Not many have experienced packing up their whole life, selling all but the essentials, saying goodbyes to friends and family, and getting on a plane to a country they have never visited. Joy and Stacy Falk have done it twice! This is the beginning of the South Africa chapter of Joy and Stacy Falk’s page turning biography. Just over one year ago, Stacy suggested to Joy that they consider going back into cross-cultural global work and, now, here in 2023, they have arrived in South Africa at the beginning of another great adventure. We had so much planned for their orientation in early 2023 and then received news of a drastic visa delay. With much determination and troubleshooting, they arrived only a few weeks later than expected and were immediately plunged into a major training event: the week-long national training for Farming God’s Way. Here are some of Joy’s thoughts regarding that week, February 19-25, 2023.

“Just two days after we arrived in country, we were blessed with the opportunity to participate in a week long training program. This was an intense week for many, including us, but gave us a much deeper understanding of the level of training that is taking place and all that it involves. In Field Mentoring (IFM) consisted of approximately 40 individuals who are in the process of becoming certified Farming God’s Way teachers. This process usually takes about 3 years. The week of IFM allowed those in training to practice teaching the principles and concepts of the curriculum. These trainers took turns teaching and over the course of the week, there were over 200 participants who came and learnt not only about God’s love, but also how to plant and care for their own garden. 

Having felt called to uproot our life and move to South Africa, we had a level of understanding and passion for the ministry of Inundo before arriving. It was during this week of IFM though that we had the opportunity to really start to see and understand the bigger picture. 

Passing on knowledge and experience in a Farming God’s Way course takes teamwork and lots of practical teaching.

“Have you ever had both the knowledge and experience that someone else didn’t have, and if you could only pass it along to them it would make a positive difference? This is part of what we are experiencing. Seeing detrimental gardening practices and defeat for many as their attempts fail, we want nothing more than to help them.

The farming and gardening principles that are known, practiced and taught at Inundo, via Farming God’s Way, have proven to work and make a difference in the lives of many South Africans. Most of them have access to the materials required. In an attempt to make this knowledge available to many, there is no cost to take the training. That being said, each participant is responsible to find their materials and prepare their land. To further the ownership of their garden, they are required to pay for the seedlings they receive. With these investments the joy that comes with the harvest is even greater!

“Inundo has invested a lot in this ministry and community. Leading up to IFM, Inundo invested time, money and resources so that there could be 4 training sites available. They did this by providing staff and resources to assist setting up 2 of the sites in rural areas where there is great need. All the planning, advertising, and organizing took place by the Inundo team, while fielding calls and registrations. With the heart to train leaders, Inundo also financially sponsored 3 local leaders to participant in the IFM training. The 4 sites where training took place, gave knowledge and resources to over 200 people. We saw faces light up when they realized they too could garden, have food to eat, and keep money in their pockets. For some, the excitement came when they realized they could sell to neighbours and make money. 

Inundo is a large property with multiple buildings and gardens to maintain. It is not something that only the Inundo Leadership Team can manage. To further bless the community, Inundo provides jobs to 5 staff members who help with a variety of tasks around the property. Each one is paid a wage and meals are provided for them when they are on site. They also have the extra benefit of keeping some of the produce from the garden. 

Inundo sells its produce to offset the costs of the training farm. 900kg of produce was sold in 2022.

“As you can see, the running and upkeep of Inundo costs money. Much of the produce is sold and helps offset some of the operational expenses but it’s not enough. As a leadership team, we hope to see an increase in financial support from within South Africa. In the meantime, as the demand and impact for training increases so do the expenses of maintaining and running the property. With all the monetary investments that have been made in the past few months  Inundo has an immediate need for financial support. We ask you to consider whether you would be willing to help Inundo with a one time monetary donation and share this need with someone who may be interested in supporting this ministry.  Even a small donation will make a huge difference!”

It was amazing reading Joy’s words and hearing how Inundo was impacting people even after being here for just a few days. We know that Inundo’s vision is big and transformational, but hearing someone else notice all the little investments being made through the model farm was very encouraging to us. It is difficult to explain all that God is using this property for. We hope that as you see it through Joy’s eyes it might give you a little more of the overall picture.

If you would like to donate to Inundo, all the information can be found on our contact page.