There are some people that you respect not from time with them, but by seeing how others respond to them. Walking into the school on Saturday morning in Las Cahobas to watch the
kid’s club (Timoun la Gras), my respect and understanding of Pastor Montinat’s love for his community jumps to a new level as I watch the reaction of over two dozen children – just a fraction of those in the club – who have stayed to meet CPR-3 staff members visiting from Bercy.
kid’s club (Timoun la Gras), my respect and understanding of Pastor Montinat’s love for his community jumps to a new level as I watch the reaction of over two dozen children – just a fraction of those in the club – who have stayed to meet CPR-3 staff members visiting from Bercy.They sit with still faces, not solemn but full of a learned discipline to follow a respected leader. You see their enthusiasm as soon as Montinat engages them, asking questions and letting them light up in responses about Jesus or what they have learned in kid’s club every Saturday. Montinat’s own face lights up as he gets to talk about how moringa has helped students learn (he is not only the pastor but also the school director, so he has been with these students and seen them change with higher energy and better learning). He excitedly sings about the day that the Lord has made and clearly knows each child, every sibling of theirs, and the parent that is waiting for them at home. These kids love Montinat, and the feeling is definitely mutual.
Montinat goes through the school, church, and later his own home as well to show the latest changes. He has planted more churches than any other pastor in the Respire Lavi network to date and he stewards what God has given him well. He does not waste time or expect to be waited on, instead he makes things happen and he does it well as he loves people deeply and they multiply and make things happen alongside of Montinat.
I get to experience this same love as Montinat is unique from the pastors in his intention to call on a weekly basis and check in – for no reason other than to say that he is happy to hear a friend’s voice.
Montinat is a pastor that clearly loves – you see it first in how others react to him and then you get to see it as soon as he turns from who he is investing in to flash his smile right at you. This love is fueling a movement in Las Cahobas and from every church that has been planted, and we are thrilled that we get to be a part of God’s movement through this incredible pastor.