Sowing words, reaping harvest

I get to work in the Caribbean on a tropical island. Many of you wish you could be here now in the eighty degree temperatures.

I have been here seven years this year and cannot recall once backing out of work because of the heat. This summer I did that on two separate occasions in a place called Batey 9. This little village is on the south western corner of the Dominican and is in the center of kilometers and kilometers of sugar cane. There is no beach.

In fact, the closest water source is a sugar cane canal which is filled with mosquito larvae, frogs, pigs, cows, goats and an occasional horse or donkey. Batey 9 is not the Caribbean as we think of it. There is no sandy beach, ocean waves, seashells, coastal breeze or pina coladas. The day I want to share about I was doing everything I could to stay in the shade. There were no swaying coconut palms as we often think about. Literally, the sun was so hot I was drinking three gallons of water a day and not how do I say this…not suing the bathroom. But on with the story…

On one of these “dust bowl” days I was “wisely” staying in the shade when four women and a few children walked by my bit of shade. As is common place I gave a cheery “hola”. The women responded and with a hola and I asked them “como estan”? They all replied in unison “que calor.” It’s hot in Spanish. I was in front of a church and I asked them if they had ever visited the church? They said they had but they were not Christian. I said that is ok we can pray right now if you would like to accept Christ and live for Him forever and have eternal peace. They said really, so naturally I said yes. They said ok. Of the four kids with them two of them also accepted to repent and allow the Holy Spirit to change their lives. I took their names and gave them to the local Pastor who said he would follow up with them.

This past month I was able to speak to those women again. In fact I was at their baptism (not in the sugar cane canal) and visited them at the church they have started in nearby Batey 8. We baptized them in the Caribbean sea as a treat, that sugar cane water just does not cut it for cleansing.

I don’t believe that God has given this “extroverted” personality to everyone as God has given to me. As they say in Creole which is used in the Batey because there are so many Haitians living there, “Mwe vle fe zami avek tout moun” (I want to be friends with everyone).

Clearly God has called us all to be sharers of the Gospel (See Genesis 12:1-3, Acts 1:8). I believe St Francis of Assisi said it well, “Preach the Gospel and if you must use words.” There is a time and place for words. Sometimes we need to build a relationship before using the words. Sometimes just saying God bless you or Jesus loves you is sufficient to plant a seed. Keep sowing for His kingdom, it is glorious to hear those angels in heaven sing

Photos on:

http://www.gojmartinez.blogspot.com/