As a result of the Day Camp experience, several men’s curiosities were nudged and thus began the investigation of agriculture’s place in Ukraine.  A vision trip made up of six men travelled to central Ukraine in 2001 to try to understand the needs and possibilities that are there.  A loan of $3,000 was made to help four fishermen expand their business.  This loan was repaid in a very short time.  Thus AED (Agricultural Economic Development) was born.    The program began as the fruition of a dream to help Ukrainians help themselves.  Pastors and fulltime Christian workers need to be able to have a way to generate income to support their families and still do the work fulltime that God has called them to do.
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A fund has been set up for donations which is in turn loaned to applicants with a business plan that meets standards of repayment.  The interest is being used to support a project each year that is determined by the Ukrainian committee.  Most of these new business projects employ more than one or two people.  A bakery that was started now employs 14 - 20 people.
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This project has helped give credibility to the gospel of Jesus Christ and has given hope to many.   A team of six men in Ukraine work with us to make the loan decisions.  Every dollar is used for the loan project.
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Donations to the project are tax deductible and may be given to New Journey Church or the Minnesota Baptist Conference with “AED” on the memo line.