Tim and Michelle Eby had been serving as Nazarene missionaries in Senegal for several years when Tim became concerned about the numbers of pastors who were being called and trained to lead churches, but eventually forced to leave their villages for work in the cities when the welfare of their families depended on them to find resources to live.

The nonprofit organization Heifer International reports that 57 percent of Senegal’s population lives in rural areas, reliant on agriculture for their livelihood, and 47 percent of its land area is used for agricultural purposes.

However, Senegal is a very difficult place to raise crops. The climate is arid and gets limited rainfall.

Tim said, “During the dry months, the steady wind and no rain dries up everything. The local farmers get essentially one crop a year during the rainy season between July and the end of August and after that we do not see a drop of rain until July of the next year.”

For the rest of this story about how the church is developing improved agricultural methods to enable Senegalese families to grow adequate food year round, see Engage magazine.