Introducing: Yo Soy!

Sowers4Pastors is pleased to introduce a new program... except it's not so much a new program as a new name for the old sponsorship program. Instead of just calling it the “Sowers4Pastors Sister Church Sponsorship Program,” which never exactly rolled off the tongue, its name is now "Yo Soy."

The sponsorship program, which is currently made up of seven different programs across twenty-four different communities, has been a single but vital element of the S4P ministry for several years now. Just for a quick refresher, this project works by connecting US churches with Honduran communities, helping children get resources to go to school, feeding them with enriched rice, and empowering pastors and community leaders with Sunday school materials so the children are exposed to the Gospel. And it will continue as it has, but with a new identity and a more precise vision of what the ministry is trying to accomplish for the children and the kingdom of God.

There’s capacity for growth in the focus and purpose of this program and S4P is working to deepen what they’re doing. Rachel shared, “We have been working to improve some areas, to focus in on the ministry to the children themselves and working closer with the community leaders. What we do in this ministry is so different from our other ministries, like helping with church roofs and purchasing motorcycles. This is very labor intensive. With the children, we’re trying to see something sown in them on a weekly basis. It’s a big commitment.”

"Yo Soy" is Spanish for “I am.” When Rachel and Brandy first had the idea of officially transforming the sponsorship program into a sort of sub-ministry with a name of its own, they asked Alejandro and Secia to help with the brainstorming process. They wanted it to be something the kids can identify with. Sowers4Pastors Kids was considered and later vetoed because it was in English and didn’t seem very kid-friendly (as in, it doesn't roll off the tongue any better than "sister church sponsorship program). "Yo Soy", on the other hand, encapsulates what they hope to impart on the children. Yo Soy. I am. I am loved. I am chosen. I am a child of God. And, as God said to Moses, “I AM that I AM.” 

Rachel shared that many of the kids come from broken homes. Some come from many generations of broken homes. Some of the families are large, though it was never the intention of the parents to have many children. The woman who assists Rachel around the house told her that she has many times seen people trying to give away a child they didn’t want the same way you might give away a litter of kittens. Just imagine the impact that has on the child who grows up thinking, “My own mother didn’t want me.”

Many of the children in Yo Soy don’t feel wanted or loved in their homes. Many of the parents grew up like that, too. They are now prisoners of their own limiting beliefs. Rachel talked about the many times the adults say things like, “I could never do that.” They don’t see a way out of this cycle. Yo Soy is trying to change that for the next generation. If you are a child of God, who are you to say you can’t do something He has called you to do?

Apart from helping the kids, Yo So is also intended to help the pastors and teachers giving the lessons. The idea is that having a name will also give them a clear identity and purpose. “It can help them focus and feel like they are part of a team,” said Rachel.

Sowers4Pastors asks for prayers as Yo Soy continues to grow and reach new children. There is the hope to expand deeper into the nearby communities. Pray that the kids will be receptive to the lessons the ministry is trying to sow in them. Pray for S4P to focus energy, time, and resources into the things the great I AM wants for them.

- posted by Christi.

Graduation Day: Cadetes in the Lord's Army!

May is usually the biggest month for graduations at North American universities and colleges. Actors, politicians, singers, authors, journalists, and your basic run-of-the-mill billionaires get in on the action by giving commencement addresses in which they attempt to have at least one memorable line that goes viral. Does anyone else look forward to graduation season? If not, you don’t know what you’re missing! But, in case you did miss it, have no fear. On July 7th, Alejandro and Secia had the opportunity to serve as masters of ceremony for the very first graduation of Bible Club. 

Thirty-four children in one of the sponsorship programs graduated after completing the first level of Bible material provided by Sowers4Pastors. S4P is trying to encourage participation in Sunday school in the church-based sponsorship programs by celebrating graduation, with this celebration being the first of many (the sponsorship programs that are run out of a public school have the Sunday school lessons as part of their school curriculum, making participation mandatory). In this material, there are three levels in all, and this first level is called Cadetes. (Makes it feel like we should all break into a rousing chorus of “I’m in the Lord’s Army.” Yes, sir!) 

“We feel extremely grateful to God because we had the opportunity to see the children graduating. We have witnessed the spiritual growth among the children and how they want to be Cadetes for Jesus,” Alejandro said. He was quick to give credit where credit was due. “We got to be the masters of ceremony, but the churches did everything to prepare for the graduation. It was an amazing program for the kids. They prepared. The kids marched together as cadetes. They sang together. They prepared Bible verses to recite.”

Sowers4Pastors had diplomas made for the graduating cadets. They also had buttons made to serve as a tangible reminder that the children have completed the first level of material. 

Alejandro said, “We are trying to encourage them and say thank you that they made all of the effort to finish this class. The purpose of the diplomas was to encourage them to continue and also to encourage the kids who have not yet started.”

A visiting team from NLCM was able to witness the graduation ceremony. Alejandro shared, “We were blessed to have them with us to see what God is doing for the kids. We could see the parents crying with joy and it encouraged us to continue. So many lives are being touched by sharing the Gospel with the kids. If we do a good job, it changes not only the kids, but also their families, homes, and communities. We believe that God is beginning this work in this generation and that He will continue His perfect will with their lives. We are grateful to God for allowing us to be a part of it.”

Yes, sir!

-posted by Christi

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Praise Jesus with Song and Construction Paper!

On June 1st Sowers4Pastors held its second Sunday school teachers’ training of the year and they welcomed a group of eighty eager Sunday school teachers and pastors. The meeting fittingly began with a sermon on The Great Commission. That was followed by a time of prayer for each teacher and pastor in attendance. Alejandro described the entire meeting as taking place in “an atmosphere of joy.” 

S4P provided the Sunday school teacher in attendance with new educational materials for different age groups. They also taught the attendees some new teaching techniques, activities, and songs. And, of course, some of the songs included fun hand motions.  As Alejandro said, “The children love songs. What better way to sing than to praise the Lord!”

The ministry also provided supplies such as colored construction paper, pencils, and crayons. That may sound like a small thing, but those items are not always readily available for the Sunday school teachers of Honduras. Even if they have the budget to purchase such items, it's not always easy for them to find them in the under-stocked stores in their villages. 

As previously mentioned, there were eighty pastors and Sunday school teachers in attendance. Together, those eighty people regularly reach more than two thousand children! This work isn’t only impacting Lempira. It is safe to say that among those two thousand children are future pastors, teachers, and leaders. 

Alejandro reminds us, “They are the ones who will continue to preach the Word. We believe that we are working to help all of the country and the whole world.” 

At the end of the training, the group shared lunch together. It was a way for Sowers4Pastors to say thank you to the Sunday school teachers and pastors. S4P would also like to thank the churches and sponsors in the States that made the meeting possible. Please continue praying for S4P so that they can continue to fulfill their vision of empowering pastors.

- posted by Christi.

A Sunday School Teacher's Perspective

The Sowers4Pastors staff has finished handing out this year’s backpacks to new children in the sponsorship program, as well as to the returning kids who didn’t show up to receive their backpacks when visiting teams were there. It was a whirlwind two weeks that involved visiting each school in the program, but it was well worth the effort. Recently, Alejandro reached out to Bessy Reyes, a Sunday school teacher from El Rodeito which is the sister church of New Life Christian Church. Alejandro wanted to get a teacher’s perspective on how the work that S4P does within the churches and the training it provides is impacting the Sunday school teachers and children.

Bessy, who is the daughter of the pastor, has been helping out with Sunday school for about six years. When S4P first began working with this church, they had a one-size-fits-all Sunday school program with all of the ages in one room. Today, they have individual classes and ten teachers! Rather than try to distill her words down, here’s a direct translation of Bessy’s touching testimony:

“Thanks to each of the trainings I have learned the high value and honor of teaching children, each teaching has made me reflect on my lifestyle and I have tried to improve myself to be what God wants me to be.

“I have acquired more knowledge to teach each class, more skills for dynamics, singing and my creativity has increased. The trainings inspire us to improve each class for the children, they make us understand the responsibility we have to guide each child on the right path.

“The Sowers4pastors ministry through the trainings has made us feel that they are close to us, that they are very interested in the word of God being effectively sown in the children, they have given us love, they have shown that we children and teachers can count on their support, support given so liberally, the entire team of teachers of our church has felt supported, helped, valued and this sowing of love has united us as a team and has caused that in the same way that with love they have taken care of teaching and preparing us as teachers in the same way we have sought to take care of teaching for children, improving the techniques to instruct them, especially with the same love and commitment; many more children have been drawn to God because we have been taught to show children to a God close to them through new learning methodologies.

“I want to say thank you for your brotherhood, for your commitment full of love to serve, thank you for helping us improve as people, for making us see how valuable children are, thank you for being God’s blessing for us, thank you for teaching us by your example, thank you for changing the lives of many children, because thanks to your training the children have found a practical and simple way to get closer to God. Thank you for motivating us, making us better, and serving children with excellence. Thank you for inspiring us, for making us look with happiness and love at instruction for children.

“Thank goodness for Sowers4pastors.”

And thank goodness for Sunday school teachers who are making an impact and for the supporters who make it possible. 

Bessy and her parents

- posted by Christi