Seeds Sown in Swampy Soil

May 31, 2018

“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:8 NIV)

Ron Farnum, one of the Wings of Peace pilots in Bolivia, wanted to deliver a load of gospel literature to a church at La Asiga, located about forty-five minutes by plane north of Ascencion (Wings of Peace aviation ministry was in operation from 1952-2008). Reaching the area, he saw the dirt airstrip was flooded due to heavy rains. He did not want to return with the literature undelivered, so he began looking for another means of getting it to La Asiga. Eventually he spotted an airstrip located about five miles away which was not flooded, and although it was a new strip for Ron, he landed without difficulty.

He found the people of this town, Yamamoto, to be friendly. They even offered to take the literature to La Asiga by canoe. At noon, they invited Ron to eat with them, asking him to tell them about the gospel. Ron and his wife, Bernice, returned to Yamamoto several times to teach the Bible and encourage the new believers. One of the women, Sylvia, was the first to accept the Lord.

The rains returned, and even the airstrip at Yamamoto was unusable. After several months, Ron returned and discovered a flourishing congregation. The people had taken God’s Word quite literally. Sylvia’s young son had become violently ill, and even the city doctor in Trinidad had given no hope of recovery. One night, she prayed for the boy’s healing. The next morning, she was awakened by the sounds of her son playing on the floor. The doctor said the boy was completely well. When her husband saw this miraculous answer to prayer, he immediately accepted the Lord. Ron continued to visit periodically and saw the congregation grow to more than one hundred.

He had not originally planned to land at Yamamoto, but God knew that the seeds of the gospel needed to be planted in this area of the swamplands of Bolivia.

Team WGM continues to seek out God’s leading in where and how we do ministry, knowing that His guidance may lead to some unexpected places!

The Best of the Story: Miraculous Answers to Prayer (published 1993, reprinted 2001) was written by WGM retiree Burnis Bushong. The purpose of the book is to share prayer stories experienced by WGM missionaries over the years. We hope these stories inspire you to pray for missions activities around the world. A new story is posted each month.