June 18, 2012

June Newsletter



Greetings,

God continues to bless and grow the ministry, and in the past two months we have begun two new churches.  One church is located in the northern part of Belize in the village of Frank’s Eddy.  This is a Spanish congregation.  The other church is located in the village of Santa Rosa and is a Kekchi congregation.  This brings the total number of churches throughout Belize to eleven.  Praise the Lord for His wonderful blessings as we continue to reach people with the Word of God and disciple His followers!


As we continue to start new churches we have begun to focus more on training the pastors of the various churches regarding basic biblical principles, worship, leadership, etc.   Last month we had a fantastic meeting with the pastors of all eleven churches as well as some of the leaders in the churches.  In all there were approximately 30 people who attended the day of training.   It was a fantastic meeting, and wonderful to see so many pastors/leaders eager to study God’s Word.  Pictured here are the pastors & leaders (and some of the children) who attended.
 
A special evening celebration service was held at the church in San Isidro in May.  When this church began, the congregation was meeting in an individual’s home.  After outgrowing the home, they were forced to move outdoors under a tarp.  Thanks to very generous donations from two different churches in Tennessee, we were able to construct a building with wood siding, tin roof, and concrete floor.  Everyone is so excited to have a special place to worship (and not having to worry about the tarp dumping rain water is an extra bonus).  This is a picture of the new building via Randy's cell phone.
                           
Last month we also hosted a team of engineers from the University of Arkansas.  This group came to Belize last year and conducted some water tests in several villages.  Although there are a couple of wells in the village of More Tomorrow, the water is not safe to drink and the villagers are dependent upon the rain water they catch for drinking and cooking.  As a result of their testing and assessment, the engineers decided to build a water system to provide clean drinking water for More Tomorrow.  They have been working for several months on their plans which have now been approved by the government of Belize, and the first stages of construction were begun on their most recent trip.  How wonderful it will be for the village to have clean, safe drinking water once the project is complete. 

As far as Gaither family news, we had to make a trip back to the states due to Randy having some medical issues.  The physicians in Belize initially found kidney stones and recommended that we return to the US for Randy to undergo further testing that is not available in Belize.  Through a series of tests and doctor visits it was determined that Randy had an abdominal hernia with adhesions that was causing the continued pain after he was clear of stones.  The hernia was surgically repaired a few days ago, and we plan to be back in Belize very quickly.  We appreciate everyone’s prayers and phone calls!

The rest of the Gaither crew, on the other hand, has been enjoying some time with family and friends and good ole American food.  It is sort of a game to see if we can consume enough pizza, hamburgers, Mexican food, and Dr. Pepper to keep our cravings at bay for the next several months.  However, I don’t think Micah will ever get his “fill” of going to McDonald’s and ordering “hamburger, French fries, and a toy.”   Micah even had his first snow cone the other day which was accompanied by about 30 minutes of questions regarding how they got the snow out of the sky and it’s not on the ground…  As an extra bonus (ha) while we were in the states Brandon got to spend some of his free time studying for and taking the ACT exam as he only has one year of high school left before he is off to college (yikes!).  All in all we are doing great and getting ready for a very busy summer of teams and various activities. 

We also want to express our gratitude for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support for the ministry in Belize.  Your faithfulness in praying and giving enables the continued growth of the Kingdom of God as people are being saved and discipled.  Thank you for being a part of this ministry!


Blessings,
Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah