Alejandro Talks Backpacks

When Alejandro and Sesia moved to Gracias to work with Sowers4Pastors in August 2022, they weren’t sure what to expect in regard to backpack distribution. They had heard things–things about how difficult it was to lug huge boxes of backpacks and shoes from one school to the other. The warnings were enough to cause Alejandro a little concern.

Alejandro said, “At our last job, my wife and I worked in an office. It was a big deal just to change the paper in the printer. So when the guys told me about the big boxes and heavy, hard work, I thought, ‘I’m not in the condition to do that sort of work!’”

The physical challenges proved to be worthwhile, though. Alejandro quickly discovered how much the backpacks mean–not just to the children, but to their families. He said, “Handing out the backpacks was amazing to us, but we had never thought about how amazing it was for the families. With the backpacks, they can send the kids to school. Each backpack that is filled with school supplies the families wouldn’t be able to afford to purchase helps a child, a family, and a community.”

Besides a good workout, there was another side benefit Alejandro hadn’t expected to receive. Working with the visiting teams made Alejandro and Secia feel that they now have new families within each of the churches. He spoke of his new families at Edgewater Alliance, Life Community Church, Lighthouse Church, and more. Alejandro said, “We were expecting to work with the teams but now we have families.”

He shared, “Something we discovered was the big hearts the people in the States who come here have. We have amazing people in Honduras, too. But the teams come from the States to work and work and work. They come to help the kids. People in their seventies have come to work side by side with us. If they are told to do this or that, they never say they are too tired. They say, ‘Let’s go!’ They are here loving the kids. It’s amazing the hearts they have.”

Now that Alejandro knows better the good that will come out of the next backpack collection, he said, “I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to work and serve in this ministry. No matter what is in each backpack–whether it is full of extras or if it holds the basics– every item is a big blessing to the families.”

- posted by Christi