“Wait”
I tell my toddler grabbing his arm as he tries running full force to the other side of the driveway. His heart was set on his target as soon as he locked in on the fruit tree filled with oranges. Tears filling his eyes as he began yelling for an orange. He didn’t fully understand why he couldn’t run across the driveway and grab the nearest one, and my attempts to share what I see only seems to further frustrate his emotion fueled desire.
To our right, a truck is coming up the driveway, In front of the orange tree is a thorn filled bush, and the low fruit he is eyeing is partially opened and covered in ants. All of this has me calling for him to “wait” but those are some of the hardest words for this sweet boy to hear.
He verbally repeats “wait” with me as he continues crying for his favorite fruit. Once the truck passes he again says “wait”, I walk with him and show him the thorn bush, he repeats “wait” as we walk around it, I lift him up so he can pick a fruit higher up the tree and he excitedly grabs an orange and holds it out for me to peel. The tears drying up, as triumphant laughter fills the air.
My toddler isn’t the only one who isn’t a fan of waiting. Being in a season of waiting is a struggle, even for me. I see the goals and I just want to put my nose to the grindstone and accomplish them, but in the same way I need my toddler to trust that I’m seeing things he can’t, I trust that God has a purpose in our season of waiting.
Waiting for finances for bigger projects. Waiting for proper equipment. Waiting for help. Waiting for responses from partners. Waiting on doors to open for partnerships. Waiting….
Waiting is not synonymous with doing nothing, which is especially important to remember as Christian’s. Active waiting for me means: actively praying over the property we are stewarding, actively sharing the vision God has given us, actively going out and developing what I can in with the tools and materials I do have on hand. It means being intentional to form relationships and build community partners with Christians who are living missional lives and connecting with people who have influence here.
So we spend a lot of time waiting. Even if I don’t always like those words. Gods timing is always perfect and I trust Him to bring things together in His perfect timing so that all we do points people to Him and brings Him glory!
Family updates
February we celebrated our anniversary. We got to enjoy a quiet day taking it slow. Towards the end of the day, We were sitting near the water when we were surprised by a stranger who walked up to us and shared some photos she took of us because “the scene was just so beautiful and I had to capture it for you.” The sweet gesture made our day.
March we celebrated both Caden and Raeleighs birthday. Caden enjoyed brownies and homemade ice cream for his birthday. Raeleigh made her own cake, a purple and pink yellow sheet cake with chocolate frosting.
The past couple months we have added some new farm members to our property in the form of goats and chicks. The kids are loving frolicking in the fields with the baby goats and have been trying to teach the new chicks how to “surf” meaning they place the chicks on boards and pull them around the field.
Planting Hope Ministries
When building a non-profit it can be hard to see where the ministry starts and stops. We believe that our lives should be a reflection of Christ and the non-profit is a tool so we can more effectively build His kingdom and be the hands and feet of Jesus. So I highly encourage you to check out our website for Planting Hope Ministries to learn more about what we are doing and why. We would love to have you partner with us!
Bulldozer
As we are building we continue to find that biggest needs to effectively continue with any major building projects, not just for current projects but future projects, is a large piece of equipment. The tractor we have been borrowing is not able to handle the load of digging and flattening the land which means we keep having to put money in to repairing it. Although, The tractor has served us well and is a big asset when it comes to road work, and helping with some of the mowing; we have been pushing it beyond its capabilities. After some research we are hoping to raise $50,000 for a bulldozer or an excavator.
We are praying for 120 people to pledge $8 a week for ONE year, and donate it to this fundraiser. If you want to support this campaign click the button below.
MISSION TRIPS
We have begun to have many conversations with teams who are wanting to be apart of a mission trip to Hawaii which is super exciting as we begin to plan these trips with various churches and individuals; There is so much opportunity to be apart of laying the foundation for the ministry and so much work that needs to be done.
We are asking friends to pray, and reach out to their friends, family or church to see if they would be interested in doing a mission trip to Hawaii. We would work closely with you to build a trip that suits your team best in a way that would utilize your God given skills to build His kingdom in Hawaii. Check out Planting Hope Ministries mission trip info page
If you have further questions about what this could look like, or feel God is calling you to come to Hawaii, please reach out to us via email at plantinghopeministries@gmail.com and lets talk more
Support Raising
We are currently funded at about $800 a month, and have been so blessed by those who have given generous one time donations and partner with us monthly. We still have a goal of raising $10,000 of monthly support for the ministry. I am blown away every month and filled with gratitude towards those who feel called to support what God is doing here. But since we are not fully supported, we are praying and continuing to trust that God will call the right people to help us build here.
If 200 people pledged $50 a month we would be completely funded.
What does financial support go towards? First, it goes to provide personal support for our family. As a family of 6 we have expenses and we are trusting God that as we build His kingdom He will provide for our family. The second part of that support will go towards providing building materials for various buildings and projects around the property. Currently we are working to build the worship and prayer center which will be a foundational building as we work towards building a Bible camp(which is multiple buildings), green houses(fencing, water tanks, structures), Sports field(lights, sprinkler system, bathroom facilities), and the A-frame safe homes.
If you would like to partner with us financially and what God is doing in Hawaii, either one time or on a monthly basis, click the button below to be taken to our Planting Hope Ministries Donate page.
Property Work
Much of our building is on pause, which can feel frustrating, but certainly has not slowed us down…. Much
It feels so tedious taking hand tools to the land. Digging up dirt, taking a pick ax to roots and rocks, walking the wheelbarrow around to deliver or drop things off. It’s a lot of sweat over the course of many hours, for what feels like very little in return. BUT it is still obedient steps forward. So even when the days are hot, even when the days are long, it’s amazing to look at what has been accomplished.
The past several weeks we have built a small goat shelter, and have expanded our chicken coop to accommodate our young chicks. We are continuing to work to clear the property and have planted banana trees(that have been generously donated by various friends), avocado trees, and sugar cane(also given to us by friends). We were able to purchase an archway so we can begin planting vines. In the next month We are hoping to plant our coffee trees, and several mango trees.
Kelly’s Kitchen
The baking of bread and selling bread continues to be a weekly event. Due to a miscount we made 99 loaves of bread one week in February, and still nearly sold out. God has been so good to use even my silly blunders.
We are now baking fresh milled whole wheat loaves, sourdough, along with our beloved artisan loaves and sandwich bread. As we are adding more variety we are figuring out a new baking rhythm on Tuesdays. I find that I want to accommodate every request and new idea but recognize I need to master the current work load with excellence before trying new ideas.
One thing I love about the market we sell at is the community of people. They “aloha spirit”, as it’s referred to, is so evident especially in the relationships between vendors. A couple weeks ago a woman walks up to me and shares with me that she had gone around the market the week prior looking for sourdough and she stopped by another bread vendors booth. She was feeling defeated because no one had sourdough and this other bread vendor happened to have a loaf of my bread that she had purchased earlier, and this vendor gifted it to this woman.
Well, this woman goes home, thankful. She shared that she is a believer, but her family is not, her prayer is that her kids and grandkids would know Jesus. She occasionally watches her grandkids, and happened to have her grandson over for a Sunday. She was watching an online church service, her grandson was dancing and clapping to the music, they listened to the message, and at the end the church service has a time of communion. Her grandson looks at her “grandma we need to take communion too!” She explains that she doesn’t have any of the elements. He says more adamantly “grandma! We need to take communion!” She again tries to tell him they don’t have the elements for communion. He walks over to the kitchen and pulls out the sourdough bread. “Grandma! We have the Jesus bread here!”
Tears begin to fill her eyes as she shares with me that this was her grandsons first communion and she said “your bread was filled with such a peace, as we broke it, I could feel the presence of God in the room with us.”
At this point I’m almost crying. This woman doesn’t know me, or what we do on Tuesdays to prepare for Wednesdays. She just knows she and her grandson had an experience with God and she has to share it with me. I shared with her that on Tuesdays we worship and we pray over the bread. My prayer is and always will be “God let people encounter you as they sit down with this bread. Let this bread be a tool to build relationships and fill every home our bread goes in to with Your peace.” I got to pray with her, for her children and grandkids And thanked her for sharing her story with me.
As she is hugging me goodbye she laughs “I know {vendor} gave me your bread, but I don’t think I can ever buy any other bread, except yours after having this moment with my grandson”
So many weeks go by and I feel like all I’m doing is baking and selling bread. Sharing with our supporters who ask “what are you doing In Hawaii?” it feels so silly to respond with “we are baking bread”
How is bread baking a ministry? First, God is using the income to help provide part of the support for our family which allows us to continue to be here. Second, our goal is not to bake bread; Our goal is to be obedient to what God is calling us to do even when it doesn’t make sense to us. We know God very clearly told us to bake bread, even if it doesn’t always feel like it is making a difference. I have to remember that even when I don’t see the impact, God is using it and working in hearts.
Friday Youth Night
Before Christmas, Purpose Ministries Friday Youth Event was seeing 60+ kids in attendance at Friday Youth Night. Post Christmas we have seen a significant drop in attendance, for a variety of reasons. We keep praying for the community and continue to be a consistent presence. We were blessed a few weeks back with a donation of basketballs and BINGO to share at this event. The game has been a huge hit, even amongst the adults.
It is so fun to see the silliness and competitiveness come out in both kids and adults. I step out of the vehicle and am rushed by kids “did you bring Bingo?” I never would have thought this would be such a hit.
We continue to pray for more creative ways to engage and show these kids the love of Jesus. And pray for those who have been absent, that Jesus would meet with them and the seeds planted will flourish.
Prayer
**We are looking for 100 people who will commit to pray with us and for us. We currently have 20 people who have committed to this role on our behalf. We firmly believe that everything we are doing here has to be rooted in Jesus and we want a team with us who will go to Him on our behalf and intentionally take time to pray with and for us. We send out separate emails and updates to that specific group.Thank you to those who have already said yes to partnering with us through prayer! If you are wanting to be apart of our prayer team please reach out to me via email: plantinghopeministries@gmail.com
-Pray that God would bring the right financial partners to join us. We threw out a big number asking for $10,000 a month in support. We received several one item donations, and have $600 of on-going monthly support committed. We don’t know how God is gonna provide financially, but we are 100% trusting that He will. We felt very confident that He was telling us to trust Him, so we are praying that our personal needs will be taken care, and all funding will be taken care of for building materials, and land development moving forward. If you would like to financially support us click the button below!
-Pray for a Bulldozer. We have been borrowing Gabes parents tractor, but the availability is limited, and the work that could be done, is a lot. We need bigger equipment to properly work the land.
-Please pray for continued health of our family and continued protection, wisdom and that God would continue to speak clearly to us so we can walk forward confidently.
-Pray for the people we get to meet, that every interaction would be one that points people to Jesus and that we could love this community the way God loves them.
The Neufeld Family 
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