Fields of Service—Our People, Their Gifts: From Manitoba’s rolling plains to Saskatchewan’s vast horizons and Nunavut’s northern reaches, God’s servants cultivate a rich ministry harvest. “Fields of Service” celebrates the diverse spiritual gifts flourishing across the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference. Twice a month, we spotlight the extraordinary stories of ordinary people who’ve answered God’s call—dedicated teachers shaping young minds, compassionate care home workers nurturing our elderly, and passionate pastors growing our faith communities. These authentic narratives reveal how the Lord transforms willing hearts into powerful instruments of service, following our proven agricultural approach: preparing hearts through community service, planting seeds of friendship, nurturing through Bible studies, rejoicing in evangelistic harvest, and multiplying gifts for mission.
Join us in celebrating these stories of transformation and service.
Francis Douville learned his first lessons about hard work in a strawberry field at twelve years old. He would wake up early every morning, have breakfast, and bike 3.5 kilometres to the fields. Among the pickers, he stood out for his speed. “I would get $0.25 per casseau (pint),” he recalls, “and make anywhere between $18-20 daily. That’s up to 80 casseaux de fraise.” That short strawberry season yielded more than just $120 – it planted the seeds of determination that would shape his future.
Life took Francis through what he calls “many jobs since then” – from laying sod to milking cows, from working on asphalt crews to becoming an athletic therapist. His questioning nature, though initially seen as a challenge, would prove to be one of his greatest strengths.
“I’ve never been considered the teacher’s pet,” he admits with a chuckle. “Why would I be? I was always talking out of turn.” This characteristic was so pronounced that in grade 5, under the supervision of a strict nun, he attended only two recesses that entire year. Even in university, his persistent questions once prompted Dr. Parish to exclaim in frustration, “How can someone have so many questions in Anatomy and Physiology? A hand is a hand and a foot is a foot!”
Francis finally found his stride at Canadian Union College (now Burman University). “I was relieved when I found that my teachers at C.U.C. welcomed my questions,” he reflects. “Jesus welcomed questions. And to keep the conversation going, he answered questions with questions.”
The true test of Francis’s growth came at Living Word Christian Fellowship. “A retired pastor, a man that I respect to this day, who was leading the church in the interim threw an architectural drawing on my lap during my interview and said: ‘You are going to build this!'” he remembers. What followed was a transformative thirteen years of ministry.
“The journey had me sit with architects, construction managers, tradespeople, the conference, the church board, and church business meetings,” he explains. “It took 10 years of consultation, conflict, vision and re-vision, research and learning much about leadership, prayer, myself and my insecurities.”
Now, as Conference Executive Secretary, Pastor Francis approaches leadership with hard-earned wisdom. “I aspire to be moldable by God in any position He will put me in. I believe that every call is an opportunity for growth and increased dependency on God.”
What he particularly cherishes about serving the church is its diversity. “Each person that I meet is a potential for my growth. I have much to learn from others and love sharing my knowledge, passion and gifts to those who have a passion for ministry.”
His observation on current leadership reflects this journey: “It’s refreshing to step into an office where we focus on working ourselves out of a job. We are not here because of the position… I am surrounded by selfless people who believe we have a purpose here for as long as God decides.”
With twenty years of pastoral experience and a lifetime of learning, Pastor Francis maintains his humble perspective. As he says with characteristic humour, “Although picking berries may no longer be a viable option, I continue to prayerfully lay my future plans in God’s hands.”
By Pastor Charles Ed II Aguilar
