Joseph Summit is a conference that meets annually to facilitate the implementation of an agricultural ecosystem to support the local pastors in Central Asia. This year, it was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This was my fourth time attending it.
The first day, the Summit started with a dinner at a traditional Kazakhstan restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed the variety of the country's traditional food.
The second day was filled with several presentations about a variety of topics, followed by panel discussions.
As usual, I met several new people one of whom was ...
Andy Harris is serving several ministries in Almaty, and we set up a visit to his ministry site.
This venue for the Summit was the Gateway Center, owned and operated by Gateway Oil and Gas, a Christian-owned missional business. It was well-developed and organized.
I also met a young man who organized all transportation for the Summit.
Liz is a member of the AgGrandizer board and is now stationed in Turkey, maintaining the relationships with a hazelnut-growing and manufacturing company. We had a few follow-up meetings to explore the possibility of working together.
One of the site visits was to Patrick's apple rootstock supplying business. Patrick, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in one of the South Pacific islands, found his current wife. His passion was apparent in running this apple tree rootstock farm and an orchard.
We also visited the sales point of Dutch Nature, based in Almaty, run by Wilmar and Matt. The sales point has not reached the break-even point yet, but they were hopeful to break even next year. Then, they would consider setting up a feedmill to establish their own production capacity. They were also preparing to introduce a mobile version of a layer chicken farm.
We also visited a popcorn manufacturer that sells not only domestically but also overseas. Amazingly, this sizable facility was run by only four people, thanks to the automation.
Additional people I met included a couple from Hong Kong who run a solar panel business for businesses. They were Joseph and Maria. A local pastor and his wife came to attend the Summit along with a Filipino lady as an interpreter. This year, there were eight people from India, including Nagaland, the northeastern region of India. We had a joyous time sharing what the Lord is doing in and through their lives. We were mutually encouraged.
Slowly but surely, I am learning about agriculture and orienting myself for God's project to restore the land, which He promised to provide Abraham with, along with people. - Jeffrey
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