Larry Kies first taught agriculture as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana then taught and managed the farm at Maun Secondary School
Larry Kies
Larry Kies is a missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church assigned to Africa University, located just outside Mutare, the fourth-largest city in Zimbabwe in the southern region of the continent. He serves as a technical advisor at the university, assisting in the development of the university’s farm and working to train a new generation of agriculturalists from countries across the continent.
Prior to this assignment, Larry served as the manager of Nyadire Mission Farm at Nyadire Mission Station in Zimbabwe. His duties involved developing the farm to make the mission more self-sufficient in regards to food production, thus freeing resources for other aspects of Christian mission. He also taught agriculture at Nyadire Secondary School and worked with the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Initiative.
“I am in mission with the African people as we search for and introduce methods of improving food security. To paraphrase a Chinese proverb, we hope to not just give a man a fish, nor even to teach him to fish, but to work with him in finding new ways to fish–and then help him obtain a fishing pole. By so doing, I hope to obey Jesus’ command, implicit in Matthew 25, to feed the hungry.”
Born in Jesup, IA, Larry inherited a love of farming and sense of global mission from his parents. After graduating from Iowa State University with a B.S. in biology, he began a 15-year career in Botswana. He first taught agriculture as a Peace Corps volunteer, then taught and managed the farm at Maun Secondary School.
The Kies family then returned to the U.S. where Larry earned an M.S. in Vegetable Crops at the University of California, Davis. While at Davis, he was active in the Davis United Methodist Church, playing guitar and singing in the folk choir, leading the singing for youth Sunday School, and helping teach adult Sunday School.
Larry is married to Jane Kies, who is also a GBGM missionary. They have four children: Ben, Andrew Pule, Carly, and Michael.
