Food packing events in MD!

If you would like to help with the current food crisis in Honduras by donating, click HERE.

Hey, everyone! Kirstin Sowers here, and I want to tell you about some of the exciting things happening in Maryland this week! We are currently in the middle of a food packing event at Lighthouse Church in Glen Burnie, and in the coming weeks Fredericktowne Baptist Church in Walkersville will start packing food as well. It is so encouraging to see people coming together to help Honduras during these difficult times. 

Honduras is currently experiencing a severe economic crisis. They have been in a government mandated lockdown due to Covid-19 for several months now. This lockdown is keeping people from working, in a country where most people were already living hand to mouth. For those of you who might have missed it HERE is a link to the current food crisis in Honduras, and HERE is a post about how Sowers4Pastors is responding. Sowers4Pastors’ solution to this crisis includes food packing events in MD. I am so excited and feel so blessed to be a part of this!

Here is what the packing event at Lighthouse Church (LH) looks like. LH has a huge foyer, and we have completely taken over the foyer for the week of this packing event. Due to the necessities of maintaining social distancing, we have spread the tables far apart. All packers are wearing hair nets, gloves, and, of course, masks. We have two types of stations: measuring/weighing stations and sealing/packing stations. 

The measuring/weighing stations can be run by two people. The first person measures out the ingredients – oats, sugar, and cinnamon enriched with vitamins and minerals. They then mix the ingredients to ensure that the sugar and cinnamon don’t clump together during shipping. The second person takes the measured-out ingredients and weighs them to make sure the bag contains the right amount. From there, the bags go to a sealing/packing station. At these stations, the volunteer will use a heat-sealing device to seal the bag closed, and then will pack the finished product into the boxes. Big thanks to John Neison and Food for Kidz for providing us with the setup and the supplies to run this food packing event!

I’d also like to give a special shout out to Katie Warner, the outreach coordinator at LH. She is such a hard worker and has such a passion for the Kingdom. Working with her has been an absolute pleasure!

In the coming weeks, any food left over from the LH packing event will go to Fredericktowne Baptist Church. Jim Cofer is in charge of running this event. He and his family have been involved in our ministry for several years, and I want to say thanks to both him and his wife Denise for all they do for both the Sowers family personally and the ministry as a whole. At some point in the coming days/weeks, you will start seeing info on our Facebook account about those packing events. 

PRAYER REQUESTS:

- Please pray that these packing events will go smoothly. Events of this size can be stressful where there isn’t a pandemic going on. Please pray also for the health and safety of all involved.

- Please continue to pray for Honduras during this time. I’ve heard some estimates that it will take Honduras 10 years to recover from the economic impact of Covid-19. Please pray for healing for the country, as it struggles to deal with the virus and its repercussions.

- Finally, and most importantly, please pray that despite the difficulties of these times, or because of them, that God’s Kingdom will continue to advance, in Honduras, in the US, and around the world!!

Thanks to everyone who has come or is coming to these packing events! Special thanks to all the different people who made these events possible! Thanks to LH and FBC for hosting these events and helping to make this container of food a reality. Finally, thanks to everyone who has donated either to the cost of food or the cost of shipping. 

We couldn’t do this without you!

To donate, click here.

- posted by Kirstin Sowers