Greetings from Belize,
God is really "shaking things up" in Belize! This is actually a literal statement in lieu of the 7.1 earthquake we experienced around 2:20am on May 28th. That was a new experience for the Gaither family to be awakened by the house moving and the sounds of cabinet doors opening, dishes rattling, and things falling from shelves to the floor. The house did sustain some minor structural damage, but fortunately all of us are safe and unharmed. Nevertheless, that is a great reminder of how awesome our God is, and if He can cause the earth to tremble, how much more He can impact the world with even one individual that says "yes" to Him.
As alluded to in the previous paragraph, the Gaither four are finally together again in Belize. Sheila, Brandon, and Micah had been in the states awaiting Micah's passport. Finally, the passport arrived and the three of them were able to join Randy in Belize the second week of May. It's great to be together again working as a family on the tasks to which God has called us. Besides, Randy needed someone to do the dishes and the laundry...
Seriously, God has blessed us tremendously in the past two months with some wonderful donations just in time to help with the work projects lined up for this summer. Corinth Baptist Church in Darden, TN donated a 1 ton truck which is exactly what we will need to haul the concrete blocks and building materials for our construction projects among other things. An individual from Fort Smith, AR donated a Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck that will be a tremendous asset with food distribution in remote villages as well as providing an economical means of transportation. We also were blessed with a second generator donated by Celebration Christian Fellowship in Little Rock, AR. This second generator will enable us to have electric power for the construction in the north at More Tomorrow as well as for construction and church services in the south at San Isidro. Praise the Lord!
Speaking of More Tomorrow, the construction on the 30' x 60' multi-purpose building has begun and the foundation is now complete. A teenager from Fort Smith, AR took on this task as an Eagle Scout project, and his team will be in Belize in July to complete the construction. The building will serve as a place of worship, a preschool, and a facility for medical/dental teams to provide services to the village. Several men and teenage boys in the village have pitched in to help with the construction. We are all very excited as we are seeing things progress so rapidly.
Well, one school year has come to a close and we are currently preparing for graduation at Children's Nest which is the preschool in Valley of Peace. The ceremony will take place on June 13th and we hope to have some great photos to share with you in the next newsletter. Also, registration has begun for the 2009-2010 school year. There are still several children in need of a sponsor. Please let us know if you would like to sponsor a child for the upcoming school year.
As always, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for all your prayers and financial support. God is good to supply all our needs and it is often times through the generosity of people like you that He meets our daily needs. He is truly an awesome God!
Blessings,
Randy, Sheila, Brandon & Micah Gaither
