When Rachel and several of the female staff members from Sowers4Pastors got the chance to attend a women’s conference for a weekend in Tegucigalpa, they knew it was a good thing. But that doesn’t mean it was easy to commit to taking a break and recharging.
The timing couldn’t have been better. The ministry had just wrapped up team season—an experience as exhilarating as it is exhausting. Rachel admitted that before the conference, she felt “very dry,” like she “hadn’t been properly filled.” After so much busyness, she was running on empty. Secia was in the same boat, but like a sleepy child fighting naptime, she secretly hoped Rachel would cancel the trip!
Rachel understood. When you’re utterly exhausted, it’s hard to find the energy for the very thing that will refresh you. Committing to a weekend of renewal can be tough when you know a mountain of work will be waiting for you when you return.
“I love working in ministry and feel passionate about what I’m doing,” Rachel shared. But before the conference, she was already pondering how God’s math works differently from ours. “It’s easy to think, ‘This is filling me, I don’t need anything else.’ But that doesn’t mean ministry doesn’t drain me. It’s about being intentional about rest—not just at a conference, but daily. I was thinking about the Sabbath or tithing. God can do more with the part than you can do with the whole. It’s about trusting Him, getting replenished, getting refilled, and not feeling guilty about it. God is able to do so much more with a portion than we could ever accomplish on our own.”
As it turned out, the conference focused on just that: not relying on our own strength, but on the One who truly has the power.
For Rachel and Secia, attending the conference also meant leaving Brandy and Alejandro to hold down the fort with the kids. Well, most of the kids—Charlotte tagged along with her mom for her very first women’s conference. And Charlotte may have enjoyed it the most, as she spent the weekend being prayed over and held by the women there.
Alejandro and Brandy holding down the fort (Brandy's brother, Kevin, came along to help)
Now that everyone’s back home, please pray for the S4P team—that they’ll remember to take the breaks they need. Pray they’ll find space in their daily lives for rest, instead of waiting for the next conference. It’s a particularly challenging season for Rachel and Secia as they juggle ministry work and small children. Pray they find the right balance. And maybe, just maybe, pray that Charlotte decides she doesn’t need to be held all day, every day. She definitely loved the conference—maybe a little too much!
- posted by Christi
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