by Pastor Dennis J. Tungol, FGNF Techno-trainer

The Global University invited me for a second time to be with them during the visitation of their partner churches in Vietnam. I was given two hours to present what Tribes and Nations Outreach is doing using the FAITH Gardening and Natural Farming (FGNF) along with the importance of Organic Farming, its biblical application and the hazards of using  chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

For my next stop, I presented the FGNF technology in Saigon on the 16^th of March, 18^th of March in Danang, and in Hanoi on the 20^th of March among the Bible school graduates, pastors and workers from different churches. An average of 50 people from each stop attended the divided session during my presentation, the attendees totaled to approximately 150 people.

From the 23^rd until the 26^th of March, I conducted training among the Hmong Tribe at the San Sa Ho church in the Y Ling Ho Village. It is a 30-minute drive from Sapa which is five hours away from Hanoi. The Hmong tribe is one of the largest tribes in Hanoi but they are also very poor and sometimes treated as a tourist attraction. The Hmongs are also a farming community.

We stayed in the village for three nights. Praise God, we finished the four-day training without any hindrance.  

Seventeen churches and 8 districts were represented during the training. There were 23 pastors during the training, 44 males and 16 females which made up the 60 participants. The training was coordinated by the Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA). 

I had to conduct the training slowly and clearly because not all of the participants can understand Vietnamese 100% and Pastor Daniel, our translator, had to repeat my lecture many times. Praise the Lord because they were able to understand the ten steps in FAITH Gardening and the production of different natural fertilizers and pesticides. They were also able to do hands-on gardening and the making of the different bio-fertilizers and pesticides. The group was very active during the hands-on and they were very eager to learn these new things that they know will help them a lot since they are all farmers.

The host pastor was very thankful that we came because he knows that this will be a big help for their farming community. He told me that this will be a big help for them since they do not have and know technologies in organic and natural farming so most of them are using chemicals.  

Here are some of their testimonies:

1. I am a pastor but I do not know how to read and write, and I am very happy in attending this seminar that I learned all these things. I enjoyed doing the hands-on.

2. I am a farmer doing large-scale farming. When I heard about this training, I was very excited and eager to attend. Praise God, it was very fruitful, I will bring this technology to my village to help my people. –Tong Tzi from Nambu district

3. I have been a Christian for ten years. I learned the Bible but this is the first time I learned about this kind of training. My pastor told me to attend the training. Happy to learn how to protect my garden. The FGNF technology is very inspiring. I believe that this will help my family and my village. I hope and pray for the team to return so I can learn more.

4. This seminar inspired me because of the biblical application in farming. Now I can see myself growing and taking care of my garden. Thanks for teaching us about the biblical application in farming.

5. There were three tourist guides among them who can speak English, including my interpreter. They all decided to attend the seminar and take a leave from their work because they believe that this training will be helpful to them. One of them told told me that if she will apply this technology, there will be no need for her to do tourist guiding. She can concentrate on children and their home.

During the entire training, I did not feel any anxiety or any thought that something bad will happen. I believe that God sent me there to help the underprivileged tribe. The Lord reminded me in Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to tell the good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recovery of the sight to the blind, to set oppressed people free, and to announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”   The Lord also assured me that I was sent there to preach the gospel to the poor through biblical farming. Our training was good news to them because they were introduced to a technology that can uplift their living standard, their eyes were opened that there is an alternative way in farming which is a big favor to them from the Lord.

To God be the glory!

**

Mission Profile: VIETNAM

TNO successfully launched 2 massive church planting projects in Vietnam: Operation 300 (OPN 300) in 1990– 1993 that saw the establishment of 355 witness churches all over Vietnam to include 12 tribes and OPN 10,000 in 2000-2005 that resulted to the formation of at least 8,500 house churches. As a result, the SOW strategy is a “household” word in the underground churches.

At present, TNO continues to provide the LCBTC seminar to equip the “open” church believers in partnership with the Vietnam Bible League. F.A.I.T.H. Gardening & Natural Farming seminars are being conducted in the country almost annually. The participants were taught not only how to grow vegetables based on Christian principles but more importantly how to live the Christian life using the same principles.