The World Beyond Trish's Desk . . .

(Insert throat clearing and the sound of a spoon clanking against a glass.) May I have your attention, please? Trish has almost completed updating all of the children in the sister church programs. It’s a huge task that has consumed most of Trish's time since mid-February, and she is more than a little bit giddy to be at the tail end of the project. Most of the sister churches have already received updated picture cards. Whew! Now, will someone please let Trish leave her computer to stretch her legs? Even though she’s still at her computer finishing up the last little bit, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Here are some of the things she might notice when she finally looks up:

Gifts for Pastors

It’s like Christmas in June as the gifts for pastors make their way to the intended recipients. Every few days or so, a denominational supervisor arrives on the property and leaves with a mammoth truckload of boxes to be delivered to the pastors under his supervision. 

 

The boxes contain items such as the best used clothing and household item donations that arrived on the containers. The pastors and their families also receive toiletry items. Every box contains a backpack full of school/office supplies, and pastors with school age children receive backpacks filled with school supplies. It is not always possible to provide a backpack for each child, but Sowers4Pastors is committed to easing at least some of the educational burden as the pastors make sure their children attend school. That means that each pastor with children will receive one or more backpacks to help toward the cause.

Teamwork

Next week, a team of thirteen people from Edgewater Alliance Church in Florida will arrive. The EAC sister church program encompasses five different schools, in multiple communities. The team will be putting on a VBS program at each location. Having a team next week means this week is a busy one as well, filled with prep work. Aside from the traditional VBS-y preparations that are being completed, the mechanically inclined people on staff are making sure the vehicles are all road-ready for the team to use.

RAIN!

Rainy season normally begins in earnest in mid-May. A few rains usually trickle in before that, then by May 15th… BLAM! This year, the rains were delayed by several weeks, much to the consternation of farmers throughout Honduras. Cornfields and beans that should have been planted weeks ago, are getting a late start.

Farmers aren’t the only ones planting things right now. There’s a whole lot of planting going on at S4P and this time it’s happening in the areas near the buildings instead of on the farm. When Brandy and Rachel began working with Sowers4Pastors, they were able to look at things with fresh eyes. They have been leading an effort to make the property look more attractive and to plant more fruit-bearing trees.

For months now, Kirstin has been keeping plants alive by hand-watering the new plants, in pots on her porch. Now that the rainy season has finally decided to show up, the plants are going in the ground. There are citrus, mango, and avocado trees. There’s even a starfruit tree that Ben planted from a seed years ago that is now big enough to move from a pot to its forever home. 

Requests out the Wazoo

There have been many church construction requests this year. That’s good news because it means a lot of churches are growing. The problem is that with so many requests it isn’t possible for S4P to take on every project. Please pray for the staff, as they sort through the requests and take on as many worthy projects as they can. Trish reminds us that, “God has always been faithful, and we will continue to do the best we can with what we have been given.”

S4P assisted with this church construction project
in Nov. 2022, in Cabañas Copan

If you are interested in donating toward a church construction project, you can earmark a donation to "church construction" through the Sowers4Pastors website.

 - posted by Christi

PS from Trish - Brandy, Rachel, and their boys are currently home sick with a nasty stomach bug! Please pray for their quick recovery! Thank you!