What is "Normal", Anyway?

Some people think that "normal" is a good thing, while others think "normal" is a boring thing. At Sowers4Pastors, a boring "normal" isn't really a thing that exists! Obviously, this year has been anything but typical, so we do have some current events that don't fit the mold. They do, however, represent things on the To Do list, a concept that is very familiar for the crew. As the Sowerses try to return back to what passes for “normal” life around here after being in the States for several weeks, months, or years (depending on which member of the family you're considering), we thought we’d do a quick update on some of the current happenings, some of which are “normal” (for us) and some of which are not. Lots of excitement, lots of running around, and lots (AND LOTS) of things to get done. 

Damage to the water line – Russell knew we had taken some damage to our water supply line during the second hurricane, and he had been told it happened where the water is picked up on the mountain. Because we have a water tank with enough stored water to last us for weeks, no one had been up the mountain yet to assess the damage - there was just too much going on between coffee harvest and hurricane relief efforts. Allen was able to go up Saturday with a crew to take a look. Unfortunately, because of the massive amount of rain water running down the river, the pick up site was completely washed away. Allen says that the pick up site dropped six feet in elevation due to mud and rocks washing down the river! This means the pick up site will need to be moved further up the river, as the system is strictly gravity fed, so the new pick up site has to be the same elevation as the old one. Allen estimates his crew will have to lay about 500 ft of pipe to get from undamaged pipe up to the new pick up site. Thankfully, it looks like the owner of the land will probably permit him to do so (Hint, hint, prayer warriors). The Sowers4Pastors compound has two large water tanks to store water, so we haven’t run out yet, but the coffee farm is about to start burning through the stored water as coffee season gets into full swing. The water is needed to wash the coffee as it is de-pulped. Please pray with us that these repairs go quickly and smoothly. It’s hard to run a coffee farm without water!

Containers – The Florida backpack container is packed! Thank you to the Edgewater community, and especially the Richardsons, for tackling this huge undertaking. From Edgewater, it will picked up by a trucking company either Monday or Tuesday and taken to the port, where it will be loaded on the ship and sent on its way to Honduras. Once there, it will start the process of going through customs. Very soon, the Maryland backpack container will be following it. We will have teams on the ground late January looking to pass out backpacks to their sponsored kids, so we have a bit of a deadline. The Maryland food container is currently in customs, and we are praying it will be released and on its way to Gracias any day now. Please pray with us that these containers will arrive quickly, safely and especially that the customs process will go smoothly.

Ongoing hurricane relief efforts – We want to stop and say thank you to anyone who donated hurricane relief funds. Shannon Hopkins and Kim Hall are busy coordinating rebuilding and repair efforts in our area, with Russell consulting on the projects and providing some of his expertise. You know, when he’s not neck deep in coffee farming, being a full time missionary, and the husband of a very pregnant wife.

Iris and the baby – Still no word from Iris and Russell yet what they are going to name their little one. Praise God, Iris’ pregnancy is still going smoothly. The doctor’s hope is that the pregnancy will make it to the middle of December without any issues, then they will perform a C-section. Please join us in praising God that Iris has had no problems so far! We also continue to pray that Iris and the little one will both continue to be healthy, and that Iris’ C-section will go smoothly. Just in case you were wondering, RJ and Abby are both super excited to be getting a little sister. Abby warned me that babies are pretty boring at first, until they big enough to play with.

Coffee farm – Things are going well with the coffee farm. Russell is busy prepping a new storage building as we come up on the busiest part of the harvest season. Of course, it’s bad timing, between hurricanes and a pregnant wife – but coffee harvest waits for no man!

Kirstin (FINALLY) moves to Honduras – While we are on the subject of “normal”…. It’s a little strange for me, moving back after being gone for over 10 years, but I’m settling into my new room, and enjoying easy access to lychees and nephews/nieces. It is definitely nice to finally be in Honduras after being unable to enter the country for almost seven months! Technically, this is my first time going to the field as a missionary, rather than as an MK, and some adjustment is expected – but because I spent so much of my childhood as an MK, I’m not sure how much. Please pray that my (re)adjustment period to my new normal will go smoothly!

Lychee fruit: Something normal that's not boring?

- posted by Kirstin S.

Still on the Spiritual Wrestling Mat

When Allen began sharing information for this post, he wanted to begin with Ephesians 6:12:

”For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.” 

He barely had “wrestle” out of his mouth when Kirstin pointed out that this verse was recently used in another post about spiritual warfare. While Bible Gateway suggests 99 other verses on the topic, let’s stick with Ephesians 6:12. 

Allen described it as “feeling slammed as a ministry.” Sowers4Pastors is working against the enemy and he is responding by continually knocking them down on the wrestling mat again. By this point, Sowers4Pastors is looking to tag some more wrestlers/prayer warriors to help them through this onslaught. Here are some specific needs to remember:

• First, there was Covid-19 and the devastating economic effects on Honduras. Just as starvation levels were going down, the country was hit by not one, but two, hurricanes in quick succession. The limited government resources have all been diverted to help people along the coast, and to start the lengthy process of repairing roads and bridges. Please pray for the Honduran people during this difficult time!

• Historically, this is a time of year when Sowers4Pastors sees fewer children living with food insecurity. The hurricanes hit right in the middle of the gardening season and at the beginning of the coffee harvest. Because of the rainfall dumped by Hurricane Eta, coffee pickers around Gracias lost five days of picking. Now that Hurricane Iota has arrived, they will lose even more time. The harvests are being damaged, so there is fewer coffee to harvest, meaning there is less work for many people whose only income is coffee harvesting. 

• A container of food for Sowers4Pastors is scheduled to arrive in Honduras on Saturday. Scheduled being the operative word in the previous sentence. Please pray that it won’t be delayed. The hurricanes have been putting a lot of stress both on the ports the containers come in on, and the government officials in charge of approving the containers.

• The next three containers to be shipped -- 2 of backpacks and 1 of food -- are still in paperwork limbo. If the shipping paperwork is not approved quickly, Sowers4Pastors runs the risk of having future teams on the ground and no backpacks for them to distribute. This also means that many kids will be starting school without their school supplies. Please pray that the backpacks get to their destination in a timely manner, and that the food arrives before supplies from previous containers run out.

Russell picking up backpacks

• Shipping containers aren’t the only things needing to be in Honduras in a timely manner. It took Kelsea multiple attempts to return. Allen, Trish, Kirstin, Rachel, and little Nathan all need to make it back home in the near future. Since Russell will be picking them up from the airport, it would be good for all concerned to avoid any trial runs. Kelsea had trouble both with bad weather leading to her flights getting cancelled, and trouble with the airlines accepting her negative COVID-19 results. They kept finding a different thing to nitpick. Please pray that all parties get in on the first try, otherwise Russell will have to make several 8 hour round-trip runs down to the capital to pick people up.

• Please pray for the ministry’s finances and for wisdom regarding how to best use resources. Allen pointed out that their resources are not enough to meet all of the needs. Please join everyone with Sowers4Pastors in praying that they will continue to be good stewards and that their energy is going to the advancement of the Gospel. They want to be sure there’s a continued focus on the spiritual side as they meet physical needs. 

• Remember to pray for 3rd time expectant mom, Iris, and the unborn baby. Iris has had preeclampsia with each pregnancy. RJ and Abby were both delivered by C-section and that is the plan for this baby, as well. They are hoping the baby will wait until at least December 1st to make an appearance. If the baby isn’t here by the 13th, the doctor will deliver it at that time. Weighing what is best for both Iris and that baby, that’s a couple of weeks before a full-term delivery and a couple of weeks longer than what Iris needs. 

• Overall, the past 8 months have taken an emotional toll on the Sowers4Pastors crew. Between hurricanes, COVID-19, backpack trips, and just the general stress of the ministry, pretty much everyone is feeling completely drained. Please pray for them as they try to keep focusing their spiritual energy on what’s important. Please pray for them to feel a little more of God's joy and little less stress.

And now, a couple of praises!

• Trish is enjoying her time at the writer’s conference. She is making new friends and learning new skills!

• Everyone is safe after the hurricanes, including Rachel and her family. Rachel’s house is near a river that did flood during the hurricanes, but her house was untouched.

• While parts of Honduras are practically wiped off the map during the hurricanes, the area where Sowers4Pastors operates has mostly had minimal damage. While there is some recovery work to be done in their area, it is nowhere near as bad as some of the pictures you might be seeing online. 

So, this is a call for all prayer warriors to redouble your efforts in praying for the Sowers4Pastors’ crew and their ministry! Thank you for your continued intercession. They couldn’t do it without you!

- posted by Christi.

Hurricane Relief and Missionary Syndicates

On Tuesday, Russell had a meeting with a fellow missionary in Lempira, Mr. Shannon Hopkins, to discuss consolidating hurricane relief efforts. There are four or five local missionary families and it simply makes sense to join forces right now. Russell struggled to find just the right word for this teamwork, so here are a few suggestions: a consortium, a fellowship, an alliance, or my personal favorite, a syndicate. The world needs more missionary syndicates right now. 

Elderly citizen being carried to safety during the aftermath of hurricane Eta.

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 WITH HURRICANE RELIEF!! 

Shannon had already sat down with the mayor of the county (similar to a county commissioner in the U.S.) to discuss the current COVID and hurricane relief needs. Even though the area around Gracias was not the hardest hit, the needs are still very real. According to the mayor’s statistics, sixty houses in the county were seriously affected by Hurricane Eta. Of those houses, forty of them need new roofs. The other twenty were completely destroyed.

Russell explained the benefits of working with the local government and the team of missionaries. It will help control the possibility of people going from one person to another asking for help. Besides those in need of housing help, the mayor said, “Here is a list of 200 families who are not finding a way to get enough food.”

Shannon and the mayor calculated that $200 per family will be enough to see them through to the end of the year. That comes to $40,000. With your help, Sowers4Pastors has been working diligently to get additional food resources for the extra burden COVID-19 has placed on their feeding program. Allen and Russell anticipate that some of the food coming over by container at this time can be used for this cause.

For those with damaged or destroyed homes, it makes sense to begin with the 40 houses in need of new roofs. It costs $1000 to fix a roof on one house. That comes to an additional $40,000, but you probably already figured that one out in your head.

In case you’re wondering how assistance is given, please know that it is not like Santa Claus tossing out candy from a float in a Christmas parade. There is nothing haphazard about this process. Remember that list of 200 families in need of help? Those are the people who will receive aid. Remember the 60 families whose homes were damaged or destroyed? They are the ones who will receive help with construction.

Sowers4Pastors is not trading its mission and becoming a humanitarian aid organization. They are still empowering pastors. The people being helped will be ministered to spiritually as well as physically. The pastors will continue to evangelize. This is not an either/or proposition. As Christians, we are instructed to help the poor among us. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to help people until we are bored with it, or until there is one tragedy too many in the same location.

Allen, Trish, and Russell are very cognizant of the fact that they just did a big push for funds for the food handed out during the COVID shutdown. As Russell said, “We weren’t expecting a hurricane to come in and wreck the country. Our area was hit less, but the aid that was being given has all been taken away and redistributed to those affected in the northern part of Honduras. Our area was affected. Now we are struggling and there are families left out in the rain.” Literally.

Solider carrying an infant during flooding 

He continued, “We are really short on time, as a ministry. Working with a team of other missionaries will help stretch both financial and time resources. We are hopeful that we will raise money to help purchase supplies and get a Honduran crew together to work on the houses.” 

Yes, this is a plea for money and a plea for prayers. Russell added, “We’re sorry to ask, but that’s where we are right now.”

Please consider donating to this crisis. It’s not like you get the chance to help fund a missionary syndicate every day!


- posted by Christi

     DONATE HERE TO HELP   

 WITH HURRICANE RELIEF!!