Newsletter Summer 2022
Dear Friends,
We trust this letter finds you all well, and sincerely blessed. We have spent the best part of a year establishing our online presence as a nonprofit 501c3 and providing the free digital resources that we promised, via our website and a multitude of social media channels.
Through a combination of our own savings and your generous donations, we have managed to sustain ourselves over the 12-month period. However, it has become apparent that in order to maintain what we are doing and go forward, we need to increase donations and develop other streams of income.
Our ultimate goal has always been to demonstrate God’s love in word and deed. In other words, to provide both spiritual and practical help, at home and abroad. From the practical point of view, the area of sustainable living will be a focus for us. The reality is, that the issues of population growth, changing climate patterns, energy generation, conservation, food, and water insecurity, affect everyone on the planet, with no exceptions.
As some of you know, we have done a lot of research and innovation in the past, with aquaponics – growing food using fish and their waste as an organic fertilizer in an enclosed system. On YouTube we have instructional videos to educate and give practical help, just type @demosustainableliving into any search engine and you’ll see what we mean. It is now our intention to revisit and develop further this side of our ministry, as well as continuing to provide the many spiritual resources that we have developed. This is where we are seeking your help!
As far as sustainable living is concerned, we see four principal areas that are the foundation of any community. These are – access to energy, access to clean drinking water, food production, and sanitation/hygiene. Of course, there are overlaps between these aspects which are interdependent, but these would be basic necessities for any community. Once these elements are in place, then there is need for other things such as, education,
medical facilities, and so on.
As we go forward, we wish to gradually begin to provide knowledge and practical assistance in these areas,some of which may require us to collaborate with other ministries, and that is great! Not only do we believe this to be biblical, but why ‘reinvent the wheel’ and duplicate effort? The reality is, that there are many technologies available already, that could help people both in developing nations - and here at home as well!
As many of you know, our son Matt lives in the UK and works for DEMO Missions to provide much needed technical assistance. Matt creates our videos and takes care of all the social media content on our channels. Matt was also the one who oversaw the operation and development of the aquaponics research unit that we created for Andrew Wommack Ministries in Woodland Park Colorado, for over four years. He has a keen interest in sustainable living solutions and wants to generate interest in the ministerial work of DEMO Missions, while showcasing some of these skills and creating a community!
We believe the four areas mentioned previously are daily becoming more relevant in people’s lives, as we see the effects of the war in Ukraine on the supply of food, fertilizers, and energy, and the subsequent economic impact being felt right around the globe. We don’t pretend to have the answer to world hunger, or the energy crisis, but such as we have, we want to share with people. Will you partner with us?
Practical Projects
There are two initial projects that we are currently working on and would love your help to develop. The first tackles the issue of generating power in an emergency. Increasingly around the world the subject of energy is becoming a hot topic. Here in the developed world, electricity is only a click of a switch away! A small amount of energy is all you need to make that crucial phone call or have a source of light in the darkness – but we all know that feeling when the battery runs out! Can you imagine what life would be like without any reliable access to electricity? There are still many places in the world that are completely without power and an increasing number of places where electrical energy is only available for just a few hours every day!
There are many types of green energy that can be harnessed from our environment – however they all rely on certain conditions to do this. For example – a solar panel only works effectively when the sun shines!
Because of the extensive use of bicycles as transport around the world, Matt has seen an opportunity to create a cycle-powered generator for on-demand power! A great deal of work has already been done in this area and Matt has been collaborating with an existing project creator to design an effective solution.
Matt is currently in the process of constructing a prototype and creating instructions on how to use it. Once this is completed, we will then show you a video of this device in action! Ultimately, we want to deploy these generators strategically on the mission field – as we have great relationships in place to do that effectively. We also believe that there could be demand here in the U.S. for this product.
There are many people who use static bike trainers indoors for fitness, particularly in the winter. I think you would be surprised how much power can be generated! This power can be used to charge devices and batteries – but could also be returned to the grid where people have existing solar systems. All of this, whilst enjoying a cycling work-out in your own home! We feel that preppers would love this product!
If marketed in the U.S. we could use these funds to finance the distribution of these generators along with other aid in developing countries! Marketing this generator commercially is just an idea at this stage, so input from a business perspective would also be very welcome – as we’re in this together!
The second project we want initiate is to re-create our aquaponics training videos. Three years ago, Matt created a remarkably simple aquaponics system that anyone can build at home. Aquaponics can seem like a complicated topic and is often prone to failure due to lack of knowledge. We have already created videos about these kits, but unfortunately our project was curtailed, and the series remained incomplete. You can find these “Everything from Walmart” videos on our DEMO Aquaponics Facebook channel. At a time when food security has never been more important, we wish to re-make this series bigger and better than before! We have already trialed these kits with groups of young people and individuals alike – so we know they work! Although these kits are small in size, they teach the principles of aquaponic growing very well. They are modular, so each box kit can be replicated in order to create a more significant yield of organic fresh produce.
We want to use the project to reach out to the public here in the U.S. and build a community of sustainable growers. We also intend to write a full-length academic course including the practical example of this model and provide online personal coaching.
Will You help us?
The question is, will you help us? Will you partner with us to fund this research and help put these practical resources in people’s hands? Initially, we are looking to raise$25,000 dollars to facilitate these initial stages. Obviously, with your help, the more we can raise the more lives we can touch with both practical and spiritual help. It would also be huge blessing to us to obtain some corporate sponsors, so if you have any friends, acquaintances, grant making bodies or clients that you think might be interested in supporting our aims, please share this information with them, or let us know contact details. Thank you for taking the time to read this update, and for your existing support which is so deeply appreciated. If you would like to make a donation to help fund these projects and be part of what God is doing in and through us, please make checks payable to ‘DEMO Missions’ and send it to the address below. Alternatively, you can donate online via our website www.demomissions.com or Facebook, though these companies do deduct admin fees lessening the amount we receive and can therefore use.
May God bless each one of you abundantly in all that you set your hands to.
Yours together for the Kingdom,
Mark & Matt DEMO Missions
4418 College Park Court
Colorado Springs,
80918 Colorado
Tel: 1 (719) 505-3502