Sometimes the Gospel is Sweet Like Sugar Cane

It was an average day in Latin America when an East-West national partner and missionary walked past the field of sugar cane and approached Alma at her front door.

The national partner asked her if she followed Jesus. Alma respectfully responded, “No, but my son is a Christian and wants me to believe.”

Knowing this was an opportunity to share the gospel with her, the national partner asked Alma if his team could explain what her son means when he calls himself a Christian.

In true Latin American hospitality, Alma said, “yes,” and invited the team into her living room.

Once seated in her home, the missionary began telling the story of creation, the fall of man, and the need for a Savior to restore the relationship between God and His children.

The missionary explained that God deeply loves the people He created and sent His Son—Jesus—to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world… including her sins.

When the story ended, the missionary asked Alma if she wanted to trust in Jesus as her personal Savior. In that moment, Alma understood why her son desperately wanted her to believe in Jesus.

This story was sweet—like the sugar cane that she could see just outside her window—and she knew it was true.

On that day, Alma became a follower of Jesus. The East-West team prayed for her and Alma experienced a peace that she’d been deprived of for years.

Alma anticipated a visit from her son that afternoon and she was ecstatic to tell him she was now a Christian too.