Recently, Missionary Hartman visited the congregation in Mexico City. He walked through the church doors for the Sunday worship service. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks. His mouth dropped open as he shook hands with Javier Pina.You may be wondering, who’s Javier? And why was Missionary Hartman so surprised to see him? You see, Javier had been confirmed in Mexico City in late 1999. At the time, English classes were being held as an outreach tool in Mexico City. Javier was the first English student to be confirmed. However, after he was confirmed, he disappeared. Vanished. The missionaries looked for him, but it was no use. Javier was gone.

Now, seven years later, Javier came back to church! As he explained to Missionary Hartman, he had moved to Canada for a job right after he was confirmed. He lived in Canada until the fall of 2006. Then, a few months ago he moved back to Mexico City. He has been regularly attending church for the last two months. He is eager to hear God’s Word.

After so many years, Missionary Hartman thought he would not see Javier again. But God touched Javier’s heart in 1999, and brought him back to Mexico City this year. While we may not always see the results of our preaching, God does. He reaches others with his Word and blesses our evangelism efforts. His Word does not return empty.