I know that this concept of “planting seeds” and “sharing the gospel” is talked about a LOT, some make light of it, others take it very seriously, but I am here to tell you, Christ used this natural, self-explanatory example of a seed for a REASON…it is such a clear picture of how the gospel works! I have seen the evidence on the ground in Haiti!
CPR-3 hosts teams from the United States and Canada all throughout the year to partner with Haitian churches/communities and to “breathe life” into them! It gets pretty busy at the Sant Mouvman, and people have to eat, so we found a Haitian cook to help with meals for the teams. This isn’t just any cook, this is a lovely, spirited, joyous, Haitian woman, named Louis! Her cooking is remarkable and her personality is contagious! We were lucky to find such a gem! Speaking of finding her, let me tell you a little bit about this “planting seeds” journey with Louis.
About 2 years ago, when my husband Jordan was in Haiti by himself, he met a Haitian woman at the local gas station who happened to speak fluent English…meet Louis! She came right up to Jordan, (she is extremely outgoing and loves to practice her English with people) and started talking to him. They shared stories, talked about America (Louis had lived there for many years prior to moving back to Haiti), and most importantly, talked about Jesus. Jordan asked her if she followed Jesus and she answered by saying she wasn’t ready to follow Him yet. Jordan asked Louis some questions, and she shared her story. She had lived in the United States and been arrested because of affiliation with the wrong crowd. She was in prison for a number of years and then sent back to Haiti. Jordan heard her story and they parted with prayer, but not a decision to follow Jesus. This was a seed.
We then heard from some of our missionary friends that they had used her as a cook for their teams because of her delicious food and fluency in English. We thought we would try her cooking out and continue to plant seeds in her life in the meantime. Last summer we had her cook for our teams for the entire summer! We got to know more of her story, team members bonded and prayed with her, and she opened up to us and to spiritual conversations! She became part of the family, but still, no decision to follow Jesus. This was watering.
This last fall she was in a motorcycle accident and hurt her ankle pretty badly. She called us up and we told her it was important to see a doctor. She didn’t just see any doctor, but a “leaf” doctor, most likely a voodoo doctor who was unable to help her. She delayed the REAL doctor visit and her ankle got worse. She was unable to cook for us for a number of months due to this injury, so during this time, we visited often, helped her with medicine, and prayed for our dear friend! This was more watering.
When her ankle had finally healed enough to cook again, we were thrilled! We had missed our Louis! She came back just in time to meet our Director of Operations, Scott, who like Louis is an encourager and a talker! They hit it off right away! Besides learning to cook from Louis, he asked some deep questions as to “why” she wasn’t ready to follow Jesus. She mentioned that she was having an affair with a married man and didn’t feel like she was “good enough” to follow Jesus and was not ready to give this up. Scott explained about God’s GRACE and that NO ONE is perfect, and that we ALL need a Savior. We could see that Louis’ hardened heart was softening. Still, she was not ready to say “yes” to Jesus. This was more watering.
The more we talked with Louis throughout the fall and winter, we saw that she was starting spiritual conversations, she was mentioning God and how He was working in her life, and we were seeing big changes. Stephanie and I prayed on Valentines Day that she would choose the greatest LOVE of all, God’s unconditional love. We saw that God had been softening her heart and just specifically asked God to make TODAY the DAY! Jordan’s mom was in town this Valentine’s week and she hit it off with Louis (most people do!). She asked her some hard questions and continued to witness to her this week. On Valentine’s Day, Jordan’s mom took her back into the kitchen and they wept and rejoiced together because Louis finally CHOSE to accept Christ’s love! Her exact quote was “ I have said ‘no’ for too long and I can say ‘no’ no longer!” Our team embraced and prayed over our sister in Christ! This was the harvest!
This story is WHY planting seeds matters. Who knows how many seeds had been planted prior to Jordan’s initial visit with Louis. God is always working. Will you choose to PLANT seeds?!
Jordan and Amanda Damon are CPR-3 Ministry Partners who live and work in Haiti leading teams, planting seeds and seeing harvest through the Movement in Haiti. Their first baby is due this summer.
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