It was 10 years ago that our family moved to Victory Acres. I think back over the many faces that have been at our dinner table, the many lives we have poured into, and the many people we have helped in this place. Hundreds have been touched by this farm. Thank you to all who have given to make this work possible. Without you, there would be no Victory Acres.
This is our 15th growing season at Victory Acres and there is a lot to celebrate!
- We have a newly renovated Garage gathering area. Thanks to a key donation and a lot of help, it is a fully insulated space with walls! This will make it more functional as a farm store, and our guests are using it daily.
- We have the start of a new Prayer Chapel. For several years, I felt that we needed a place at the farm dedicated to prayer and reflection. I sketched it out in one of my many “hopes and dreams” books. That plan began to take shape this spring thanks to Daniel Troyer and some volunteer helpers.
- Our family is personally building a house. When finished, it will mean that someone else can move into the farmhouse, expanding our housing capacity at the farm.
- Over the past two months we have walked the road with four different long term ministry guests: A homeless family – A father, mother and 11 year old boy from Indianapolis – trying to take the next steps on their journey towards being permanently housed, and Bryan,* a single man in his 50’s on his road to recovery from a meth and heroin addiction staying with us while waiting to get into a rehab program.
The Pandemic is forcing some changes upon us. Taylor University had been our primary customer, buying our vegetables from our greenhouse and growing operation. With them dismissed for the summer, we now have uncertainty about who will purchase our produce.
This is hitting the farm hard financially. It is with great sadness that we released Daniel and Mary Troyer from employment with us. The farm is no longer able to afford paying a farm manager. Moving forward, we will be depending on volunteers. We are praying that God will provide as we continue to work to make the ministry self-sustained. Please especially remember the Troyer family during this difficult time.
The future for everyone seems unclear at this point. “When will everything get back to normal?” Is a question on a lot of people’s minds. While we are not focused on all the bad that could be on the horizon, we recognize that God has Victory Acres here for His strategic Kingdom purposes. Having a place of hospitality and healing, a place where we can house people and grow good food, my become even more critical as events moves forward. Local food systems have always been important, but they may become vital if supply changes are disrupted internationally. If you would like to join us in our gardens, we welcome you. We envision it being a little like it was that first year of our CSA where we operated with an all volunteer team. Like the little red hen of the children’s book, we are asking, “Who will help us plant these seeds?” If you have some time and are interested in helping, please let us know. While we don’t have any employment opportunities, we hope to have lots of “bread” to share when the harvest arrives. Come grow with us as we rediscover the joy of true Community Supported Agriculture (minus the membership.)
Using a lot of repurposed materials, we have been able to keep the costs of building our Prayer Chapel low, but we need approximately $1,500.00 in material costs to finish it. If you are interested in helping with this project, you can send you gift marked “Prayer Chapel.” We will send you a picture and report when it is complete.
We are developing some tent camping sites at the farm as well. We hope to have those open to share in the next few weeks.
We have two harvests here at the farm – a physical harvest and a spiritual harvest. With God’s help, we plan to be faithful in both.
The cost of having and helping a ministry guest at our farm is $400 per person for a month. We are doing our best to make that “harvest” sustainable through the work we do and the food that we raise. However, would you consider helping us as we invest in people? Anything that you can do to stand with us during this time would be greatly appreciated.
We are very thankful for everyone who is standing with us during these challenging days, and we believe that God is going to see us through. May God richly bless you.
In Christian Love,
Eric Himelick, Director
Victory Acres Farm
A Division of Victory Inner-city Ministries, Inc.
5311 S 800 E, Upland, IN 46989
(765) 997-8448
