Those who work their land will have abundant food,
Proverbs 28:19-20 (NIV)
but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
A faithful person will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
With the rapid changes in the Bulgarian economy after joining the European Union, there were many left behind. Pensioners and low skilled workers struggled to make ends meet, often having to skimp in terms of food costs in order to pay for things such as rent and utilities. Many of the younger members of the society had left the land for better job opportunities in the cities, or to other EU nations. Food insecurity became a reality for many in the region surrounding Kuystendil.
Ten years ago, Pastor Stanimir had a dream, a dream of fulfilling one of the charges in Matthew 25, to feed the hungry. Stanimir had the realization that while sharing the Gospel and the Love of Jesus was important, men did actually need some bread to go along with their Bible lessons. He felt that people needed to have healthy bodies as well as healthy souls. His dream was to have some land that would provide freshly grown food for those in need.
Faithfulness and Patience
For Stanimir the realization of Pure Farm has been a decade of learning profound lessons and deepening his faith. For two years, Stanimir, his wife Borislava, the IFOSJ and church family prayed for guidance in fulfilling the dream to have a farm to help feed those in need. For two years they prayed, and then the verse in Proverbs came up in study, and Stanimir felt it was a direct confirmation from the Lord that his dream was sound and God inspired.
Through many conversations with local experts, farmers and producers, Stanimir came up with several criteria that any sort of land purchase must have. Through many ups and downs, deals and broken agreements, the perfect land came available. With the assistance of friends, family, volunteers from the US and Europe, the Church community and fellow IFOSJ members, Pure Farm came to be. Through the years-long process of raising funds, obtaining documents and finalizing the purchase, Stanimir and Borislava learned to run on God’s time.