Making it Count

Allen, Trish, and Russell often hear the question, “How can we pray for you?” That’s good, because they will happily take all the prayers they can get! So, Trish posts stories to Facebook, on this blog, and in email to let all of you praying people know about their most pressing needs and concerns -- and about things like scorpions and vehicle difficulties and worse! At the same time Trish is posting these tales from the mission field, the Sowerses are praying their own prayers. They’re praying that the hearts of their friends and supporters will be touched and that people will be encouraged to send visiting teams to work with them - in spite of the difficulties they might encounter on their visits.

As Trish said, “Because of the kind of work that we do, and the size of it, we can’t do this ministry without help. Often, the people who get most excited about partnering with our ministry are those who have come down to see for themselves.”

People frequently comment on the sacrifices the family is making. Trish stressed, “We make sacrifices because this is what God told us to do. But, a lot of times, things other people consider sacrifices, we consider inconveniences.” She then explained that everyone makes sacrifices.

“Sometimes people make sacrifices to get a particular job. Maybe someone’s dream job is in a big city, but that person can’t afford to live in the city. The person might take the job anyway and decide to commute and sit in traffic every day, feeling that this sacrifice is worth the goal of having that job,” Trish said, continuing the thought.

There was laughter as Trish discussed that some of the things others see as huge sacrifices on the part of her family, aren’t so big to them. Now, asking them to sit in traffic five days a week would be a sacrifice! But, for Allen and Trish, monitoring water and electrical usage is an inconvenience.

Trish did acknowledge that some sacrifices are bigger. As a prime example, she said, “Our kids. When our kids became adults, those who wanted to attend college had to move back to the U.S. They each spent about a year getting acclimated to a new culture. They had to get driver's licenses and cars. They had to find their own way--get jobs and save money. We certainly didn’t have the funds to help with this, or to send them through college. That was a sacrifice. It's hard for our kids. And it's hard for us because we put them in that position.

“Over the  years, we’ve had people infer that we shouldn’t work so hard at our ministry. Some people think we’re trying to earn salvation, or deserve God’s favor. That isn’t the case. We just don’t want to make the sacrifices our family members are making, for no good reason. We want to make it count!”

As an example of making it count, we discussed the Mercedes sponsorship center, which now consists of five separate feeding locations. About ten years ago, it was one church, with between 30-40 kids in attendance. There were no sponsorships at that point, but Sowers4Pastors helped the local pastor feed the kids and provide them with Bible lessons, through the feeding center program. A couple of years ago, Mercedes became a sponsorship center. That church now has 360 children in their center - and many of their families have joined the church! The church doubled in size, then it doubled again, under the leadership of Pastor Germán.

Christians in Honduras use a term to describe the current situation in their country - "white fields" - which refers to John 4:35, talking about crops that turned white when it was time to harvest them. The churches in Honduras know this is a time when they can and should be reaping a great harvest. Trish concluded, “We’re honored to work where that’s the case. It’s a blessing to us. We’re just trying to do the best we can, with what we have, to help the pastors reap that harvest. The things that hold us back are money and time.”

If you’ve ever considered visiting Honduras with a short-term mission team, or providing more financial assistance, this is a good time to reflect on John 4:35: “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

 - posted by Christi