Auntie Stella’s Missionary Plant

Stella Thomas lives to serve God every single day of her life. She praises God for His blessings, and she prays about everything—no matter how big or small. “Auntie Stella,” as she is known to many who love her, has a missionary heart.

About 15 years ago Auntie Stella made a startling discovery. She learned that God can use anything to help share His love with others, even a plant! It happened like this:

A relative gave Auntie Stella a small jasmine flower plant that had come from India. Auntie Stella took good care of this tropical plant because it was very special. It grows best in warm climates, so she knew she would have to be extra careful when the weather in Maryland turned cold. In the best conditions the plant has small, double thick white flowers with about four or five blossoms at the end of each branch. It typically grows into a big bush and blooms all summer long. 

During the winter Auntie Stella would carefully move her jasmine plant into the house, where it would be protected. During the summer she would move it back outside, where it would grow fresh new leaves and the branches would be profusely covered with flowers for the rest of the season.

God really can use anything, even a plant, to help spread His love to the world.

But the most beautiful thing about jasmine is not how it looks but how it smells. The sweet and exotic perfume of jasmine cannot be compared to any other flower. Both rich and poor people in many countries love to wear the flowers around their necks or in their hair so they can enjoy the scent all day. Even a few jasmine blooms can fill an entire room with their fragrance.

One day Auntie Stella got to thinking about how she could raise money to build a church in India. She was praying about it when she suddenly got an idea. She always got lots of compliments on her jasmine plant. What if she made cuttings and transplanted pieces to grow more plants? She could tell her friends about her plan to raise money for the church building project in India. If any of them wanted to donate, she would give them a small jasmine plant that they could raise and enjoy at their own homes. 

When she shared her idea, her friends were happy to help. So that spring she transplanted many healthy jasmine plants. Would you believe she raised almost $3,000? Today there is a church in India where people gather and worship God because of her missionary plant.

Auntie Stella praises God for giving her the idea, and she is thankful for the opportunity to help build a church where it was needed. Over the years she has continued to use her missionary plant to raise money for mission projects. She wants people to know that God really can use anything, even a plant, to help spread His love to the world.