Summer vacation 2023: Taking some rest from the work of the last months, I was sitting in a camping chair, looking out over the lavender fields of southern France and praying to God that He would give me the opportunity to visit more farms which are owned by Seventh-day Adventists. Inspired by a short internship at a friend's farm, I wanted to gain even deeper insights and to learn from spiritual farmers who not only have a lot of experience but also put God at the center of their work.
My passion for gardening was neither natural nor taught to me. It took a few years in my walk with God to recognize the importance of gardening and to find joy in it.
Today, I could not imagine my life without gardening. As an integral part of true education, I appreciate all the blessings God has placed in gardening.
My enthusiasm in this field has grown steadily over the last few years. My desire to work more professionally, to be a blessing to others, and to honour God through gardening has also given me the opportunity to share my experiences with missionary students in recent years.
God blessed this work so much that many encouraged me to consider selling the fruit and vegetables I had grown.
„Selling my own produce?“ Would this step seem to be too much work for me? Above all, would I even have the time and financial means for such an undertaking?
But God was already preparing everything in the background. In answer to my prayer to be able to visit more Adventist farms, I received an e-mail from AdAgra in the USA during my vacation in the south of France.
In their newsletter they advertised the 5-day courses at Bountiful Blessings Farm in Tennessee, USA. The topic: Market Gardening. My enthusiasm was great. I had already heard a little bit about Bountiful Blessings Farm and the Dysinger family.
I signed up for the course and was looking forward to flying to Tennessee soon to visit a professional farm and learn there.
When I arrived, I found a beautiful farm run by very spiritual people. In the morning we had lessons in the classroom and in the afternoon we learned and worked outside on the farm. This combination really appealed to me.

The greatest blessing of these days was by far the realization of the Market Garden concept. Although I had heard and read about this form of gardening, the penny really dropped that week. I thought to myself:
What an ingenious system of gardening. The bio-intensive cultivation of vegetables on small areas, with great efficiency. I realized that you do not need hectares of land and big expensive machines to make a living from farming. The small farm concept of the Market Garden makes it possible for anyone, even on very small plots of land, to reap large harvests and market them strategically using the right cultivation methods, techniques and hand tools.
I was also very impressed by the soil-conservation cultivation methods. This question had been on my mind recently. How can you grow nutrient-dense food alongside large harvests? There was no question of growing organically, but it is not just about leaving out the bad, but rather, as in the Gospel, encouraging the good. In this case, giving the soil what it needs to create true nutrient packages.
Growing on permanent beds, without constantly tilling and digging up the soil, without the use of heavy machinery and yet making all this available to the soil in simpler, well-thought-out methods has now gained my full attention.
“That's it!” I thought to myself. This is how I want to garden in the future. Even the idea of selling the vegetables was no longer far-fetched. Everything seemed very coherent and simple to me.
The week, with many blessings, also of a spiritual nature in the company of dear people, flew by. Thank God, I had the opportunity to visit the farm again a month later, this time for 2 weeks, to attend another course, namely intensive cultivation in a market garden in winter, and to accept the offer to simply work on the farm for an additional week. Like the first visit, the second stay was marked by abundant blessings.
Back in Germany, I thought about how we could implement this concept at home. However, there were still many unanswered questions and the desire to work in such a professional market garden for a longer period of time, to experience the ins and outs of daily operations.
By now we knew that the farm in Tennessee offered a 6-8 month internship. This now became a daily prayer request for my wife and me. “Lord, is this the way You want to lead us? You have led us into gardening more and more intensively over the last few years, giving us growing joy, knowledge and experience. Is it Your will for us to take this step? Do you want us to become market gardeners for You?” Through the writings of Ellen White, it was clear to us that God calls for Christian farmers. They should honour God by being intelligent and diligent in their work, sharing their knowledge with others and winning people to Jesus through their work. This seemed like the perfect combination to my wife and me, and we recognized God's leading to take on the internship.

In March of this year, 2024, the time had come. This time I was not alone, but had my lovely wife with me when we landed at Bountiful Blessings Farm. Although we still have 2 months to go, I can already look back and say that our time here is probably the most practical and instructive mission school (if you want to call it that) that we have ever attended or led ourselves. In the book “Education”, Ellen White describes, among other things, how God defines school and how it should be run. We can truly say that we experience here the concept of true education on a daily basis.
Embedded in a very friendly and spiritual atmosphere, we spend most of our time doing practical work. So what does a typical day look like for us? After personal devotions, we start our work at 6 o'clock in the morning. After a short meeting and prayer, we head out into the fields. Here we prepare the beds, plant, sow, tend, irrigate, cultivate, harvest, wash, pack and sell the vegetables at markets or through the CSA program (community supported agriculture). The fact that this can now run smoothly after a few months for us as students, is thanks to the intensive training in all areas of the market garden. Throughout the internship, we studied various gardening books in addition to the books “Education” and “Counsels on Agriculture” by Ellen White. But it was above all the daily, practical aspect of being out in the fields and the customer contact at the markets that strengthened us personally in the thought that God will continue to lead us along this path.
We can already say that God has blessed us bountifully during this time. Not only have we gained a clearer understanding of all the processes of such a small farm, but above all the enthusiasm to implement this concept ourselves is characterized by great anticipation.
We can't wait to get started ourselves to do this important work in God's vineyard.
It was a simple request that I made to our Saviour a year ago. He has answered it abundantly. Now we are excited to see what doors God will open for us next.
If you would like to join us on this journey, check out “Farmers in Training” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Farmersintraining
Here you can simply learn and experience our journey with us.
“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38 KJV).

Timo Hoffmann, born and raised in Germany, was a former Heavy Metal Guitarist, who found his love in Jesus Christ and the Bible, which changed his whole life. Interested in a healthy lifestyle and natural remedies, he had run together with his wife, Anne-Marieke, a plant-based organic store and restaurant for several years. Currently, he studies market gardening at Bountiful Blessings Farm in Tennessee and wants to start his own Market Garden Farm.
Comentarios