If you’re looking to get involved and support our ministry during this holiday season, we have many ways you can do so, just visit our Projects page. Our parent organization, Children’s Camps International, also has many ways you can support the ministry through Gift Giving.

Christmas is a great time to enjoy the fellowship of friends and family, but let us not forget those less fortunate than us.
“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.” ~Mother Teresa

On behalf of Harvest for Kids and Children’s Camps International, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
May God bless you and your families.

September 5th was definitely a day of celebration as farmers north of Saskatoon came together to harvest a 1/4 section of canola, all in support of Harvest for Kids.

This past winter, a vision was put before a group of farmers; To help children around the world receive the hope they deserve through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

This led to preparations of bringing awareness and excitement about Harvest for Kids to new territory by donating their crop for the cause.

A total of 15 combines harvested the field designated to Harvest for Kids all as part of a launch to bring an even greater harvest to the area. This is just one of a few crops that the group will be harvesting this year. Plans are well underway to set a new world record in 2012 for the most combines harvesting a field.

I would like to personally thank all of the farmers for their hard work. We look forward to greater things to come. Praise the Lord!

You can see more photos of the event on the Harvest for Kids Saskatchewan page.

Be Blessed!

Derek

We at Harvest for Kids would like to thank all those farmers who have been involved with our projects and those who are currently involved. Many have donated loads of grain, acres of land, time and money towards benefiting children in the developing world. We invite all those who would like to know more to please email us at info@harvestforkids.com or call the office at (204) 331 4003.

Canola being harvested in Saskatchewan for Harvest for Kids will be taken off in the coming days and we’re praying for safety and great yields!

Our North Dakota farmers are getting ready for their harvest celebration on October 22nd and all are invited to join in the fun. There will be food, fellowship and great live entertainment!

Have a blessed harvest season!

My family and I had the privilege of attending Victory Family Church in Altona for an amazing service led by the guys of High Valley. Not only do we love their music, but also how they continue to bless us with their willingness to give to a greater cause.

Last fall we filmed the “On the Combine” video with High Valley, incorporating footage from our Harvest for Kids event. Click here to see the video. Since then, they’ve taken our name and our cause on the road, encouraging people to get involved with the Harvest for Kids Connexions program. We’ve seen thousands of children benefit from amazing partners here in Canada and the U.S.A.

Many more joined together with Harvest for Kids that Sunday in helping reach out to children in the developing world.
Browse our website or contact us to see how you can get involved and make a difference.

The photo above is the corn being planted on a 27 acre piece on the edge of town.

Be Blessed!
Derek

Send an email to info@harvestforkids.com to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter or learn how you can get involved!

We’ve been working with a group of farmers in Saskatchewan who have their eyes set on a goal of reaching thousands of children with the Gospel. They are using their gifts and talents and what God has called them to do for a living to make that difference. Over the years to come farmers will be donating crops and loads of grain for Harvest for Kids sending kids to camp with Children’s Camps International (CCI).

We’ve also started a project getting livestock producers involved. We realize that cash donations may be difficult to make, but you might be willing to give of your time on the farm. Our livestock program involves raising a calf, designated as a Harvest for Kids (H4K) calf. The cost of raising the calf is your contribution to the ministry. When the calf is sold as a feeder or finished animal, the proceeds of the sale will go to CCI, bringing the Gospel to children around the world. Would you like to get involved and raise a H4K calf?

Please continue to pray for our ministry as we continue to share Jesus with those in need around the world.

Ask anyone who was on the trip and the first thing you’ll hear will be something like, “It was amazing!” The next thing they’ll probably tell you is that getting into a vehicle in India is like boarding a roller coaster at an amusement park, you’re terrified and your adrenaline surges, but in the back of your mind you know you’ll arrive at the end in one piece. That may just be my take on it though…

They will probably also tell you about all the beautiful children they met…

and just the overall beauty of the country.

There is so much more that I could say and sometimes I wish a trip like this could be summed up in pictures and words, but it really needs to be experienced to be fully understood. To get a taste of what it’s like, ask us about what we do.

Something even more amazing that we continue to see again and again is the passion and the unity of the pastors. We’ve attended a few of their monthly meetings where they greatly encourage one another. Together they are reaching children and positively impacting their communities.

Today we walked over to one of the rougher areas of Trichy. The guys from High Valley had a guitar and were singing songs and interacting with the children as they came out of their homes. The smiles on their faces as they learned a new song was priceless. Hopefully it was as memorable for them as it was for us.

Tomorrow we make a trek back to Chennai for our last couple days in India. The trip already seems too short and it’s not even over yet. Amazing things are happening here in India and we are so thankful we have been able to see them firsthand.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we finish out our time here, encouraging the people we meet and being encouraged by them as well.

The first thing that I think we all noticed was the very distinct smells coming from every direction, whether it was the smell of curry from a nearby food vendor or diesel exhaust from the hundreds of cars and motorcycles driving in organized chaos on every street.

Another thing that seems to be commonplace is a sort of randomness to everyday life, mostly we’ve experienced this from riding in vehicles and sitting back in awe as horns and lights seem to not mean anything at times and sometimes they mean a whole lot. That’s why we leave the driving to them, the way they drive and navigate the cities is quite amazing.

Today we attended the Coimbatore Pastors Conference with approximately 700 pastors in attendance, the guys from High Valley led the group in a couple songs of worship and CCI President, Ray Wieler and Pastor Tim Sawatzky from Victory Family Church Altona shared words of encouragement.

The amazing thing is, only about 200 of the pastors are currently working with Children’s Camps International (CCI), the other 500 are waiting for the opportunity to join as soon as the funds are available. This is a real motivation for us at Harvest for Kids and CCI to raise awareness and finances so these pastors can be equipped to reach hundreds of children in their communities.

Looking forward to the youth conference tomorrow and experiencing more of the Indian culture. Please pray for us on this trip and pray for this nation!

If you’d like to stay up to date with what’s going on while we’re in India, I will be posting blogs whenever an internet connection is available. You can also follow team members Derek Unrau and William Knelsen who will also be posting as they experience India.

Together with High Valley, Harvest for Kids will be making the long trek across the ocean. Our goal is to encourage the local leaders, experience what life is like in India, and bring back compelling stories to share with those who support this ministry and those who wish to know more. Those who support Harvest for Kids and Children’s Camps International will get to see how their partnership makes an impact. We will be documenting the trip through photography and videography of the children’s camps, a youth conference, pastor’s meetings and general day-to-day Indian life.

Along with the stories of personal experiences that we’ll undoubtedly bring back, interviews with local leaders and children will be another great way for us to share how Harvest for Kids and Children’s Camps International is impacting lives in the developing world.

We will also get a full experience of local transportation as we fly from Chennai to Coimbatore, take the train from Coimbatore to Thiruchirapalli, and drive from Thiruchirapalli back to Chennai. View our travel route here.

As we try to capture the essence of the work that Children’s Camps International does in India, we ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel and adjust to our new cultural surroundings.

If you wish to support a camp through our Connexions program click here.
For general donations click here.

The tour took us from Manitoba to British Columbia and all who attended were treated to a great show. The talent and passion for music that came from the stage every night shone through in each performance and the message of the music was unmistakable. The crowd really connected with the message, which was shown through a great response to our Connexions program. A huge thank you to those who signed up for a Harvest for Kids Connexion, thousands more children will now be able to attend camps and have the chance to feel a sense of worth and receive a hope they never thought was possible before.

If you haven’t yet, you too can be a part of this and sign up for a Connexion today!

We are really excited for what the future holds for our partnership with High Valley. A trip to India with them in the new year will be a great way for them to see exactly what it is that we do and give them a chance to really connect with our mission. We will be attending training sessions, encouraging local leaders in the work they are doing, and bringing much needed supplies to the camps.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The harvest began at about 12pm and 5 minutes later a Guinness World Record^TM was set with 200 combines harvesting simultaneously on the same field. After the record was set, the combines continued to work and finished picking up their swaths about 6-7 minutes later, finishing off the field completely.

The setting was a 302 acre field south of Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. Approximately 50 acres were harvested ahead of time to make room for spectators and parking, leaving 250 acres to be harvested during the record attempt.

Estimated crowds of 15,000 people were in attendance to witness the record, in addition to that, an adjudicator from Guinness World Records^TM was also there to make the record official.

You can support the cause and receive a memory by ordering Harvest for Kids memorabilia. Print and mail in this form or call us at one of the numbers listed on our contacts page.

At Children’s Camps International (CCI) we are working to echo the ‘Sound of Hope’, seeking ways in which Harvest for Kids can continue to be an effective awareness builder for CCI and its ministry.

Harvest for Kids 2010 will not only be a record setting event, but also a day for everyone to come on out and see a variety of farm machinery on display and in action.

Exhibitors from Meridian Manufacturing, Centennial Supply, Wentworth Ag, Western Producer, Secan, Precision Land Solutions, PhiBer Manufacturing, Rosenort Credit Union and BASF will all be there to show you what they’re all about. In addition to that, Mandako Agri, Little Morden Service, A&I Products, Miller Farm Equipment, and Elmer’s Manufacturing will all be doing equipment demos following our record setting harvest.

The farm show will run all day with demos and our Harvest for Kids Meridian bin auction happening around 2pm. There will be no shortage of things to see on August 7th and you don’t want to miss it!

See you there!

Harvest for Kids is proud to announce that two musical acts, Jodi King and Jordan Janzen, have been confirmed for our event. While they aren’t the type of music you may think of when you think of farming, there is no denying their talent and their heart for reaching out to others (and perhaps with a little encouragement they’ll get a little bit countrified for our event).

Jodi King is a very talented acoustic/pop artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba with a heart for reaching out to those in need, impacting many with her music and meaningful lyrics. Along with touring across North America and recording her upcoming album, she has been involved with Lifewater, an organization focused on employing local people in Liberia, Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya and Haiti, to drill wells and build washrooms. She is helping to raise awareness for the organization so that many more people can have life changing, clean, fresh water.

Jordan Janzen is a rock/pop artist from Winkler, Manitoba and known by many in the area for his entertaining shows. He has toured across Canada with artist Amanda Falk, playing shows from Abbotsford, British Columbia to Leamington, Ontario.
Working as a youth pastor at Westside Community Church in Morden, he will be taking a team to Vancouver, working with Youthworks, to minister at homeless shelters as well as reaching out to the children and the elderly in the community.

We are really looking forward to having Jodi King and Jordan Janzen perform at our event and we hope to confirm another band or two in the coming weeks. So stay tuned as we work towards making it a full day of fun for all who are there!

Anyone living here in Manitoba knows all about an annoying little insect called the mosquito, seemingly existing for no other reason than to make scratching an annual summer hobby. The ladybug however, is well known as the good insect, in some countries it’s even thought to be a sign of good fortune. So let’s try and take our focus off the bad insects and turn our attention to our good friend the ladybug, and another aphid eater called the lacewing.

There are various types of both of these insects in Canada, the most common being the Convergent Ladybug species and the green and brown species of lacewings. Ladybugs and lacewings are both sold commercially for insect control but can also be attracted to your crop or garden by growing certain types of plants nearby. To find out how to attract specific insects to your garden check out this website and get started on your insectary.

These beneficial insects feed on many soft bodied insects such as aphids, as well as mites, corn borers and Colorado potato beetles; aphids being their most common food source in this area. Most lacewings tend to prey on aphids as they mature and then begin to eat nectar and pollen as adults, still eating the occasional aphid for old time sake. In their 6 week life span they will eat approximately 600 other insects. Unlike lacewings, ladybugs prey on insects in their larvae stage and into adulthood, potentially eating over 5000 aphids in their 3-4 month life. They are also able to hibernate through the winter by massing together in sheltered areas.

There is a lot more information out there about these insects, as well as many more types of insects that are beneficial to us, but I hope you enjoyed these few facts about our 6-legged friends.

So next time you’re outside slapping mosquitoes and complaining about bugs, don’t forget about our good friends working hard out there in the fields. Now if only we could train them to eat mosquitoes too…

So it appears that we have a surplus of 1 with the Harvest for Kids shirts we ordered for CCI staff members… what to do with a left over size medium shirt that would make a good gift… or prize?

After much inter-office debate (not really), it has been decided that the person who takes the most creative picture of themselves with the H4K bin, and sends it to info@harvestforkids.com, will win the last remaining shirt. One entry is allowed per person to be entered by July 5th at 8pm. After photos have been reviewed by the office staff a winner will be chosen and notified by email.

CCI staff and their families are ineligible for this contest but feel free to send in your pictures anyway.
Don’t worry though, if you don’t win there will be a lot more shirts at the Harvest event, perhaps more to be won as prizes, but this one is the last of it’s kind.

So get out there, stay safe, take a lot of pictures and have some fun with this!
I look forward to seeing the pictures that are sent in.

As the day gets closer and closer, Harvest for Kids is becoming so much more than just a world record event. An all day farm show for businesses to show off their stuff… A petting zoo, balloons and an illusionist to keep the kids entertained… A fund raising auction to buy the coolest Meridian bin ever made… Live music by very talented artists from our community… This promises to be an event you really don’t want to miss. In addition to all of that, Danny’s Whole Hog will be providing food for purchase and I know it’ll hit the spot, witnessing a Guinness World Record^TM can work up quite an appetite.

To make the Harvest experience even greater, those willing to donate $1000 or more to Children’s Camps International will be able to get right in on the action and watch from the buddy seat of one of the participating combines. Limited spots are available, so if you want to watch from up close and personal, you better not delay!

The petting zoo will be put on by Ricklyn Farm and will include pony rides for a small fee. They have a lot of different animals; ponies, goats, sheep and emus to name a few. To learn more about Ricklyn Farm check out their website.

Greg Wood will be up to his usual tricks entertaining young and old alike with mind boggling sleight of hand illusions. Check out his Facebook page to see some of his work and learn a little more about what he does.

Bill Klassen Auctions Ltd. will be helping us out by auctioning off our Harvest for Kids Meridian grain bin with the sales going towards Children’s Camps International. Read more about the bin and stay tuned about other potential auction items on our ‘Projects’ page. To view pictures check out our ‘Media’ section.

We’re still working at confirming the live music for the day so keep checking back for more news on that. Things are really coming together and we can’t wait to see you there!

According to the Canadian Wheat Board, the projected wheat yield for this fall is 37.5 bushels per acre, and for the sake of this blog I will use that number for my calculations. In a further effort to make this easier for me, I will also overlook some other variants that would likely affect the calculations.

If we harvest 250 acres, the projected yield for the Harvest for Kids field would be 9375 bushels. With an estimated 60lbs per bushel of wheat, that would produce around 393,750lbs of white flour and approximately 308,823 loaves of bread weighing 2lbs each. If the wheat were to be made into whole wheat flour it would produce 562,500lbs of flour and approximately 441,176 loaves of bread. That’s a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Since we will already be breaking one world record on the Harvest for Kids field… perhaps we should try to break another one by using the wheat harvested and bake the world’s largest loaf of bread. Someone would probably have to build the world’s largest oven and the world’s largest bread pan, anybody up for the challenge?