Lori Braatz

I am serving as the Development Officer at El Sembrador School in Honduras, primarily working with our sponsorship program.

It is my great joy to serve on staff at El Sembrador in Honduras. Every day I am blessed to be able to connect our students and our school to the many individuals and churches in the U.S. who support and pray for El Sembrador. 

My missions journey began as a young child when my parents traveled to El Sembrador on a short-term missions team. It was further developed during my years in our local youth group where missions of all shapes and sizes was learned through teaching and action. I have been blessed to be able to serve on international short-term teams to Haiti, Mexico, India, and Honduras, along with volunteering with different types of ministries in the U.S. While my heart was rooted in missions, my call for many years was to serve in the local church and work at a local company, along with investing in the lives of my family.

After 25 years living the life that most Americans call normal, God called me to live full-time in Honduras as a mid-term missionary. Specifically, to El Sembrador, the school which was my introduction to missions so many years ago. I had been leading short term teams to El Sembrador for several years and have a deep love for the youth of Honduras. So, I packed my bags and moved 2,100 miles south. 

I have the privilege of building godly relationships with our residential students and connecting them through our sponsorship program with the larger El Sembrador family in the U.S. I also assist with the short-term teams who come to serve at El Sembrador and with other ministries on campus. I continue to be amazed at the ways in which God shapes each person's Christian journey, and I am excited to see what is yet to come!