Rest, Refill, Repeat: Embracing God's Rhythm

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

Retreat!

Close your eyes and picture a beachside retreat.

Wait!  On second thought, don’t close your eyes because you’re supposed to be reading this. So keep your eyes open and picture a beachside retreat. Are you imagining a tranquil scene? 

Last weekend, Rachel and Brandy attended a retreat at the beach. Was it tranquil? Perhaps, if your tranquility bar is set very low. Maybe tranquil is the wrong word, but it was spiritually uplifting. 

The Honduran Fellowship of Missionaries and Ministries generally puts on two retreats per year and Brandy and Rachel try to attend at least one of those. This year, that meant loading up Nathan, Michael, and Levi into their vehicle and driving 4-5 hours to San Pedro Sula one day, in order to break up the travel time. The family checked into an Airbnb for a night. 

Unfortunately, the evening of relaxation didn’t go exactly as planned. Nathan had an accidental encounter with the glass shower door and it broke on top of him. Startled and scared by the sight of broken glass, he ran through all of the broken pieces! A trip to the hospital was in order. Thankfully, the family is on Brandy’s military health insurance. After Google Maps pointed them in the right direction, they arrived at the nearest military hospital. Nathan’s injury was clean and the deep cut on top of his foot only required a single stitch! His run across the broken glass hadn’t sliced the soles of his feet. The worst part of this as far as Nathan was concerned was that he wasn’t able to go into the swimming pool or into the water at the beach. Rachel says he was a trooper, though!

The following day, the family piled back into their vehicle and drove another 4-5 hours to the beach. More than 100 adult missionaries were in attendance and around 60 missionary kids. Rachel and Brandy are very appreciative of the volunteers that traveled to lead worship, speak at workshops, and… drumroll, please!... provide childcare so the parents could enjoy participating in worship, workshops and sessions!

As usual, there were a lot of new faces in attendance. If your main exposure to missionaries is the Sowers family, you may not realize that most missionaries don’t stay on the mission field for decades! While it’s difficult to know the exact number, it is estimated that 50% of missionaries leave by the end of their first two years. Most people make a commitment to stay for two years, but some don’t make it that long. There were also a lot of “old timers” in attendance–people who have been there for 10, 15, or 20 years. 

For Rachel, Brandy, and the other missionaries in attendance, the retreat was a time to get away, disconnect, and focus on spiritual health. Rachel and Brandy made the long drive home in a single day. When asked if she came back feeling refreshed or exhausted, Rachel’s response was, “Yes! Let’s just say that I came back feeling physically exhausted but spiritually uplifted.”

 - posted by Christi

Picture It: A Pastors' Conference, 2023

A special note for readers: Hopefully some of you were fans of the 1980s TV show, The Golden Girls: Please begin reading the introductory paragraph in the same tone Sophia might have used when saying, “Picture it: Sicily 1922…” Much like Sophia Petrillo regaled Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche with stories of her youth, the following blog post is written in the present tense. And, much like Sophia’s stories, the quotes are not 100% accurate, but they do convey the gist of what happened. Ready? 

Picture it: Honduras 2023. It’s Saturday, January 14th and Sowers4Pastors is hosting a pastors' conference at Hotel Guancascos. If you’ve ever been a part of an S4P team visit, you shouldn’t have any difficulty picturing the hotel and restaurant, as well as the beautiful gardens If you haven’t visited Gracias, just do your best with the information you have been given. 

It is a relatively brief event that serves a big purpose. Twenty-five pastors serving as denominational supervisors are in attendance. Multiple denominations are represented. Some of the supervisors oversee as many as fifty different communities. Some of the pastors are old friends, having worked with S4P since the Sowers family first moved to Gracias. Others are new to S4P – known only by reputation. 

The pastors gather at 10:00 AM and are introduced to the newer staff members with Sowers4Pastors. Some of the people in attendance haven’t before met Brandy & Rachel, Alejandro & Secia, and Esdras. Introductions are made. There is a time of praise and worship.

Everyone listens as speakers go over the projects S4P does and the resources the ministry offers. Alejandro & Secia present information to the crowd. Alejandro, who was previously an associate pastor in charge of 500 people is in his element. Once a public speaker, always a public speaker. Brandy also addresses the group and does a great job. 

They talk about the schedule of when projects take place. This is especially useful information because pastors often ask questions like, “When are you taking motorcycle applications?” Now the supervisors in attendance know that applications are accepted twice a year and will be able to share the specific application windows with the pastors they serve.

The pastors are given the following directive: “If you know of a pastor who is of the highest moral fiber – someone in need of resources – please send him our way. If you know of a pastor who is less than upstanding – someone not utilizing resources properly – please forget we were ever here. We ask that you not send shifty people our way.” (Remember that poetic license has been taken! No one at S4P would ever be so blunt!)

At noon, the conference-y portion of the conference concludes. Let the lunch and fellowship commence! The conference is a success and beneficial to all concerned. 

As one pastor said prior to the meeting, “I’m so busy. I don’t have time to come but I’m going to make time!” 

To that, S4P responds by saying, “Thank you for being a friend" . . . and more importantly, "Thank you for prioritizing spreading the Good News!"

To everyone who supports Sowers4Pastors in the work of empowering pastors in western Honduras, so that the Gospel can be preached more effectively in this part of the world - "Thank YOU for being a friend of the ministry!"

 - posted by Christi