It happens so very few times, but when it rains here in San Quintin, it rains. The wind howls, the trees bend, the sky turns dark, and the streets flood. Though the ground is so thirsty for water and we know that in the long run this rain is a blessing, for many people in the moment of the storm, rain makes a mess. On Monday, we got rain.
As many of you know, the first Monday of every month is the day that we come together with the pastors of the valley for a time of worship, prayer and fellowship. Arturo & I have been working with these pastors since last year when we stepped into this position following Stan & Marilyn’s footsteps – they created an amazing foundation with these pastors, calling them together with the goal of creating unity among the pastors and churches of the valley, and Arturo & I have continued to build towards that goal. We have honestly seen God work in amazing ways through these meetings, and even more last year in our first Project Unity, where pastors of the valley came together to build a home for a family in need. Since that project, we have seen an incredible ripple effect – pastors visiting each others’ homes, beginning joint ministry initiatives, supporting each other with practical needs – and we have all been so excited for our next project to continue in that spirit of community.
This past Monday was the time that we had planned to share with the pastors about our next Project Unityhappening in April. With the rain, however, we had very low expectations that many pastors would show up to our monthly meeting. A few trickled in right on time, and over the next half hour we waited to see if more would brave the rain and mud to come all the way to Los Olivos. When it hit 6:00 and we only had 7 or 8 people still, we began the meeting thinking how we didn’t expect much more than that. But as we started to worship, more and more pastors arrived, and in a matter of minutes they filled the room as they filled the atmosphere with their praise.
Arturo & I were blown away as we saw all of these pastors here together, despite the rain, despite whatever else could’ve stopped them, worshipping together and filling this place with such a sweet sense of unity. As we shared about our next Project Unity, their faces lit up again and our list quickly filled up with names of those who committed to participate. Something has shifted, and we are so thankful to be a part of the amazing things God is doing through the pastors of this valley.
It turns out that the rain makes things grow.
Heather Molina
