2020 Has Been No Surprise to God

2020 has been a year filled with surprises. They haven’t been a surprise party or breakfast in bed kind of surprises. Oh, no! 2020’s surprises have been more like turning the handle of a toy Jack-in-the-box and waiting for the world’s most sinister clown to pop out at you and conk you over the head. But no matter what 2020 has thrown or will throw at us, none of it has or will come as a surprise to God. We can all take comfort in that.

Kirstin Sowers began 2020 with a plan. She was going to move back to Honduras and begin working full-time with Sowers4Pastors. In anticipation, she put in notice to her job at the hospital. Then the Jack-the-box jumped out and said, “Not so fast, sweetie! You aren’t allowed to fly into Honduras right now.” But God is still in control. The hospital has continued to employ her knowing that she will be on the first flight she can possibly take to Honduras. She has had the blessing of continued financial resources through it all!

Kirstin isn’t where she imagined she’d be right now, but she is still doing what God wants her to do. She is still helping people. Like all of us, Kirstin has a mission field wherever she is at the moment.

Of course, Kirstin isn’t the only person affected by current travel restrictions. (Queue up Pop Goes the Weasel because the Jack-in-the-box is getting ready to fly out!) The way travel between Honduras and the U.S. has been working is that U.S. citizens can leave Honduras whenever they can get on a flight. Even though it’s a bit more complicated than normal and there’s a good chance your flight will be bumped, it can be done. Getting back into Honduras is much harder.

You can only get in if you are a Honduran citizen or have legal residency and a valid identity card. The government offices that make the physical cards have shut down, which was bad news for people holding cards nearing their expiration dates. While the government has been happy to take your money for renewal, they were only issuing a paper showing you were renewing. That paperwork was not accepted for travel purposes.

Russell, Allen, and Trish have ID cards that expire in August. Since that’s smack-dab in the middle of the trip to the U.S. to collect backpacks, it was a little concerning. Russell and Allen knew they could make it to the States, but they weren’t sure when they would be able to get back to Honduras. Being the persuasive guys they are, they figured they could talk their way through any difficulties! They were still planning on making the trip even with an uncertain end date.

The open-ended travel plans were a surprise to Allen and Russell but God knew what was coming. Just this week, the rules were changed, and people with expired ID cards can re-enter Honduras, providing they have the paperwork to show they paid for renewal.

As Trish said, “Even though we’re sort of stuck, God knows what we need. I’m hoping a lot of people are learning a lesson we’ve learned as missionaries--that when you run out of other resources, you get better at turning to God.”

 - posted by Christi

The Intern Has Landed

There’s a new face in Gracias and the people with Sowers4Pastors couldn’t be happier about it. Denise Wiggins arrived on February 1 to serve as an intern for three months. The shrieks of joy you hear are probably coming from Kelsea, who now has someone to help out with the endless paperwork, among other things.

Denise is from Michigan, but she attends school in Ohio. It was the school that first got her connected with Sowers4Pastors. She initially visited Honduras in February of 2019. Almost a year to the day, she came back to stay for a while. As a student in a 2-year program on discipleship, this internship counts as part of Denise’s coursework. In fact, this is the final part of the program for her. Sowers4Pastors had been praying for the right person to help out just when Denise was looking for an opportunity like this.

Denise visiting in 2019

When we spoke, Denise was out with a team to help deliver backpacks. While she is happy to help out wherever she is needed, she especially loves having the chance to make connections and meet people. It sounded like she was in her element amidst the crowd of people getting ready to hand out backpacks.

Approximately the second half of her internship will be spent helping to update the profiles for each child in the sponsorship program. This is the sort of time-consuming task that can always use an extra pair of skilled hands.

When Denise leaves Honduras in May, she will be working with a summer camp in Michigan. Ultimately, she hopes to get a job to earn the money needed to return to Honduras. She would love the chance to work with Sowers4Pastors in the long-term.

As a mother, myself, I couldn’t resist asking Denise what her mother thinks of her plans. She admitted that her mom wasn't overly thrilled at first, but once she saw how much Denise loves the work, the people, and Honduras, she knew it was a good fit for her.

 - posted by Christi

Kirstin is Coming to Town!

You may recall a recent post about the need for a Russell clone--someone who would be willing to move to Honduras and work for free. Perhaps you were a bit skeptical about the likelihood of that happening. Afterall, that’s a pretty specific request. Today, it is with much rejoicing that we announce the answer to this prayer. No, there isn’t an actual Russell clone running around. But there is someone with his shared DNA who is getting ready to move to Gracias. Kirstin - Allen and Trish's oldest daughter - is coming to town! And Allen and Trish couldn’t be happier.

Kirstin at the far left, with her siblings
(except for Ben) and Nathan

Kirstin has been thinking and praying about coming down and working with the ministry for at least a year. While this wasn’t a brand new idea, she was committed to helping Boo and Gus (You may know them as Bethany and Christopher) get through nursing school. Since they will both graduate this spring, Kirstin is planning on moving in late May or early June.

Additionally, Trish’s sister-in-law, Jennifer Irvin, unexpectedly volunteered to take on some of the office work that can be done from anywhere in the world. You might already know that dealing with paperwork is not Trish’s favorite thing. On the scale of things she dislikes, paperwork falls somewhere below finding a scorpion in her bed and somewhere above being kidnapped. She has been feeling overwhelmed by paperwork since Sowers4Pastors became a 501c3, or an independent not-for-profit charity. (Anytime you have to combine letters and numbers to describe something, you just know it’s not fun.)

This angel of mercy in the form of a sister-in-law is about to graduate her youngest homeschooled child, so some hours have been freed up in her schedule. Trish admits that she might have complained about the burden of the paperwork when she saw her sister-in-law around the time of Boo’s wedding. Even so, she never expected this generous and selfless offer. As Trish says, “That was a huge, big deal!”

Jennifer, with her husband (Trish's
brother), Brad

“Obviously, we’ve been putting out prayer requests for help," Trish continued, "and help is arriving!”

The fact that part of the help is coming in the form of one of her children is the icing on the answered prayer cake! Trish describes Kirstin as a super-conscientious and wanting to do whatever will help the ministry the most. She is happy to do anything that is needed, even if that thing isn’t her top preference. While she has her bachelors in nursing and will certainly take the lead when medical situations arise, Kirstin anticipates doing a variety of work for the ministry - including working with teams and helping with the never-ending paperwork.

With the addition of Kelsea in early 2018, and Kim & Jonathan Hall a year ago, and now Jennifer and Kirstin, Sowers4Pastors' volunteer staff has been steadily growing. With the new opportunity for the ministry to acquire meals at a cost of two meals per child for a penny, there is an expectation that the ministry work may do some expanding. Trish said, “It's exciting to see that, as God opens up more opportunities for us to minister, He is also giving us the help we need, in order to handle the additional work.”

 - posted by Christi

An Urgent (or at Least Time-Sensitive) Prayer Request

Sowers4Pastors doesn’t toss the word “urgent” around willy-nilly. That’s why there was some discussion about whether or not it would be a suitable word to use in this blog post. After all, no one has been kidnapped! Still, Allen feels it is perfectly appropriate to say that Sowers4Pastors currently has an urgent prayer request. Trish, the former kidnappee, might have opted to use the term “time-sensitive”. Whichever terminology you prefer, Sowers4Pastors has an amazing opportunity and they haven’t come up with a solution that will make things work.  They are seeking God’s wisdom, and your prayers are requested in this urgent/time-sensitive matter.



As you may know, the Sister Church sponsorship programs are run through the local schools, in partnership with a local pastor. Schools in Honduras are required to have religious teaching and the school administrators are thrilled to have a local pastor come in and teach once a week. This is a blatantly Christian program. In fact, it’s a full-on, non-watered-down, Sunday school program that is being presented to children in public schools.

The Sister Church program also feeds children through their schools. It constitutes a 2-day per week school lunch program. Every child in the local communities where these programs operate is enrolled. And amazing things are happening.

There has been a 40-80% increase in the number of years these children are attending school. Prior to the program, many of them were fortunate to attend school for a total of 3-4 years. Now, most are going to school from K-6th grade.

In Guacutao, the sister church of Edgewater Alliance, things have taken a particularly impressive turn. When the Sowerses first moved to Gracias, Allen referred to Guacutao as the dark side of the moon. It was very isolated and the final seven miles of the trip took an hour to drive, due to the incredibly rough road. When Edgewater became involved, more children started staying in school. Edgewater Alliance began making plans, as they desired to make it possible for the children they sponsor to stay in school beyond elementary school. Middle schools are uncommon. They were looking at setting up a service to transport the children in the back of a pickup to the closest middle school - a drive of about 45 minutes. Amazingly, the government took notice of the number of children in Guacutao who were completing the 6th grade, and a middle school went up on the dark side of the moon!

Other communities are sitting up and taking notice. Sowers4Pastors is getting requests from communities neighboring the areas where they are currently working. The county school boards are asking them to please bring their pastor-led, blatantly Christian teaching into public schools into their counties. (Though they probably aren’t putting it exactly like that!)

That’s pretty spectacular. Right? So what’s the problem? The problem is that Sowers4Pastors simply doesn’t have the manpower to add this to their already packed schedules. Without divine intervention, Allen, Trish, and Russell don’t see how they can pick this up. At the same time, they don’t see how they can say no! The logistics are pretty significant and they don’t take on a new program lightly. They want to be sure that any new program would have the impact the current programs are having.

Forces are at work that will likely take Christian education out of the public school systems at some point in the future. Plus, if Sowers4Pastors waits five years, that means five years worth of kids would never have the opportunity to hear the Gospel presented by a pastor in their school. They would also miss out on the benefits of the feeding program and the all-important years of education. This is a big honkin’ deal!

If Sowers4Pastors was to put out a job advertisement, it would read something like this, “Wanted: One Russell Sowers clone. Must be willing to work 70 hours per week for no salary. The ideal candidate will be a motivated individual with strong logistics skills.  Excellent Spanish, cultural understanding, and a strong desire to serve God required.”

RJ is only five, so he isn’t quite up for the job yet. I asked. So, your prayers are needed.

 - posted by Christi

Not Lost in Translation

Much has been written about the preparations Russell makes before each team visit. For instance, we know he lines up translators from the area. But who are these translators Russell is lining up? Today, we’re going to meet a couple of them. Between their accents and my Texas drawl, a phone call where we couldn’t read lips and look at facial expressions was a bit challenging, but their message was not lost in translation!

Queren

Queren, with team members from the
recent bridge-in-a-week team

Queren is a 20-yr-old woman who graduated from a local bilingual school two years ago. She has translated for other people in the past, but I spoke to her during her second week of working for Sowers4Pastors. One thing is certain; Queren enjoys her job!

About working as a translator, she said, “It has been so great for me. I’ve learned many things. Every team that comes here is so awesome, it makes me want to be with them. [This week] we have visited schools, homes, and churches.” She went on to gush about the people--both the people of her home community of Gracias, and the visiting team.

She said, “I have enjoyed being around the team. It makes me so happy. They have such big hearts and want to help people!”

Queren’s heart is pretty big, too. Serving as a local translator has inspired her to become a missionary. Her dream is to study French in college and become a full-time missionary to Africa. She said, “They [the visiting teams] are my inspiration. If I have the chance, I can do it. I’m grateful to God for giving me the chance to be here.”

Anna

Anna has been working as a part-time translator since last summer. She is also a native of Gracias and a graduate of the local bilingual school. As with all of the translators, this is not a full time job. She said, “When Russell calls me, I come.”

Ana

What is Anna’s favorite thing about the job? She loves watching the people’s faces when they get help--both economically and through counseling. She said, “The teams are doing a great job here. I love how they engage with the people. They don’t look at them like strange people. They look at them like brothers and sisters in God. It makes them [the people receiving help] feel welcome--like family.

Anna wants people to know how thankful she is for the Sowers and the work they do in her hometown and its surrounding communities. She said, “I want to keep working with them and have more amazing experiences with them.”

 - posted by Christi

The Intern Has Landed

She’s there! She’s there! Kelsea, the young woman who will intern with Sowers4Pastors for a full year is there. (And, not to brag, but I got to talk to her.) When we spoke by phone, Kelsea had arrived in Honduras a whopping four days before. Naturally, she has spent that time sitting back and observing. Hahahaha. I’m kidding. This is Sowers4Pastors we’re talking about. Naturally, Kelsea hit the ground running and helping to distribute backpacks and shoes.

Kelsea, who hails from Washington State, was on two earlier short-term mission trips to Honduras, through Living Water. You might recall Dillon, the extended stay intern, also worked with Living Water. That is not a coincidence. Kelsea and Dillon met on her first trip to Honduras. It was Dillon and a friend of his who shared this exciting mission opportunity with Kelsea.

With four days in, Kelsea gave me her impressions thus far. So far, so great! She is enjoying learning about the different aspects of the Sowers4Pastors ministries. She has spent a lot of time with Allen and Russell, learning how the ministry impacts the communities of Western Honduras. She is excited to learn the various aspects of how to operate a ministry. She also said she loves how flexible it is. If by “flexible” she means how willing they are to do whatever is needed at any particular time, then she is in for a real treat!

When asked how she is able to spend a year in Honduras, Kelsea told me a bit about her background and dreams for the future. She graduated with an associates degree a few years back. She has been alternating between earning money in the U.S. doing childcare and office work and doing missions work abroad. This time, she only had two and a half months to fundraise for her year in Central America.

When her year in Honduras comes to a close, she would love to go home to work and raise money to do more work in Central or South America. She’s not exactly sure where that will be, but is open to any doors God may open. This is something she would love to do for the rest of her life. This has been the desire of her heart for the past four years or so. She has a desire to be self-sustaining, while churches and individuals support her ministry. That sounds more than a little familiar!

Kelsea studied Spanish for years. She said she knows enough to communicate with people, but she realizes how rusty she is. Fortunately, she is thrilled by how quickly her ability to understand native Spanish speakers is improving. Her brain is absorbing new vocabulary words and she’s dusting off some long forgotten verb tenses. Psst… Kelsea, if you ever need to know how to say, “The boy is under the airplane,” just let me know. I’m available for private Spanish lessons via Skype.

 - posted by Christi

The Crate Beyond

I always know it’s going to be a fun blog post when Trish warns me, “I hope it’s not too confusing!” It really piques a person’s interest! This time, the interest-piquing, possibly confusing topic had to do with packing boxes full of shoes.

“There’s a box packing frenzy going on,” Russell said during our latest phone call. And by “boxes” he means crates made out of ¾ inch plywood. So far, so good. That’s not too confusing. But, wait! Why are they building crates?

Allen, Russell, Dillon, and a few men from the crew are building crates because cardboard boxes simply don’t have what it takes to hold themselves together while carrying a bunch of shoes. They are constructing 52 crates in all. There will be 26 for boys and 26 for girls. Each crate will hold one size of shoes. The next crate’s contents will go up by a half size. Sizes will range from a children’s size 6 to an adult size 9.

Shoes being sorted, by size and gender, into the appropriate crates

When they take the shoes out for distribution, each child will be fitted for a new pair of shoes on the spot. Having the supplies well organized makes it possible to fit as many as 300 kids at one center in one day.

Is that clear? If not, please refer to the many pictures Trish instructed the menfolk to take in order to clarify any questions you may have.

As long as I had Russell on the phone, we chatted about the benefits of having an energetic, young, North American staying with them for three months. Dillon has been helping for a couple of weeks, and is being joined by Kelsea this weekend! They will be able to do things for which even the most willing Honduran would not be well-suited. Things like posting to Facebook and dealing with some of the paperwork and computer tasks. They will both be able to help out with some of the daily tasks facing Sowers4Pastors. And, as Russell pointed out, “There are a lot of tasks!”

Russell, Allen, and Trish are all excited there are four young adults currently confirmed to stay and work with them anywhere from a month to a year. They are also talking to other potential candidates.

Here are a few of the characteristics the ideal candidate should possess:

• Must have a desire to serve God and others.
• Young adult without the responsibilities that come along with having a family.
• Enough energy to keep up with a family of Energizer Bunnies.
• College age or older
• The ability to stay for at least three months

If you fit those requirements, contact the Sowers to complete the application process.

 - posted by Christi

Extended Stay Missions

The Sowers are no strangers to one-week mission teams. They often host these teams throughout the year. In August 2016, one of those visiting team members was Dillon Cohee, a young man from Maryland, who participated in a bridge-in-a-week project. Now, Dillon has returned for what might be classified as an “extended stay” mission trip, as an intern with Sowers4Pastors.

Dillon (back left) during his bridge-in-a-week visit in 2016

Dillon also visited Honduras on a short mission trip to dig a well with Living Water, in 2015. That sparked interest for his trip with Sowers4Pastors. He said he's noticed a big difference between the two trips. He continued, “The Sowers’ trip was more real. They are so genuine. The Living Water trip was good, but there wasn’t that personal relationship where you were in direct contact with people involved in the ministry.”

When we spoke, Dillon was in his second week of what will be a three month stay with the Sowers family. Allen, Trish, and Russell thought it would be fun to have Dillon compare this trip with his previous trip. After all, this time he’s seeing what their ministry looks like from day-to-day, rather than when everything is laid out for a team.

Dillon described his duties as doing whatever is needed--from helping with teams, to working on the coffee farm, to sorting the contents of the infamous shipping containers. He said, “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. I didn’t really understand about the shipments in the containers--how much stuff there is to sort through. I didn’t realize how many backpacks there are to organize. It’s something you don’t think about when you’re filling backpacks in the U.S. Here, you get boxes containing more than 5000 backpacks to organize before they can be distributed.”

Dillon (far right) works on a construction project  with Allen and Helder

How did Dillon manage to take an extended internship? The first thing in his favor is his age. Dillon is 23 years old. Since he doesn’t yet have a family to support, his schedule is more flexible. Also in his favor, is the fact he works for his cousin’s plumbing business. His cousin is very agreeable to Dillon taking time off for extended trips.

Why did Dillon decide to do this? He wanted something more than “working 40 hours per week, making money, and settling down.” He said, “The happiest I’ve been is when I’m far away from home and serving someone other than myself. I want to be serving a greater purpose rather than living the American dream.”

What does Dillon want others to know? “If anyone else is thinking about taking a mission trip. Pray about it, and if you get the go ahead, do it!”

What differences has Dillon noticed during this trip? Not as many as you might expect! He said, “When I was here building a bridge, it was go, go, go. They (the Sowers family) are workers! I knew that’s how it would be. I like that. You’re here. You might as well work hard.” The Sowers family agrees, wholeheartedly!

 - posted by Christi

Missions: The Long and the Short Term of It

It’s almost time for the team from Edgewater Alliance Church to head to Honduras. The team will be led by Pauli, an enthusiastic volunteer who will be staying on for three extra weeks, putting that enthusiasm to good use.

Short Term

In addition to their on-the-ground activities, the Edgewater team is also transporting shoes down to us, for distribution to kids in the sponsorship programs!

There will be eleven people in the Edgewater team. Five of those short-term missionaries will be working on a church construction project. As mentioned in a previous post, this construction project isn’t for Edgewater Alliance’s sister church. Instead, it’s for its sister church’s church plant. Hmm… I suppose that makes the church plant the offspring of Edgewater Alliance’s sister church. So, would that make it a niece to Edgewater Alliance Church? Oh, it doesn’t really matter. It’s still all in the family! The walls are already up, so the construction group will be putting on a church roof and pouring the concrete floor.

The other six team members will be doing VBS type programs with the local public schools in the area surrounding their sister church. They will also be handing out letters to the children who are sponsored by members of Edgewater Alliance. The entire group will be visiting another feeding center and learning about other ministry aspects.

Extended Stay

Congratulations on your recent
graduation, Pauli!!!!

When the rest of the team flies back to the States, Pauli’s adventures will be just beginning. Her second week in Honduras will be spent registering kindergarteners for the sponsorship program at Edgewater’s sister church. She will also be registering children for the sponsorship program of a Maryland church’s sister church. On top of that, she will be helping to finish up this year’s final Gifts for Gracias boxes.

Pauli’s third week in Honduras will find her at Pastors’ Training School, where she will be helping out in the kitchen. She will have the opportunity to lend a helping hand wherever one is needed. At the end of week three, Pauli and Allen will head to central Honduras for… drumroll, please… M.K. Retreat!

Yes, it’s almost time for M.K. Retreat, which Rachel has been hard at work planning. Since Pauli’s visit coincides with this much anticipated event, she will be part of the staff. At the conclusion of the retreat, Pauli will hightail it to the airport and make the journey back to Florida.

Missionary Internship

If all of this sounds like something that interests you, Russell wants me to assure you they are looking for more people who will commit to extended visits. Please contact the Sowers if you would like to serve beside them in Honduras for a month or longer. Or LONGER? Yep!

As the matter of fact, the Sowers are praying someone will step forward to make a two year commitment to be a sort of “assistant missionary”. This person needs to be an English speaker who can assist Russell. The family feels this may be of particular interest to a recent college graduate. Job details will include: helping to manage social media, taking care of administrative tasks, and visiting feeding centers. Due to some of the administrative duties, attention to detail when working with numbers is important. The job description would mean some time spent in office and some in the field.

The bilingual schools in Honduras do something similar by having teachers come down and teach for a year. They are paid a stipend to cover basic living expenses. That what the Sowers would like to do. As Russell said, “This is perfect for someone who is interested in missions, but isn’t ready to commit to being a full-fledged missionary - someone who wants to get their feet wet in missions work.”

- posted by Christi

Pastors’ Training School: The Body of Christ in Action

The average Honduran pastor in Pastors’ Training School makes around $7.00 per day (and since much of their work is seasonal, not year-around, they make about $800 per year). It’s not enough to keep some of us in Starbucks! Even by the typical Honduran standard of living, (which does not include a mocha-frappa-whatchamacallit-cino and a muffin the size of your head) that’s not enough income to pay for continuing education. That’s where we come in. We can partner with Sowers 4 Pastors to pay for the cost of training these hardworking men of God.

Allen is quick to point out he has a degree in business administration/systems, not a religious studies degree. That’s why, for the past ten years, Sowers 4 Pastors has handled the majority of the fundraising and business-y matters, such as being sure the school is staffed with a qualified teacher. Over the years, there have been multiple teachers--usually seminary trained Honduran pastors or visiting pastors from the US. Currently, fellow gringo, Clay Powell, is doing a great job of handling the education aspects in his first year with Pastor’s Training School. Hmm… That sounds a lot like the body of Christ in action!

Not Your Typical Seminary

While the study is intense, this isn’t quite like an American seminary. For starters, most of the pastors have an elementary school education. A few are illiterate and require volunteers to sit with them to read lessons and transcribe their notes, so they will be able to review them with someone at home.

The pastors do not all share the same denomination. This session nine denominations are represented, which makes for lively discussions. What they are learning is that the Bible is the final authority. They may have been taught nine different things about a particular topic, but we’re interested in what God has to say about it.

An Analogy Too Good to Pass Up

Most of the pastors are field workers in the agricultural sense--working grueling hours for the aforementioned $7 a day. They are also field workers in the “Sunday school answer” sort of way! As Luke 10:2 says:

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

These men are willing to spend time harvesting God’s fields of Western Honduras. You can help.

Better Than a Mocha-Frappa-Whatchamacallit-Cino

$250 covers the cost of training one pastor 3 days per month for a 9-month school year. Here’s where the money goes:

• Lodging (for the time at school)
• Rent for use of facilities
• Food (for the time at school)
• Curriculum
• Support staff, such as cooks and housekeepers
• Transportation to the training center
• Study Bible
• Bible Dictionary

If you ask me, that’s more exciting than a million muffins the size of your head!

- posted by Christi

If you're interested in more info on the Pastors' Training School, and would like more info on how to donate, follow this link.  Thanks so much for your help!

Let's talk about Russell

The shock absorber on my Land Cruiser is broken. Can you fix it before I have to drive to town this afternoon?

I don't understand this note from Ben's school. Would you translate it for me?

What's the Spanish word for "air compressor?"

Is there a place in town where I can buy shoelaces?

Why is the bank closed today? Do you know why there were serenades at dawn this morning?

What's the name of the pastor running the feeding center in El Derumbo? Do we need to purchase more Bibles for the store? What's it going to cost to drive to the airport and back? We need to write an announcement about the Pastor Training Conference, to be read on the radio next week. Oh no - another flat tire. . .

Time for the puppies to get a round of shots. The water pipes on the roof are leaking. The refrigerator is making a funny noise. Someone needs to run a load of trash to the dump. There's a snake in the shower!

The solver of so many of our problems, and the answerer of our questions is named Russell! And this isn't even a new thing - it has been amazingly handy to have Russell around, for such a long time now!

I recall when we lived on Guanaja, and missionary friends of ours had experienced a break-in. To improve security at their home, they wanted to nail some boards up, in a decorative pattern, over an area that had previously only had a screen. This job required the workman to squeeze into a very small space in a gable over their front door. Russell was approximately 11 years old at the time, and already quite proficient with a hammer. Because of his success with this repair project, we took to calling him "The Compact Carpenter."

He's no longer able to fit into such small spaces, but his other abilities - including his total fluency in Spanish and his deep cultural understanding of life in Honduras - have made him invaluable to us. In fact, we find ourselves gradually transitioning toward a future in which Russell will be leading the ministry here, and we'll be helping him!

Thanks Russell, for all you do!!!!!!

And because she is totally part of the team, you should really know that Russell's wife, Iris, handles the day-to-day running of the Bible bookstore, and the regular distribution of food for the feeding centers. Thanks Iris, for all you do, too!!!!!


If you'd be interested in supporting Russell and Iris, in their missionary work, here is the info you need:

To Donate by Mail, send checks to:

The Foundation

PO Box 560233

Orlando, Florida 32856-0233

- Make check payable to "The Foundation" -

- Be sure to write "preferenced for Russell Sowers" on an enclosed paper -

To Donate Online:

     Click on THIS LINK to donate online using credit card, debit card, or automatic monthly donations from your bank account. Make sure that you choose "Missionary Support" from the drop down menu, and type in "Russell Sowers" in the box requesting "additional specifics on how to use the gift."

- If additional instructions or information are needed for donating online, 

please don't hesitate to call The Foundation for Missions, at 407-730-3364.

Josiah's First Week in Honduras

Our new helper is here! Josiah is the 18 year old son of friends of ours, and he'll be staying for the year, to work in the ministry and help in whatever other ways he can.

Josiah arrived on Palm Sunday, the beginning of the biggest holiday week of the year. This timing meant that his first week has been different than our usual days. Allen has actually taken several days off from his work at the bridge this week, so Josiah has been helping around the home place instead of at the construction site. He's been great about jumping in with whatever work is needed. Here's a list of some of the activities he's been a part of so far (usually working alongside some of my kids):

- Giving our fluffy lapdog a hot-weather hair clipping

- Boxing up all of the Bibles and study materials we had out here at the property, as we're doing all of our book sales from Russell's house now

- Re-organizing some of my books, to make better use of the newly emptied bookshelves that formerly held the books we sell

- Administering flea and tick repellant on all nine dogs. This included having Josiah pick up several of the dogs to weigh them

- Hanging up (and later taking down) laundry at the clothesline multiple times

- Overseeing Ben's school work. If someone doesn't watch Ben do his math, he starts to daydream and forgets to continue working the problems

- Tearing down and re-configuring the pig shelter on Tuesday (a major job), and then moving the shelter to a new location today

- Occasionally feeding and/or watering the pigs

- Helping load the car with the boxes of books, and with boxes of Kids Against Hunger food, as we shuffled stuff between here and Gracias

This may not sound like a significant amount of work, but that's only over the course of 2 1/2 days. On Monday, Bethany and Ben took Josiah for a walk down our property, and showed him around a bit. We also let him have some time to unpack and settle into his room.

We're excited to have Josiah here with us. The only regret (and this from Ben) is that he couldn't bring along his little brother, since he and Ben are good buds. But it helps that Josiah has an occasionally annoying little brother of his own - you can tell that it has helped him build up patience as he deals with the occasionally annoying little brother in our family.

I don't need to write my own post, about the bridge projects

Since Allen and Russell neglected to bring me pictures of the recent bridge construction work, I thought I was going to have to write a post describing, without any photos, things I have not actually seen for myself.

Although that might have made for an interesting creative writing assignment, I'm spared the task, because Alan Hayes took pictures and wrote about the work on his family's blog.

Hurrah! I'm off the hook on this one. Head over here for all the news - it's a fun read.

From the Horse's Mouth

I hope this isn't going to burst anyone's bubble, but you know I'm not the one going out and doing all the adventurous stuff I write about, right? Mostly my hubby and kids (and now Alan Hayes and his family) are crossing those bridges, driving the crazy roads, having all the fun and excitement. I stay home, hear their stories, and then write about it all here on the blog. It suits me fine, as it takes all my time to keep house, homeschool, and handle the ministry stuff that comes to the house, anyway.

Over on Faith's blog, her husband has written a post about his recent activities, and I thought you might enjoy hearing about some adventures from the first person point of view, for a change. Here is his post.

Part of the reason I wanted to bring this to your attention, is that I have some pictures that my Allen took, which illustrate Alan Hayes' visit to the bush church. This church is currently meeting in a tiny building, and they have asked us for help in constructing a larger structure. As you can see in these pictures, they really need it!






Sorry these pictures are so dark - this particular village doesn't have electricity, and the adobe houses in the mountains generally have only a few, small windows, so they are dark inside.

In his blog post, Alan Hayes mentioned that the rafters of this church came up to about his shoulders. Perhaps you thought that he was exaggerating? See for yourself:





Fun stuff, huh?

Junior Missionaries

We've always made a habit of involving our children in the work we are doing here in Honduras. Sometimes that works out better than other times, but it has become a way of life. The recent visit to distribute gifts at the orphanages was no exception. Here are a few pictures of the children (mine, the Hayes' and the Wards') working together and (mostly) helping out with the ministry.

A Day in the Life of Russell

Now that Russell is an official missionary, well, his life is about the same as it was before, when he was only an unofficial missionary. Here is a run-down of his Thursday from this week.

He woke up in a hotel in La Entrada, a city an hour and a half from home. His soccer team had played a game there the night before, and we managed to turn that trip into part of a ministry trip. When he left the hotel, he drove an hour and a half further north, to San Pedro Sula. The Land Cruiser had battery problems there, so he worked on that for a bit. When things were running well again, he continued another hour north to Puerto Cortes.

The container shipment from Florida - containing the first batch of gifts for the "Gifts for Gracias" project - is working its way through Customs at that port. In order for the paperwork to be processed, we have to deliver the original papers to the port. Then, a few days later, we can go back to the port, and pick up the shipment. Thursday was the "drop off the paperwork" day.

After his work was completed in Puerto Cortes, Russell headed south again. But, at San Pedro Sula, he changed to the other major north-south road in Honduras, and headed to the beautiful Lake Yojoa area. A group of Mennonite missionaries there specialize in bringing Spanish literature (Bibles and other Christian materials) into the country to distribute. We purchase books from them, to sell to the pastors in Lempira. As our book supplies were low, Allen had arranged for Russell to pick up some boxes of books while he was out traveling anyway. It would really be too much of a stretch to say that this was "on his way," but he was closer to Lake Yojoa when he was in San Pedro Sula than he is when he's at home.

After picking up the books, Russell retraced his path back almost all the way to San Pedro Sula. Then he turned and headed south again, toward home. He got home around 6pm or so.

I think Russell enjoys driving. It's a good thing, too, when he has days like this!

We had our first business meeting

Now that the Hayes family has had a little time to get settled into their new house, we all agreed it was time to start introducing them to the work side of their new life in Honduras. So, this afternoon, we popped in a movie to entertain the smaller children, and Allen, Alan, Faith and I sat down to a business meeting around the kitchen table.

Mostly this was an overview of the ministries we are working on here, and a discussion of how the Hayes could fit into the picture. The ministries we discussed included the pastor training school, sales of Bibles, distribution of motorcycles to pastors, church construction projects, bridge construction and road repair activities, feeding centers, special needs program, and the ongoing construction of the ministry center where we will eventually live. I think we also may have discussed the helps we give to a few local orphanages, and that we occasionally get involved with helping people with medical problems, when the local medical care available isn't sufficient.

It was agreed that, at this time, Alan and Faith will work alongside us learning about all of these, rather than them taking over certain ones entirely. This is fine with us, as it will take a while for them to meet all the players in all of these areas, learn the histories of what has been done, what we've chosen not to do, and why, and simply get to know their way around the large geographical area in which we travel and work. Not to mention feeling their way through the cultural differences between Mexico and Honduras. I'd tell you what these cultural differences are, but since I haven't worked in Mexico, I'll have to leave that to Alan and Faith on their blog, should they choose to write about it! ;-D

Anyway, I'm happy to report that we all seem to be getting along quite well, and we're looking forward to working together. This is huge, as relationships between the workers on the field can be mighty tricky, and, if you recall, we and the Hayes had not met before they came down here.

My younger kids, by the way, are tickled pink about having some new friends to play with. Although the Hayes' oldest is a boy, he and Bethany are having a good time together. Bethany is very flexible in her interests, and can spend a morning equally enjoyably dressing up and play-acting a wedding, or hunting lizards and knocking down hornets nests.

My older kids, who are so involved in the ministry, are also excited about the arrival of the Hayes family, as they are hoping to have a bit more time for non-ministry activities - like school, for instance. Rachel has taken to saying things like, "I just hope I can finish high school before I'm 26." I am hopeful that with the help of the Hayes family, our family can have a bit more time for the rest of life, besides the work of the ministry!

Phew! What a week!

I know, I know, I've not been blogging as regularly as usual. But I have a boat-load of excuses, honest!

This week was the final session of the Bible Training School for 2008. For this special time, two pastors from Florida came to teach. So, there were extra logistics, including two trips to San Pedro Sula airport (3.5 - 4 hours each way), plus translators to arrange and house, and each morning breakfast included about 5 extra people.

The turnout for classes was especially large this month, which meant that we were scrambling just a bit to make sure there was enough of everything. The final day, when there was a big closing event, we were really crazy busy here!

First, there were the certificates. I had already printed these out, but three men, who are in leadership at the school, were supposed to sign each certificate. The morning of the event (with the certificates still unsigned) we learned that one of the men was out of town! Rather than distribute certificates with an unsigned space at the bottom, the morning of the ceremony I was printing out all of the certificates again, this time with only two signature spaces!

Then, there was the observance of Communion to be prepared for. Russell was arranging to borrow Communion cups from a local church, Chris was sent shopping for grape juice (which I was surprised he was able to find, but he did), and Bethany, Rachel and I were baking loaves of bread.

We try to serve cakes at the dinners for the pastors at the school. For this event, we baked cakes and purchased ice cream. Since there isn't any source of refrigeration where the school is held, we had to transport the ice cream at the very last moment.

Each pastor who received a certificate also received a credit toward a purchase of Bibles and study materials. The folks from whom we purchase these books were bringing them by this week, but unfortunately they didn't know that we had moved to a new house. They couldn't find us, and didn't know our new phone number, so they left town without delivering the books. We arranged for them to return, but the soonest they could do so was the day of the closing event. So, they delivered books to the school during the ceremonies!

In addition to all of this, the Hayes family is here, trying to get settled into their new house. They are still staying with the Ward family in Santa Rosa de Copan right now, because of an interesting circumstance. The Wards have a very nice parking pad inside their walls, so the Hayes were able to park their trailer full of household stuff off the street. This is very good for security, of course. However, the road in front of the Wards' house is being paved, and since the Hayes family arrived and put their trailer off the street on the Wards' lovely parking pad, the street has been closed, and they cannot get it back out again! It's a good thing the trucks aren't stuck in there as well!

So, we've had extra kids here some days, other days our kids were all over at the Hayes' new house playing or cleaning or painting, some days we've had extra people for lunch and dinner, other days no one was eating here - just a crazy, busy, wacky week! The kids are having a blast, of course!

Now things should settle back down for a few days . . . until the shipment arrives from Florida. That should be before the end of this next week. Then we'll really get busy!

Oops! I've been a bad blogger!

Sorry I disappeared there for a while. We've been busy, and there's been lots of activity about which I might have written. I just haven't gotten to it recently. Sorry about that!

So, here's some really good news I can share with you:

The Hayes family has arrived, and we found a house for them!

They pulled into Honduras on Friday, and they are currently staying with our friends Brad and Trish Ward, in Santa Rosa de Copan. The family visited Gracias yesterday, and approved the rental house we'd found. It was probably not such a hard decision, since we'd only found one available house in all our looking! The house has been vacant, and is very dirty, so tomorrow morning we will all start in on rectifying that situation. We will be cleaning, painting, and installing some source of hot water for showers. We hope the Hayes will be able to move in very soon! I'm sure they're also ready to be settled into a house of their own, unpacked, etc. It's been a long and crazy trip for them, driving from Mexico to Honduras. You can see their updates on their blog: www.thehayeszoo.blogspot.com.

This week is the final session of the Bible Training School for 2008. We have a visiting teacher from the US, and a special ceremony with certificates for those students who have passed certain requirements. It will be a busy week! The school will start again in March, after coffee harvesting season has ended.

Last Sunday, Allen had to travel out to a couple of remote villages to meet with churches about some church construction projects. I went along for the ride. I don't go out 4-wheel driving all that much, so it was an adventure for me. I'll share pictures in the next few days.

We're still unpacking and getting the house set up. Since the house has fewer cabinets and closets than our previous house, we are struggling to find places to put things. Many of our bookcases have been pressed into service in other uses than housing books, which is making it difficult for us to deal with all of the books. It's a challenge, but we're managing.

Next week, after the Pastor Training School is over, Allen will be going to pick up the container from Florida, and then - we will have more stuff in our house! We have the beginnings of a plan for sorting and distribution, and we'll have the help of the Hayes family as well as the Wards this year.

That's all for now!