Several months ago Barbe and I had the pleasure of meeting Eric, (affectionately known by friends and family as Beef) and his wife Roxanne when they visited us here in Siguatepeque at the Spanish Language Institute. Barbe and I were both immediately impressed by these people and their story.
The story actually begins in San Pedro Sula with Justin and Ashley Ross, founders of Sparrow Missions. I met Justin when he asked me to come and do a water project with them at an INFA girls home. During my time in SPS I had the opportunity to learn more about the work Sparrow Missions is doing in Honduras. Justin is a doer. Lot's of energy, lots of ideas. He founded Sparrow Missions in 2009 and they have built the mission and it's work here since then. Over the years as they have worked with INFA, the Honduran governments equivalent of our Child Welfare Services, they have seen so many abandoned babies left at hospitals or even worse, thrown in dumpsters. These babies are taken into INFA homes, which are institutional, under funded and not a place any child should grow up in. As they saw these discarded babies the vision for starting a children's home was born. (click this link to view a video of the property and their vision for it)
That's where Beef and Roxanne and their two daughters come in. They are moving to Honduras this May to be the founding directors of this new children's home.
Here's what was so special to Barbe and myself when we heard their story. These guys are both leaving very secure, very nice jobs with all the perks, all the retirement and all the benefits. And right at the time when they should be thinking about building retirement and security. I spoke at length with Beef about this major change in their lives and how they had arrived at the decision to make this move. He was very honest with me. It didn't happen over night and it was a real leap of faith. But he is confident that they are making the right decision. I asked him to share with me briefly and in his own words a little about this. Here is what he wrote.
Beef and Roxanne are planning on arriving here in Honduras in May. They have just begun fundraising in earnest. That doesn't give them much time. I asked Beef what they would do if they hadn't raised all the funds they needed to live here by the time they were ready to leave. He said that they would come with what they had and expect God to provide the rest. Some people would call that foolish, I call it faith.
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| The Bowmans |
The story actually begins in San Pedro Sula with Justin and Ashley Ross, founders of Sparrow Missions. I met Justin when he asked me to come and do a water project with them at an INFA girls home. During my time in SPS I had the opportunity to learn more about the work Sparrow Missions is doing in Honduras. Justin is a doer. Lot's of energy, lots of ideas. He founded Sparrow Missions in 2009 and they have built the mission and it's work here since then. Over the years as they have worked with INFA, the Honduran governments equivalent of our Child Welfare Services, they have seen so many abandoned babies left at hospitals or even worse, thrown in dumpsters. These babies are taken into INFA homes, which are institutional, under funded and not a place any child should grow up in. As they saw these discarded babies the vision for starting a children's home was born. (click this link to view a video of the property and their vision for it)
That's where Beef and Roxanne and their two daughters come in. They are moving to Honduras this May to be the founding directors of this new children's home.
Here's what was so special to Barbe and myself when we heard their story. These guys are both leaving very secure, very nice jobs with all the perks, all the retirement and all the benefits. And right at the time when they should be thinking about building retirement and security. I spoke at length with Beef about this major change in their lives and how they had arrived at the decision to make this move. He was very honest with me. It didn't happen over night and it was a real leap of faith. But he is confident that they are making the right decision. I asked him to share with me briefly and in his own words a little about this. Here is what he wrote.
"I currently work as an engineer for the Kentucky State Government and Roxanne has recently earned her PhD in Pediatric Nursing and is a professor at the University of Kentucky. We both have great jobs, but we have always felt that there was something more we were being called to do. Our jobs are secure and pretty much guaranteed. We have solid insurance and retirement plans, but we did not have a great deal of peace in our lives. I personally have really struggled over the past year with not being at peace in my own life. That changed the day we committed to help lead Sparrow Missions' Children's Home. The only explanation for the peace we feel now, is the confidence that of knowing that we are walking fully in our Lord's will for our lives and following faithfully in the next step that He has placed before us. The thought of stepping out in faith, quitting our jobs, leaving behind the security of guaranteed salaries, insurance and retirement, moving away from family and friends that have surrounded us our entire lives...the thought of doing this even a year ago would have scared me to death. But today, we are more afraid of what we may miss out on if we don't follow His call than we are of leaving the security of home and putting everything we know behind us. In short, we are completely at peace because we know that the One who holds our today and our tomorrows, is the same One who held us yesterday and has brought us through so much."
Having just moved here ourselves, I know how expensive it will be for them to make the transition and on top of that, all the funds they will require to operate the children's home...Wow!
So you may be asking yourself why I am telling you about Beef and Roxanne. Two reasons. The first is that I really like these guys and I believe in the work they are going to be doing. If you could see these babies and these homes, you would too. The second reason is this. We have what we need, at least for now, to live on for the time being. We have enough food in the cupboard for today and tomorrow...maybe even for the next month. That may change someday, but until then, when I see people who are doing a good work, who are trustworthy and have a financial need in order to keep going, I'm going to share it with you. I know from past experience that I have some very generous people who read my blog. I know that not all of you can leave your jobs and go to a foreign country, but I know many of you want to help those less fortunate, especially the children. That's all I want to do, introduce you to people you would otherwise never meet. But don't just take my word for it, do your own research, call or email these folks, visit their websites, come and visit them.
So here's what I'm asking you to consider. Would you first help these guys get down here by sending them a one time gift, no matter what the amount? And after that, consider an ongoing relationship with them to help fund this children's home? I have heard that raising funds for a building project is pretty easy, but the daily expenses of running a home is more difficult. When these folks take on the responsibility of a child, they are making a huge commitment to that child for years to come.
Shoot Eric an email and ask how you can help. His email is eric@sparrowmissions.com
And you can visit Sparrow Missions' web page to learn more about what they do at www.sparrowmissions.com
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