Beyond the Clinic: Where Every Visit Becomes Ministry

 After hearing about the recent dental team from Brandy’s perspective, Alejandro offered another view — one that stretches beyond procedures and into something much deeper.

What stood out to him wasn’t just the care provided, but the people involved. The dental students who made up part of the team originally came from all over the world — Vietnam, India, China, and the United States. For Alejandro, that diversity wasn’t just interesting; it was meaningful. “We had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them, too,” he said. “As a ministry, we aren’t just touching the people receiving dental care. We’re also impacting the lives of the students — and through them, their families.”

That ripple effect is something Sowers4Pastors never loses sight of. Every team that arrives is both serving and being served, both giving and receiving. The mission field doesn’t run in one direction.

Dental team

Now, the Sowers4Pastors staff is preparing for what comes next: a medical team arriving in just a couple of weeks. The logistics are already in place — locations scheduled, itineraries set — but Alejandro’s excitement isn’t rooted in organization. It’s rooted in opportunity.

“We get to talk about Jesus and who He is,” he said. “That’s how we bring hope to people’s hearts.”

That word — hope — is at the center of everything. Medical care, dental work, backpacks, meals… they all matter. But they are not the final goal. They are the open door. What walks through that door is the Gospel — the invitation for lives to be changed, not just improved.

Alejandro put it simply: “It’s not just about giving medical attention or a meal. It’s about giving hope.”

And that mission doesn’t pause when one team leaves. Right on the heels of the medical visit, the first VBS team of the season will arrive. These teams, often from churches in the United

States, bring a different kind of energy — games, songs, laughter — but the same purpose.

“The kids aren’t just excited to play,” Alejandro shared. “They’re excited to learn about the Kingdom of God.”

And they do more than just learn — they carry it home.

Time and again, families have shared how something as simple as a VBS song has encouraged them in difficult seasons. Alejandro laughed as he recalled one example: a repetitive, lighthearted song about being thankful. “It’s just a few words over and over,” he said, “but a woman in one village told me it helped her not give up. It reminded her to be grateful for what she has — even when life is hard.”

It’s a powerful reminder that God doesn’t always use what we would consider profound or complex. Sometimes, He uses the simplest things — a conversation, a song, a moment — to reach someone right where they are.

For the S4P staff, that’s part of the joy. Every team, every visit, every interaction carries the potential for something eternal. “The Holy Spirit will use whatever He wants to bless families,” Alejandro said. “People are learning how important they are to the Lord.”

And maybe that’s the invitation for all of us.

“Keep your heart open,” Alejandro encouraged. “When you do, the Lord will blow your mind. Every little thing is a miracle. Even just opening your eyes in the morning — that is God’s favor in your life.”

When we start to see life that way, we realize something: ministry isn’t confined to a clinic, a classroom, or a mission trip.

It’s happening everywhere — one open heart at a time.

 - posted by Christi

A Return Worth Celebrating: Dr. Annette’s Unstoppable Mission

It is always a reason to celebrate when Dr. Annette arrives in Gracias with a dental team. But this year’s visit? It felt a little extra special.

Last year, Dr. Annette experienced a serious accident that left her with a severely broken leg — one that required surgery and a long road of physical therapy. In fact, at the time, it wasn’t even certain that she would regain her ability to walk.

And yet, while still in the hospital, she reached out to Sowers4Pastors with a message that was both simple and remarkable: she was still planning to come.

At that moment, she may have been the only one completely convinced.

But determination has a way of telling its own story. Through months of recovery, hard work, and what Brandy described as her “big heart and a fire to serve others,” Dr. Annette did exactly what she said she would do.

She came back.

Though she once thought she might serve as a full-time missionary, that path never quite unfolded the way she expected. Instead, she discovered a calling that has proven just as impactful — serving through short-term missions. For more than 27 years, she has faithfully used her skills to care for others, one trip at a time.

“She has been a big blessing for our ministry and for my country,” Brandy said.

This year, Dr. Annette returned with another doctor and a team of dental students — and something else became clear. Her impact doesn’t stop with the patients she treats. It’s shaping the next generation of providers as well.

Many of the students on this year’s team had served before, and their growth was evident.

“It’s great to see the students growing as people and as believers,” Brandy shared. “While they were teaching kids how to use a toothbrush, they were also sharing about Jesus. They were taking every opportunity to spread the Gospel while they worked.”

Their development was visible in practical ways, too. In previous years, students might have primarily assisted behind the scenes, cleaning instruments and observing procedures. Now, they are stepping forward with confidence — engaging directly with patients, contributing to care, and even offering input to the doctors.

The learning is happening on every level.

And it’s happening under some intense conditions.

The team worked long hours in a heat index that reached a staggering 113 degrees. Even Brandy, who is well accustomed to the climate, admitted, “The heat was horrible — and I live here!” But the team pressed on with positive attitudes, serving faithfully without complaint.

“It was a great team,” he added.

Throughout the week, they worked out of local churches, providing cleanings, fillings, and extractions when needed. They also took time to teach proper dental hygiene to the children — equipping them with knowledge that will serve them long after the team has gone home.

Each day, they saw an average of 50 to 60 patients, in addition to children in the program who received cleanings and fluoride treatments. It was a full schedule, a demanding environment, and a powerful reminder of what can happen when skill and compassion come together.

But perhaps the most meaningful part of the week wasn’t just the dental care — it was the connection.

“Thank you to everyone who prays for the ministry,” Brandy said. “We were able to spend a week with a team not just cleaning teeth, but sharing the Gospel along with meals and snacks. It was very touching to see.”

From a hospital bed to a bustling clinic in Honduras, Dr. Annette’s journey this past year is a testament to perseverance, calling, and faith.

And if this visit is any indication, she’s not slowing down anytime soon.

- posted by Christi

One Bag, One Month, One Big Miracle: The Ripple Effect of Generosity

 A team from New Life Christian Ministries is currently on the ground in Honduras—and as Brandy often says, one of the biggest blessings of sending teams throughout the year is the chance to hear stories that might otherwise go untold.

At the beginning of the year, a previous New Life team wanted to do something extra special when they came to distribute backpacks. The church decided to bless their sister church community by handing out food bags — no strings attached.

Now, under normal circumstances, grocery bags are typically delivered only to the families of sponsored children, either when a sponsor is present or has sent funds specifically for that purpose. But this time, every family in the sister church received a food bag. That act of generosity was powerful on its own — but this week, a current team member heard just how far that blessing reached.

In one local family, a single mother had been struggling to feed her children. We don’t know all the details — perhaps the mother is a widow, or perhaps the father had left — but what’s certain is that she was in a desperate situation. So desperate, in fact, that she was preparing to leave her children with their grandmother while she traveled to the city in search of work.

The food bags contained simple staples: cooking oil, oatmeal, bread — nothing flashy or excessive, just the kinds of everyday ingredients that make survival a little easier. Normally, a single bag would last about a week.

But this mom shared her testimony: her single bag of groceries lasted an entire month. Not with extreme rationing. Not with skipped meals. Her children ate regularly — and she stayed.

It’s hard not to think of the Hanukkah story — where one day’s supply of oil burned for eight. Here, one week’s worth of food stretched across four. During that time, she found a job close to home. Her family stabilized. And instead of leaving her children behind, she stayed with them — confident that God was taking care of them.

“When you take care of people in need, God won’t forget that,” Brandy said.

That’s the power of sowing kindness. One gift. One gesture. One bag. It’s never just groceries, it's hope. It’s proof that God sees and provides.

The New Life team is scheduled to head home on Friday, and another team will arrive on Saturday. It’s been raining every day in Gracias, and Brandy laughingly recommends that the incoming group pack rain jackets. The good news? The rain’s been heavy enough to wash away all the slick, dangerous mud from the roads. That’s an answered prayer in itself!

Please continue to pray for safe travels, for softened hearts, and for God to continue multiplying every seed sown in love.

 - posted by Christi

S4P Coffee Farm - still a blessing to the community!

Everyone has a unique story to tell if you take the time to listen. Fortunately for us, Brandy is a listener. Lately, he’s been listening to coffee harvesters. That makes sense since it’s coffee harvest time. 

The harvesters that have been showing up are the kind of hard-core people willing to brave the challenges of muddy roads and chilly weather. While they may be few in number, they are strong in moxie. (By the way, “moxie” is an underused word that is defined as “courageous spirit and determination; perseverance.”) While the pickers are harvesting coffee, Brandy has been following alongside, collecting their stories. Here are a few of them:

Brandy discovered that one coffee harvester is a woman around the age of 50, with five children. She’s not new to harvesting. She’s been doing it for years in order to send her children to school. She picked coffee for Sowers4Pastors last year for about three weeks. In doing so she earned enough money to see two of her kids graduate from middle school. 

Then there is a group of women who live three or four miles from the farm. They are single moms who each have two or three kids. They show up each day with their children. Coffee harvest is the most important season of the year for these women because it is how they earn the money needed to provide for their families. Families often harvest coffee together–combining what they’ve picked at the end of the day. Since they are paid for the amount they pick rather than by the hour, the coffee is measured by the gallon and the money earned is paid to a parent. Children rarely get to have their own earnings. That is not the case for this particular group.

These single moms let their children have their coffee measured separately. Shortly before Christmas, Brandy asked the children what they were going to do with their money. $20 must have seemed like a fortune to them. It turned out that they were incredibly excited because they were going to buy their new clothes for Christmas and some snacks for the holiday. 

Shortly before Christmas, the group of women ran out of wood for cooking and weren’t going to be able to pick coffee. They live in a rural area but do not have any land. Collecting wood requires them to walk two hours up the mountain. Brandy was able to tell them that if they came to work, he would give them some wood. Many trees have been cut down or have fallen and there is plenty of firewood on the property. The single moms were so happy and thankful. They had a day of work and wood to cook for Christmas!

These conversations have been a blessing to Brandy and the others at S4P. Brandy said, “I’ve been feeling good. The farm, more than anything, is here to create jobs for people and help the community. I’ve been able to see how it has been a blessing for people.”

 - posted by Christi
 - photos by Quito and Brandy

Medical Mercy - Let's work together to provide health and hope!

 People say that knowledge is power. When we know what the problem is, we can begin the process of fixing it. In many cases, Honduran culture does not think that way. The thought process is—we know what the problem is, so now we can learn how to live with it.

This mentality often comes from the simple lack of resources. For example, what good is it to know that you have cataracts if you can’t afford the procedure to have them removed? This is exactly what happened with the caregiver of a child registered in the Manna program. She has been gradually losing vision for five years. Now she is practically blind. For all of these years, she knew the problem, but learned how to live without her sight because the resources to save her vision were completely out of reach.

As a result of the recent Medical Mercy Mission, Jonathan and I, along with Allen, Kirstin, and Rachel, have been evaluating each medical referral we received from the doctors from a “how can we fix this” perspective. We have been lining up doctors visits, scheduling surgeries, visiting potential patients in their homes to hear their histories and evaluate their needs, talking with local medical professionals and other missionaries to arrange treatments, and more!

We already have success stories. One child had a painful cyst removed from the top of her foot. One child has received formula to help him grow big and strong so he can have surgery for his cleft palate. We also provided formula for a baby whose mother is not producing milk and can’t pay for formula.

Three little patients received orthopedic surgeries last month. The first child came to be evaluated by the Medical Mercy Mission. He is only three years old, with one surgery for his club feet behind him. He required another surgery, but the cost was completely out of reach for the family. The other two patients did not come to be evaluated by the Medical Mercy team. These two children, who both had broken arms which healed badly, were told by their doctors that there was no hope for a normal arm again. They would live with the pain and the disfigurement forever. These children received the help they needed simply because they are known by Manna staff. When the orthopedic brigade came, we thought of them, went to their homes, talked to their parents, and did what we could to sow a seed of hope in their hearts. Even though the orthopedic brigade did not have room to see any more patients, God miraculously opened a door for these children to be seen and operated on. They are now in the process of recovery with a good prognosis!

Another child has been receiving life-changing help for his vision. We have been taking him to the eye clinic in El Progreso—approximately five hours from Gracias—to receive ongoing care to ensure that he does not lose his vision. We also took the caregiver that was mentioned earlier, but unfortunately, due to the advanced stage of the problem, there is now no help for her. She will live blind for the rest of her life, not because there was no solution, but because of extreme poverty and a fatalistic mindset that has been ground into the poor of Honduras by that same poverty which keeps solutions out of reach.

We know the problems that these communities must overcome, and we have the ability to facilitate many of the solutions, and there is power in that. However, without resources, we can not help. Here are the specific needs that we have at this moment:

3 orthopedic surgeries: $400 per child

40 patients who need eye exams and glasses: $125 per child

Dental clinic: we want every child to be evaluated, receive fluoride treatment, and have decayed baby teeth extracted as necessary. Children with adult teeth in need of repair will receive a referral. The dental clinic will cost us $350 per day, and we need 7 days for all of the Manna program to be seen.

10 children with specialty referrals, including cardiology, ENT, etc. We don’t know the costs of treatment, but the initial visits and exams cost about $50 per child.

Please help empower these children and families to receive help for life-changing medical needs! And please pray with us for their healing.

- posted by Kim Hall

Allen's Latest Mission of Mercy

Some blog posts are recaps of the latest news and some posts need to come with a big BREAKING NEWS banner scrolling across your computer screen. This is one of those “breaking news” days. Picture a live action news van trailing Allen as he goes out on a mission of mercy.

As you know, this is the time of year when everyone at Sowers4Pastors is out distributing backpacks. This time is important, and not just because the children are receiving necessary school supplies, shoes, etc. It’s also the only opportunity Sowers4Pastors has to see each child in the program and update all of their information at the same time. From an administrative standpoint, this is huge. When they visit the sponsorship centers, they are on the lookout for any special needs that have come up and haven’t been caught before. 

Recently, S4P was visiting a center in Quelacasque with a visiting team from The Well Worship Center in Kansas. One of the team members sponsors a little girl named Yessenia. In visiting with the family, the team member learned that Yessenia fell off a horse and broke her arm about four months ago. Yessenia lives with her very kind and attentive grandparents. The grandparents cared for Yessenia in the best way they knew how by taking her to the local healer. It is normal for each village to have its own healer to deal with illness and injury. In the case of a broken bone, however, a local healer is ill-equipped to provide the necessary treatment. Yessenia’s arm, which was broken a couple of inches below her elbow, was never set. Without surgery, Yessenia would be unable to bend her left arm or use it for more than very light lifting. The sponsor went to Allen and he agreed to do everything he could to help.

Allen already knew that a very large team of gringo doctors was working at the Clinica San Lucas in Gracias this week. He reached out to them last week and was told they could have a look at her, but that all of the surgical spots were filled. Allen begged them to notify him if they had a cancellation. When he took Yessenia to the clinic on Monday, a doctor examined her arm and scheduled the surgery for six months from now, when the next clinic will be held. Even though Yessenia isn’t in pain, this news was disappointing because one of the visiting doctors at this clinic is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in wrists. Wrist. Elbow. That’s close! Allen had been so hopeful that she would get her surgery sooner rather than later.

Tuesday night, he got word that there was a cancellation. Yessenia could have her surgery if they could get her to the clinic on Wednesday morning. Since this is a surgery requiring general anesthesia, it was important for Allen to get to the family before Yessenia had anything to eat. He left home at 5:30 to tell the family the big news before breakfast. If all has gone as expected, she should be recovering from surgery right now.

The timing of everything has been difficult because there are teams on the ground and Rachel & Kirstin are out of town for a conference - so every pair of hands is needed at the backpack distributions! Allen has made a lot of trips back and forth to Quelacasque to make this happen. One day, he went out to take Yessenia to the clinic and she was already out working in the fields with her grandparents. While all of this was going on, another sponsor said that their sponsored child’s parents needed medical care. Allen also made sure they got to the clinic. We talk a lot about backpacks and nutritious meals, but sponsoring a child goes beyond that. This is the kind of thing Sowers4Pastors tries to do for sponsorship kids whenever the need arises. 

 - posted by Christi

Update from Trish:

Yessenia's surgery went well, though it was very long! She is now recuperating at home, and expectations are that she will regain full use of her arm. Praise God for all the pieces He put into place, to make this possible! 

Food and Backpacks, Backpacks and Food

One of the things the Sowers4Pastors ministry is known for is an ability to get things done on small amounts of money. They have always been so good at stretching a dollar that it’s not easy for Allen, Trish, and Russell to feel they are standing with their hands out while praying for enough money to do all they have been called to do. As much as they dislike asking for money, they will continue to do everything they can to feed people in Western Honduras and to make it possible for kids to attend school. 

At this point, the food situation in the villages where they work is under control . . . but just barely. Sowers4Pastors has enough food to meet immediate needs. They are continuing to give out as much food as they reasonably can in order to prevent people from starving. They are also working to keep people’s nutrition levels up. They have a short-term supply of food on hand. There is a shipping container filled with food, which is sitting in the States waiting to be sent to Sowers4Pastors. Food for the longer-term needs is also in the pipeline with the container that people in Maryland are packing right now. Even if Covid-19 disappeared today, Sowers4Pastors would still need all of that food to meet their normal needs. Your donations have made a difference! But this is not over.

Sowers4Pastors is also continuing to look ahead to backpack season. Several people have asked the following question: If the children didn’t go to school this year, why do they need another backpack? That’s a good question with a very good answer.

Students in Honduras had about a month of school before the lockdown began. Throughout this period of time, there have been attempts to continue educating kids. The most fortunate children are still using up their school supplies to complete their assignments. It is expected that the other children are probably using their supplies out of boredom. Surely, no one can fault a child for wanting to wear down the tips of their crayons by coloring in composition books. These kids are not plopped in front of Netflix when they’re not in school. They get their entertainment where they can find it and many of them have likely found great comfort in having the freedom to create a few art projects or write down their thoughts. The hygiene supplies each child received are also being used. The toys they received are being played with. The need is still there.

Given the current situation, some people have urged Allen and Trish to not even try to extend the backpack collection route to include Texas at this time. But, since they won’t be in the States for a couple of months, the planning must be done now. If you read this post about Kristen in California, you remember that she managed to fill 48 backpacks with the help of her friends and family without ever leaving home. It is possible to fill backpacks while social distancing!

Even if Covid-19 numbers take a turn for the worse between now and September, you can leave the boxes out on your driveway and the traveling Sowerses will roll by and pick them up. They want to do this in the safest way possible.

At this point, there is no way of knowing what the school situation will be for children in Honduras next February, although, just like in the US, the government of Honduras is working on a plan. However it works out, it can be said with certainty that without backpacks, many children have no hope of attending school. The only way they can get an education is with backpacks filled with school supplies. The only way those backpacks can get filled is by people who care enough to do it.

Please be patient and understanding because this is going to continue to be a hot blog post topic! Other aspects of the ministry are still going strong. Motorcycles are going out to pastors. Pastors’ gifts all went out, albeit at a snail’s pace. The only things that absolutely can’t be done right now are Pastor Training School and hosting teams. But for the foreseeable future, the big needs from people in the US are food and backpacks (and/or donations toward these same needs).

Click here to donate to the emergency food program

Click here to pay for backpacks, so Honduran kids can get an education

No one could accuse Allen, Trish, or Russell of being greedy. But they simply aren’t willing to back down on the need for backpacks in lieu of food. They also aren’t willing to abandon feeding people in lieu of backpacks. Both things are important. Some people have asked, “Which is more urgent? Which should I donate to--food or backpacks?”

To those people, Trish says, “Donate to whichever one God puts on your heart. The need for both is there. We will let you know if one becomes more important than the other.”

 - posted by Christi

Face to Face Stories: The Academic High Achiever

The disciples of Jesus had lived a dream. For three years, they followed Jesus, witnessing miracle after miracle. It was a life they never could have expected. So what did they do when they thought that the door had closed on that future?

Peter, Andrew, James, and John went back and picked up the nets they had dropped to follow Jesus. When Jesus found them in Galilee, he found them doing what they knew how to do—fishing. Fishing was vital work, and honorable work—but we know that God had another occupation in mind for these men.

Many young people in our Manna 4 Lempira programs are living a similar experience during this season of quarantine. Having been empowered, encouraged, and equipped to stay in school they have chased a different dream for their lives—something that may have been outside the realm of possibility for their parents. But with the drastic disruption in the normalcy of life here, including closure of schools and businesses, these youth are going back to what they know. 

Everywhere I look these days, I see corn fields—sprouting green rows of hope pushing up through the broken earth. And in these fields are young men like “Jose”. 

Their work is skilled work. As someone whose gardens never produce more than a few wrinkly tomatoes, I envy the intelligence, experience, and hard work that produces fruitful fields. I’m thankful for their work too, as a consumer dependent on this vital harvest. However, I know that in these fields are young men who, when given the opportunity, also have other affinities that can impact the futures of their communities in other positive ways.

Last year, I stood beside Jose, bursting with pride, as he graduated from high school with top honors. I know the struggle that his family has endured to get this far. Life has not been easy, even without the complications of coronavirus. But in spite of bitter circumstances that made him man of the house at a young age, Jose is a kind, godly, young man with a servant’s heart. He is always smiling his dazzling smile, optimistic and happy. His hands are best suited for skilled work at a keyboard, his keen mind best challenged by rows of computer code. With the impact of coronavirus, his dream to major in Information Technology at the local university died for a season. Instead of typing intricate rows of code, he plants orderly rows of corn.

I stood by Jose’s side recently and listened to him share about his work, blisters on his sun-browned hands and determination in his coffee black eyes. Jose is doing what he must do to provide for his family at this time. With his mother’s stall in the local market closed for 100 days, Jose is working to feed her and his four siblings. Right now, it’s hard to think ahead to a future in information technology. He must think about putting meals on the table.

This situation highlights the vital role of sponsorship in the life of a young person. As the situation with COVID-19 continues to develop—and hopefully wind down—in Honduras, we are here, forming a safety net to ensure that Jose’s dreams don’t die. We will be here as a ministry to continue encouraging Jose and many like him to pursue their dreams. We will continue to supplement their food supply with crisis provisions to encourage Jose and take some of the burden from his young shoulders.

The disciples of Jesus went back to fishing—but not for long. God had plans that nothing could stop for those men to share a message that would change the world. We are no less confident that God has plans to change homes, communities, and Honduras through the lives of young people like Jose. We know that whether God’s plan is for Jose to bless his community through productive fields or through technology, coronavirus can’t stop that plan—and we want to be there to help Jose reach his full potential for his country and for God’s kingdom.

 - posted by Kim

If you'd like to help with the cost of distributing food 

to the struggling families in western Honduras,
here is a link where you can do so:

Click here to donate

Food Crisis Update

It’s time for an update on the current food crisis in Honduras, as it relates to Covid-19. We’re used to seeing graphs depicting curves in need of flattening, so let’s discuss the increased need for food in those terms. This chart doesn’t really have a curve yet. It’s more like an arrow shooting upward in an almost steady climb. During normal times, there are approximately 150 pastors coming to Sowers4Pastors to receive food for their communities. That number is now approaching 300 pastors!

Clay Powell, who heads up Pastors Training School, has been keeping up with the pastors who were his students, and was delivering packages of food to them. During his visits, the pastors began relaying the needs they were seeing around them. As a result, an additional 150 families have been added to the list of people Sowers4Pastors is trying to help. Keep in mind that those 150 families are not the only new additions to the list. People are being brought to the Sowers’ attention through other sources as well. And, of course, they are seeing increased needs from people they were already helping. 

There are a couple of things that Sowers4Pastors hope will start to make a difference toward flattening the hunger curve:

• It has been somewhere between a month and six weeks since the rains started. By her own admission, Trish is no farmer, but she believes people should begin harvesting a variety of locally grown foods within another month or so. Even people who do not normally plant gardens did so this year, and that is a hopeful thing. Unfortunately, corn, a main staple here, won't be ready for harvest for several more months.
• The government of Honduras has started reopening the economy. Monday, June 8th was the beginning of the process. Basically, the situation is that most businesses have been allowed to reopen. The exception is what we would call public transportation, even though it is private - not government run - in Honduras. Buses, taxis, and vans which are used to shuttle people are not allowed to operate. This means that a lot of people can’t get to work. People are resourceful, though. For instance, the Sowerses have had several workers staying with them since they couldn’t easily travel each day. Hopefully, some people will begin working and bringing in money to purchase food.

The virus itself continues to be a problem mainly in larger cities. The number of cases being reported each day is the highest it has been so far. Unlike in the U.S., where there have been huge discussions about weighing the danger of the virus against the danger to the economy, things are more black and white in Honduras. With so many people facing literal starvation, Hondurans must get back to work. There is also talk of reopening schools--perhaps sometime in the next month. 

Thanks to the donations they have received, so far Sowers4Pastors has been able to purchase enough supplemental food to stay ahead of the needs. As a ministry, they have immediate and long-term plans in place. Remember that their baseline is feeding 14,000 people twice a week. When this crisis is over, they will be out of food and will still need to feed an incredibly large number of people on a regular basis. Allen has been working to find ways to purchase food through the most cost-effective sources. As long as there are adequate funds, Sowers4Pastors should be able to continue to meet the needs of the people it serves. 

Please keep praying about this ongoing situation in Honduras!! The crew with Sowers4Pastors is excited to see God's hand at work, in the lives of these pastors and families. Please continue to pray for God's strength and abundance to rain down on these people! - posted by Christi

When God's People Pray

Amazing things happen when God’s people pray. It wasn’t too many months ago that we were talking about a serious food shortage in the feeding centers. Centers were temporarily shutting their doors while Sowers4Pastors scrambled to find an affordable food source to continue feeding 14,000 kids two meals per week.

While Sowers4Pastors waited for a shipment of food to arrive, people came through with leads of how to procure food. Allen contacted about eighty different individuals. Those individuals steered him to about twenty-five organizations that do these kinds of food programs. Each time Allen reached out, he asked, “What can you do to help?”

Time and time again, he was told that the organizations were tapped out and unable to do more than they were currently doing. But then Allen contacted one organization that was already in the process of importing food to Honduras.

This organization had money in their budget for shipping and for paying customs . . . until Honduras changed the rules to make shipping duty-free containers more expensive. The organization had a shortfall of $1500. Sowers4Pastors will happily make up the difference, which means they will receive a container full of nutritious meals for $1500. That’s 500,000 meals, which comes to 3 meals for $0.01!

The hope is that the shipment of food will arrive this week. Even though they had already managed to get food to end the previous crisis, that food has almost been depleted. Pastors are showing up in need of more food for their feeding centers, and there is currently only enough food for about 2 - 4 centers.

Thank you for the prayers that went into making this new source of food a reality. Thank you for your donations, which allow Sowers4Pastors to be able to contribute to the amount necessary to get the container through customs.

Allen, Russell, and Trish are looking forward to ways they can gradually build the feeding center program, while maintaining high standards of accountability. This isn’t only about feeding children. It’s about building the Kingdom. Sowers4Pastors wants to be sure that every pastor involved is also feeding the kids spiritually. However, they don’t want to work with pastors who only give to those who attend their church. They want to work with pastors whose reason for being involved with the feeding program is out of love for the reached and unreached alike.

This is the first time Sowers4Pastors has had the capacity to promote the feeding program in Honduras since 2009. They had to stop promoting because, with their limited food resources, they could only manage to provide for the existing feeding centers. It is necessary to have a continuous pipeline of food, because there are currently 14,000 kids relying on these meals. It appears that this new connection is going to be an ongoing source of extremely affordable, nutritious meals. The partnership was born of a problem and brought together by prayer. Please pray for wisdom and discernment as Sowers4Pastors moves forward in this exciting new chapter.

 - posted by Christi

The One About the East Coast Trip

A lot can happen in two weeks. When Trish and I last spoke, she and Allen were just beginning their trip down the East Coast. That leg of the backpack trip is now complete and the truck was unloaded in Maryland on Monday the 14th. It was a fast journey without a lot of extra stops along the way.

Before any trip, Allen crunches the numbers to make sure the number of backpacks they will pick up will be in balance with the expense of traveling to the location. They stopped and collected boxes of backpacks in New Hampshire and in the Boston area. Then there weren’t any major stops until Maryland. In order to make things more efficient, they would love to see some expansion into Connecticut, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, since they're passing through those areas anyway. When they unloaded the truck in Maryland, they got a new, larger truck for the next leg of the trip.

They were able to attend church at Fredericktowne Baptist. Trish presented the kidnapping story in Sunday school. Allen spoke for a time during the worship service. After church, a potluck was held and there was a question and answer time for Trish and Allen.

Before leaving Maryland, Allen crunched more numbers to figure out if they have the right amount of stuff to fill each of the shipping containers. He calculated that they had too much stuff for the container in Maryland and not enough for the Florida container, so adjustments were made. When they set off for Florida, they took some boxes of backpacks along, to help even things out.

Allen and Trish stopped at the home of friends and supporters in Hampton Roads Virginia. A longtime friend of Trish’s got the private school where she teaches and the church she attends to participate in the backpack drive. 300 backpacks were collected, and were packed up into tightly-filled boxes, just the way they like to receive them!

Trish wants to stress that, while they can’t go far off their travel route to pick up one or two backpacks, they are happy to collect anything along their route. In North Carolina, they met one sponsor at a gas station to collect her items for the children she sponsors. They also met another sponsor at a truck stop right at the Florida/Georgia line, to collect one backpack.

Here we are in Jacksonville, with sponsor
Courtney Christian - one of the few stops where
we remembered to take a picture!

In Atlanta they collected backpacks for sponsored children, backpacks for non-specified children, and several boxes of mail from Manna 4 Lempira sponsors. Trish apologizes for the tight schedule, which kept them from being able to hang out and talk much, at each collection location. She even forgot to get pictures along much of this route!

They stopped in Jacksonville to pick up backpacks from three different people, and spoke to a small home-group meeting consisting of people who'd filled backpacks. They drove their very full truck to Edgewater, where a group of volunteers help unload and sort the collected boxes. There was time to spend a Sunday with the folks at Edgewater Alliance Church, before Trish and Allen headed off again.

They have one more leg of the trip remaining. On October 17th, they will fly to Gulfport, Mississippi and will do one last drive to pick up backpacks from Mississippi to Florida. They have several more spots to hit in Florida. They expect to be back in Florida on Tuesday evening.

 - posted by Christi

The Buzz About Mosquito Nets

You’ve heard of malaria, but are you familiar with its evil comrade, dengue fever? Like malaria, dengue is spread by mosquitoes. Dengue is incredibly painful and has earned the nickname bone-break fever, because the aches are so severe. Other parts of the world call it bone-crusher disease. Although Honduras has been having a particularly large number of Dengue cases this year, Gracias and its surrounding areas are not typically at high risk for dengue, so it hasn’t been mentioned here before. Last week, however, one of the Manna 4 Lempira communities had an outbreak.

The community contacted Kim Hall and asked for help transporting children to the hospital. Kim recognized the severity of the situation and immediately put out a plea for funds to purchase mosquito bed nets for children in the affected area. Rather than having sponsors purchase netting for their own sponsored children, the paraphrased plea was, “Help if you want to help. We will use the funds in places with the greatest risk.”

The response was generous and Manna 4 Lempira was able to purchase nets for the two most at-risk communities. The project is still open if you are interested in giving. Due to the urgency of this project, donations are going through the Halls' PayPal rather than the Sowers4Pastors website. A donation of $10 can help purchase one net and acetaminophen needed in case of an infection. The PayPal address is:

kames1217@bellsouth.net

Dengue typically strikes low-lying, wet areas with a dense population. The areas served by Manna 4 Lempira/ Sowers4Pastors are higher, typically drier, and not densely populated. Netting will be distributed based on the actual risk to each community.

Strong people are not likely to die from dengue. However, Manna 4 Lempira/ Sowers4Pastors deal with a more vulnerable population. The disease hits especially hard in children suffering from malnutrition.

As mentioned above, Honduras has been having a terrible dengue season. Hospitals are running out of supplies. The official recommendation by multiple health organizations seems to be: Don’t get mosquito bites! It’s a common sense approach that involves wearing long sleeves, avoiding areas with standing water, and using mosquito nets on beds.

In case you’re wondering if there is a vaccine for dengue, a “partially effective” vaccine became available in 11 countries in 2016. Honduras is not one of those countries. Even if it were available, the three recommended doses would cost hundreds of dollars per person. Oh, and it’s only recommended for people who have been previously infected. It is believed it may worsen the outcome for people who have the vaccine prior to a first infection. “Partially effective” seems like a very good way to describe the vaccine! Mosquito netting, on the other hand, is highly effective!

 - posted by Christi

Little Fires and Fire Extinguishers

When you think about the characteristics needed to be a successful missionary, you might think of things like a love of God, a desire to serve, and an ability to put up with the occasional possum in the kitchen. While those characteristics are necessary, they don’t tell the whole story. To be a successful missionary in a developing country, you need to know when to put out little fires and when to hand someone else a fire extinguisher. (Clever turn of phrase complements of Allen.)

Just this week, a stranger showed up to talk to Allen about a pressing need. The stranger had been to see the county commissioner, and the county commissioner had suggested he see Allen.

The stranger's “little fire” is actually quite significant. He was there because of a serious situation affecting about ten thousand people. There is a water system that feeds into ten communities. The source of water is high in the mountains. The pipe bringing that water down from the mountain crosses a stream and was lying in the stream bed - until a recent storm broke the pipe. While the water line has been patched, it's the rainy season, and another big rainfall can - and likely will - just take it out again. The pipe needs to be elevated out of the stream bed and a small bridge/aqueduct needs to be built to hold it up there.

Allen, Russell, and Trish have been trying to figure out if they can find the time to help with this particular “little fire.” While they don’t really have time to spare, due to other obligations including visiting teams, they aren’t going to leave thousands of people with no reliable source of running water. They are planning to help with a donation of some cable (for the bridge), and by supplying simplified design ideas so the communities can do the work themselves.

Allen said, “There are always fires needing to be put out in a developing country like Honduras. If you’re not careful, you'll spend all of your time dealing with the immediate problems and you will never get around to the larger problems - like helping kids get a better education. Education is a long-term solution! We have to constantly ask ourselves if a particular problem is a fire the community can put out, if we give them a fire extinguisher and an ax to fight it! We’re trying to stay focused on the big picture. We have the constant need to evaluate where we should get involved. In some cases, we can give a little help and then also encourage fire prevention, in the future.”

Trish also pointed out that many of these problem situations would not seem so overwhelming if the community was able to be more on top of things in life. It’s difficult to handle the next little fire when you’re doing all you can just to feed your family and handle the most basic of life’s needs. It's also difficult to come up with solutions to technical problems like this water project issue, when the general level of education in the community is low.

I’m not sure who said this, because Allen and Trish were sort of finishing each other’s sentences at this point, but someone said, “This is the type of problem these communities could potentially resolve for themselves; they shouldn't need to rely on the North Americans for help. Through the long-term efforts to encourage higher levels of education and general health, we’re trying to help these communities get to that place.”

The goal of Sowers4Pastors is to focus on the long-term solutions to problems, and not be constantly sucked into fighting the little fires. Sometimes it's about achieving a balance between what they can do and what the community can do.

 - posted by Christi

Crucitas--an Unexpected Home Away From Home

Chelsea, lovingly administrating
the Lighthouse program

When you want to learn about a particular sponsorship center for Manna 4 Lempira, it is advisable to talk to someone who thinks of that area as a home away from home. That’s why, when I wanted to learn more about Crucitas, I spoke to Chelsea Johnson of Glen Burnie, MD. She laughed and said she could talk about Crucitas for hours. While we didn’t talk for hours, we certainly talked long enough for me to feel the love she has for the children of Crucitas.

Chelsea and her husband, Heath, first visited Honduras in August 2017. They had only been married for two months, at the time. The year they launched their marriage was also the year the sponsorship program launched.

When talking to Chelsea, I got the feeling that she was sorting through memories like they were video footage she was trying to edit together for a documentary. We talked about the various schools that feed into Crucitas. The schools have names, but Chelsea uses a number system when discussing them. She talked about the 100s to the 1000s like she was talking about her children, which, in a sense, she was.

It takes somewhere between an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes to get to Crucitas from Gracias. Chelsea laughed and said that if Russell is driving and there’s no team riding in the back of the truck, it’s closer to an hour. Chelsea knows they’re getting close when they stop to pick up Hector, who translates for their VBS programs. When the trucks get close to any of the schools or the feeding center, the kids run up to the fence and smile and wave. Chelsea describes the knowledge the kids haven’t forgotten them as an overwhelming feeling that they are loved there. She said, “We love them as much as they love us.”

If you're viewing this post by email, here's a link where you can see this video.

The Crucitas program has been growing rapidly. In 2017, there were three schools and approximately 200 kids. Today, there are ten schools and more than 700 kids. The schools have unique personalities and Chelsea talked about them the way a proud mom talks about her children.

There’s the school with a flagpole people always try to climb. There’s the school with the pig that's kept in the back. Chelsea laughed and said she never has the heart to tell first-time team members that the pig is not a pet. There are schools with no playground and one with a huge soccer field. Some of Chelsea’s favorite memories are of time spent on that soccer field. There is one school that is so difficult to access that the children and teachers walk to another school to see visiting teams and participate in VBS. There are schools where you can watch the boys wander off for a few minutes and come back holding chickens they somehow managed to catch.

Visiting team from Lighthouse Church, running a VBS program in one of the
public schools in Crucitas!

Chelsea and Heath last visited in February. While at the school with the soccer field, which she refers to as “300,” Chelsea and Heath told their sponsored child they are expecting a baby. Their sponsored child wept tears of joy! They will miss going back in August because that happens to coincide with Chelsea’s due date. However, Russell has already assured them, that when they come back next February, there will be plenty of people who want to hold the baby. That’s what happens when you go to your home away from home.

 - posted by Christi