Family Farm Ministry

Deworming animals gets rid of all he internal parasites in cows, goats, sheep, llamas, and donkeys. Jonathan's passion has always been poultry science, and his many years growing up on his family's farm has given him the knowledge and passion for Spirit-Led Expeditions Family Farm Ministry. In the 2 weeks we were in Peru, 600 animals were seen personally by Jon and he also gave doses to local farmers for 200 more. He brought a whole new aspect of ministry to the team that was already helping so many people medically. He not only dewormed, but also supervised the birth of a baby calf, gave vitamin shots, and treated minor injuries suffered by the animals; for example a sheep had gotten caught in a barbed wire fence and Jon treated and disinfected it's wounds. It wasn't hard for the people to really trust Jon with their animals. By the second day of clinics, we all watched as a lady brought a herd of sheep down to the clinic area and tied them up for Jon to deworm while she got in line to be seen in the clinic. It was incredible to watch Jon in action. Most of the days in Lamay Pastor Willy's son walked around to translate for him. The bonds he was able to make with the people were awesome. In Lamay most of the farmers know what deworming agent is and how good it is for the animals, because they had revcieved doses of it from the government 3 years ago. That fact really helped the farmers trust Jon more quickly. Jon loved every second. He handed out Camino De Vida flyers as he invited people to the clinic, and shared the Gospel with a few he really bonded with. The man you see him with in the picture above told Jon that he would always be welcome in his home. On day one of ministry in Lamay, Jon had come by his home and dewormed a few sheep. Over the next night, 12 of the man's chickens died. Jon had not dewormed the chickens and so the man took it as a sign from God to trust Jon and let him deworm all the animals. The next day the man took Jon all over Lamay to make sure all his neighbors, friends, and family trusted Jon and his medicines. It was an incredible experience. Jon hopes to return to Peru in December 2008 for Spirit-Led's Operation Hope Blanket and Christmas distributions to follow up with the same families and continue the deworming supply, as the effects of the medicine wane at 3 months. The practical Family Farm Ministry made a huge impact for Pastor Willy's ministry in the area because of the very large reliance on livestock and agriculture, and we hope to continue building relationships with these amazing people through these practical means.

Thanks so much to Kirby Phillips for donating supplies for this ministry, and inspiring Jon to do this work. Kirby is Jon's father and was a agricultural missionary with People to People in Haiti for many years, where Jon was born. Thanks also to Jon's uncle, Kinsey, a vet who donated various supplies.