Planting a seed means that you have to:
1. Plant the seed
-Dig a hole
-Place the seed in the ground
-Put the dirt on top of it
2. Water the seed
-Fill up a watering can (or pray for rain)
-Pour the right amount of water on the planted seed
-Continue to water the seed
3. Growth of the Seed
-The roots grow deep into the ground
-The seed grows out of the dirt into the sun
4. The seed bears fruit
-The plant grows bigger
-Then eventually out pops some fruit… apples, strawberries, oranges, raspberry’s, bananas, carrots, beans, tomatoes! All kinds of fruit and veggies!
This is exactly what my mom and I got to do last week. Well if you didn’t see all my posts last week about my mom being here, well then she was in Romania for a week!! I missed my dad dearly, but I get to see him in 4 months and help him build his new house!
So our day started out with breakfast and some parent/racer time. Then we went into a time of prayer for the town and the thankfulness we had for our lives. After lunch we got to meet with the missionaries and hear about what God has been doing in them and their ministry.
My mom and I had the privilege of working with Marian and the small town of Danesa. This town is in southern Romania in a small town of only 300 families.
As my mom, Taylor, her mom and I walked out and got into the car with Marian, all we knew was that we would be assisting him that day. We drove about 10 min down the road and hopped out to see the new church that they were planting there. Not even just true talk about it, but we got to walk in the legitimate foundation of the church and multipurpose center that they were building. As I walked around the foundation, I could see God’s hand in it.
Marian proceeded to tell us that this church planting process had been years of vision casting, fundraising and now building. Kind of like a seed that takes time to plant, water, grow and then bear fruit.
After this emotional and overwhelmingly beautiful time to see this church plant and vision for this town, we walked back to Marians car.
He pulled out about a hundred bags. Inside we’re 3 bags of seeds… bearing carrots, tomatoes, beans, etc. There was also a devotional included with an encouraging message. Our job was to walk around and hand them out to everyone in the neighborhood. Marian described that “the Lord has blessed us with enough seeds to give everyone in the town 3 packets and a devotional.”
WOAH.
As we walked around to each gate some people were outside so we got to chat with them. We started to explain what we were doing and told them God wants to bless them. We smiled and commented on their beautiful gardens, laughing and spreading love to each house. Others were not home so we left them and blessed them with the seeds and devotional. Mind you, this cultural lives off of their land and sometimes only grows their own food because they don’t have money to buy other food. So this was a big help to them.
As my mom and I approached one house there was an old woman outside gardening. Marian said “alooo (hello)” she slowly turned around and walked to the gate. She was very old and had trouble even walking to the gate. Immediately she started talking to us, so excited to see someone there. As I handed her the bag she smiled and her eyes lit up, my mom came close and gave her a big smile and wanted to know about her life.
The woman told us that she was 85 and her husband was sick. So she had to do all the house work and gardening. This woman was 85 and gardening with a huge shovel out in the 80 degree weather!!!
We gave her two bags so she had more. She said “Thank you but I can’t pay for these.” We explained to her that it was a blessing and was free. She was so excited and thankful to us. She kept grabbing mine and my moms hand saying something in Romanian I didn’t know. All I know is that a seed was planted that day. She kept hugging us and grabbing our hands, smiling and gabbing away. As our time dwindled we said our goodbyes. She held our to hands and didn’t want us to leave, as we walked away she was still talking. The minute we left my heart already ached from leaving her and my mom kept saying I wish we could’ve spent more time with her, she was so sweet.
After processing all this the Lord brought he scripture to mind in 1 Corinthians… it says
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” -1 Corinthians 3:6-9
I look at this and I think wow I got to walk around and legit hand out seeds to people who need them to live. Thinking back to planting those seeds that day I wonder who those people will encounter next. Maybe some seeds were watered that day. All I know is that God will make them grow. It was so cool to see God use the legitimate seed itself to help sow into these peoples lives, a way to bless them and show them how much Love he has for each of those people. The best part about this is that God is the grower, we are his vessels, but he does the work in their hearts.
Continue to drop those seeds everywhere you go, you may never know whose gonna water it next! God is always at work and growing his fruit all over this world.
Can I get an Amen?
