houses, planting crops, raising goats and chickens, but most of all to serving pastors and missionaries by providing a safe place for them to come and get refreshed and healed.
I want to end with this. The farm is not perfect but it is perfect for us. The land is a clay/rock mixture and the layout is not exactly flat. Kat and I were looking for property close to Kansas City but we feel God led us here. We aren't sure why but we do believe He not only has a blessing for us here but also a ministry. We also agree that the past two months with living in the RV and Kat breaking her arm have been two of the best months we have had in our marriage. I guess the message is it is amazing what God will do in your life when you follow the Holy Spirit's guide and are content with what God has provided.
You can follow our adventure at http://therestorationfarm.blogspot.com
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