Things on the Back Burners

If you’ve ever tried to prepare a big holiday meal, you understand the importance of back burners. That’s where you can put things that, while still being important to the meal, don’t require immediate attention. And obviously, they make a great analogy for how life can be sometimes when things get hectic, and some things are simmering in the background. Rachel took some time to share things that are happening in the background for her family.

Brandy is working toward getting US citizenship. And it is a long, drawn-out process requiring mountains of paperwork. Before he can get citizenship, he needs an immigrant visa. To quote Rachel, “We’re always in the process of waiting for something concerning that. The embassy in Honduras has a very long wait for visas. The current wait for tourist visas is more than 800 days out! We don’t know yet what the wait is for the type of visa Brandy needs, but prayers are appreciated.”

Speaking of citizenship… It has been about five years since Nathan gained dual citizenship. Even though Rachel is a US citizen, the process was complicated because she hasn’t lived in the States as an adult. Nathan was able to get citizenship based on Trish’s and Allen’s citizenship. When Michael was born, Rachel started working on the citizenship process for him. But she soon discovered she was pregnant with Levi, so it seemed prudent to wait until the baby was born and make both applications at the same time. When Levi was born, the same thing happened, and she found she was pregnant with Charlotte. Well, now she is very hopeful that she will be able to apply for citizenship for Michael, Levi, and Charlotte at the same time! The process involves a lot of time, money, and extra stress but it is important to make sure that each of the children has dual citizenship.

With so much else going on, you may have forgotten about Rachel and Brandy’s construction of a new house on the ministry’s property. Having a home on the property is a matter of practicality. The office is there, and Rachel is a full-time working mother of four. Even with a nanny helping with the little ones, she needs to be able to see them throughout the day. 

When Rachel and Brandy first moved to Gracias, they knew their finances would change with Brandy leaving the military. They didn’t anticipate how much their needs would increase, though! Fundraising has been sitting on the back burner even as their family grew and grew. The cost for their diapers and milk alone is sizable! Rachel estimates that they are currently going through five giant boxes of diapers a month.

The added financial needs have been a big concern to Brandy, in particular. When they found out they were expecting sweet baby Charlotte, they kept it under wraps for a few months. They hadn’t even shared the big news with family when Kirstin told Rachel that Brandy looked more stressed out than usual! After praying about it, Brandy came to the realization that if God was going to send them four kids that He was going to have to provide for them.

Please pray that all these simmering things on the back burners will continue towards their completion. We trust in God, both in the big things and the little things. We will consider all the different stressors an exercise in "casting cares." If you feel led to be an instrument of God's provision, and committing to partnering with the Sowers Reyes family, you can click on this link. Thank you for your support!

- posted by Christi