Seeds to Grow On
Mission project for VBS or children’s ministries activities:
Families in East Africa often depend on animal herding for their livelihood. Because of the extreme drought they have experienced over the past decade, little rain also means a shortage of water sources and grass for the animals. The Maasai and other tribal groups are desperate for means to feed their families. Subsistence farmers cannot raise enough crops for even their own families’ needs with the farming methods they currently use. Many Maasai have never even planted a seed much less an entire garden.
CMF missionaries are involving churches and Christian families in gardening projects to reach out in meeting needs in their communities. Maasai people are being shown how to plant seeds, how to economically use the land and scarce water resources, and how to harvest their crops. Hundreds of villages are also touched by the Word of God as they see His provision for them.
Seeds to Grow On features 5 brief PowerPoints. Each presentation adds to a child’s worldview and ends with a challenge to share their offerings with the Maasai gardening project.
Presentation 1 presents the “bigness” of the world, as well as the differences and similarities we find in people around the world.
Presentation 2 introduces and gives a quick overview of the Maasai people who live in Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa.
Presentation 3 relates the difficulties the Maasai are having in raising their cattle during times of drought, and shows how learning to garden and farm God’s way will improve their health and lives.
Presentation 4 explains the Maasai belief in a god and how missionaries show, in a variety of ways (including growing healthy food), how the one, true God loves them.
Presentation 5 reviews the material from presentations 1-4 with a final challenge.
Take-home projects, offering ideas, and promotional materials are also included.
In the Seeds to Grow On project, the Maasai people receive a bucket drip irrigation kit – an excellent tool for growing a vegetable garden with minimal amounts of water and labor. These garden kits are $40 each. Add seeds, a hoe, and a string with bottle caps (to scare away birds) for $15, and a family is equipped to tend a garden, or, in some cases, begin a small farm … all for $55. They also learn the proper way to prepare and care for the land, as well as how to get maximum benefit from their harvest.
Through Seeds to Grow On, children will be challenged to bring their offerings so that families in East Africa will have healthy food and can share the love of God with others.
Seeds to Grow On materials can be downloaded by clicking on the buttons below. Or, if you would prefer, a disk with the presentations and resources is available for your use without cost. To order the project materials on disk, call 317.578.2700 or email Kristin Towle.
Click here for Seeds to Grow On download.
Narration (3.3mb)
Powerpoint (53.5mb)
Resources (29.7mb)
