One Sabbath morning, I received a text message from a sister in New York.
“Maria got baptized!”
The moment I checked my text message, I was overwhelmed, remembering vividly what happened a year ago.
About a year ago, I went out to preach with a sister from New York, and we met Maria from Colombia, who was traveling the U.S. We invited her to our church, and she was willing to accept our invitation. She was very surprised by the words of the Bible about God the Mother. That day, she had dinner with Zion members, had a fun time together, and then went back to New Jersey where she was staying.
A few days later, she came to church despite her tight schedule, and understood the truth one by one through the Bible study. We wished to continue studying with her, but she didn’t have much time.
As planned, she left for Los Angeles to meet her grandfather. When she got there, she let us know that she preached about God the Mother to her grandfather, and that he also showed interest. When she went back to Colombia, she visited the Church of God near her house and texted us a picture of her and a sister from Zion.
It seemed like she would be born again as a child of God right away. But she went to church once in a while because of her hectic school schedule, and we kept in touch less and less. At first, I prayed for her earnestly, feeling so sad, but then my prayer for her became less. Later, I rarely thought of her.
However, the soul I was forgetting about got baptized and became a heavenly family member. God was still working to save the sister’s soul when I wasn’t even praying for her; I was thankful and sorry at the same time. I was moved at a thought that the members in Colombia must have taken care of her for a year without giving up on her.
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” 1Co 3:6–7
Just as Apostle Paul said, we can plant the seed and water it, but it is only God who makes things grow. Without a doubt, the One who leads the gospel is God.
God continued the gospel work through Sister Maria. Her younger sibling kept the Passover with her, and her three nephews and nieces kept the Sabbath day. Her grandfather and grandmother, two of her friends, and her aunt want to study the Bible.
I pray that she will become a good gospel worker and display the glory of Heavenly Father and Mother. I will make more efforts to sow the seeds of the word and water them for the souls whom God will make grow.