As stated in the May 18th post, Honduras is experiencing severe repercussions due to the novel Coronavirus. Sowers4Pastors has gone from feeding 14,000 kids twice a week to feeding 20,000 kids three times a week, due to the ongoing economic crisis. This equals more than twice as many meals.
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Since putting out the word about the food crisis in Honduras, and more specifically in their ministry, Sowers4Pastors has received a big response from churches and individuals. Praise God, that generosity has already allowed for some much-needed purchases to meet immediate needs!
To date, the ministry has bought 2400 lbs of dried corn (used for making tortillas), 1200 lbs of vitamin-enriched Quaker oatmeal, 1000 lbs of dried beans, and 1000 lbs of rice. Those items, purchased in country, are already starting to go out in distribution, along with the fortified rice Sowers4Pastors already has in their stockpile. Allen believes that it will be necessary to supplement the regular fortified rice that Sowers4Pastors usually distributes, in this manner, for the remainder of 2020.
Kim Hall, director of Manna 4 Lempira, had already been raising funds for this purpose. She has been passing out supplemental foods to families in the Manna locations. Sowers4Pastors has been adding to that supply and they will continue to do so-- only now they will be adding some of the supplemental foods as well. Kim applied for and received permission from the Honduran government to travel on days other than her official travel days for the purpose of distributing food. She has already put out 1,000 family packs of food!
Sowers4Pastors is continuing to take care of the regular needs of the feeding programs. As always, they are in contact with the sister church pastors and pastors with the general feeding programs and have assurances that the food is going out. They are asking the pastors to be strategic about getting extra food to those with the greatest needs.
Given the current crisis, Allen’s inability to take “no” for an answer has once again proven to be a beneficial character trait! After repeated contact with the people who normally ship the Sowers4Pastors food containers, he was able to get a container of food prioritized for the Sowers4Pastors feeding programs. This container will contain half rice and soy, and half fortified oatmeal, and is estimated to provide 500,000 child servings. Originally, the food would not have arrived for 6-8 months, but Allen was able to get the time reduced to 2-3 months. This food is donated to the ministry free of charge, but Sowers4Pastors will still have to pay $10,000 in shipping and customs fees. Since the shipment will not arrive for a couple months, and due to the increased need, the current stockpile will run out before then, which means that Sowers4Pastors will have to continue to supplement with food purchased in country at an increased cost.
As stated in previous posts, part of the breakdown in the system is that normally food is given to the ministry for free, but due to Covid-19, the groups that normally package food have not been able to host packing events. Because of this situation, less food is available at a time when the food is most needed!
Allen is in the process of implementing a food packing event. He is working with churches in Maryland to get another container filled for shipping. This food will not be free to Sowers4Pastors, but will be sold below cost. Allen is reaching out to the various churches in Maryland that are involved with the ministry to help cover the cost of the food in addition to the shipping. The estimated total cost for this second container will be $34,000. This includes the food, shipping and customs.The filled container is expected to yield over 600,000 child servings of food.
Sowers4Pastors is looking for volunteers in Maryland to help with the packing and funding of this container. Lighthouse Church has committed to helping package and pay for a portion of the food.
Allen said, “We are stepping out in faith that we will find other partners to help with the remainder of this need. This container will be shipped as soon as we come up with all funds and the food is packaged and loaded. Please consider donating your time or finances.” The Sowers4Pastors crew also asks for ongoing prayer that they will be able to continue to meet this monumental need, with your help!
Thank you to everyone who has donated money to this cause. Thanks also to everyone praying about it. Sowers4Pastors appreciates it more than words can say. The people who would not otherwise have food appreciate it, too!
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- posted by Christi
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