Allen is a dessert guy. He thinks the best reward is the one that comes at the end. So it was with this July 2010 mission trip. As if the mission was not fruitful enough, when it was all done, it turned out that at least two Youths prayed to receive Christ at one of our Youth Programs. This is unexpected Harvest. All we expected to do this trip is Plow (Prayer and Construction) and Sow (PR, Teaching, Preaching, and Loving). We did not expect the ground and the season to be ready for Harvest. But down plops the fruit anyway!
Jesus talks about the farmer who Plowed, Sowed, and did all the right things but is still surprised when the leaves first break the surface of the soil. So it goes in Swansea.
There were other fruitful surprises on the last day in Wales. Allen was sitting in a pew at Capel Seion waiting to hear Ruth preach a sermon when a deacon Allen didn’t know tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to lead the service and to preach. This was a new experience for Allen, but a sweet one. Preaching on the spot wasn’t as much of a problem as finding hymns that both Allen and the Welsh congregation knew in common – and for Allen to lead the singing with his somewhat dubious voice. (Ruth ended up missing the service because of a tire blowout on her car.)
Allen wasn’t the only one to lead the singing in worship that day. Kelly and Nikki led the singing at Maes Canner – where Derek preached, and at Capel Gomer – where Derek preached again. It was sweet to see two ladies who had served so faithfully behind the scenes get their moments in the spotlight. Of course, they sang like angels.
Also angelic were Lyn, Jason, Lauren, and Doug, who gave their personal testimonies during one of the worship services that day. The response was sweet as a fruit – many of the ladies at Capel Seion stated that they really enjoyed the remarkable change of pace from a fairly formal liturgy to the open and passionate transparency our people demonstrated that Sunday. They said it could well change the way they worship in the future!
But the sweetest fruit of all was the way Wales changed us. The general consensus ont he team is that they can't wait to come back to Wales. Craig said that it is the richest, most fertile ground for evangelism he has seen in Western Europe – perhaps even approaching some of the traditional “hot spots” like Central and South America. The Welsh people are so open, friendly, and ready to share ideas. We digested those ideas and reveled in our relationships with the people. Many of our team now have Facebook or e-mail friends from the Swansea area. The Plowing and Sowing continues. And thankfully, so does the Cross-Pollination across the Pond.
Sweet!
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