Mary's Missionary Musings

I have now exceeded my goal of planting 10,000 trees. We have learned much as we have experimented with different techniques. The Moringas, also called the Miracle Tree, are my favorite. The seeds we planted in Decembers are now 13 feet tall trees!! We currently have fruit varieties of oranges, grapefruit, corrosal, cashima, papaya, and cashew. Acajou, cedar and bwa blan are grown for lumber.

The project is more than planting trees. It’s partnering with local farmers to provide a better source of income for these hard-working people. We now have 46 men and women who have agreed to work with us. Many of my new friends get up at 4am, walk 1-2 hours to their ‘gardens’, work all day digging with a pickax and hoe, and then walk home. Their reward is food to feed their families. Most do not have extra crops to sell.

We train our farmers in sustainable farming techniques and provide them with bean and corn seeds for their 'gardens'. The average garden size is about 1 acre.

We host educational meetings in area villages explaining the importance of trees. Each attendee receives a tree. Thousands of seedlings have been given away.

We have also planted hundreds of seedlings on school property, teaching the next generation of the value of planting and caring for trees.