You can tell a lot about what is going on in the life of a Christian based on what verses of scripture they are clinging to at a particular moment. What’s going on with the Sowers family? Well, take a moment to read the verses Trish shared and then we’ll talk about it.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ~ James 1:2-4
Are you ready to continue? So, clearly, life is not all sunshine and lollipops right now. In fact, there are some serious struggles happening right now. Allen and Trish would like to share those struggles with you as they ask for prayer.
Rachel
Recently, she started having some contractions and her doctor has put her on bed rest for the remaining 2 months of her pregnancy. It goes without saying that the first prayer request is for Rachel and her unborn son.
The ministry also needs prayers because when Rachel isn’t there to work, things are infinitely more difficult. Her doctor has okayed her to work from her laptop. That requires someone to be on hand to take care of her other two boys. Baby Michael is at a very curious stage and his capacity to reach new things is growing each day! Rachel loves to be in the middle of the work, and for her, bed rest is more challenging than “doing all the things!”
Coffee Farm
At some point during the last part of the coffee harvest, it was discovered that the Sowers4Pastors coffee farm had a new and unwelcome guest–coffee blight. The blight has been moving all over Honduran coffee farms, so its arrival wasn’t a total surprise. It was just a matter of time. But the timing was particularly bad as it arrived as the trees were straining to produce coffee. The plants were giving all of their energy to the beans and weren’t able to protect themselves.
Coffee workers are still in short supply, so the farm is operating with a skeleton crew of four men spraying the plants with fertilizers and fungicide. Everyone is trying to take it in stride. Allen is hopeful that most of the coffee trees can be saved. They are trusting God with the future of the farm. Please pray for additional workers, and for God to heal the trees!
Food Supplies
The food that Sowers4Pastors uses in their sponsorship programs and feeding centers is shipped into Honduras from the US. It's special food, formulated to stave off malnutrition. Unfortunately, there have been delays and delays related to the process of getting government approval to start moving the next container of food - which is ready and waiting in the US. It is not in Sowers4Pastors' hands, to fix the delays. They just have to wait.
At this time, they have had to suspend food distributions to all of the non-sponsorship feeding centers, so they won't run out as quickly. Please pray that the situation is corrected quickly!
Allen
The willingness to be vulnerable is courageous. Allen courageously shared, “I’m feeling like my age is catching up with me. I want to help Rachel and the team. I want to fix things. My mind says, ‘Yes!’ My body says, ‘No!’ I’m feeling the stress of it all and, because I am a doer, it’s hard. I don’t want to say it’s depressing, but it’s a downer. It’s a bummer to not be able to do as much as I could have done two or three years ago. I’m spending a lot of time in prayer–praying that God would give me energy, but more that He would give me peace. The peace to accept the things I can’t change. It would be great if I could step in and help with more of the office work, but that is really not my gift!”
Teams
And, of course, S4P is right in the middle of team season. Trish said, “While we have a great time with teams, it’s a lot of work. Plus this is when the teams distribute the shoes and backpacks. That means loading trucks and doing inventory. Everyone is putting in more hours. We’re trying to be respectful of people’s time and not pull the newer employees in after hours. But right now it’s necessary. Everyone is willing and, like us, they see this as an opportunity to advance the Gospel - but we also want them to have some downtime.”
Prayer is something S4P always covets. But sometimes it feels like a more frantic need. Please pray for God’s continued guidance, the feeling of peace, and enough downtime to keep everyone’s energy level where it needs to be.
3 comments:
Praying for you precious people.
Praying for all, my love to you all as well. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Amen and Amen
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
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