Storytime with Esdras: Traveling to the US with Sowers4Pastors!

Everyone has a story to tell and this time it’s Esdras’ turn to tell his story about being the first Honduran to ever go on a backpack collection trip for Sowers4Pastors.

Prologue

The first step involved obtaining a U.S. visa, which S4P helped him obtain. When Esdras was asked about that, he said, “God was in the middle of the process.” 

He pointed out that many people in Honduras think that obtaining a visa involves having a lot of money and going through extensive questioning. Esdras’ experience was quite different, consisting of three questions and answers:

Q: Why do you want to go to the USA?

A: I’m working with a mission organization. 

Q: Why can’t the people just send their money here instead of someone going to pick it up?

A: The people are sending backpacks filled with school supplies for Honduran children!

Q: Who is paying for you to go?

A: I am not a rich man. The ministry is paying for me to go.

Esdras is now in possession of a 10-year US visa! 

Once Upon a Time

Esdras went into the trip only knowing half of the backpack story. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of the containers. When he thought about backpacks, he thought about unloading the boxes from the containers, sorting through the contents, and, ultimately, distributing backpacks to the children. But he had never given much thought to the collection process. It was like he had read the final chapters of a book without reading the “Once upon a time” part.

This made the trip that much more meaningful to Esdras. Even as he spent hours putting notebooks and glue sticks into the backpacks at Edgewater Alliance Church in Florida, he was thinking about the future. He said, “I was picturing a kid getting that backpack. The work is hard. You have to put everything into the backpacks. Then you check each backpack and put them into boxes. It’s nine hours of working every day. But that is not too much when you can think that each backpack is for one kid in Honduras. I could do that every single day. I was thinking in my heart that each backpack is going to help share the Gospel and help a kid in Honduras. And I was thinking what a big heart every sponsor has. They helped me with the work, but they would not see the kids in Honduras. They didn’t know every situation and school in Honduras. They couldn’t see it all but they were giving in love. It’s amazing what love they have for the kids. I’m grateful for all of their help to share the Gospel with the kids. I’m grateful to God for each sponsor.” 

Different Translations, Same Story

“When I visited EAC in Florida, the first service on Sunday had a communion time,” Esdras shared. “It was a great experience. It was in another language (not Spanish) with different people (not Honduran). It’s beautiful that we can have communion together in one language with one God, one faith, one church…”

“My English is conversational. I can talk about little things. In Honduras, my practice was limited to two or three hours at a time. In the US, my practice was twenty hours a day for three weeks. That was a good experience and I think my English is better after my trip. Some days it was hard. It was hard for my brain. Sometimes I was tired and didn’t want to talk in English. But it was good because I was glad to try to share and talk about the Gospel with each person. One day, I was trying to place an order for a coffee and the person told me about his life. That was a good opportunity to share the Gospel!”

Footnotes

When asked if there was more to this story, Esdras shared, “Everything in the USA is different. There are different roads. The beach is different. The cars. The food. It’s all different.” He said, “Now I know one thing–that the USA is a beautiful country. Honduras is beautiful, too, but it’s different. The people were so kind. The people adopted me to be part of their families. I’m grateful to God for those people and how they received me with love. I’m grateful for each experience there. I have a long, long story about each moment. Mr. Allen and Kirstin were there with me. I didn’t have any idea what the process was. Now I can understand. I had the new experience of driving a tractor to put the boxes on the containers. I had never driven a tractor before. When I finished the backpack work, some people showed me different theme parks. And it was my first time to eat steak! That was a delicious choice!” Esdras laughed while remembering, “I really enjoyed the food. I love the food in the USA. So delicious!”

(Not) The End

Esdras' first backpack collection trip may be over, but he is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the backpacks in Honduras, so he can pick up the story where he left off. 

- posted by Christi