First Things First

Although Kat and I have not purchased our farm yet we are making plans on how we will prepare our land for growing crops. I want to share with you our plans for the first year at Restoration Farms.

Once we have purchased and moved to the farm we will take some soil samples and get them analyzed. Once we know the condition of our soil we will begin to prepare it for our crops. We are estimating that our first year on the farm will consist of preparing the soil for the first harvest.

We will immediately purchase and erect our five Hoop Houses so that we can prepare for a winter crop. Hoop Houses are either made of pvc or metal pipe such as in the photo below.

A portion of our garden will consist of raised beds and some of them will have a soil base, some will be a mixture of 50% Cotton Burr Compost, 35% Peat Moss and 15% Rice Hulls and some will be a different mixture that we will come up with as a test beds. These beds we will be able to use immediately but the majority of the crop land will have to be prepared by sowing a combination of a grass and a legume as a cover crop.

Often, a combination of a grass and a legume is used, since this enhances biomass production and therefore mulch thickness, weed suppression and organic matter inputs. The combination also offers a balanced carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio, which gives a gradual release of plant available N, in contrast to the N-immobilization (tie-up) by an all-grass cover, or the rapid N release and potential leaching losses from an all-legume cover. The higher diversity of a two-species cover crop can also enhance allelopathy (suppression of weeds by natural chemical substances from the mulch), diversity of beneficial soil microbes, and nutrient effects. For instance, legumes tend to enhance availability of phosphorus (P), while grasses, especially rye, enhance availability of potassium (K). Rodale Institute

While we are preparing the no till beds for a later harvest we will plot out and fence the goat pasture and build the goat barn. Once completed we will purchase our goats, chickens, ducks and guineas. We will now begin to make soap from the goat's milk and sell the eggs from our chickens.

Our estimate is we will not produce any income from the farm for the first six months which will require us to work at least part-time for someone else. Our goal is to move from working for someone else, unless I am able obtain part-time employment as a pasture at a small rural church, to working full-time on the farm.

First Things First will be preparing the soil for our first harvest, building raised beds, erecting our hoop houses and getting the barn and pasture ready for goats.

We hope you will come back soon to check for more updates.

More Thoughts about the Farm

I want to share more about my ideas for each area of the farm.

Kat and I plan to be chemical free in our farming techniques. We probably won't apply to be classified as a Certified Organic Farm but we will keep the necessary records to show that we have not used chemicals in the crop production.

Crop Production
The crop production area will cover about 1 acre of our farm and consist of 3 16' x 48' Hoop Houses to grow crops in during the winter season. Each of these hoop houses will be slightly different in their construction so that we can do some research on the best set up. One will be a normal configuration, one will have the floor 5 feet below ground level and one will be a normal configuration but with a geothermal system used for heating and cooling.

We will have several areas of raised beds and some will have wide enough rows to enable wheel chair access. In the raised bed area we will examples of what people can do in various size back yards. Some of the raised beds will have a non-dirt mix used for the growing material but most will use soil as the growing material.

The remaining part of the 1 acre will be a no till garden.

In both the raised bed area and the no till area we will use a high, medium low planting. The high will be comprised of small apple trees, the medium will be comprised of Black Berries, Aronia Berries (Choke Berry) and Elderberries and the low will be comprised of vegetable type plants.

Goat Pasture
The Goat pasture area will also cover about 1 acre of grass land and consist of a loafing shed for protection from the elements, a small barn with a milking room, a bathroom with showering facilities and a small kitchen for milk production. Outside of this kitchen we will have a nice patio with a wood fired oven for baking breads and pizzas.

Restoration Center
The center will consist of one or two small RV trailers that can be hauled out on the farm and set up for guests. These units will not have water running to them until later but the restrooms will work. Electricity will be provided through a small solar panel and will provide minimum lighting. I will write more about my thoughts about how the Restoration Center would operate and how it could benefit churches, missionaries and wounded warriors.

The remaining acres of the farm will be comprised of woodlands and hay fields. We will cultivate wood for firewood, grow our own hay for our goats and grow plants that thrive in a woodland setting such as mushrooms.

Our plan is to use the farm as a teaching farm and make it available to teens in the local school district who want to join FFA but do not have the property for crop growing or animal care. The raised bed area will be used to provide gardening opportunities for people in wheel chairs or who are suffering from physical conditions that do not allow bending over. Kat will eventually provide soap and cheese making classes at the farm.

Our marketing opportunities will be Farmer's Markets, local Restaurants, Local Customers and Internet Customers. We hope to have an on site market comprised of used Grain Bins.

Please contact me if you have any questions or want to know more.

Larry
lnclark1950@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lars.clark
Author REAL Men RoCK blog

Faith Heritage

Faith Legacy

By Larry Clark

On April 9, 1865 the American Civil War came to a close and the job of reconciliation began. For Missouri and Kansas the war began in 1855 long before the official beginning of the War Between the States. The history of Missouri and Kansas was shaped by events surrounding John Brown’s raids into Missouri and those of the Border Ruffians into Kansas. In some respects the war has never really ended but is relived every winter when the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jay hawks meet on the basketball courts.

On August 25, 1863 Union Brigadier General Thomas Ewing issued General Order No. 11, requiring all people living in Jackson, Cass, Bates, and northern Vernon counties to vacate the area unless their loyalty to the Union could be proven. Those who were forced out had their houses and barns burned and this area became known as the Burnt District.

At the close of the war, western Missouri, which had been repeatedly ravaged by both armies, retained but few of its former inhabitants and scarcely any churches. At the request of Dr. Henry Kendall the Presbyterian Church commissioned Reverend Seth Gold Clark to assist in reorganizing Presbyterian work on the Missouri/Kansas border. What a daunting task the Presbyterian leadership was asking of Mr. Clark, who served as a Union Chaplain, who was captured by the Confederates in the siege of Atlanta and spent time in the Andersonville prison. He was schooled at the Western Reserve College, which was a hot bed for the anti-slavery movement. Could he gain the trust of a people who had suffered so much at the hands of fellow Americans who were anti-slave and who experienced the results of the order by a Union General Ewing? I believe we can by looking at his record reach the conclusion that Mr. Clark let God be the one who guided him and not his life experiences.

Of his beginnings in Missouri he once wrote: " The Board, by my request, made full provision for my salary the first year. I told them that if I went to such a burned-over country I did not want to intimate to any man, woman or child that a missionary needed anything to eat, drink or wear. I did not say money for a year, except when I paid my bills. The people were just as modest as I was—they never said money to me.

I obtained a hardy mustang pony, and went in all directions, preaching the gospel wherever I found an opening." Does that seem a haphazard method, not to be reasonably expected to produce good results?

In less than three years he organized churches at Holden in Johnson county: Greenwood in Jackson county; Harrisonville and Austin in Cass county; Butler, Lone Oak and Papinsville in Bates county; Hudson (now Appleton City) in 8t. Clair county, and Lamar in Barton county. Each of these churches he supplied until they were able to obtain regular services otherwise. Some years later two of these towns, unable to obtain expected railroads, died a natural death, as did their churches. Two other churches were outstripped by later organizations by other Presbyterian denominations. There remain today five good churches organized before 1870 by that one missionary " settled on horseback."

From 1871-76 Mr. Clark was financial agent for Highland University. The last two summers of that time were spent with a missionary tent outfit, furnished by Sunday schools in the East. He traveled through northern Kansas and southern Nebraska, preaching daily to congregations averaging 100 on weeknights and from 150 to 300 on Sundays. This was strictly pioneer work in regions beyond ministers and churches.

He was everywhere gladly welcomed. This tent work he was accustomed to regard as the most successful work of his life. During 1877-78 he supplied the churches of Iola and Carlyle, Kans.; 1879-80, Baxter Springs, Galena and Empire, Kans.; 1881-5, Rich Hill, Rockville and Hume, Mo., all three of which he organized.

He then spent ten years in southwestern Kansas, where he found nine counties adjoining, in neither of which was an organized church. During those years he organized eight churches, seven of which, in spite of drought and consequent depopulation of large districts, are still on our " Minutes."

The year 1895 was spent with the Church of Raymore, Mo., which under his labors was much revived, and built a beautiful house of worship.

At last, when nearly eighty, with mind and voice unimpaired, he was forced by physical infirmities to give up his active ministry. It was an affecting scene, when by vote of Presbytery he was " honorably retired," and recommended to the Board of Relief. All knew of his active life, and realized that it was not boastfulness, which led him to rise and say that, able as he then supposed to preach better than ever before, he would gladly sacrifice his right arm rather than go onto the Board, if only he were physically able to continue in the ministry. No service did he ever shirk as too hard, no field as too unattractive. Always and everywhere he loved to proclaim salvation to the uttermost through Jesus Christ. Like every other true missionary, he recognized no bounds of race or clime, but worked and prayed for the universal spread of the gospel. No wonder Miss Mary Clark, the daughter of such a home missionary, should be found today a foreign missionary in distant Persia.

What a record! It will never be fully written on earth. His mission work in at least five states, the organization of 31 churches, most of which during the time of his ministry erected houses of worship, his army chaplaincy, his evangelistic work in prisons, battle fields, mining camps, frontier settlements, and in well-established communities east and west, his vigorous advocacy of education at home and abroad—these are a few reasons why he will be long held in grateful remembrance. A few months ago he modestly wrote of himself that his had been “a very busy, checkered life; possibly some good may result.”

This is the story of my great, great grandfather who was a son of a small farmer. It is very interesting to me because today I am an ordained pastor who is getting ready to become a small farmer. This is a true legacy of faith.

I hope the above story has inspired just one person to take the time to trace their family tree and find out what nugget of interesting history they might uncover.

Restoration Farm Vision and Mission

Kat and I attended the Small Farm Conference in Columbia, MO recently and we feel we need to update the mission and vision of the Restoration Farm.

Restoration Farm

To be operated by Larry and Kat Clark

Vision

Restoration Farm is going to be a small farm that has three separate operations. Each operation has a focus of restoring the lives of people. We will grow healthy foods and educate in their use, we will sell soothing lotions and soaps for the body and we will provide a safe place for God to heal servants from the battles of ministry.

Location

The farm will be located in either Kansas or Missouri within a 90 mile drive to a metropolitan area with a population of 35,000 or more. Our target audience will be customers who attend farmer’s market, local restaurants and other fresh vegetable outlets.

Target

Although our customers who shop at farmer’s market and our restaurant customers have many vendors who offer fresh vegetables to choose from during the summer months they do not have any opportunity to purchase those same fresh vegetables in the winter. By growing some vegetables during the winter by using hoop tunnels we will be able to provide a select group of customers those same vegetables in the winter.

Mission

The Farm will have three different areas of operations:

Restoration Farm will sell vegetables grown without using chemical sprays or fertilizers, goat milk products and range free eggs. In addition we will bake in a wood fired oven fresh breads using milk from our goats and herbs from our gardens.

Restoration Farm will be an educational farm that provides opportunities for teens and the disabled to get their hands dirty in the gardens or with feeding and caring for the animals. We will also teach others the techniques we use on our farm.

Restoration Farm will have a not-for-profit center for the restoration of Christian servants and wounded soldiers. Our aim will be to provide a safe place for wounded or tired servants and soldiers to come and seek healing from God. It will be free to those who come but we will welcome their help in the barn or hoop houses. Working on the farm will not be required but we will always accept a helping hand. The approach to helping these servants will be one of encouragement and not counseling. We are not seeking to be fixers of people but servants of servants.

Restoration Farm - An Answer to Prayer

The following was posted at REAL Men RoCK blog

For the past five years I have been asking God to show me a ministry that my wife, Kat, and I can do together. At first I thought it might be an inner city ministry, then I thought it might be as traveling hosts and fill in ministers but neither of those panned out.

What God finally showed me through my wife, exactly what I asked Him to do, was that we would purchase and develop a small farm. In a nut shell it will be a small farm of 10-20 acres and we will grow crops that have been grown chemical free. We will also raise chickens and goats and give them only feeds that have been grown organically. We will produce cheese and soap from the milk from our goats. We will sell eggs laid by our chickens, ducks and guineas. A key part of the farm will be one or two cabins, the Restoration Cabins, that we will invite missionaries and ministers to come and stay in when they need to be restored from the battles that they are fighting.

Our plan is to make enough income from the farm and other income producing endeavors to fund the two small cabins or RV Trailers that will be used for the Restoration Cabins.

What I want to share in this post is something I have struggled with for years. It has to do with funding for the ministry I believe God is calling me to. What I struggled with was the idea of asking people to fund my dream or to contribute on a monthly basis to that dream or calling. For the longest time I struggled with this funding concept but on the trip that Kat and I took this month to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary I came to grips with the struggle.

I thought the struggle had to do with pride or having to depend upon someone else but on the trip it came to me that it really had to do with expecting other people to fund my dream instead of me earning what it would take to make it come true.

When I was growing up my dad provided me the example by working hard for what he had and spending only what he could afford. He was not a flashy man and he did not need to be the one everyone looked at as an expert. This is the approach we will use at the farm. We are funding it by investing our own money and the proceeds from selling the house we have in Louisburg, KS.

While traveling to a small farm outside Tulsa, OK I came to realize it is our responsibility to fund our dream. You see our dream is to live on a small farm and to do what God has made us for. We were made to serve others and the Restoration Farm will provide us with the opportunity to do exactly that. Most of all I came to realize that if someone else was funding my dream I would also be tied to what they wanted for my dream and I would not be free to pursue it from the heart. Funding it ourselves will be a risk and will cost us everything but we believe it is the right way for us.

I invite you to come read about the Restoration Farm and if you do I hope God will reveal the dream He has for your life.

25th Anniversary Road Trip

Kat and I went on a 5 day trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. On this trip we were able to visit with a woman who has been raising and milking goats for 25 years. We spent an hour asking questions and getting really honest and heart felt answers. We came back home energized to keep moving forward to making the Restoration Farm a reality.

We have a vision of this farm not only providing high quality chemical free vegetables and fruits to people who desire to eat better but to provide a place for missionaries and pastors who have a need to be restored from the battles they have been fighting.

We purchased a video called, "How to Make $100,000 Growing Vegetables" and it fired us up to following the ideas in this video as well as several other people who are experts in different areas of chemical free farming. What got us excited, was not the opportunity to make $100,000, but that we, two people who have a dream can with a little work make a good living growing healthy food.

Kat and I are now beginning our next 25 years and we are excited about the dream that we believe God gave us. It is a dream we can do together and use our gifts and talents to touch in a positive way the lives of many people.

We hope you are finding our journey exciting and encouraging for your own dream.

First Step

The first step in our process to making Restoration Farm a reality began today. We placed our house in Louisburg, KS on the market and it will be listed with ReMax of Louisburg.

Once our house has sold we will begin to look seriously for the farm that we will call Restoration Farm.

Sometimes as you go through a process like this you become disappointed with either how slow things are going or how things are developing. It isn't wrong to be disappointed but we need to avoid it becoming a discouragement.

With the housing market like it is our wait may be 6 months to a year before we can actually purchase the farm. In the mean time we need to be continually moving forward to our dream. It may mean taking a different route to our dream but we need to keep moving forward.

To me it is like this: Pray then plan, pray and then act, pray and then achieve. I believe as I pray and then act as if the prayer I just asked will be answered God will meet me wherever I am on the path to making the dream He gave me a reality.

The real first step just took place today. Please come back often to see what updates I have posted. Not every post will be an update but it could have a little nugget of gold just for you.

Update 9-16-2011 We experienced a minor hick-up this week when our realtor let us know she was changing agencies so it will be another week or so before our house actually goes on the market.

Next weekend Kat and I will be placing our house on the market with the hope that within the next six months it will sell and we can purchase a small farm which could look something like this.

We are planning our farm sort of along the line of the farm pictured in the article "Start a Self-Sufficient 1-acre Homestead we found in Mother Earth News. Although the farm mentioned in that article was only an acre we will probably increase it to two acres. We will need five to six acres to do this.

We will have 1 - 16 x 24 hoop and 2 - 16 x 48 hoops.

We plan to have an acre of Hay to be used for mulching but also for feeding our goats. We are thinking of trying to grow some blackberries in one of the hoop houses as well as out in a patch. We will use some raised beds both in the garden and one of the hoop houses and do intense
gardening in those plots.

I plan to have ten worm plots and a compost area that will also use red worms. We will search for horse and cow manure that has been raised on uncontaminated hay and feed. The compost we will use to build the soil and hopefully even sell at the farmer's market.

We are going to build an outdoor wood fired oven to bake breads and pizzas in. We will market these at the Farmer's market and other locations. Depending on the location of our farm we will work with other farmers to create a year round market.





We plan to have a wood burning stove for heating the house and build a simple geothermal unit made from 5 - 8 inch black piping one hundred feet in length and using a simple home made circulating fan box to move the air.

We will order good insects to help with attacking bad insects.

We plan to run our bath and laundry water to a tank and pump it to the hoop houses. We will also capture the rain run off from the hoops, barn and house and divert to the gray water tank. That tank will have a sump pump that automatically turns on when a certain level is reached and that water will be pumped to other tanks or the pond.

We will sell products made from goat's milk and we are going to learn how to make our own goat's milk cheese which we will sell.

We might have one Jersey cow but haven't decided on that yet.

Finally we are going to partner with the local school and get involved with the FFA or other groups to promote local small farms.

To earn extra income I hope to become a distributor of chemical free products and feeds (similar to what Roaring Eagle sells).

We are going to be able to do this and still have at least one cabin to offer out to pastors, missionaries and wounded soldiers free of charge.

We will develop good relationships with other farmers and trade with them for services that we need from them. We are going to visit some farms and hopefully learn things that they are doing that is successful.

Our goal is for Kat to quit working in January, that is if we have the farm, and I will continue to work either full-time or part-time. As soon as we can we will replace our outside incomes so that we can both begin to do the farm full-time. My guess is that could be a year or two from now.

We have prayed about it and worked on our plan believing that God would make it come about. We believe with this plan we can have this farm close to KC or close to Topeka or close to Lake Ozark or even down around Springfield and the plan will be successful because it targets a wide
range of customers with products easily obtained through the farm we will put together.

Ambitious plans but I believe they are all doable.

The good news is once our house sells we should be able to do this without increasing our debt much more than what we have now and at the same monthly payment.

We believe that the above plan will not only provide us a sustainable farm but it will bring glory to our God who has provided the plan and abilities to us.

The Search Continues

It has been a while since an update on the property search so here is the most recent info.

We found 13 acres we liked and so we made an offer. They countered and we were ready to accept and then we approached the bank. What we discovered was we have excellent credit but although we had on top of that 30% to put down on the property the loan was going to cost us more than we wanted to put out right now. Then the bank asked what type of house we were going to build and when we shared our dream they told us they could not make a loan on an unconventional structure.

It seems that people who bought more than they could handle has caused those of us who pay our bills on time and who purchase things only within the limits of our budget to be limited in what we can actually purchase.

What Kat and I have decided to do is get our house ready for showing and sell it first and then beat the bank at it's game by purchasing 5-10 acres with a house. We are finding we can actually purchase almost as much property as we wanted with a house on it for the amount that we were going to pay for just the land. We actually might come out with the same or even lower monthly payments.

I think the lesson here is just because things don't go as planned at first that doesn't necessarily mean the game is over. Remember God always has something better in plan.

I know that the following song by John Prine has nothing to do with what I just wrote but within the song is a message about what we all are actually searching for.

Property Search

Today Kat and I made an offer on 13 acres located south of Princeton, KS.

We are hoping that the offer will be accepted and that the target date of taking ownership of September 2nd can be met. This date is somewhat meaningful to me. It was on September 3rd 1972 that my dad died and it was September 3rd 2010 that God began me on a journey of discovery about my great, great grandfather. Now in 2011 the day before that anniversary date He just might be providing our next opportunity.

Here is the overhead view of the property.

Kat and I have added some new ideas to our business plan. We are going to build a commercial grade wood oven and our cabins have been replaced with The Garden Shed and The Goat Shed.

We are excited that God is taking us on this journey and we are glad we did not hesitate in answering the call.

It has been my experience to shrink back when facing obstacles but this time I have pressed forward trusting that God will work out what I cannot and He has.

More to come as we move forward.

Thanks for reading.

The Search Continues 7-10-11

Today Kat and I took another drive to look at property. Our plan was to visit two new pieces of property and look at two we had already visited.

The first was 10 acres located outside of Waverly, KS. It has a creek running through the property, trees and open spaces. As we walked along in the 104 degree temperature and the sweat was rolling down our backs we felt good about this piece of property. It is priced right and really appealed to us.

The next piece of property was 13 acres near Richmond, KS that we had looked at before and felt it was too secluded. As we drove onto the land we decided to walk down the hill to the pond.










As we topped the hill we felt a cool breeze flowing up over us. It made the temperature feel about 10 degrees lower. This property has trees, a creek, lots of open space and shares a pond. The property is located north of Richmond, KS which is 54 miles from Lawrence, 66 miles from Topeka and 54 miles from Olathe.






This is a photo of the south east corner of the property. This is where we would locate the visitor's cabin.










This view is looking pretty much straight south from the road to the creek and trees.













This view is down along the tree line and creek.













The next piece of property was about five miles away and as we drove up to it we kept driving.

The last piece of property was 18 acres located south of Osawatomie we had walked three times before and were really impressed by it. It has a pond, trees and open spaces. It has new goat type fencing around the property. It is not secluded and is only about 30 miles from Olathe and located on Hwy 169.

As Kat and I talked after viewing the properties we felt as though the Holy Spirit had spoken to us as we walked the property near Richmond. It has the most potential, the best price, had a cool breeze and is located almost centrally between our future market possibilities.

Please join us in praying about this property as we prepare an offer to present to the seller.

The Search Continues

Often in life what appears to be a good thing turns out not so good. That is how our search for property has been. For example the description of one piece of property sounded good. It had a pond and the two out buildings looked good in the photo.

As Kat and I drove onto the property we began to get the real picture. The barn looked bigger in the photo and in good shape from a distance. The pond turned out to be nothing more than a 30 foot circle with lots of cattails.

As we walked the property we had a good laugh because what we thought was the property from the air turned out to be the property across the street which of course looked good even from the ground.

Life is like that. What sounds like a great deal often turns out not so good. The key is what we do when we realize things aren't as good as what we thought. Kat and I have chosen to laugh and keep looking. We know that we are not going to find the perfect place and that everything is not going to be exactly the way we want them to be. What we do know is if we keep open to what God wants we lead us to the place He wants us to have. What appears to be imperfect will be made perfect in Him.

We began this journey knowing there would be bumps in the road and that detours would come. Some of those bumps and detours happened because of my insecurities and some because life happens. One of my insecurities has to do with finances. I do not want to go heavily into debt and I want to have a plan for paying the bills. That insecurity can come across at times in a negative way especially given my tendency to be somewhat defensive and maybe even direct when I feel that insecurity rubbed. Wanting to have the finances figured out is not a bad thing but the insecurity of it controlling me is.

One of the things rubbing that insecurity was the location of the farm. Property tends to be more expensive closer to large cities and in counties with a lot of building restrictions. What Kat and I have decided to do is look for less property and maybe a little farther out from highly populated areas. We are finding we can purchase more acreage for less money if we move the farm's location just 30 or 50 miles farther out. The downside of course is there seems to be less market or the perception that the market is less the farther out we go.

What we have decided to do is change our idea of our market. For example one of the markets we were going to seek out was Restaurants, which the Kansas City area has many to choose from. One of the areas we are looking at is close to the Lake of the Ozarks, which has a good number of high quality Restaurants. Another market was going to be people who had high incomes who would join a CSA or want fresh vegetables delivered to their door. Lake of the Ozarks has a similar population although it may be a little more spread out. In reality the markets are similar although they appear different.

For me a key part of the Restoration Farm's focus is going to be on providing a safe environment for pastors and missionaries who are in need of restoration from the experiences they have had. Since we are not going to be actively seeking funding from churches or organizations we feel locating in a less costly area with less restrictions will allow us to provide a nicer setting for the Restoration Center.

So what we are doing is opening up the search to a distance of 135 miles to the east and south of Kansas City and 70 miles to the west and south of Kansas City. We have a plan if the property is located near Lake of the Ozarks and we have a plan if it located closer to Kansas City. We believe both plans have been generated with the guidance of God and both require us having faith that He will guide us in the process.

Detours will come and plans will change but the dream will remain the same.

Thanks for dropping by to read the latest post.

Being Open to Change in Plans

As Kat and I travel the road of making The Restoration Farm a reality we have found that there are detours in the road now and then. As we take those detours we realize that as one part of the dream sort of closes something new always takes it's place.

For example in my last post I shared about our dream home.

I have also shared some of the properties we have looked at. One particular property has many of the things we are looking for such as proper fencing and a pond but part of the property line is facing a highway. From certain parts of the property the noise of a passing trailer truck can be heard. Farther back on the property the noise level is not as high but the trucks can still be heard. At first this seemed to be a big negative. Upon visiting the property again this week we noticed that as we walked the property the noise of passing vehicles was evident but it was not as bad as we first thought.

We discovered something this week which we knew all along and that is important in our journey. When faced with a detour we need to remember that God is driving the vehicle and that He knows what route we need to take to get to our destination, "The Restoration Farm".

For example, our dream home along with the cost for the property we like would be about $20,000 more than what we were hoping to spend. Earlier this week I received an email from www.barns.com and we began to research building a barn for our house. What we found is we can build a nice looking barn style house on the property we like for about $20,000 less than the land and log cabin price.

Here is what the barn style house would look like minus the garage doors in the picture.

This building is actually about 200 square feet more space and it, in our mind, is just as attractive.

Most importantly it keeps our plan within the budget that we have set.

We believe what looked like a detour is turning out to be the plan God has in mind for us.


The lesson we believe that God wants us to learn from this process is that reaching our destination requires us to move with faith. As we do so we might find a detour in the journey but if we continue to move in faith God will always lead us along the right road.

In the case of the property and housing. The property is priced about $20,000 more than we want to spend but the barn style house is about $20,000 less than what we had budgeted for housing. If I had not been open to looking beyond the facts we may have taken the wrong path to our dream. It would not have been a sin but it could have resulted in going deeper into debt than what we needed to.

I hope that God spoke to you about something in your own life that looks like a major road block or detour to your dream. I encourage you to look beyond whatever lies in your path and let God make the path straight for you.

Our Dream Home

Kat and I have looked at so much land the last three months that I think we know every gravel road in Bates County and almost as many in Kansas. We have narrowed our search down to looking for 10-15 acres and we are close to the location that we want to be in.

This is a photo of the cabin we want to build on it.






To ensure we have water for the gardens we plan to have a water well dug and then connect a wind mill to it for drawing water.

One piece of property we looked at this week had a sunset going on almost like the one pictured here.


Hopefully in the next week or two we can post a photo and overhead shot of the land we will call The Restoration Farm.

Kat and I are excited that God is leading us in the direction we are going. We both know that in the beginning it will require some hard work but once we have established some success things will get easier. But we are prepared that as often is the case in life it will not get easier but more challenging.

Kat is learning more about emergency preparedness, which she hope to pass on to others through classes held at our small center. The center will have a small kitchen and meeting area, a laundry and restrooms with showers. The center will not be very large but sufficient for what we plan to do.

I am putting together the plans for the small cabin(s) that we will provide to pastors and missionaries. These cabins will be rustic but comfortable. My idea for the center and cabins is to provide a safe place for servants to spend some time getting healing and without someone trying to fix them. I believe God's Holy Spirit will do the fixing and my job is to provide the environment.

We have put together our budget and believe we have narrowed things down to fit well within that budget. We believe God wants us to do this within the budget we currently have and right now it is within $150 per month of our current monthly expenses, which Kat and I are very pleased with.

Check back soon because you never know when God will take us to that piece of property that says The Restoration Farm all over it.

Property Near Archie, MO

Kat and I went to look at an 8 acre piece of property today and I forgot to take my camera but I did take one photo with my phone.

The photo to the left is taken looking back to the entrance.

The photo below is of the property.

The next photo is how we think the property layout looks like.

This piece of property is about the right size for what we want to do and it is within the right mileage from Kansas City.

As we build our farm and the center we will encounter disappointments and even set-backs but if we keep our faith that God gave us the dream and that He is behind us we will in the end accomplish it with His help.

We believe that above all else what we do must bring glory to our God and our Savior Jesus. If what we do does not bring glory to God no matter what is accomplished it will be worthless.

I encourage you to purchase the book "The Dream Giver" written by Bruce Wilkinson. In this book Bruce describes people and giants that will enter into your life as you move forward to achieve your God given dream. He also points out how some people will try to rob you of your dream and that takes many forms. He points out that you must move forward towards your dream and not wait for it to happen. He points out the giants of no money and discouraging people who will try to hold you back. He shows you how to keep moving forward in faith and how to work out those situations.

Sometimes part of your dream has to be change so that you can achieve your dream.

I believe the winning formula for success is: God gives the dream + we believe and move forward to accomplish it + we surrender the dream back to God = God bringing the dream into reality. God gave me the dream but in the end it is really the dream that He wants to accomplish through me. My job is to keep moving forward in the accomplishment of the dream.

You might be asking what exactly is a dream? It is different for each individual. One thing for sure is it burns in your heart when you either think of it. For one being the best mom is the dream and for another being the best dad is it. For one having a small bakery is the dream and for another it is running a major corporation. For another it is feeding the homeless and for another is being a pastor of a church. No matter what your dream is if it is God given, you dedicate your time and effort to achieving the dream, which He gave you and if you give it back to Him then it will bring Him glory as long as you remember who the dream is actually for in the first place. In my best English, "It ain't for you", "It's not about you", "It's all about bringing glory to our God, our King, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our dream has gone from being a 20 acres sight down to possibly 8 acres but it is still a BIG dream because it is still God's dream for us. I encourage you to follow what God has placed in your heart and don't let people or giants or stand in your way. It is up to you not someone else to do what God has placed in your heart. Your dream was designed for only one person, YOU. Unless you do it, it won't get done.

I believe you can do it. More importantly God believes you can do it or else He would not have given you the dream in the first place.

Land Search continues

Kat and I went looking several pieces of land today and this is the one we liked most.

18 acres south of Osawatomie, KS

Property Outside of Freeman, MO

We continue to look for property even though we found some up by Plattsburg, MO that we liked. Here is 15 acres I looked at today, May 18th. It is sort of like a backward C and is certainly interesting. It is located just 42 miles south of downtown Kansas City.

There are several pluses to this property and a few negatives. The pluses are water, electric and gas lines are close. One negative is it is in Cass County and would have more code restrictions. Another goat farm is just down the road so the restrictions would be more along the building code area. Another big plus to me is it would still be within driving distance to the Vineyard Church in Overland Park and my G-Kids.

Kat and I walked this property yesterday after it having rained all day and we found that several areas have drainage problems and the property is not really good for the vision of the Restoration Farm.

We are confident that God will reveal the right property at the right time.

15 Acres near Freeman, MO

Property near Plattsburg

Kat and I visited this property today. It is 20 acres with about 4-5 in trees and the rest open field. It has electric leading to property and possibly water. There are four pasture areas and trees along the cover the north and north east sides of the property. It has a small pond and a creek that runs along the north and north east sides of property. The property is about 45 miles from downtown Kansas City and 54 miles from downtown Overland Park, KS.



Property near Plattsburg, MO

Restoration Center at Restoration Farm

Restoration Center

One of the Missions of Restoration Farm will be to be an instrument God uses to provide a place for Christian servants to retreat from the battles of ministry. We will have two small units available for pastors, missionaries and other servants to stay in for a few days free of charge.

We would like for them to be small cabins with floor plans like these:

But to begin with we will probably have small RV Trailers like the one pictured below for our guest to stay in.

No matter which we have the units will be clean and very comfortable.

Each morning we will bring fresh eggs, goats milk cheese and some vegetables to the front door and leave them hopefully without disturbing the guest.

Our guest will be welcome to work or spend time in one of the gardens, one of the hoop houses, help feed and milk the goats or they can walk the grounds and among the trees.

Although the cabins will have electricity and running water they will not have radios, televisions or computers.

These units will be placed far enough away from the hoop houses, barn and our living spaces to give our guest whatever privacy they choose. They may have to deal with a stray chicken now and then but for the most part they will be fairly secluded. These units will probably not have a drive leading up to them so will require either walking to the unit or having us drive the guest up in a golf cart type vehicle.

Our goal is to have these two get away units available in the spring of 2012.

Hope you will come back and read updates as we each build our own piece to the mission of the Restoration Farm.

The Restoration Center

The Restoration Farm – Restoration Center Cottages

One of the goals at The Restoration Farm will have two cottages that will be available to Pastors, Missionaries and Servants who need a place to unwind, be restored or to spend time alone with God. The cottages will be free of charge to those who are recommended by a church, ministry, or organization that has contributed to the funding of the Restoration Center.

At the Restoration Center there will be a conference center that small groups can use and that will house a library with resources men and women can take back to the cottage and read.

We hope that you will join us in this journey and make a contribution that will make these resources available to Pastors, Missionaries and others who need to find restoration from the battles of life.

The Restoration Farm and the Restoration Center are operated by Larry and Kathryn (Kat) Clark and is a Christ centered operation. We pray that this Center will be a safe place that God can use to bring healing and restoration to hurting servants.

About The Restoration Farm

Restoration Farm is a small farm that has four separate operations. Each operation has a focus of bringing restoration to the lives of people. Whether through healthy foods to eat, soothing lotions for the body or providing a place for God to heal wounds from the battles of ministry.

* LKClark LLC will be operated by Larry and Kathryn Clark.

* The Research Farm will be operated by Larry Doyle.

* The Restoration Cabins and Center will be operated by Larry Clark as a non-profit center.

The projected date of the Restoration Farm being in operation is the fall of 2011 with the first crop being harvested in early spring of 2012. In the beginning the Farm will have two 16’x24’ Hoop Greenhouses. We hope to have the Restoration Center open in 2012.

The Restoration Farm will be located within a short drive of Kansas City, Missouri.

The Restoration Farm will be profitable because we will provide a unique variety of products with an extended growing season. The Farm’s clientele will be diverse, including but not limited to Farmers Markets, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), Restaurants, Local Grocery Stores and Internet Sales. See attached supporting spreadsheet of income projection. Another reason the Farm will be profitable because we will not limit our growing seasons and will be continually researching new methods of increasing the quality and quantity of our crops. The Farm expects to have a variety of crops to harvest each season of the year.

What you will find at this blog are posts about what Larry and Kat. You will see the farm go from a dream to a reality and then watch as it grows.

We are Reaching our Potential, as we Live our Dreams, through the Touching the lives of hurting People.