My month in Cali, Colombia was hard but extremely fulfilling. My ministry was door-to-door evangelism. This was the one ministry I was dreading the most. I can honestly say I was hoping I would never have to do it or at least do it closer to the end of my race, but God always has a different plan for my life. A plan that is constantly greater than mine.
At first, I didn’t enjoy how we were doing evangelism. I’m not the type of person who likes to shove the Bible or Jesus down someone’s throat or ask if they are going to Heaven or Hell. I truly believed you couldn’t change someone’s heart until you change his or her mind, and you couldn’t change his or her mind until there was trusted friendship built. Oh, but the Lord can do some crazy things when He changes your worldly perspective to a kingdom perspective.
The Lord taught me a lot this month. He taught me I might just be the seed planter not the harvester, and I had to learn to be okay with that. There are so many different stories that I could tell you about my experience in Cali. Stories that would break your heart, make you frustrated, bring encouragement, make you sit in awe of our Lord, but also make you really confused about God’s plan. But instead I’ll tell you a story about an honest man whose life was sending him straight to hell.
Junior was getting on his bike ready to leave for lunch, but Katy and I quickly stopped him to share a short story about love. We had no idea about the story we were fixing to unravel.
“I’m going to hell. I understand that there is a God, but my life and my sins are too bad to truly be cleaned and washed away.”
Time was running short, so we planned on meeting with him the next day when he got off work. We could tell he was hungry to learn more about Jesus. It was such an amazing experience to see the hunger in someone’s eyes for the Lord. I left that talk with a new set of fire in my soul. I couldn’t wait to see him again, but plans don’t always go the way you want them to.
The next day, we waited at the church until the scheduled time, and Junior never showed up. My soul was crushed. I didn’t understand why God didn’t let us speak to him again. I had so much left to tell him, but on the way home was when the Lord taught me I’m just the seed planter not the harvester of Junior’s seed. I saw that I wanted the glory of Junior’s story for myself instead of the glory going to God. He is the only one that can completely fulfill Junior’s needs, and I hope I will be able to see Junior again in Heaven to hear how the rest of his story played out.
