Special Field Report: Chittagong Hills, Bangladesh September 2012The newsletter of FARMS International

Providing revolving entrepreneurial loans to poor Christian families - Galatians 6:10

Dear Friends,

Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the worldfor a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24: 14.

The Chittagong Hills of Bangladesh has to be one of those places called the“uttermost!” FARMS has the privilege of ministering to the Christian community inmany remote parts of this world and this hill tribe region of Bangladesh ranks rightup near the top. God has orchestrated amazing opportunities for this ministry toreach out to Christians in challenging areas, such as Nagaland, Nepal, Cuba,Bangladesh, Cambodia, to name a few. This is only possible because of your loveand support. As a result, your life is blessed by the prayers of those you help. Yes,they really do pray for us! Furthermore, as God uses FARMS to grow churches andspread the gospel of Jesus Christ in these difficult areas of the world, we arehastening the return of our Lord.

Traveling to most of these places is difficult at times, dangerous at times, but alwaysawe-inspiring. The body of Christ is unspeakably diverse, yet uncommonly homogenous,in so many ways. I have always felt “at home” with believers, no matter how dissimilarour cultures are. This surely is a manifestation of God knitting his body together in seamless harmony.

I had the privilege, last January, of once again visiting this beautiful hill region ofthe world. Travel permits are rare for foreigners, but God always makes a way.The church is growing in these hills and that is nothing less than a miracle!Missionaries, native evangelists, teachersand development workers have made greatsacrifices to equip and encourage believersand God truly is adding to his church daily.We have been working in this hill tractregion for over thirteen years now. TheBTABC, Bangladesh Tribal Association ofBaptist Churches, and FARMS havepartnered together to run this developmentloan program. Because of its extremeremoteness the challenges taken on by theFARMS committee administering theprogram are unique. The committee hasdone a wonderful job overcoming eachobstacle.In this letter, I will be sharing some of thediverse projects your giving has madepossible.Love in Jesus,

Joseph Richter, Executive DirectorVisits by foreigners are uncommon

in the Chittagong Hills

Tripura tribal ladies in traditional dress.They are standing on gravel made frombricks. Gravel is a rare commodity in

Bangladesh.

FARMS International, Inc. • PO Box 270 • Knife River, MN 55609-0270 • 218-834-2676 • 888-99FARMSInfo@farmsinternational.com • farmsinternational.com

Bangladesh • Cambodia • Cuba • Haiti • India • Moldova • Nepal • Philippines • Rwanda • Senegal • Thailand • Vietnam

Missionary liaison, Harold Ebersole, indiscussion with FARMS loan committee. Honey Charan Tripura started his fish

farm and market seven years ago with aloan from FARMS. He is extremely grateful for the help. He is nowable to pay for his children's education. He has four sons and threedaughters. One son is attending a university and another is workingin Dhaka teaching at a Christian training center. He prays forFARMS and thanks all who give to make this program possible. Hesays there are many in his village being helped by the program.He is faithful with his tithes from his project profit. Inset: photo ofhim and his wife by their home.

Sujon Tripura has a cow project with FARMS. He took a loan in2009 for a cow. The cow had two calves, pictured above. Themother died, but he still will make a profit from her offspring.Sujon is married and has two young children. He is a pastor of hisvillage church and is a faithful tither.

Ginger is a good cash crop. SatirumTripura showed us how ginger rootsare stored to preserve for planting.

Jotirum Tripura started his pineapple gardenthree years ago. Last year he harvested hisfirst crop of 500 pineapples. The pineapplesgrown in the hills command a high price. Henow has 2000 plants, but needs fencing toprotect from animals. Pray for Jotirum!

Mojerung Tripura has asmall pig project in hervillage of Katholi Para.Pigs provide muchneeded cash income fortribal families.

says there are many in his village being helped by the program.

Ujjal Barua trained as a lab tech at Mulumghat Hospital. After histraining he wanted to start a lab and dispensary in a small town inthe Chittagong Hills. He used his loan from FARMS to buy a microscopeand supplies. As his lab business grew, he used the profits to expandhis pharmacy and now has a thriving business.

Jonipur Tripura and his wifeused their FARMS loan to starta village store. Even thoughthe store is small it hasprovided income sufficient forhis family needs. He also hasa banana plantation. His wifetends the store when he is atthe plantation. They havetwo young children and arefaithful tithers to their church.

Jaganath Tripura’s project is growingturmeric. This orange spice is widelyused in Asia to flavor curries. It is veryprofitable. The roots are boiled andthen dried for about a week. The cropis sold locally.

Guradhon Tripura lost his ricefields due to loans with Bengalimoney lenders. This oftenhappens in the Chittagong Hills.He was able with a loan fromFARMS to pay off the moneylender and redeem half of hisland. Soon he may be able toredeem the rest with the profitsfrom his farm. Please pray.

Emajon Tripura used his loan to establish a mango plantation.Through lots of hard work, he now has 500 trees. Each tree isalready producing 50 to 70 pounds of mangos. He explainedthat it is a lot of work to keep down the insect damage, but heis doing a good job. His future is much more secure.

Purno Chandra Tripurastarted a banana plantationwith a FARMS loan seven yearsago. He used his profit to startthis mango orchard and thenexpanded it with a second loanthree years ago. He made$1000 from his first mangoharvest and now has 10 acresof fruit trees! He has one sonin college, a daughter finishinghigh school, and two childrenin elementary school, madepossible by his project income.The project has gone so wellthat he has even started asmall shop with the recentprofits from his plantation.

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GreatIdea!

This team from theMarma tribe hasplanted 18 newMarma churches inthe Chittagong Hillssince 2004! Marmaare traditionallyBuddhist. The manon the right has acow project withFARMS and is also aschool teacher.

FARMS International, Inc.PO Box 270Knife River, MN 55609-0270

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