Seeds in Soil

“And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” (Mark 4:26-28, KJV)

By our second week at our Mission Field in Palauig, Zambales, we had found our rhythm. Even under the blazing sun, we walked the streets, offering medical services and praying with the people we met along the way. It was our way of opening doors into the lives of those around us. One Tuesday morning, my Mission Field partner and I were heading to a purok we had agreed to visit that day.

On the way, we passed a basketball court, and there, we noticed an elderly man. We decided to stop. "Hi, Tay. Kumusta po?" He only grinned as we introduced ourselves and explained why we were there. His name, we learned, was Tatay Proy, and he was the man who kept the barangay and the basketball court clean. We offered him free medical services, prayed with him, and went on our way. But something stayed with me.

As we walked, a question settled over my heart: what was his life really like? His clothes looked as if no one had cared for them in a very long time. Day after day, we kept seeing him around the barangay, and every time, he greeted us with the widest smile. Then one day, he came to us. He asked where we were from and why we were in his town. "We're from Mindanao," we said. "We're missionaries here." And there it was again: Tatay Proy's sweet smile.

Three months later, our spiritual family blessed us with a sack of rice. We already had another sack we had bought ourselves, and we wondered how we would ever finish it all. Then we thought of the mothers and fathers we had visited, living in such hard circumstances, and we knew we had to share.

Tatay Proy was one of the first people who came to mind. We invited him to the house where we were staying, because we had something for him. When he received the rice, that sweet smile appeared once more. "If you run out of rice, just let us know," we told him. When his supply ran low, he came looking for us, especially during that difficult month of endless rain.

Without realizing it, we had become friends.

Then our Pastor told us that our Mission Field would hold a Care Group Evangelism Crusade with the 67th Batch, and we needed to invite brethren, backsliders, and non-SDAs. In all the preparation, we forgot to invite Tatay Proy. On the fourth night of the Crusade, I noticed a familiar face at the back. I was stunned, and then overjoyed. It was Tatay Proy, listening to the Bible Study! Afterward, we greeted him and thanked him for coming, and told him how happy we were to see him.

Later, our Elder, who had been sitting beside him that night, shared what Tatay Proy had said: "I came here because my friends are here. Since I lost my family, I felt like no one cared about me. But when they arrived, I felt the real care I had never felt from anyone else."

We wept when we heard it. Our hearts were full, because that was truly what he felt. From that night on, he joined us every evening, and on Sabbath he came to church. Then he invited us to see his new home: a small house of patched-together sheets of scrap metal.

Even with so little, he opened his door to us. After the Crusade, Tatay Proy kept coming to Midweek, Vespers, and Sabbath services. We asked if we could study the Bible with him, and he said yes. One day, he spotted us at church and asked, "Do you still have soap?"

My partner and I glanced at each other. "We still have some," we said. He had wanted to give us money from his savings to buy more. We were deeply touched. Even while barely surviving, he found a way to give.

In the middle of one conversation, he said quietly, "Baptism is all I'm missing." Signaling he is ready! Yet we chose to keep studying with him, so that he would fully understand the faith he would one day embrace. It was here that I learned how powerful Friendship Ministry, truly is. A prayer is like a seed: first the soil must be prepared and cultivated, and only then can the seed be planted and nurtured until it grows into something beautiful. Our prayers don't always receive instant answers. We simply have to wait.

Name: Danella Enot | 66th Batch | 1000MM

Mission Field:  Palauig, Zambales