GIT Newsletter [1805] - May 2018

Lead
Bless
Learn
Equip
Serve
NEWSLETTER: MAY 2018
ROMANS 1:20
“For since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes, His eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are
without excuse.” - - Romans 1:20
Grounded in the Word
Grafted in the Vine
Bearing fruit for
the Kingdom

Visit our website at www.growingingintorah.com
GIT MAY 2018
NOTE FROM
GIT DIRECTORS
G
reetings from Orosi!
GIT 2018 is well under way, and
we have a great group of
students.
Since the beginning of this
semester, the students have
already experienced processing
a bull and chickens, bottling wine,
field prep, field planting, a day
trip to the beautiful Sierra
Nevada Mountains, and hosting
our first annual Feast of
Unleavened Bread Conference.
There’s so much more to learn
and experience, and we are
excited and honored to be part of
it.
UNLEAVENED
BREAD FEAST
O
n
April 5th
through
April 8th,
the Barnes family hosted their first annual
Unleavened Bread Conference! We had families
from all over the country come and celebrate the
first feast of the year with us here at Growing In
Torah. We had a marketplace for buying and selling
handmade, homemade items, and we were able to
offer our first GIT- pressed wine to our donors! We
also sold seeds and soap from here on the farm. My
favorite part of the conference was the vast
multitude of people I got to meet. I met so many
new people, and I really enjoyed the conference
over all. The people that come are the biggest part
of the conference. We need to stand together -
“Iron sharpens
iron, and one
man sharpens
another.”
- - Kennedy P
(GIT Student)
Shalom,
Bryan & Karla
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CHICKEN PROCESSING
Growing In Torah
I really liked the chicken processing, much more than I
thought I would. I had never seen this before; just seeing
the newly-hatched chicks grow to 6-7 pounds in a month was
amazing. We processed 44 free-range organic birds and 50 free-range conventional birds.
The difference in weight, and fat content, were interesting. By the way, we are still selling
these birds, and both tasted amazing. It was great, and I learned a lot from it, and am glad
that someday I will know how to butcher a bird on my own. - - Michael M (GIT Student)

FEATURED STUDENT
CROP
REPORT
S
o far, we’ve planted tomatoes over at the
Leppke’s, and have been keeping the weeds
down. We have also started planting here at
the GIT farm. Mr. Barnes bought fertilizer, so we’ve
been spreading that manually over the garden by the
wheelbarrow full. We covered the rows in plastic,
and started our planting. Unfortunately, some of our zucchini plants in the greenhouse died
due to the plastic coming off one section, and the frost got to them. The list of plants we’ve
planted include: lettuce, more tomatoes, beans, beets, watermelon, okra, cucumbers, and a
few others that I can’t remember. It can be really hard on your back and feet while you are
transplanting the plants, but once you’re done, it’s worth it. - - James N (GIT Student)
THE WONDER OF WEEDS
I
had
will just scrape the top, leaving the root to grow back another
day. Our secular philosophers and self-help books are like
this. On the other hand, it’s equally hard to weed in the
Muddy ground. Weeds sink back into the muck after
you pull them out, so you can’t determine which ones
you’ve pulled. The same is true for a new convert to
the Walk. Trying to do everything at once, leaves you
bogged down in details. However, when the ground is
just wet enough to be malleable, you can cut straight
to the root and remove the weed. Thus, as Paul said,
let’s start with the basics, working our way from there.
an epiphany one day in the field. It is easiest to weed while the ground is a little wet.
When you’re weeding dry earth, you’re able to remove the weeds, but it is hard and not
guaranteed that you’ll remove the root. In all likelihood, you
- - Cameron C (GIT Student)
Hi! My name is Lily. I was born in Canada, but when I
was 8 yrs old we moved to Brazil to do missions. I
came to GIT to strengthen my relationship with Yah
and learn to defend what I believe. My favorite part of
farm life is learning something new everyday. The Bible
states that on 6 days you work, but on the 7th you rest.
I’ve always focused more on the resting, but working 6
days brings much more meaning to Shabbat. To learn
more about my family, check out www.mishpahah.org
LILY ANN
BARBOSA da SILVA
www.growingingintorah.com
GIT MAY 2018
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Visit our website at www.growingingintorah.com
GIT MAY 2018
4
GREAT JONES
ADVENTURE
W
e
loaded
up our
trucks with all the tools necessary for the job, and
headed to the Jones’ property at 9:00am sharp.
When we pulled up, we didn’t waste a minute of
time; we hopped out, and got right to work. There
were a lot of sticks that needed to be picked up,
grass that needed to be cut, and weeds that needed
to be whacked. I thought it was going to take a long
time to get the work done, but with 11 sets of
hands, it actually went by very quick! In my life, I
really haven’t worked outside a lot like we have
been doing here at the farm, and I remember saying
to someone while
working, “I love
being outside,
using my body to
work like this. It
feels so good!” And
Mr. Jones kept us
company from time
to time talking
basketball as we
worked – much appreciated, Mr. Jones! It was a
blessing to us GIT’ers to be able to give back to a
deserving couple from our fellowship group.
- - Alexis H (GIT Student)
YOU ARE GOING WHERE?
Growing In Torah
My friend’s reaction was, “YOU? ON A FARM? HAHAHA
YEAH RIGHT....OH, YOU’RE SERIOUS?” I’d been feeling stuck
and wanted to move to a big vibrant city. So YAH laughed, and
sent me to a farm in little ol’ Orosi. My first impression was, “Ok. not bad - not better - just
different. Wait, EW spiders, flannel shirts & work boots?” Getting out of your comfort zone
brings growth! Now, my mindset has completely readjusted, and I like the peace & serenity
of the farm! I now enjoy starting the day early. - - Alexis H (GIT Student)

SNOW
DAY
O
ur first GIT field trip was to the Sequoia/Kings Canyon
National Park located about 45 minutes away from the
GIT farm. The drive up to the mountains was so breath
taking. We looked at many famous tall trees, old historical
structures, and huge tree stumps that you could actually walk
through (How amazing is that?). The best part was being able
to have a snowball fight with everyone which reminded me of
my childhood.
- - Matthew M (GIT Student)
BEE SWARM
D
uring our Agriculture class with Mr. Molinar, he got a call to take down a swarm of bees
at Fresno State University; and Kennedy, Matthew, Michael and I got the privilege to tag
along! After a 40-minute drive, we arrived to see a huge swarm of bees! Mrs. Shannon
was there to help us, and she offered to share one of her suits with me. So, Mrs. Shannon and I
held up the bee hive while Mr. Molinar smacked the branch over the
box causing the bees to fall into the box (or hive). Being one of
the people holding the box was scary because when the HELP US
bees fell in, they started flying everywhere, including
GROW!
my face, but there was no harm because I was wearing
protection. I remained calm and held the box steady to Help us meet the needs of our
prevent a disaster. Some bees tend to go back to where students. To make a donation,
they were, so after a few minutes, we had to smack go to: https://give.cornerstone.
them in to the box again. After that I got the privilege
cc/growingintorah/
of taking a tray out of the box and holding thousands
of bees in my hand! It was a wonderful experience, &
I'm glad that I took advantage of every second of it!
- - Lily B (GIT Student)
www.growingingintorah.com
DORMS UPDATE
We are getting ever closer to begin building, but we
have run into a few snags with the county and our current
septic facilities. We were blessed during the Feast of
Unleavened Bread to receive the funds that should cover the septic, so we are still hopeful
to begin building those dorms in the near future. If you are in agreement with the things
you see happening on the farm, please consider making a donation to the building fund at:
https://give.cornerstone.cc/growingintorah/
GIT MAY 2018
5

newsletter design by mark honberger
GIT MAY 2018
Our Location
41781 Road 142
Orosi, CA 93647
info@growingintorah.com
What
Is GIT?
Growing In Torah is a College-Age
program beginning in March, and ending in
the Fall with the Feast of Tabernacles harvest
festival. GIT takes place on a central CA farm.
“Training Students to Bless the Land,
and the People of the Land”
MEET THE STUDENTS
Farm life teaches important life skills, like:
hard work, dedication to detail, patience,
tenacity and humility. We strive to plant these
skills within our young men and women.
The Bible was written to an agricultural
society. Like Yeshua, who used agricultural
analogies in the parables, we use this
agricultural perspective to teach and train our
students both in the physical and spiritual. At
GIT, we are all about getting back to our roots,
and it is a rewarding experience to see this
come to life in our student volunteers as they
get their hands dirty, growing in Torah.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Alexis Hemker—20, Illinois
Kennedy Partain—17, Montana
Lily Barbosa da Silva—18, Brazil
Matthew Marceau—26, Brazil
Michael Marceau—24, Brazil
Cameron Carper—22, Texas
James Nitz—18, Arizona
ROMANS 1:20
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