FAMILY, FARMING, AND FAITH
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever." Psalm 118:1
"Work hard and trust in God." When I was a child growing up in rural Illinois, my father would repeat this phrase that his father would often tell him. We come from a farming family in a small community an hour south of Chicago.
Every Sunday, my extended family and I would attend our small country church. After service, we would have lunch together at my grandfather's farmhouse. Our mothers would faithfully rotate a schedule of preparing the meal. My numerous cousins and I would play outside in the barn, silos, or orchard. What treasured family memories!
Farming truly does require both hard work and trust. Planting and harvest seasons were demanding. My dad would work a regular job six days per week, but would always find time to lend a hand at our family farm. He and his brothers (pictured) would faithfully plant soybeans and corn, then wait patiently for the harvest, trusting for a good crop.
I'm grateful for this simple upbringing with simple values, and I teach my own child the same principles. God has greatly blessed our family over the generations, and we have a beautiful legacy of faith.
This notion of faith was imprinted on me early in my life, and I made the decision to follow Jesus for myself as a teenager. That is one thing that I feel is so powerful about the Reach A Village ministry. Not only are we reaching people for Christ today, but it will impact their families and future generations.
This year, my uncles and father have wrapped up another harvest season, and we look forward to celebrating together on Thanksgiving Day, as our family has done for decades. I hope that you and your loved ones also have a special day of celebrating God's goodness and faithfulness in your life. Thank you for sowing the seed of Christ amongst the unreached, and partnering with Reach A Village to transform families for eternity!
With a full and grateful heart,
Erin Assam
As VP of Development and Communications, Erin Assam enjoys engaging people in the ministry and helping them to become part of fulfilling the Great Commission. Erin earned a MS degree in International Public Service from DePaul University and a BA from Olivet Nazarene University. Her experience in international non-profit organizations includes development, serving as a literacy trainer and helping to implement literacy programs internationally
