What is "Normal", Anyway?

Some people think that "normal" is a good thing, while others think "normal" is a boring thing. At Sowers4Pastors, a boring "normal" isn't really a thing that exists! Obviously, this year has been anything but typical, so we do have some current events that don't fit the mold. They do, however, represent things on the To Do list, a concept that is very familiar for the crew. As the Sowerses try to return back to what passes for “normal” life around here after being in the States for several weeks, months, or years (depending on which member of the family you're considering), we thought we’d do a quick update on some of the current happenings, some of which are “normal” (for us) and some of which are not. Lots of excitement, lots of running around, and lots (AND LOTS) of things to get done. 

Damage to the water line – Russell knew we had taken some damage to our water supply line during the second hurricane, and he had been told it happened where the water is picked up on the mountain. Because we have a water tank with enough stored water to last us for weeks, no one had been up the mountain yet to assess the damage - there was just too much going on between coffee harvest and hurricane relief efforts. Allen was able to go up Saturday with a crew to take a look. Unfortunately, because of the massive amount of rain water running down the river, the pick up site was completely washed away. Allen says that the pick up site dropped six feet in elevation due to mud and rocks washing down the river! This means the pick up site will need to be moved further up the river, as the system is strictly gravity fed, so the new pick up site has to be the same elevation as the old one. Allen estimates his crew will have to lay about 500 ft of pipe to get from undamaged pipe up to the new pick up site. Thankfully, it looks like the owner of the land will probably permit him to do so (Hint, hint, prayer warriors). The Sowers4Pastors compound has two large water tanks to store water, so we haven’t run out yet, but the coffee farm is about to start burning through the stored water as coffee season gets into full swing. The water is needed to wash the coffee as it is de-pulped. Please pray with us that these repairs go quickly and smoothly. It’s hard to run a coffee farm without water!

Containers – The Florida backpack container is packed! Thank you to the Edgewater community, and especially the Richardsons, for tackling this huge undertaking. From Edgewater, it will picked up by a trucking company either Monday or Tuesday and taken to the port, where it will be loaded on the ship and sent on its way to Honduras. Once there, it will start the process of going through customs. Very soon, the Maryland backpack container will be following it. We will have teams on the ground late January looking to pass out backpacks to their sponsored kids, so we have a bit of a deadline. The Maryland food container is currently in customs, and we are praying it will be released and on its way to Gracias any day now. Please pray with us that these containers will arrive quickly, safely and especially that the customs process will go smoothly.

Ongoing hurricane relief efforts – We want to stop and say thank you to anyone who donated hurricane relief funds. Shannon Hopkins and Kim Hall are busy coordinating rebuilding and repair efforts in our area, with Russell consulting on the projects and providing some of his expertise. You know, when he’s not neck deep in coffee farming, being a full time missionary, and the husband of a very pregnant wife.

Iris and the baby – Still no word from Iris and Russell yet what they are going to name their little one. Praise God, Iris’ pregnancy is still going smoothly. The doctor’s hope is that the pregnancy will make it to the middle of December without any issues, then they will perform a C-section. Please join us in praising God that Iris has had no problems so far! We also continue to pray that Iris and the little one will both continue to be healthy, and that Iris’ C-section will go smoothly. Just in case you were wondering, RJ and Abby are both super excited to be getting a little sister. Abby warned me that babies are pretty boring at first, until they big enough to play with.

Coffee farm – Things are going well with the coffee farm. Russell is busy prepping a new storage building as we come up on the busiest part of the harvest season. Of course, it’s bad timing, between hurricanes and a pregnant wife – but coffee harvest waits for no man!

Kirstin (FINALLY) moves to Honduras – While we are on the subject of “normal”…. It’s a little strange for me, moving back after being gone for over 10 years, but I’m settling into my new room, and enjoying easy access to lychees and nephews/nieces. It is definitely nice to finally be in Honduras after being unable to enter the country for almost seven months! Technically, this is my first time going to the field as a missionary, rather than as an MK, and some adjustment is expected – but because I spent so much of my childhood as an MK, I’m not sure how much. Please pray that my (re)adjustment period to my new normal will go smoothly!

Lychee fruit: Something normal that's not boring?

- posted by Kirstin S.