October newsletter

Greetings,

It is hard to believe that fall is already here.  The summer months were jam packed with many great things that God is doing!  We had a wonderful time seeing so many people being saved.  There were also a number of baptisms, weddings, child dedications, in addition to several teams.  What a glorious and awesome God we serve!

First Baptist, Parsons, TN VBS

We are thankful for all of the teams that came to minister to the people of Belize in so many ways.  In a period of six weeks we hosted five different teams from various locations that were very instrumental in changing lives for the Kingdom of God.  These teams served in both northern villages and southern villages.  Their ministry activities included VBS, adult Bible study, food distribution, door to door evangelism, and revival services and the anointing on each was undeniable.  It was amazing to see these folks from various backgrounds and of all ages ministering to both the physical and spiritual needs of others from a very different cultural background as they shared the love of Jesus Christ.  The impact made by these teams was phenomenal with eternal rewards! 

 

Young boy examined by Milan, TN medical team

In addition to the activities mentioned above, one team that was comprised of three different churches provided medical care and conducted a pastor’s training workshop for the pastors of the GEM churches.   The medical team saw 866 patients in five different villages over a period of four days.  As patients were being seen in the make-shift medical clinic, other team members were teaching Bible stories to the children.  Meanwhile, another “branch” of this team was at our southern campus teaching an introduction to all of the books of the Bible to some of our pastors.  As the number of

Some pastors & wives at training

churches has risen to 20 (18 in Belize and 2 in Guatemala), one of our primary focuses has been on adequate training for our leadership.  It was such a blessing to see the local leaders feasting on the truths they were being taught!  

Valley of Peace Preschool

More Tomorrow Preschool

Amongst all the teams, we also had the joy of seeing 34 students graduate from our two preschools on June 27^th.  The preschool in Valley of Peace had 30 graduates and the preschool in More Tomorrow had 4graduates.  These students not only did a wonderful job on learning basic school-readiness skills, they also learned English as a second language.  Special thanks to all of our preschool teachers as well as Kingdom Mission Fund, Zion Baptist Church of Fordyce, AR, and Living Hope Bible Church of Eldon, IA for providing the funding for our preschools for the 2012-2013 school year.

All in all, it would be impossible to accomplish everything that is happening without your prayers, encouragement, and financial support.  The opportunities to win people to Jesus are even greater now than when we first began our ministry in Belize.  Please continue to stand with us as we press on for Christ Jesus our Lord.  Now more than ever we need your help with funding the growth of the ministry we are experiencing as well as sponsoring the preschools for the current school year.

 

Monkeys on jungle vine

As far as Gaither family news, we are still trying to catch our breath from such a busy schedule.  This summer was bitter sweet for us as we thoroughly enjoyed all the teams and activities, but we knew that the end of summer meant the end of Brandon being with us full-time.  Brandon is now a college freshman at Ouachita Baptist University pursuing a degree in biology.  He is enjoying college life, though he admits it would be better if he didn’t have classes to interfere with his schedule.  In Brandon’s absence, Micah (a.k.a. Batman) has appointed Randy as Robin and Sheila as Batgirl, but Micah gets a little frustrated with the lack of speed and endurance from his trusty sidekicks as he tries to save the world.  “Infinity and beyond” seem a lot larger when you are trying to keep up with a 4 year old…oh, wait…wrong character.  Nevertheless, we are now taking volunteers for the Justice League!

Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah