Questions, Comments, Concerns

We’ve probably all experienced sitting in a meeting and having the speaker ask, “Are there any questions? Comments? Concerns?” Usually that comes up toward the end of a meeting when everyone just wants to leave. Because, let’s face it, a long meeting can begin to feel like a hostage situation. Today’s post is all about questions, comments, and concerns. And you don’t even have to sit through a meeting. Really, this post is all about concerns, but that didn’t have much of a ring to it, so feel free to ask questions and leave comments. For now, we can move straight to some things that have been concerning Sowers4Pastors.  


The Safety Dance

This is Hurricane, a member of the
current security team at S4P. Don't 
let that cute face fool you.
He's monstrous (monstrously
sweet, that is).

That header is probably only funny to you if you were listening to popular music in 1982. In case you weren’t, you might want to take a little time to watch the supremely 80’s music video of The Safety Dance by Men Without Hats. You’re welcome. But the actual concerns being raised about safety in the Gracias area aren’t funny.

Gracias keeps growing. And when a town grows, it loses that small town atmosphere and crime can become a bigger issue. When the Sowers family first moved to Gracias, it was at the end of the road. People way overuse the word “literally,” but Gracias was LITERALLY at the end of the paved road. And when people have a choice, most travelers will always choose to take a paved road instead of an unpaved road. So, Gracias was not what you’d call a “destination spot” for many people. But the road was paved in about 2015 and that changed things for Gracias. Now Gracias is a city on a traveled road instead of a city at the end of a road. And it has lost its notable position as the road less traveled.

There has been an uptick in crime. Not the stabby kind of crimes that end up on podcasts, but the crimes where people will take your money. As far as fodder for podcasts go, money crimes are sort of boring. But that doesn’t mean that having your credit cards, cash, or possessions stolen would be a walk in the park.

S4P is working to boost security around its property. Russell made a new gate that was recently installed. They are also putting up more lights and cameras. And there are lots and lots of dogs on the property. This is all in an effort to be prudent without being paranoid. It’s just a fact that gringos stand out in Gracias. People may view the Sowers family as wealthy because they routinely store ministry resources on their property.

Here Comes the Rain Again

Ironically, the next concern is making some roads around Gracias completely impassable. It's the rainy season, so that means there is rain. That’s just Logic Skills 101. And while all of that rain might be good for the coffee, it's very bad for the roads. This year, there seems to be a lot more road erosion than usual. As you might already know, S4P can’t visit the sponsorship center in Crucitas because the roads have been completely washed out. There are many communities right now that don't have water because the pipes have been washed away. In other places, houses are sliding away. Even in Tegucigalpa, the capital city, a huge swatch of houses is being affected by mudslides. One by one, the houses are falling into a crevice. Bridges have been wiped out in several locations across the country, and there are places where landslides have taken out roads. Rainy season officially ends in November, but Trish said, “It usually peters out. It hasn’t seemed to be doing that yet.”

Of course, all this rain and road damage also making driving more dangerous as well. Brandy, Rachel, their kiddos and Kirstin all went to a conference this past week and are very grateful to report no issues - especially since Melvin was showing them videos of flooded roads along their route right before they left! Thank the Lord they had a safe trip and a good conference, but prayers for the crew at S4P's safety on the road during this time are very much appreciated!

So, those are a few of the most concerning concerns at the moment. Please add them to your prayer list. And don’t forget to leave your questions or comments below!

The daily rains usually occur in the afternoon,
and you can almost always see them coming on the farm. 

- posted by Christi