Home, At Last (And Staying Put… For Now)

Mary Faith is home.

That may not sound like headline material unless you know that in 2025 there was a six-month stretch when she was only in her home in Gracias for two and a half weeks. Two and a half. Weeks.

So yes — this announcement comes with a bit of fanfare… and a very long, very satisfied exhale.

She’s back from language school, back from the backpack trip, back from visiting family in the States. The packed suitcase has been unpacked. The comings and goings have (temporarily) ceased. And Mary Faith is genuinely happy about that.

That’s not to say she didn’t love all the experiences. She absolutely did. But sometimes it’s nice when “all the things” are spread out a little more evenly across the calendar instead of stacked like carry-on luggage in an overhead bin.

One of the sweetest parts of her time away was Christmas in Arizona. Her brother and his family traveled from Missouri. Her sister and her family came from Indiana, and another sister came from New Mexico. Her oldest son and his wife traveled from North Carolina. In other words, it wasn’t just a gathering — it was a full-fledged family reunion.

And yes, this is the son and daughter-in-law who are expecting a baby boy in May - Mary Faith's first grandbaby! Cue the confetti!

For now, Mary Faith is settling into a steadier rhythm. She’s continuing language classes online twice a week through the school she previously attended in person. When recent teams were in town, she was able to join them for a day or two each week and even host some of their evening gatherings at her home. For the next few months, she’s sharing her space with Hannah, who is serving as an intern. And when teams are in Gracias, a female interpreter/videographer from Tegucigalpa named Scarleth also stays with her.

It’s a full house — and a full life.

During recent team visits, Mary Faith had a bit more flexibility because updated child profile information wasn’t yet available. But now? The updated photos and information have arrived.

It’s officially "Go Time."

For the next couple of months, she’ll be diligently entering new information and photos into the system so sponsors can stay connected and up to date. The timing is actually perfect. She hopes to complete the bulk of that work before heading to North Carolina in May to welcome that sweet grandson into the world.

Later in the year, Mary Faith will spend a couple of months in the States again. Let’s go ahead and call it the “Mary Faith Taking Care of Business Tour.” The itinerary includes thrilling tasks like renewing her passport and driver’s license — because missionary life is not always glamorous. While she’s stateside, she’ll also be traveling and fundraising. If you’d like her to speak to your group or church, she would love the opportunity!

As you pray for Mary Faith and her family, there are a couple of specific needs on the horizon. Last year, language school was a major fundraising focus — and thanks to faithful support, she was able to complete that season. This year, her focus is building consistent monthly support and purchasing a reliable vehicle.

S4P has graciously allowed her to use a ministry vehicle when teams are not in town. It has been a generous and practical solution. But Mary Faith knows it isn’t a long-term one. A dependable vehicle would allow her to serve more freely and sustainably in the years ahead.

For now, though, she’s home. Home to her house. Home to her calling. Home to the steady, faithful work in front of her.

After a season of suitcases, that feels like a gift.

Please continue to pray for provision, for rest, and for all the good things still to come. The unpacked suitcase may be tucked away for the moment — but the work God is doing certainly isn’t.

-posted by Christi.

The Crown

We are not talking about this kind of crown

This post should fall under the “Things You May Not Consider Concerning Life in Honduras” category. You are probably well aware that living in Honduras means there’s not a Starbucks on every corner nor convenience foods in the fridges. You may not consider the fact that if something goes wrong, there’s no one to call to take care of it. 

For example, the Sowers4Pastors water system pipes water from a river that’s five miles away. If something happens to one of those pipes, the repair falls on them. The same is true for the solar energy grid that provides them with electricity. They are always in a state of maintaining, troubleshooting, and thinking about what parts they may need in the future. (There’s not a Home Depot/Lowe’s on every corner, either!) Today, we’re going to talk about the difficult road of taking care of roads. But first, let’s learn some fun facts about roads and stuff to get in the zone.

Some Fun Facts About Roads and Stuff: 

• Ancient Roman roads are still visible all across Europe. Some of them still have their original cobbles. 

• Construction of the Appian Way began in 312 BC and the road covers a distance of 350 miles. 

• Ancient Romans did not construct any roads in Honduras.

• The road leading to the Sowers’ property runs for one mile in one direction and two miles in the other direction.

• The driveway leading up to the Sowers’ homes is about 600 feet long. Ancient Romans didn’t build that either.

• One reason those ancient Romans had it going on when it came to road construction was because they understood the importance of making the center of the road a little higher than the sides. That allows the water to run off quickly instead of pooling in the road and causing it to erode. 

• That intentional sloping of a road is known as a “crown.”

• The Crown is available for streaming on Netflix, but it has nothing to do with roads.

• Allen is a big fan of crowns on roads. There is no word about his feelings toward The Crown.

Now that you know all of those fun facts, we can talk more about the Sowers’ roads. Like so many roads not built by ancient Romans, they had fallen into disrepair. They were still fine for hearty pickups to pass, but smaller SUVs were running the risk of being swallowed by SUV-eating potholes. Life in a developing country means that no government entity is going to swoop in and take care of smaller roads. And those ancient Romans are long gone. Soooo… The issue of maintaining their roads falls squarely on the shoulders of Sowers4Pastors. 

A month or so back, they sent the work crew from the farm out to work on several spots that were almost impassable. They went out with shovels and picks to work on some of the aforementioned SUV-eating potholes. This week, they have a full-fledged road grader out. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Rainy season has ended and the dry season is just beginning. That means the road will last the maximum amount of time before the potholes take over again. It was quite the coup to get the road grader at this time. Elections are coming up and it’s a time when politicians want to spruce up the more visible areas.

Two days prior to the road grader coming out with his equipment, the farm’s work crew went out with machetes to widen the path by getting grass and brush out of the way. This is part of the grading process to allow a ditch to be dug on the sides of the road to give rain a place to go. The removal of plant matter is also important because you don’t want it to mix with the road material. If that happens, it leaves potholes when the plants rot.

Allen should probably be wearing an ancient Roman toga because his primary objective is to oversee the grader and make sure that he makes a nice high crown. There is a tendency for road graders in Honduras to pride themselves on making an almost flat road. Allen is wanting a crown suitable for the road to wear to a coronation. A flat road looks nice until the first heavy rains. A nice, high crown is always in style!

- posted by Christi

A Very Informative Phone Call - Part 1

Sometimes, there is so much information tossed around during a weekly phone call to discuss blog topics that one post morphs into two. That was the case during a recent “This is what’s going on with us,” phone call.

The Maryland container arrived on December 31st. Whew! As you probably know, getting both the Florida and the Maryland containers through customs was a bit more challenging this year. The Honduran government has gotten more strict. In order to fulfill their new requirements, customs officials need to go through each container with an extreme level of thoroughness. That meant that most every box was opened and gone through. Not surprising, customs officials weren’t quite as meticulous with the repacking process as the volunteers who originally packed the boxes.

Click HERE to see a video of the container from Maryland being unloaded in Honduras!

After the containers arrived, the good folks on the ground with Sowers4Pastors and Manna 4 Lempira got to sort through the contents of 1600 medium-size Home Depot boxes, and organize 8,000 backpacks. The Manna 4 Lempira sponsors sent in backpacks from all over the country. One sponsor might send many backpacks in one box, but the backpacks are not all going to the same sponsorship center. All of the backpacks had to be put in order according to the location of the children who will receive them. This was Priority 1 because the first two teams that will arrive in a stream of back-to-back teams will be handing out backpacks. On top of that, there’s the urgency that it will soon be time for the children to begin the new school year.

Click HERE to see a video of Russell and the crew sorting backpacks! 

Click HERE to see another video of Russell and Crew sorting boxes!

Since each child to receive a backpack will also get a new pair of school shoes, there were 3000 pairs of shoes in the container, and these needed to be sorted by size. Sowers4Pastors purchases shoes wholesale, but the company doesn’t stock the sizes on the very small or large end of the spectrum. The additional shoes needed were ordered from a local distributor. The shoes will be made in the correct sizes, especially for this purpose. Most days, eight crew members are working with Russell to get the shoes and backpacks sorted.

Click HERE to see a video of Russell and the crew sorting shoes!

While this fun has been happening, Trish and Kelsea have been going through piles and piles of paperwork. They are organizing thousands of receipts. They are hoping to have it all organized to send to the accountant in Florida by the end of this week. Kirstin, who is visiting for a week, will  return home toting an extra suitcase filled with the receipts and sorted paperwork!

There is NO VIDEO of Kelsea and Trish doing paperwork. How boring would that be?

It is also time for some “housekeeping” for the Manna 4 Lempira sponsorship programs and the feeding centers. The Sowerses and Kim Hall work diligently to stay on top of everything, by removing children from the program as soon as they learn that the child has moved or left school. 2019 was a particularly transient year for people in the area. Even though Sowers4Pastors and Manna 4 Lempira work on this throughout the year, it is expected that they will discover some children who need to be removed from the rolls. So, while the backpack distribution takes place, and some new children will be registered into the program, this will also be a time when the lists will be updated regarding any children who have departed from the program.

If you think that was a lot of information, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Stay tuned for Part 2 of A Very Informative Phone Call.

 - posted by Christi

We Can't Stress This Enough!

There’s a good chance that you’ve taken a questionnaire to measure the Holmes and Strahe Stress Scale, even if you didn’t know what it was called. It’s that test that measures stressful life events, such as death of a spouse, injury, etc… You add up all of the events you’ve experienced in the past year and are told how likely you are to become ill. Trish took the questionnaire with a counselor following the kidnapping. She learned that her “ordinary” life - before factoring in kidnappings and such - is enough to put her in the danger zone. Currently, there are enough out of the ordinary things going on to make Trish realize this is a GREAT time for a prayer request blog post!

Here are a few of the ways you can be praying for the Sowers family:

• Please pray for the safety of everyone involved in the backpack trip. This includes the people who are on the road and those who are back home in Honduras. There are a lot of people in different places doing different things. When Russell is traveling, Iris is left with all of the parenting duties. When Kelsea is gone, Trish is left to handle extra website tasks. Normally, Trish has help from Katie Henry, who works in the office in Florida, but recently Katie has been dealing with the threat of Hurricane Dorian. 

• Allen and Trish's daughter, Rachel, miscarried about six weeks ago. When she went for her six-week post-miscarriage checkup, the doctor found a mass on one of her ovaries. She is looking at surgery, but there is no way of knowing how complex it will be until she on the operating table. The possibility of cancer has been mentioned. 

•  Bethany (Boo) is getting married in less than a month, with all the stress and preparations involved in this. Rachel is the matron of honor. Please pray for the details, as well as for Rachel’s health and recovery, so that she can be part of this special day. (Rachel's surgery is now scheduled for tomorrow, 9/10.)

• Please pray for Ben. It’s not easy being a teenager and Ben’s normal teen issues are compounded by a history of trauma. Things have been a bit rocky recently.

• Trish is having some anxiety centered around the kidnapping. Trish wants to stress that she knows this is an emotional response rather than a sign of an increased danger. Still, she is feeling vulnerable and can use your prayers.

• While everything else is going on, Trish is also busily packing everything she and Allen own, in preparation for their upcoming move. They’ve lived in the warehouse for ten years. During that time, Trish intentionally purchased things she wanted for her big, new house. Since she will not be moving into a big, new house, that’s forcing her to make a lot of decisions as she packs.

Downsizing is stressful in and of itself. Packing is stressful. Packing with a looming deadline is extra stressful. Trish has to have everything packed before she leaves for Bethany’s wedding. She’s trying to plan ahead so that she'll be able to find things (like sheets and coffee essentials) when she and Allen return home in December.

Because just downsizing and packing isn’t enough to deal with, Trish is also having to make all of the purchases of things that will need to be on the annual shipping container--like curtains and rods for the new house. She’s also making a list of the food and family Christmas presents that will need to be ordered and purchased.

For the time being, it’s probably best for Trish to not complete the stress scale questionnaire. There will be time for that when life returns to “ordinary”. Oh, wait…

 - posted by Christi

The To-Do and To-Done List

This is not RJ preparing for kindergarten;
it's RJ enjoying the children's museum. 

As you may recall, Sowers4Pastors is hosting five and a half teams in six weeks. When we last spoke, they were in the middle of their four-day period with no teams. Russell pointed out that people often think the Sowerses get a vacation on the days there aren’t teams. In reality, this “lull” gives them four days to prepare for the next two teams that are coming, as well as handling a few other things on the “To-Do” list.

Even though this is no vacation, Russell was able to work in a little family fun by taking Iris, R.J., and Abby along to drop off the last visiting team at the airport in San Pedro. While there, they visited the children’s museum and even saw Toy Story 4, which is about all the extravagance Russell will have for the year. He laughed and said for me to tell you the movie was good, but that you shouldn’t go see it. You should use that money to fill backpacks instead of following in the footsteps of the “wasteful missionary.” The more you know about Russell’s frugal nature, the funnier that statement is.

Abby plays doctor at the children's museum.

Of course, even a day away did include some more practical stops. The family squeezed in a trip to the Honduran equivalent of a Sam’s or Costco where they purchased luxury items, such as bulk dog food. They were also able to pick up some pressure treated tongue and groove flooring for the new house construction. Allen hopes to find some time to work on the house a little over the next two and a half weeks.

Even the working on the blog takes up some of Russell’s team-free time. To be fair, though, that’s a weekly commitment that happens no matter what. Russell is always a champion when it comes to standing on a mountaintop trying to get enough cell reception to give me sufficient fodder for a blog post while hosting a team.

Top on the list of things to accomplish is getting RJ registered for kindergarten. Russell has to get over to sign him up because space at the local bilingual school is very limited.

RJ visits the moon . . . or as close as you can get to that, in San Pedro Sula! 

Russell has been told there are finally motorcycle license plates available in the country! The government's inability to produce motorcycle license plates has been an ongoing issue, requiring Russell to frequently check in on this. Some motorcycle recipients have been without plates for a full two years. It’s great the plates are available, but it will mean a trip into Santa Rosa de Copán to get them, and that's about an hour drive from Gracias.

On safari in San Pedro Sula

Other things on the To-Do list include having a team meeting with the Halls and Kelsea, vehicle maintenance, running Kelsea to the airport so she can fly to a friend’s wedding, and office work.

As mentioned earlier, they are also prepping for the upcoming two teams. That means visits to multiple schools to be sure everything is in order for the teams’ scheduled VBS programs. Melvin started doing that on Monday and is actually a little ahead of schedule. They are now doing the preliminary work for team visits in August.

Russell is catching up with Allen and Trish to discuss all of the things that need to happen this week and beyond. They are also discussing their possible involvement in a new water project for multiple local communities. But that’s another topic for another post. Stay tuned!

 - posted by Christi

What's Up, Sowers Family?

It’s time for a Sowers family update. These are always fun and it’s particularly enjoyable to listen to Trish mentally check off each family member to be sure she hasn’t missed anyone. In case you’re doing your own mental checklist, you will find the name of each family member in bold print.

Boo and Sam

Bethany (Boo) is getting married in September. That is blogworthy in its own right, but it’s smack-dab in the middle of the backpack collection trip. Plans are currently underway to figure out how to get Allen and Russell down the West Coast and across the country, to drop off backpacks in Maryland in time to fly to Florida for the wedding. The goal is to not have Allen and Russell cruising down the road in a Penske truck full of backpacks when they should be at the wedding. After the wedding, Russell will return to Honduras and Allen and Trish will fly to New Hampshire to start the next leg of the trip.

Kirstin with her hospital
co-workers. Do you know
which one is Kirstin?

Kirstin has completed her Bachelors of Nursing degree, and is currently taking a break from classes - she's just working. Chris (Gus) and Bethany are continuing to do well in nursing school. The three healthcare minded Sowerses have been living together in the apartment they dubbed “The Nursing Home”.

Chris and Bethany with fellow nursing students

Ben working outside at the grill,
on a rather bright day!

Ben is living at home this year and getting real-world experience as a working man. He’s enjoying his new job, cooking on a barbecue grill at a local restaurant. He's officially the head cook - and also the face of the restaurant, since he does his cooking out in front of the building!

Iris, at her recent birthday party

You already know about Russell's work in the ministry. You may not know that Iris has started taking classes at a local university. Iris also regularly handles some ministry responsibilities, including overseeing sales at the Bible bookstore and handling the distribution of food for the feeding centers.

The Sowers family has a long history of including their young children in what they are doing.  When Russell was RJ’s age, Allen used to take him to work sites with him on occasion. Now, it is Russell’s turn to take RJ to his “work sites”. That means RJ sometimes gets to go along with teams as they visit schools and feeding centers. Abby even gets to go along, occasionally! Russell and Iris are doing an amazing job of training them up in the way they should go! Trish explained that they’ve always thought it was good to have the kids involved in adult life whenever possible. It’s even more important when the family business is missions.

Russell and Abby oversee a VBS program in Quelacasque

Rachel is plugging away with her own ministry, over in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Rachel, Brandy, and Nathan currently have six college girls living with them. Through donations, Rachel and Brandy are supporting those young women as they get their education. The education is basically free, but Rachel and Brandy are providing food and shelter. More importantly, they are providing emotional and spiritual support. Their goal is to provide them with a healthy home, where they can grow spiritually while they live away from home and go to college. One of the extra challenges they’ve faced this year has been that the teachers have been on strike a lot, so classes are frequently canceled.

College students from Rachel's ministry, in costume
for a visit to a shelter for abused women and children

Finally, Allen and Trish are doing well, keeping busy with all the normal ministry work. Trish is continuing to work on writing her book as time allows.

- posted by Christi

Oh - and here's a photo of RJ, just because we don't want him to feel left out . . . and also because he makes the BEST faces, when people are taking pictures of him.

Literal Bumps in the Road and Other Tales

Chatting with Kim Hall for the first time since she and her family moved to Honduras was as fun as I thought it would be. We started off by talking about some bumps in the road. No, really. We talked about actual bumps in the road!

She and Jonathan frequently joke about the number of speedbumps there are on the roads in Gracias. The problem is they aren’t marked, as they are in the U.S. The Halls haven’t quite learned where all of the speedbumps are and hitting one can be as surprising as having the little man jump out of a Jack-in-the-box. You know it’s coming. You’re just not sure when it’s coming.

Yesterday, a truck hauling mangos was going too fast when it rolled over a speedbump. Mangos hit the ground rolling, much to the dismay of the driver. This morning, the Halls discovered that the squished mangos have stained the speedbump yellow. Much to their delight, at least one speedbump in Gracias is as clearly marked as those in the States.

Since moving, they’ve also experienced fun things like finding a scorpion in the washing machine the first time they did laundry. Their cats are now on scorpion duty and the only other scorpion the Halls have only discovered was partially eaten.

They’ve also adopted a full-fledged Honduran dog named Pearl. Things are working out, other than Pearl’s affinity for rolling in burs.

The children are adjusting well. They are making friends in their bi-lingual school. Kim is learning how to cope with helping with their social studies homework, which she described as “ridiculous”.

The Hall family also has two Hondurans living with them. One of their original sponsored children (through another organization) is now a single mom with a 3-yr-old boy. By working for the Halls, she is now able to attend high school on Saturdays and she is working toward her goal of becoming a nurse. She has weekends off so she can also go home and help her widowed mother of seven children. Prior to working for the Halls, the young woman was working in a Chinese restaurant from 9:00 am- 9:00 pm, eight days straight. She had a 40 minute commute, each way and was barely able to see her child. Kim said, “We thought there had to be a better way.”

Kim is delighting in living a simple, more basic life. She said, “It’s great to fill your time with people instead of TV and the phone. Now, we’re outside half of the time and it feels like we’re alive. I like it. I go to bed tired. The days are so filled that you are wiped out and ready for bed by 9:00. You’re too tired to care that Hulu doesn’t work!”

Kim also relayed, “People keep saying the honeymoon will be over soon, but we love it here. We love to see our people every day. We’ve started attending church in Tablon, at our sponsorship center. We listen to sermons in Spanish. We get to see baptisms and birthdays. One of our sponsored children is turning six today and we get to go see him. We are able to learn about needs because we are here and becoming a part of the church. It helps us better communicate with our sponsors. We understand that there’s not always enough water for showers. We understand that you can’t always count on having electricity. The lights can go out while you're eating dinner and you find yourself sitting in the dark. This is why the people here need solar lanterns. This is how they live. These are the challenges.” (At this point, Pearl came in after her 6th run-in with burs. Challenges, indeed.)

 - posted by Christi

Little House in Honduras

Welcome to this week's episode of Little House in Honduras. Yes, sometimes talking to Trish can seem a little like having a phone call with Laura Ingalls Wilder. Seriously. It's like having the phone ring and suddenly being transported to a time when people weren't living in climate controlled environments and their biggest water concern wasn't whether to buy bottled or use a Brita filter.
People in Honduras are at the mercy of the seasons to a much larger degree than most modern North Americans can imagine. Oh, sure, we can have scorching summers and freezing winters, but that’s why God created central heat and air. Right? Honduran buildings tend to be open air. As Trish said, “When it’s cold, we’re cold. When it’s hot, we’re hot.” The same concept applies to water. When it’s the rainy season, water is plentiful. When it’s the dry season, having an adequate water supply is a big honkin’ deal! Water shortages are a reality during dry seasons. FYI, a dry season typically runs from fall to late spring.

Existing (round) water tank,
and larger tank (under construction) in the background

The Sowers built a water system when they first moved to their property. It’s a private system, which involves underground pipes and a 6000 gallon water tank. But that system was set up for one family. Now, the property is home to two families and a coffee farm. That 6000 gallons of water doesn’t go very far. That’s why the Little House in Honduras family is in the process of building a water system, which will more adequately meet their current needs.

Wall panels going up, to pour the concrete walls of
the larger tank

Even though the Honduran climate is well suited to growing coffee, the coffee farm does require a substantial amount of water. It does not require irrigation, but the fertilizer, fungicides, pesticides, etc… all come in a powder form. They are mixed with water and sprayed onto the plants. One application of one product requires 2000 gallons of water! It’s like a pioneer math problem: If Pa and Ma Sowers have 6000 gallons of water and Russell and his crew use 2000 gallons of water spraying coffee plants, how long will it be before it’s time to break out a divining rod? (Okay. They don’t have a divining rod. But they have had to pay the firemen to fill the water tank.)

Fortunately, this new system involves an additional, larger tank, which holds 60,000 gallons of water! Some dimensions were tossed around, but all you really need to know is that it’s roughly the size of a three car garage! A new pipe system is also in the plans, but first things first.

General construction details

Allen wants to stress there are some benefits to the dry season. It’s the time when most church and bridge construction takes place. Most buildings in Western Honduras are made out of homemade adobe bricks. When the bricks get wet, they are about as durable as bricks made from Play-doh. (And they probably don’t even taste as good!) The adobe sort of melts with the rain. By the time the rains come, the completed buildings will be protected by roofs.

It’s enough to make the Ingalls family and the folks in Walnut Grove proud!

- posted by Christi

- pictures by Ben Sowers

Who's Up For a Game of Musical Houses?

If you think Trivial Pursuit or chess are challenging games, you’ve obviously never tried to wrap your head around the game Russell is getting ready to play--Musical Houses. The music won’t really start for another year, but Russell is still preparing for one of the most complicated, short distance moves in history! It is, what my granny would have referred to as a “fruit basket turnover” as Russell and Iris prepare to move into a new house, Allen and Trish prepare to move into Russell and Iris’s current house, with Allen and Trish’s current home becomes storage space. Got it? If not, be thankful you don’t have to pull this off.

Once this year’s shipping containers arrive, their contents will be stored in the house which is currently under construction. That means any work Russell wants to accomplish before next March has to be completed before the end of November. That’s when the bounty of backpacks and other supplies should arrive from the States.

Now, this big construction push would be easier if this was the only thing going on in Russell’s life. But that is far from the case. November will be the middle of coffee harvest. The regular ministries are continuing. So, Russell is juggling his job as the Bob Villa of home owners with his career as a very busy missionary.

Russell’s father-in-law has finished all of the exterior doors. The windows are also completed. He is currently finishing the interior doors. Last week, security bars went up on all the windows. It’s important to have the house as secure as possible because of the aforementioned contents of shipping containers, which will be stored there.  

Currently, Russell and two other guys are hard at work laying ceramic tile in the new house. For the next month, two men will be laying tile on a full-time basis. The lofty goal is to have that job finished before the containers arrive.

As Russell explained the logistics of this move, my head almost started spinning. Essentially, they will need to pull off three simultaneous moves. If all goes well, the moves will take place before Allen returns home from his planned U.S. trip in the fall of 2018. I would love to adequately explain the process, but even I don’t understand the notes I took of Russell’s description of how everyone’s stuff is supposed to end up in the right place. I do know it will involve a fair amount of labeling and color coding boxes.

The good news is the houses are only a few hundred feet away from each other. That should make it easier in case Allen opens up his sock drawer to find it’s full of R.J.’s toys. Something tells me, the music may have to start and stop a few times before everyone’s belongings are in their new home! - posted by Christi

Filling in the Blanks

Generally speaking, fill in the blank tests are easier than essay questions, but more difficult than true/false, multiple choice, and matching tests. As Russell said, “It’s another week of fill in the blank scheduling,” as the Sowers family tries to catch up on everything that didn't get done during the summer weeks of team visits. During our most recent phone call, he was able to fill in some of those blanks. I took notes so you don’t have to.

The new members of the team will be documenting the ministry work through
photos and videos, as well as helping with the work itself

Allen and Russell recently hired two more guys to help with the sponsorship program. Currently, Melvin and Russell are working with them to be sure they understand what they need to do.

Handmade doors arriving on site!

Russell and Iris’s new house is getting closer to completion. This week, workers are doing a final smoothing of the walls so they will be ready for paint soon. Russell’s father-in-law is finishing and installing the doors and windows he made in his carpentry shop. One can only hope RJ has his own tool belt and will be on hand to supervise.

The crew is preparing to plant the new coffee plants. Doesn’t it seem like they just did that? At any rate, it’s time to do it again.

This coming week is MK Camp, so right now is filled with prep work. They are gathering coolers, cooking supplies, and everything else needed to make sure things run smoothly and everyone is fed. Russell said between 75-80 kids are expected to attend this year’s camp.

The Sowers are prepping for a mission team, which will be arriving the second week in August. They will be doing VBS at three schools associated with their sister church. They will also be painting their sister church. Because the team wants to do something to help out the Sowers, they will even be helping to paint Russell and Iris’ house. The team will be staying from Sunday-Sunday.

Another great photo by Danny, our ministry photographer!

Shortly after that, Allen will be leaving for the U.S. That means he and Russell will have a few short days to be sure nothing falls through the cracks in Allen’s absence. That’s pretty much code for PAPERWORK!

Trish will be joining Allen in the States sometime in September. But first things first: she will be spending two weeks with a very pregnant Rachel. The hope is she will be there for the birth. If not, she’ll still enjoy time with Rachel. Still… She really, REALLY wants to spend time with the newest grandchild.

That sums up the notes for this week. One of these weeks, we’ll have to try a true/false test! - posted by Christi

Russell's Birthday Week Adventures

Russell really knows how to celebrate his birthday week! He started his actual birthday with a phone call to me. What a party animal!

Russell dropped off the Hall family and their team on Sunday. The three following days were the first ones in two months the Sowers haven’t had someone visiting Honduras. As much as they enjoy guests and visiting teams, they had a lot of catching up to do!

On Monday, Allen, Trish, and Russell all had the task of getting their drivers licenses renewed. Fun, fun, fun! I hear the Honduran version of the DMV is every bit as enjoyable as the U.S. version! Russell got to go back on Tuesday to get his motorcycle license. Did I mention what a party animal he is?

Following the fun time at the DMV on Monday, they picked up some coffee from the roaster and then drove an hour to drop a truck off at a mechanic. With so many visiting teams, they haven’t had a chance to do routine vehicle maintenance in a while.

This is Pastors’ Training School week. Melvin did the shopping and the other local missionaries are taking care of the school duties.

Meanwhile, the Sowers are finishing up the paperwork for the 2nd quarter of the year. Receipts and paperwork will be sent back to their mission foundation to satisfy IRS requirements.

Russell is also catching up on things around the farm. Of course, farm work goes on even when the Sowers are with a team, but there are some things Russell needs to supervise. He was able to sit down with Carlos to determine farming priorities for the next several weeks. They are getting ready to plant for next year at the end of July. That means they need to fertilize, apply pesticide, and do a fair amount of chopping and hoeing.

A team is arriving on Thursday for a week long vision trip. The visiting pastor has been encouraged by his mother-in-law to check out Sowers4Pastors’ ministry. His mother-in-law has been down a number of times as part of Manna 4 Lempira. The team will consist of the pastor, his wife, another couple, and the pastor’s enthusiastic mother-in-law. The team will be visiting Pastors’ Training School, seeing a church they may want to help and get involved with, and seeing some projects Sowers4Pastors has done in the past.

Now, if you’re thinking Russell’s birthday week filled with the DMV, IRS paperwork, farm work, and going over details for this blog post don’t sound all that festive, don’t worry. R.J. came to the rescue. When asked how he thought they should celebrate Russell’s birthday, R.J. decided they needed a piñata! So, Russell had plans to take R.J. to pick out a piñata. In case you’re wondering, R.J.’s love of piñatas isn’t even about the candy. He loves whacking them with sticks! Russell laughed and said, “The other kids will get the candy and take it inside and R.J. will keep hitting it for about fifteen minutes!” Feliz Cumpleaños, Russell!

- posted by Christi

The Sowers' Series of Unfortunate Events

Are you familiar with the children’s book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket? Lemony Snicket did not corner the market on A Series of Unfortunate Events, as you will clearly see should you choose to continue reading this epic tale of woeful circumstances, which flowed together to make for an incredibly trying time for the Sowers family. Unlike Lemony Snicket, however, this post doesn’t begin with the line, “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.” Ultimately, the story of The Sowers Series of Unfortunate Events does not come to a tragic end. For that, we can all be thankful!

Normally, my posts for Allen and Trish are all about what’s going on in their ministry. This week, Trish asked me to share some more personal details. Mainly, she wants me to stress that, although some trying things have happened recently, they are pushing through!

Foreshadowing

When a visiting team arrived last week, Allen and Trish already knew there was potentially something wrong with Allen’s heart. He had a couple of tests done and was planning on returning to the doctor for additional tests and possibly treatment, after the team left.

Never a Dull Moment

Tuesday, May 23rd was a particularly crazy day. Trish was in her house when she heard the dogs barking. While she was looking out the front door, a strange man entered the backdoor. He said someone wanted to kill him, and that they were chasing him! Iris and Trish moved the distressed man out of sight until Russell was able to get there (about 45 minutes later) to contact the police and de-escalate the situation.

The hospital where the procedure was done.

While Trish’s heart was still pounding over that excitement, Allen was completing the construction project with the team - though he assures us that he was only supervising, not working physically. With the construction part of the week done, on Wednesday morning Allen and Trish headed to the hospital in San Pedro Sula, where a scheduled catheter examination morphed into a long procedure to repair numerous serious problems in Allen's arteries. (Details on the hospital events can be found here.) Trish spent Thursday trying to scrape together the money to pay for the unanticipated cost of the huge procedure. (This post gives more details on the "trying to spring Allen from the hospital" part of things.)

This is a photo from the Honduran newspaper,
La Prensa, showing Dr Somoza, who is
Allen's cardiologist.

Allen spent one night in the hospital, in an
intensive care room like this one.

Stormy Weather

On Friday, May 26th, Allen and Trish were in a hotel in San Pedro Sula, where Allen was recuperating from surgery, and Trish was recuperating from being married to a man who just had heart surgery. Russell was away from the property, driving the visiting team from Gracias to San Pedro, to catch their return flight. Even Iris and the kids were away from home for a few hours. That’s when a gigantic storm hit the property. A lightning strike damaged their solar power equipment, leaving the property without power. The storm also blew down thirty pine trees on the property. On the coffee farm, trees are incredibly important for the shade they provide, and these trees will have to be replaced quickly. Members of the work crew ran a generator until the Sowerses returned home--saving the food in the freezer and providing lights for security. Before returning from San Pedro Sula, Russell and Allen purchased several smaller power inverters, which will provide the families with minimal power, as a stop-gap.

In a week or so, another local missionary will be hosting a visiting team. That team will bring a piece of replacement equipment, which, while not as good as what the Sowerses previously had, will be better than what they can purchase in Honduras. As Trish said, “Until the end-of-the-year container arrives, we’ll be limping along with power shortages.”

One More Thing

On Saturday, May 27th, Trish received word Ben had gotten into some trouble at school, as kids tend to do. That meant she needed to stop at the school on their way home from San Pedro Sula. Trish had intended to take Allen home and then turn around and go back to the school, but the stop and overnight stay for Trish prevented her from having to travel quite so much. (Allen and Russell continued home that day - as they were urgently needed to address the solar power situation.) The good news is that Ben’s teachers say he is trying harder in school and has good participation in class. He is turning in assignments and, academically, he is moving in the right direction. He's promises to try to obey the school's rules better, too.

A Happier Ending

Trish pointed out this is not the first time A Series of Unfortunate Events has happened to them since they’ve been missionaries. Just last year, while Allen and Russell were in Haiti on a bridge project, there was a daytime robbery and an attempted nighttime robbery, followed by a damaging lightning strike, in relatively quick succession. But this was the biggest cluster of bad things so far (and that’s coming from a woman who was kidnapped with her son!). For the most part, both Allen and Trish are back on the job. Allen is being careful to not be too physically taxed, which is sort of like expecting the Energizer Bunny to take it easy. He is back to planning, making phone calls, sending emails, and overseeing construction projects.

While the Sowers did not see Allen's heart problem coming, they are profoundly grateful he experienced those small warning chest pains. Those pains kept this post from turning out full-fledged Lemony Snicket, giving it some Pollyanna undertones instead - so that this Series of Unfortunate Events has a much happier ending than it might have had.

- posted by Christi