Life is like a box of backpacks

Surely, the most famous line in Forrest Gump is, “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” For everyone at Sowers4Pastors, life is like a box of backpacks. There’s probably some witty thought to complete that idea, but they’re too tired from dealing with boxes of backpacks to think of it. 

While Allen and Kirstin were dodging a Hurricane, Kelsea and a team of volunteers from Edgewater Alliance church were going through the boxes that had been delivered so far. This included all of the Manna boxes that had been mailed. Since it was decided that Russell wouldn’t be returning to Florida to go through the boxes, repack them, and store them until the shipping container is ready, Kelsea went to help with the process at the beginning of October. Gus Sowers (or Chris, if you know him by that name) also rearranged his schedule to drive across Florida and help out for a few days.

Now, Allen and Kirstin have arrived with a bunch more boxes and the fun continues! Since the final leg of the collection trip was rushed a bit, Allen and Kirstin didn’t have time to repack boxes along the way. There is more work to do to be sure each box is filled to capacity for shipping. They are very thankful for the loyal volunteers helping with that.

Sowers4Pastors is experiencing some concerning delays from the Honduran government and are still waiting to get the green light to ship the food that was packaged in Maryland. The ministry has done its part by turning in all of the required paperwork in a timely manner. But they’re still waiting. There is nothing they can do but pray that the government will expedite the process to get the backpacks shipped.

At present, the ministry still has enough food to operate at its current, increased capacity since the last container arrived. Looking ahead, however, it is possible that they won’t be able to get the backpacks delivered before school starts in 2021. The backpack shipment is time-sensitive, as teams will be arriving to distribute the backpacks. The food shipment is less so, because Sowers4Pastors still has food on the ground, but of course once that food runs out, that container will be desperately needed, as well. 

Why the delay? The government offices in Honduras are only working part-time. It isn’t that Sowers4Pastors is being overlooked while the government focuses on larger charities. They are working on large-scale shipments that affect the entire country, such as food shipments for grocery stores and items for Walmart. Sowers4Pastors isn’t that high up on their priority list.

Please join us in praying for the timely shipment and delivery of the containers that the stateside partners have worked so hard to get together. Thanks so much!

- posted by Christi.