A Behind-the-Scenes Look (Bonus Features!)

Do you remember the pre-Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+ days when we were forced to walk across the room like barbarians and insert a DVD if we wanted to watch a movie? We may not miss the arduous trek to the DVD player, but some of us may be missing the bonus features that came on the DVDs. There was nothing like a good behind-the-scenes look at the making of a movie and a chat with the director to make you feel like an insider. Well, today, it’s time for a behind the scenes look at what’s going on at Sowers4Pastors. Now, on to the bonus features!

Bonus Feature #1

Auntie Boo with (some) of
her nephews and nieces

Boo is visiting!! For those of you who don't know or don't remember, Boo is Bethany, the fifth Sowers child, and the third daughter, also known as the baby of the family (Even after Bucket Boy joined, she's still considered one of the babies). She is also not a baby anymore, but a mama in the making - she is several months pregnant at this point, and the Sowers are super excited to have her visiting! She hasn't been down in kind of a chunk of time, because of nursing school, getting married, having pets - you know, life.

Family game nights, cookie baking, pizza parties and early Easter egg hunts (so Boo gets to enjoy them before she leaves) are all being planned out to make the most of the time available to hang with Auntie Boo.

Bonus Feature #2

One part of updating child sponsorship information is that when Sower4Pastors do the registration and backpack distribution, there are always a few children who don’t show up. (Sometimes it’s just a matter of the family being off picking coffee. Sometimes it’s because the child is no longer in school or has moved.) After the big registration/distribution has taken place, Sowers4Pastors begins making the rounds again.

The children are marked as “pendiente” (pending) until S4P knows what’s up. If it becomes known that a child is leaving the program, that child is marked as “salidas” (leaving).  Due to the complicated school situation during COVID restrictions, many children didn’t make a conscious decision to leave school last year. It’s just sort of happened. This year, many of those children are returning to school. 

Spanish-speaking staff members set off on motorcycles to track down the “pendiente” children. It’s not a simple process. A teacher

may or may not be able to point them in the right direction. They may have to go to a neighbor’s house to get directions. Once located, the children who will be attending school are officially enrolled in the sponsorship program. They are given a backpack and shoes.

Sometimes, there are backpacks that were personalized for children who didn’t show up. Even if the children are not immediately located, those backpacks are stored for a year. Shoes are also set aside for those kids. Several attempts are made to get those backpacks to the intended recipients.

It’s also time to inventory and store the excess shoes from this distribution season. Even though it’s a little earlier than usual, they will soon begin the process of buying shoes for the 2023 distribution. Due to inflation, it is prudent to do that as soon as possible. Backpacks will also be purchased in the not-too-distant future.

Bonus Feature #3

The Sowers’ water is piped through a system of pipes they installed about ten years ago. The water travels through underground pipes about 3.5 miles from the river to the main road. It goes under the main road and then travels another 1.5 miles to the property. The water is from a non-sketchy part of the river, so it’s already reasonably safe. At the property, it is filtered to make sure it’s completely non-sketchy and fit for human consumption. It’s a good system. But, for the first time ever, the main road is about to be paved. 

The water that normally comes from the river will be cut off. The Sowers are not alone in this. Other people also have water pipes that go under the main road. And, the timing is less than excellent. Gracias is starting the dry season and there are two water tanks at “Casa de Sowers” that are used for water storage - since it's dry season, the tanks will start running low even before the work has started and the supply is cut off.

Road workers are currently widening the road and preparing to put down concrete. At some point, everyone affected will be allowed to dig much deeper to cross under the main road. It’s not an emergency situation. It’s just a situation! 

Bonus Feature #4

Trish's house a few years ago before the new metal was put on it.
No, she did not pick that spot for the view, why do you ask?
(JK, she totally did)

Roof work will be happening within the next 2 week at “Casa de Allen y Trish Sowers." (This is not the new home that is under construction - for various reasons that project is stalled at the moment.) The roofs on the property homes normally consist of three layers. There’s the interior wooden roof that looks pretty on the inside of the house, the metal roof on top of that,  and the exterior clay roof that looks pretty and helps insulate against the heat. It’s been about 2 years since Alan & Trish’s roof was removed and a new metal roof was installed. You may or may not remember the saga. There’s been a pandemic and stuff going on, and all. 

Anywhoooo… The clay tiles aren’t nailed on or anything. They are just placed on top of the metal. It’s usually a fine method. But when the new metal roof was put on, it was super slick and the tiles slid off like frosting on a hot cake. Well, they didn’t melt or anything, but you get the idea. For the past two years, the metal has been exposed to the elements. Now that it’s less new and shiny, the tiles should stay put. Hopefully.

Hope you enjoyed this little segment of bonus content!

-posted by Christi.