Faith Story - Larry Williams

In 1999 I shared with Larry Williams, the pastor of Sand Mt United Methodist Church, how God had opened up a great mission field in Kazakhstan, a newly established nation in Asia. Kazakhstan, as a nation, came into existence after the 1992 fall of the former Soviet Union. I was serving as the Vice President of Development for The Mission Society for United Methodists. God had opened the door for The Mission Society to place twenty six missionaries, serving in the new country. Our missionaries had discovered a serious problem facing the people of Kazakhstan. Because of the long winters, there was only a short summer season for the people to produce all the food that was needed. Our missionaries had established several orphanages. They were struggling to keep the children alive and healthy because of inadequate food supplies.

Since Larry Williams, our part time pastor, was a full time agriculture teacher in the Georgia public education system, I felt led to ask him to consider putting together a small team of agriculture professionals and to do a short term mission in Kazakhstan,

studying the situation so as to establish an agriculture program that would be available to the people through our missionaries.

In the summer of 2000 Larry met three agriculture specialists at the Atlanta Airport. He recruited them to go with him on a short term mission to Kazakhstan. He had never met them personally until that moment when they came together for this mission. He had prepared them to do a professional study of the needs of the missionaries and the Kazak people as related to the benefits of an adequate agriculture program. One was Dr. Earl Goodman, retired agriculture professor from Clemson University in South Carolina. Another was a retired administrator, Wilson Lee from Auburn University. The third was the Reverend Steve Johnson, a pastor and former chicken farmer, from California. Their mission was not only successful for helping the missionaries and members of the six churches established by our missionaries in Kazakhstan, but has launched a new ministry of The Mission Society, called Argimissions.

Recently, I had the privilege of going to Crockett, Texas with Larry and several others leaders of Agrimissions to clean up what was at green house and garden center of an abandoned high school building. Through the leadership of Larry Williams and Doug Neel, a partnership with Crockett United Methodist Church and Agrimissions has been formed to train short term and long term missionaries how to help people to be more effective in growing their own food and also in sharing Jesus Christ, who is the Bread of life.

You can find out how you can serve with your faith and your skills in agriculture, by calling Larry Williams, a retired teacher, who lives among us, right here in Dade county.