{"id":56087,"date":"2026-10-13T05:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T04:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=prayerline&p=56087"},"modified":"2026-10-10T08:16:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T07:16:35","slug":"gardening-for-god","status":"publish","type":"prayerline","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/gardening-for-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Gardening for God"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s Planting Day! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In a garden in a country where publicly sharing the gospel is highly restricted, a dozen students are planting trees, cultivating relationships, and sowing seeds of faith.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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With its fishponds, fruit trees, and vegetable patches, the garden serves as a safe space for this pioneering movement to meet students\u2019 physical needs, show care for creation, and talk about Jesus.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Two Fish<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Amid the country\u2019s difficult economic situation, ministry that provides practical support is vital. Families\u2019 financial pressures have been so acute in recent years that some students have dropped out of university. Those from rural areas are especially vulnerable. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWe saw how students staying in the hostel often needed additional sources of nutrition, especially protein-rich foods<\/em>.<\/em> So, we started the Two Fish Project. We secured<\/em> <\/em>the use of a garden area and started to farm fish<\/em>.\u201d  <\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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What began as a small project to meet immediate needs has evolved into a ministry that nurtures both physical and spiritual growth. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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One Earth<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\u201c<\/em>When we were looking for somewhere to hold our first student camp, it was a real struggle. Many places were unwilling to host us because of our Christian activities. So, we decided to hold the camp at the Two Fish Project<\/em>,<\/em> although its facilities were very limited<\/em> <\/em>at the time<\/em>.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Afterwards, as students and staff discussed how to develop it to better serve their needs, a clear vision formed: a garden with ministry centre. Soon after, the ground was planted with vegetables, corn, and fruit trees. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Then, two years ago, students were sharing concerns together \u2013 about deforestation around their hometowns and their Christian responsibility to care for creation. And this sparked another idea: a Tree Planting Day. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The day would enable Christian students to be good stewards of creation \u2013 something not widely discussed in local churches. They could also invite their non-believing friends to a safe space for open conversations.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Three Commands<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The team see Planting Day as a natural way to integrate discipleship and outreach \u2013 an expression of their desire to fulfil both the Great Commandments (loving God and loving others) and the Great Commission.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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This year, among the 25 staff, graduates, and students, were five non-Christian students. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cIt was eye-opening for them because they often associate environmental care with other organizations. Through Planting Day, they saw and understood that caring for creation is part of Christian faith and practice.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Besides the tree planting, the day involved games, food, sung worship, and a talk.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cIn our sensitive context<\/em>,<\/em> it\u2019s crucial to deepen personal relationships in this way<\/em>.<\/em> As students build trust with their friends, they<\/em>\u2019<\/em>re able to wisely share about Jesus in their conversations and invite them to Bible discussions<\/em>.\u201d<\/em>  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In recent months, several friends have said they want to know more and are now coming to activities.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Pray<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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  • Praise God for the growth of this pioneering movement over the last 8 years \u2013 it now serves around 50 students from five universities. Give thanks for the way they have been living out the love of Christ.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
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    • Pray for the movement\u2019s students \u2013 that they will continue to build strong relationships, share faith wisely, and apply faith to all of life. And pray for the interested students \u2013 that they too will follow Jesus as Saviour and Lord.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
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      • Ask that God will protect and provide for the students, the hostels, the fellowship, and the Centre.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":56088,"template":"","area":[455],"theme":[],"class_list":["post-56087","prayerline","type-prayerline","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-east-asia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGardening for God · IFES Prayerline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s Planting Day!  In a garden in a country where publicly sharing the gospel is highly restricted, a dozen students are planting trees, cultivating\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/gardening-for-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gardening for God · IFES Prayerline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s Planting Day!  In a garden in a country where publicly sharing the gospel is highly restricted, a dozen students are planting trees, cultivating\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/gardening-for-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IFES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Planting-Day.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/gardening-for-god\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/gardening-for-god\\\/\",\"name\":\"Gardening for God · IFES Prayerline\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/gardening-for-god\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/gardening-for-god\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Planting-Day.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-13T04:12:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"It\u2019s Planting Day!  In a garden in a country where publicly sharing the gospel is highly restricted, a dozen students are planting trees, cultivating\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/gardening-for-god\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/gardening-for-god\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/gardening-for-god\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Planting-Day.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Planting-Day.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/gardening-for-god\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Prayerline\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/prayerline\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Gardening for God\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ifesworld.org\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"IFES\",\"description\":\"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. 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