Personal Development God's Way

Chapter 5: The Parable of the Sower – The Key To All Parables
The parable of the sower is my favorite parable of all the graphic story illustrations that Jesus used in His teachings. I have taught from this parable many times across the years, and even did a series once (in spanish), from which a set of cassettes were made.

An Almost Hidden Key
This parable became my favorite the day I discovered an almost hidden little secret that actually sheds light on all of the parables that Jesus taught in the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). When Jesus had finished telling the story of the Sower who sowed his seed on four different types of soil, the disciples took Him aside to ask Him what it meant.

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Chapter 4: My Favorite Parable – The Sower

From Cuernavaca I went back to New Zealand for my first break (known as “furlow”). During this time Anna Lee’s husband passed away (director of Bread for Children) and I was asked if I would consider returning to the head office in Florida to help out there for a time (rather than returning to Mexico).

There I had the opportunity to gain more experience working closely with the printshop, and doing the layout of the English magazine (Bread for Children).

Part of my job description was help with the proof reading but there is such a conflict between the written British English and American English, that I gave that one up and told them to just give me the copy once it was “correct”.

In my spare moments I began “playing” with some ideas for sketches and came up with a series illustrating my favorite parable – The Sower (Mark 4:1-20).

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Chapter 3 – The Surprise (or “Surprize” as we spell it in New Zealand)
The three months spent in Florida preparing the first edition of Pan Para Los Hijos was not uneventful. The girl from Argentina decided to go her way after a personality conflict with the director of Bread For Children and two girls, one from Colombia and one from Georgia, were brought in.

What a diverse team, a Colombian, a Kiwi and an American!

Anna Lee and her secretary had visited Mexico City previously and had been connected with a magazine distributor in Cuernavaca Mexico (Trine V.). Trine had introduced Anna Lee to a printer and she was in the process of transferring to another area, leaving her apartment vacant in Cuernavaca. The stage was set!

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Chapter 2: The Beginning
If you have not read the first chapter of this series you might want to look it over before continuing here: A Dream Comes True

As I mentioned in the first chapter, one of the things I noticed during my first months in Mexico was the lack of Christian literature available for children (this was in 1977). At the time I was helping oversee a dormitory in a boy’s orphanage near Monterrey.

At Christmas we went into the city to look for some books to give the boys for Christmas and were horrified to find there was so little to choose from.

I always had the publishing side of missionary work on my heart.

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