
Many of you who have labored in different ministries throughout your Christian experience can probably share similar stories... I began working for the Lord in my early teens and I faithfully served Him in whatever areas of need arose, but―looking back―I am only aware of just a handful of testimonies of lives that were touched through the years that followed. For this reason, we can be glad of the encouragement of the Lord in Galatians 6:9. For all of us, the size of the harvest from what we have planted throughout our lives in co-laboring with the Lord will not be known until eternity, but nonetheless, the harvest is coming!
This preamble brings us to the actual purpose of today’s blog. In December 2020, we shared about a ministry Richard began by talking and bantering with the ‘hawkers’ (the aggressive salesmen scattered throughout Cabo) who flock to Cabo San Lucas during our busy tourist season. One of Richard’s favorite lines is, “I don’t have to think of a way to strike up a conversation; they come after me.”
Richard first started by going along with any salesmen who happened to approach him until he could swing the conversation around to his spiritual condition. Now he goes weekly to the Cabo Marina area with similar clothing on, in order to be recognized. Since that time, they see him coming down the boardwalk, and start shouting, “Hi Pastor!”
The Harvest Has Begun!
Several months ago, a friend of ours, Ron Welch, went to the Marina with Richard. Ron has a real heart for people, and consequently he fell in love with this approach to ministry. Now when Ron is in town, he contacts Richard to see what day will be Richard’s next visit to the marina.
Just within the last several weeks, the first man who has ever come to Cabo English Church from Richard inviting them came to our Sunday morning service. It just happened that Ron was with Richard that day, and was still in Cabo to have the pleasure of seeing our first ‘invitee’ actually come to church, along with being visibly touched by the presence of God. Being an optimist, Ron’s response to this was, “I knew he was going to come to church!”
The very next week, a father and son whom Richard had invited came and again the father was deeply touched and his son loved Sunday School. The following week, a brother (whom Richard had previously talked to many times) came to our service and was deeply touched, as well. We never know how large the harvest will be in the lives of these four people, but we know that it is God’s desire for them to walk in His ways, and our God will release resources from heaven and on earth in order to bring them to living fruitful lives for the Kingdom of God.
For all of you who are reading, who have wondered when the harvest from your labors of love for the Lord will come, listen to the Apostle Paul, “Don’t allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened…the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming!”