Building Faith and Benches: A Week of Discipleship in Honduras

A few weeks ago, a team from Crosspoint Church was on the ground in Honduras. As Brandy shared, this wasn’t a typical mission team. There was no backpack distribution, no VBS program, no medical clinic — and it wasn’t a vision trip, either. This team went to Honduras with one clear purpose: to provide a discipleship program for men in the area.

The Crosspoint team invited pastors and church members from their own sponsorship area to participate, as well as from the nearby EAC sponsorship area. Typically, Crosspoint sends a team once a year to host a VBS program during their backpack distribution trip. But last year, Sowers4Pastors and Crosspoint began discussing a new idea — a trip focused entirely on discipleship.

Brandy explained, “Their strategy was to come and teach basic skills in construction. They taught masonry, carpentry, and welding — as much as you can teach in four days. But the main focus wasn’t on carpentry itself. The construction projects were also a tool to open the door for deeper discipleship among the men who attended.”

In recent years, Brandy has noticed that in many churches, men are greatly outnumbered by women — sometimes five to one. “I don’t want to use the word ‘depressing,’” he said, “but it’s sad. We need strong Christian men. The week with the team went really well.”

Attending the program required sacrifice from the Honduran participants. For most, it meant giving up a full week of paid work. Even so, about 20–25 men participated — from one teenager to several in their thirties — all eager to learn and grow. Brandy, who studied welding for three years in school, helped teach that skill and also served as translator for the group.

Since it’s tough to build something major in four days while learning new skills, the men divided into three groups and focused on one meaningful project: building benches for children to use in their church. When the week ended, the benches stayed behind — a practical, lasting reminder of their shared effort.

“They were so proud of their work,” Brandy said. “It was amazing to see the faces of these men using an electric saw for the first time — and to watch their excitement as they saw the results of their efforts at the end of each day. It was really good.”

Each day included worship and a devotional led by Pastor Israel from Crosspoint, but the discipleship extended far beyond those sessions. The six-member team chose to stay in the community itself, rather than returning to a hotel in Gracias each night. They ate together, played games, and spent countless hours in conversation.

Brandy reflected, “It was a wonderful time.”

 - posted by Christi

What it Means to be a Good Samaritan Today

If you grew up in church, the story of the Good Samaritan probably landed among your earliest Sunday School memories—right alongside Noah’s Ark and Jonah and the big fish. But for Brandy, the parable isn’t just a children’s lesson; it’s been on his mind a lot lately, as he’s watched the work of Sowers4Pastors unfold in real-time.

Brandy’s been reflecting on the story and how its message—to show mercy and kindness even to people we don’t know—connects directly to the ministry’s work in Honduras. Whether it’s mission teams playing with children, teaching Bible lessons, distributing backpacks and groceries, or providing medical and dental care, the connection is clear. But Brandy also wants to highlight the Good Samaritans who may never set foot in Honduras: people who pray, give financially, store donated supplies, or support in quiet, faithful ways.

“It’s easy to show mercy to people we know,” Brandy said. “But it’s different to show it to people we may never meet. That’s faith. That’s the love of God. Because, in the end, we are the same body.”

Brandy shared a few simple moments that have stuck with him lately. He remembers driving a young boy to medical appointments in Santa Rosa, about 45 minutes from Gracias. Now, whenever that boy sees Brandy, he runs after him for a hug.

“That fills my heart,” Brandy said.

Then there’s the family he met during a home visit—a household of single mothers, where both the grandmother and the mom are raising children alone. Since that first visit, the grandmother stops Brandy anytime she sees him in town, inviting him in for a cup of coffee as her way of saying thank you.

“She doesn’t have much to offer,” Brandy said, “but she expresses her gratitude through that cup of coffee.”

Brandy also watched Alejandro receive a simple act of thanks. After registering new children for the New Life program, a child came running after Alejandro, hugging him tightly and saying, “Thank you for my backpack.”

“I could give many examples,” Brandy said. “But in the end, I just want to say: the kindness and goodness people are pouring into these communities is the work of Good Samaritans. The people here are grateful. This is creating a real impact in the Kingdom of God.”

Brandy reminds us that God plants the desire in our hearts—but we must choose to answer the call. Whether you’re in Honduras or the United States, every act of service, every prayer, every dollar, every backpack delivered… it all matters.

“We know why we’re doing it,” Brandy said. “We want to expand the Kingdom of God, to share the Gospel, and to spread the love of Jesus. Thank you to everyone who’s part of this work.”

Because being a Good Samaritan isn’t just a story—it’s a calling.

 - posted by Christi

Bodega Prep: Organizing for the Backpack Container

Organizing the bodega for the arrival of the backpack container is a lot like getting your pantry in order after a Costco haul. Imagine you’ve somehow ended up with 72 cans of creamed corn (don’t ask why!). You wouldn’t stack those in front of the 18 cans you already have, right? No, you’d push the older cans forward and tuck the new ones in behind them. It’s just good pantry sense. And while this metaphor doesn’t quite explain your creamed corn obsession, it’s the perfect analogy for what’s happening now at Sowers4Pastors.

The bodega is being prepped for the upcoming shipment of backpacks that will arrive in a couple of months, and it’s a dusty place (because, well, Honduras). Over the course of several days, a team of 8-10 people will be busy moving things around, taking inventory, and making sure everything is ready for those backpack boxes. And yes, the dust will be a challenge, but nothing a few brooms and dust rags can’t handle!

But here’s where things get tricky. In previous years, the ministry would bring down boxes of shoes from the States, and it’s not as simple as hitting up Amazon for exactly the right sizes. It's more like ordering for a whole shoe store. You get a range of sizes in each set, but S4P tends to need a whole lot of size 4 shoes for girls and size 6 for boys. That leaves them with extra-large and extra-small sizes that aren’t in high demand.

So, instead of repeating this cycle and ending up with stacks of shoes in sizes no one needs, S4P has teamed up with a local cobbler to custom make the sizes they’re short on. The cobbler recently visited the bodega to check out the current shoe inventory. His shoes are top quality, and while they cost a little more per pair, it’s more cost-effective than being stuck with a bunch of shoes that don’t fit anyone.

And just like with the shoes, the older stock gets pushed to the front while the new shoes coming in will be organized in the back.

It’s not just shoes, either. The bodega also has some supply of clothing, baby dolls, soccer balls, and other toys that need to be organized. So, there’s plenty of heavy lifting and strategic arranging ahead for the team. They’re working hard to make room for all the new boxes and still keep everything accessible for distribution.

On top of all that, the bodega is also home to the solar energy system that powers Kirstin’s house and the office. Allen is planning to rework the system to connect to Brandy and Rachel’s new home, which is still under construction. When a friend from the States comes next month to help with the electrical work, the team will need to have a clear space for him to get to work.

In the meantime, please pray for the safe and timely arrival of the container and for the paperwork to go through smoothly. Pray that there are no delays caused by dock worker strikes or hurricanes! S4P is hoping to get the container with backpacks shipped before the holidays, with a food container scheduled for the beginning of the year.

 - posted by Christi

How to Pray for Sowers4Pastors during the "Off Season"

Just for kicks, today seemed like a good day to see what would happen if AI was used to write a Sowers4Pastors blog post. Rachel had already shared what’s going on with the ministry during this off season, so the instructions for AI were to “write a blog post about the off season.” The results weren’t nearly as bad as this writer might have hoped! (gulp… gasp… sputter...)  The first suggested sentence was:

“The off season is a great time to relax and recharge, but it can also be a great time to get ahead on your work.” (emphasis, mine)

So, yeah. That pretty much brings us to the point of this post, which is to talk about how the people with S4P are using this off season to get ahead on the work for seasons to come. Well played, AI. Well played. 

What AI doesn’t seem to understand is that the off season for Sowers4Ministry isn’t the same as a vacation where one might choose to do something productive or not. It pretty much just means that there aren’t teams on the ground and that the containers filled with backpacks haven’t arrived yet. But that will all change soon enough. 

The containers are on their way! One of the two containers is already at the port in Honduras and heading toward customs. If all goes well, it should arrive on the property in about a week. That means that the bodega needs to be ready to receive the shipment. Over the last two years, the bodega that stores all of the backpacks and other supplies has received a lot of deep cleaning and organizing. Rachel explained that the scene is similar to what it looks like when a church in the States hosts a major backpack filling event. There are a lot of extra boxes of supplies (crayons, pencils, pencil sharpeners, etc.) to complete any backpacks that aren’t totally filled with the needed items. The office workers have been getting a jump on things. There were some extra generic backpacks in the bodega that have already been filled and are ready to hand out to children that don't receive a designated backpack from a sponsor.

Christmas letters from the children to their sponsors are also being completed. The ministry is checking to make sure that each of the kids in the program is still attending school, by checking whether or not they receive a letter from each child. They are getting the letters translated and packed, as well as working out how these boxes of letters will be shipped to the States. 

There are some meetings coming up, too. One will be a teacher training with a small, Christmas-themed dinner to thank the Sunday school teachers involved in the program. A separate meeting will be for the directors of the schools–addressing how the ministry is making sure that the children in the program are attending school.

Team visits for the coming year are being coordinated. As the teams begin prepping on their end, S4P begins prepping, too. There are dates to figure out, hotels to book, and scheduling of any extra activities that teams want to do. 

The first team will arrive in January to register children and hand out backpacks, so S4P is already thinking about registration forms for the children and making child profiles. Secia will be getting the registration forms printed soon. They are also preparing the forms for letters that will be handed out in March. It takes a long time to print that many forms, but Secia is on it!

The first coffee harvest is happening now. Even a smaller coffee harvest requires people to pick the coffee. That means that the guys on the staff are driving back and forth an hour each way to pick up the coffee pickers in their pickup trucks. 

Speaking of trucks… The vehicles are receiving extra maintenance to be sure they are ready for team visits. It’s important to have each vehicle operational so that there’s always a backup plan for transporting teams hither and yon.

Oh, and plans are in the works for the end-of-year staff Christmas dinner, too. 

If you’re thinking that the off season sounds just as active as every other season, you are not alone. Rachel put it in perspective by saying, “When you have a team visiting, that takes precedence over other work. Everything else gives way to that. Some of the work that can't bet done during team season can be done now.”

- posted by Christi

What's Involved in Sending and Receiving Sponsorship Letters?

It’s time for a sing-along! Today’s song is “Please, Mr. Postman,” which was performed by such greats as The Marvelettes, The Beatles, and The Carpenters. You can either sing the main part or the backup singer part. Me? I sing both parts! Ready? A one, a two, a one, two three, four…

Woah, yes, wait a minute, Mr. Postman.

(Wait) Wait, Mr. Postman.

(Please, Mr. Postman, look and see)

Oh, yeah (if there’s a letter in your bag for me)

Please, please, Mr. Postman (Why’s it takin’ such a long time)...

Okay, that’s enough of a lead-in for today’s blog topic. We’re talking about sending letters to and receiving letters from sponsored children. And, let’s just say that if The Marvelettes, The Beatles, and The Carpenters had understood the 2-fold process, they would have understood why it was "takin’ such a long time"!

Letters Going to Children from Sponsors

Alejandro stressed how much the kids love to receive letters. It helps them feel connected with their sponsor and makes them feel special and loved. 

Each sponsorship church handles their letters a bit differently. Some try to do more letters than others, but in general the ministry receives 1-2 batches of letters from each church every year. The letters from the sponsors to the children are generally brought down by a team and handed over to S4P staff in country, although occasionally they are shipped down on the containers.

Once letters have arrived in Honduras they are then given to translators. Finding enough local people with strong written English skills is not a small task, by the way. When the translators have finished, each of the translated letters is printed and stapled to the originals. Each letter must contain the child’s name, sponsor number, etc. The letters are sorted into packages to be delivered to the twenty schools and three churches in the programs. 

Approximate time needed once letters arrive in Honduras: Two and a half months.

Letters From Children to Sponsors

Surprisingly, the kids also love writing letters to their sponsors. 

Rachel and Secia get the process started by creating a letter-writing assignment based on the season. This year, the three themes are: 1) Backpack Thank You Letter, 2) Mid year greetings and update and 3) Christmas. Rachel and Secia have written specific questions for each child to answer. Secia then prints up 2,200 copies of the letter-writing prompts. The child’s name, sponsorship number, and sponsor’s name are computer generated, by Secia, before printing and the blank letters are then delivered to one of the twenty-three locations. 

It takes about two weeks just to distribute the letters. The teachers help the smaller children fill in their answers. Then, the letters have to be picked up from all 23 locations and from there go to the translators. The 2,000+ translations are printed and stapled to the original letters. Secia prints envelopes with the sponsor’s name and the child’s name. Each letter is stuffed into the correct envelope and packages are created to be delivered to each participating church in the States.

The packages are carried to the States by visiting teams throughout the year, or by a Sowers4Pastors staff member during the backpack collection trip. The packages are sent out to the various churches, which then distribute the letters to the sponsors in that program.

Approximate time needed from the start of this process until the letters are ready to be shipped to the US: Three and a half months.

As you’ve probably figured out, the lofty goal of having kids send three letters per year means that this is a continuous cycle. The Sowers4Pastors staff and the children in the programs are currently working on the Christmas letters. Keep this in mind if you’ve ever heard yourself singing “Deliver a letter. The sooner the better,” like a mournful Karen Carpenter!

 - posted by Christi

What Goes Into a GREAT VBS Program - in Honduras!

When Lighthouse Church in Maryland shows up in Honduras with a team, they come prepared. Malia Johnston, who has headed up Lighthouse’s sister church VBS programs since 2017 (minus 2020, for obvious reasons), was gracious enough to share how they do the things they do.

Lighthouse sponsors 900 children at ten separate locations. But the VBS is open to children who will not be attending school, too. This summer, the VBS-palooza served about 1000 kids. Malia laughed when she shared that moms with one and two-year-olds brought their little ones to participate in crafts. The team prepares enough crafts for 1100 children and donates the extras to Sowers4Pastors to use at other feeding centers as Sunday school activities.

It’s sort of a tag-team mission trip. Those who are able to stay for two weeks, do so. Those who can’t carve out that much time, fly home at the end of the first week or fly to Honduras for the second week. With so many locations to visit, it’s a complicated endeavor, as Rachel touched on in a recent post.

The kids at each VBS break up into groups–older kids and younger ones. Then those groups split again into older kids doing games, younger kids doing crafts, older kids doing crafts, younger kids doing games. And switch! Of course, there are also devotionals, a Bible story, music, and skits. Everything builds on the same theme, which was “Jesus Is” this year.

As an educator, Malia understands that different people learn differently. She said, “Some kids are going to remember the lesson because of the game. Some are going to remember it from the craft. Others are auditory learners and they are going to remember the lesson from the story or skit.”

The “Jesus Is” theme taught children about the synoptic Gospels and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John focus on different qualities of Jesus. By the end of VBS week, someone on stage could say, “Jesus is…” and the children would shout out in unison in the following manner:

VBS worker: “Jesus is…”

Kids: “King!”

VBS worker: “Jesus is…”

Kids: “Servant!”

VBS worker: “Jesus is…”

Kids: “Son of Man!”

VBS worker: “Jesus is…”

Kids: “Son of God!”

Malia laughed and said, “I will tell you that when we hear about VBS in the States, we think it’s a kids’ ministry. In Honduras, it’s not just the kids who are listening. You have teenagers listening. Everybody comes out to hear the gringos!”

The team walks the fine line between “hurrying up to honor people’s time” and “being in the moment.” They make sure to take time to pray each morning before going out and to do an evening devotional as a group. Malia said, “We try to get our hearts right. It’s a balance. We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and ask, ‘When do I not need to care about time and go 10 minutes over? And when do I need to hurry?”

With so many different locations to visit, each session lasts between 1.5 to 2 hours. Lighthouse aims to make the actual VBS last 1.5 hours to allow for a half hour of free time to play with the kids. Even the free time is structured. One person may set up a station to paint fingernails. Another person may have a jump rope station. In order to maximize the amount of time spent with the children, the team hosts prep parties in the States to cut out some of the pieces that will be used in crafts. This year, they had two prep parties with twenty people cutting out “a bajillion tissue paper circles for flowers.”

“Every year, for one of the crafts, we want to empower the kids to serve others,” Malia explained. “The kids will make two of the same craft, but they have to give one away. This year, it was flowers made with pipe cleaners and tissue paper. Because they had been learning that Jesus is a man…He laughed and cried. He was tempted but he never sinned. We talked about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.’ He was sad. Everyone else was sleeping and He was all alone. But when He was tempted, He prayed. When we are tempted, we should pray. The kids were instructed to give flowers to people in their community who might feel alone–to encourage others in their communities.”

The kids love the crafts! Malia stressed, “If you go to their houses, you can see that they have crafts from years ago. Even the 11 and 12-year-old boys love them. When it is announced that they have two more minutes of craft time and the older boys aren’t finished, they will choose to come back and finish their crafts instead of playing soccer during the free time. It is worth all of the time and energy because we get to see that the kids are so appreciative. It’s not just the crafts. They love the games, too. Nothing is seen as lame. They want to participate. They want to pay attention!”

“If I could encourage other churches, I would say that it’s a lot of work but it’s worth it! In the States, I have to create motivation in the classroom. But I don’t have to create motivation there. There’s no creating buy-in; it’s just there!”

Unofficial Prep Tips for Other Sister Churches

Malia was very clear that she’s not trying to tell other churches what they should do. But some of her tips are so good that we’re passing them on!

For starters, every year, Malia creates an Amazon wishlist for the supplies they will need for crafts and games. Every year, the items get purchased. She posts the link on her social media pages and people step up to support the cause. The majority of the people don’t even attend Lighthouse and some aren’t believers. 

Next, in order to make things easier and more sustainable, the Lighthouse teams decided to “recycle” 4 different VBS programs. The program they did this year was the same one they did back in 2017. The large group lessons are the same but the crafts and games are different. This was decided because it will make the program sustainable when Malia is no longer the “VBS person.” It also means that Malia doesn’t have to write a new curriculum each year, but can focus on making improvements.

Finally, even though Malia is the leader of the VBS, when she writes the curriculum, she always enlists the help of others. This is a particularly good fit for her friends who work with elementary school kids. They’re pros at coming up with games and crafts for the different age groups. 

Sowers4Pastors LOVES giving the children the opportunity to enjoy the fun and learning of a VBS program . . . and the children love this, as well! We're so grateful to the sister churches, for the time and effort they put in to making this possible!

 - posted by Christi

A Ministry Mystery

Last week’s blog post mentioned some serious prayer concerns. Today’s post is more of a reminder that, even while there are big prayer requests, the ministry is still going on in exciting and sometimes new ways. Occasionally, there’s even a mystery to solve!

About ten days ago, Trish received a message from a staff member, with a link to some photos and a note that said, “Hey, Ms. Trish! God Bless you! Here are the pictures from the field day.” And Trish thought, Oh, wonderful! It’s the pictures from the field day! That was immediately followed by the thought, Wait a minute. Field day? What field day? 

The staff was in a period between visiting teams and Trish had been spending most of her waking moments updating children’s bios for the sponsorship program, which is pretty far removed from anything that might be described as a field day.

So, Trish put on her imaginary detective hat, grabbed her invisible magnifying glass, and set off in search of clues. The tracks pointed to the area around the newest Sister Church program in La Mission where a visiting team from New Life Christian Ministries had recently put on a VBS program. From there, the tracks led her to the same general area where a Honduran team from Alejandro and Secia’s previous church had also put on a program for the children and Sunday school teachers. A nearby church had taken notice of those programs and the people there felt inspired to do more to reach the youth in their community. They didn’t need to wait for a team to arrive. They felt confident that they could do some research and put on a humdinger of an event all on their own!

From there, the tracks led Trish back to Sowers4Pastors because members of the churches in La Mision and La Lima had contacted people from the S4P staff and asked if they could get some help in coming up with ideas and planning a youth event. Without hesitation, the staff members stepped in to serve as consultants for the event. They helped with preparation, planning, and logistical issues - and then served as teachers and leaders on the day it happened!

Trish knew what happened at the event, because she had pictorial evidence. The original message had called it a field day but it was much more than that. Part of the event was like a field day, in that there were a lot of games that involved running around in a field. But it also included prayer, worship times, and two separate teaching sessions. It was an all-day thing. One of the teaching sessions was on “Our Identity in Christ,” and the other was on “God’s Plan for the Family.” The pictures showed S4P’s own Alejandro and Melvin at the event. Secia was not seen in photos but that’s only because she was behind the camera. Pictures also indicate that there was food involved. That seems prudent since running youth are approximately twelvity-hundred percent likely to want to eat!

Allen and Trish are so impressed by the fact that all of this happened organically – inspired by one of S4P’s programs into growing something else. And they are especially delighted that they didn’t even know about it until after it had happened because that shows a tremendous amount of initiative on the part of the church and the S4P staff members who helped them pull it off. It has always been their goal to inspire pastors to do more, in a way that didn't required little or no gringo involvement. Empowering Honduran Pastors . . . where have I heard that before? This was an event that was planned and implemented completely independent of foreign missionaries. 

The mystery was solved. And in the words of Sherlock Holmes it was, “Elementary, my dear Watson.”

 - posted by Christi

Training Pastors and Teachers

Allen and Trish are excited to share about a training session for pastors, Sunday school teachers, and schoolteachers that took place this past weekend. The session was for anyone involved in teaching Bible lessons in the sister church sponsorship programs - whether through a church or public school. In truth, Allen and Trish are excited for a couple of reasons: 1) It was a smashing success. 2) The event was put together through the hard work and ingenuity of Alejandro and Secia.

More than 70 people were in attendance. For some of the attendees, that meant a trip involving multiple bus transfers. Sowers4Pastors helped with the transportation costs as needed. The event was designed to make sure the people presenting Bible lessons are up-to-date on the various curricula used. A few of the pastors had schedule conflicts but they still sent representatives because they understand the importance of Bible lessons for the students.

The goal here is to help the programs improve and update what they can do in their lessons. For that reason, it is important to provide several options to better serve each program based on the ages of the students, number of children involved, and other factors. Around 2800 children are being taught by the attendees! That's a lot of people to impact with one conference!

While the event was taking place, other staff members were on the road picking up a visiting team. And where was Allen? He spent that time under a truck, working alongside a mechanic. Why is that noteworthy? Because it is a sign that the ministry is operating effectively and fully utilizing individual team members. Everyone could carry on with handling other ministry responsibilities, while feeling confident that this event was also in good hands and running smoothly. 

It’s always fun to see pictures of kids receiving backpacks, shoes, and food. Sowers4Pastors wants to make sure that supporters know they are fully committed to the sponsorship programs having a spiritual impact, as well. The Bible lessons are not an afterthought! Even though COVID may seem like old news in the States, it shut down programs in Honduras for much longer. Hosting this event was a big step in assuring that things are in place for the pastors and teachers to regroup, reorganize, and reach lives.

 - posted by Christi

A Gigantic Small Step

It’s the time of year when Sowers4Pastors updates the registration rolls for the kids in the sponsorship programs. Just like every year, a lot of new youngsters are entering the program and a lot of kids are leaving it. Understandably, it can be upsetting for a sponsor to see a child leaving the program. It is not uncommon for those sponsors to ask, “Why are children leaving school at such young ages?” It’s a complex question with some complex answers. Today, Allen and Trish want to address those concerns. 

Let’s begin with the things most of us already know about the cycle of poverty and how that affects education. 1)  People in poverty often struggle to keep their kids in school. 2) In some cultures, kids leave school to go to work and help earn money for their families. 3) It’s also fairly common for some cultures to educate boys and not girls. 

Now we’re going to move on to the things that are more unique about the area served by S4P. Because the ministry serves a variety of economic levels, Allen and Trish are trying to speak in averages. Most of the areas served by S4P are incredibly insulated–they are far from paved roads. The residents of those insulated villages don’t see the opportunities that are available in other areas. 

The farther a child lives from the road, the greater the likelihood that his or her parents never attended school at all. It wasn’t a matter of not prioritizing education. School simply wasn’t an option for those parents because there were no schools near them. None. Zip. Nada. Even when the Sowers family arrived on the scene 16 years ago, many of the communities had a lot of kids and not a school in sight. 

Given that cultural perspective, sixth grade graduation is a big deal. There are caps & gowns, pomp & circumstance, and great rejoicing. In the U.S., high school graduation is seen as a minimum expectation. In the areas surrounding Gracias, graduating from the sixth grade is met with the same level of enthusiasm we tend to reserve for graduate school. It means the child has exceeded expectations! Trish said, “There is absolutely no way to place U.S. expectations on these families and expect it to make sense to them. If a child learns to read, write, and do basic math competently, they are better off than previous generations of their families.”

Allen shared, “Many of the coffee harvesters we hire can’t sign their own names. They either sign with an ‘X’ or they have one of their kids sign for them. It’s not weird here. It is seen as the norm.”

Trish explained the complex emotions she personally feels surrounding this issue. She said, “I feel bad when I see a sponsor upset and grieving because a child has left school. At the same time, I know the child's family is ecstatic - and it’s important to celebrate with the families. When a child can read and write, that is thrilling to their families! We want to celebrate the successes and encourage more. We’re trying to get municipalities to build more middle schools. As more children graduate from the sixth grade, this becomes more likely. And even if we have kids that didn’t finish the sixth grade, more did than ever before. If we used the U.S. standard to judge our success rate, we would… quit! We can’t judge things that way in this culture.”

“In many locations where we work, the population attending elementary schools has doubled since we started our program,” Allen chimed in. And gradually, more and more children are continuing on to higher grades!

,

“That is both gigantic and a small step,” Trish said. “We recognize that.” Sponsors look at one child. Sowers4Pastors must look at education as a community-wide thing. She added, “From our point of view, looking at the big picture, the program has been super successful. But it's understandable that sponsors are disappointed when their children leave the program."

The program has been so successful that other communities are taking notice. Talgua is a municipality that has some of the sponsorship programs within its boundaries. The school board from Talgua went to S4P and asked them to start programs in all of their schools, which would have included about 13 additional elementary schools. S4P had to turn them down because the ministry does not currently have the resources or manpower to handle that many more schools. If you know Allen and Trish, you know what a difficult decision that was. 

Allen said, “Talgua wants the kids to go to school. So do we! If a church comes along and wants to start a program at some of these schools, maybe we can make that happen. But we will still need more staff–particularly more North American staff. We’re praying that God would raise up another missionary couple or two who want to settle in and work with us for the long-term. If you are seriously interested in this, we would love to talk with you about the possibilities!"

Let's end with some prayer requests:

• Please pray for the sponsors who have lost sponsored children, and for the children who have left school
• Please pray that the impact of the sponsorship programs would impact these entire communities and help them recognize the value of higher levels of education.
• Please pray that the Pastors running these programs will impact these children and these communities with the Gospel!
• Please pray that God would provide the staffing and resources needed, so that S4P can help even more children attend school and hear the Bible lessons!

  - posted by Christi

Picture It: A Pastors' Conference, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 - posted by Christi

The Process of Processing Backpacks!

While Trish is in the States, enjoying snuggles from grandbaby Steven and visits with family and friends, Allen is tasked with keeping the home fires burning. When that task comes at the same time as processing backpacks, the home fires sort of turn into a mammoth wildfire. Today, we’re talking about the process of processing those backpacks!

There was much rejoicing when the contents of each of the two shipping containers arrived on the property. It was sort of how expectant parents eagerly await the arrival of a new baby. The baby’s arrival is just the beginning! The two containers held 1300 boxes, weighing in at 50-80 pounds each. That amounts to around 8000 backpacks. 

Allen jokes that there are about 1000 different ways those backpacks are put together, before being sent to Honduras. “Processing” means that someone needs to go through each of the 8000 bags to be sure they all contain the needed items. Some of them arrive missing items like notebooks or soap. Some are half-filled. Others contain bags filled with special stuff for specific children, but not school supplies and toiletries. All bags are welcome! Sowers4Pastors never wants perfectionism to be the reason someone didn’t send a backpack. It just means that each and every backpack must be checked so that any missing items can be added. 

Each backpack is assessed for damage, on the slim chance that damage may have occurred during shipping. Any damaged items are replaced.  Manna 4 Lempira boxes must be separated by location (Mercedes, Tablon, Betania, or Quelacasque). When a sponsor fills a backpack for a specific child, it is imperative that it makes it to that child. S4P takes this responsibility very seriously. 

Alejandro, Cesia, Esdras, Melvin, Brandy, Nikki, Kim and Jonathan are all working to be sure each child will receive a backpack that is filled to the point of being overstuffed. Last week, Esdras had two volunteers from his local church helping with the project. This week, he has recruited two volunteers from his theological school which is five hours away by bus.

Everyone helping understands that this prep work is leading up to the best day of the year for the kids who will receive backpacks. It is like Christmas day for them. Once the children take their backpacks home, they can remove the toys, hygiene items, and other gifts and be left with bags filled with school supplies for learning. Allen said that some of the children recognize this as their opportunity to go to school. They appreciate the gifts and toys. They treasure the opportunity to further their education. 

Parents and pastors also recognize the opportunity. Allen said, “We’re seeing an incredible number of kids getting to go further in school. We’re changing the future prospects for these communities and hoping to slowly break the cycle of poverty.

There’s another aspect that is even more important. As part of the sponsorship programs, Pastors are given the gift of being able to share the Gospel with the children. S4P, Manna 4 Lempira, and the pastors never lose sight of the eternal goal to advance the Gospel. Thank you to everyone who is making this possible through donations and prayers. 

 - posted by Christi