December Update

Greetings from Belize,

Praise the Lord for His tremendous blessings! It has been an exciting first year as we have seen so much happen in our lives and ministry here in Belize. There are no words to adequately express the joy in seeing people saved and lives changed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Both of the new church plants are doing well. The people in San Isito are continuing to meet in one of their homes, and we are already making plans for future construction of a building to accommodate the growth. The church at More Tomorrow also continues to grow as we see new faces each week both in the morning service for children as well as the evening adult service. We are still meeting in the community center, and there is a team is coming down just after the first of the year to make repairs to the roof/ceiling and install electrical wiring in the building to enable us to use a generator for lighting, sound, etc. Hopefully the repairs to the roof and ceiling will force the rat bats to move to another location as they sometimes cause unwanted distractions and entertainment during the evening services.

We are still overseeing one established preschool that is staffed with three teachers to meet the needs of the 30 students enrolled. Things are progressing well as we are moving forward in the development of the preschools in the villages of More Tomorrow and Jalacte. One teacher has already been interviewed while preparations are being made for the new schools. There is still a lot of work and time involved with the construction, furnishing, staffing, and providing basic school supplies for this to be possible.

Other aspects of the ministry that are continuing include food distribution to the various villages as well as the distribution of Bibles. The school scholarship program is also ongoing and we are looking for sponsors for children for the 2009-2010 school year.

There are some pretty amazing things taking place that we look forward to sharing with everyone in the next couple of months as there is the prospect of more churches coming under our ministry.

2009 looks to be a very exciting year with not only the ministry continuing to grow, but our family growing as well. The three of us recently flew back to the states for several meetings concerning Gaither Evangelistic Ministries and plans for 2009. Randy will be returning to Belize soon as he will hit the ground running with teams starting January 3rd. Unfortunately, Sheila and Brandon will have to stay behind until the baby is born in February (per the doctor's recommendation).

As the New Year is just around the corner, may it be one of the greatest years ever. Though there are many challenges facing our nation and each one of us, our prayer is that all of us will reach even more people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have a truly blessed year.

Thank you for making this past year such a huge success in Belize with all of your prayers and support!

Randy, Sheila, and Brandon Gaither