We would like to introduce everyone to our newest son, Micah John Daniel Gaither. He is currently 2 months old. Micah's favorite pastimes include eating, sleeping, and playing with his big brother Brandon. This picture was taken during a very animated "conversation" with Brandon.
April 19, 2009
Meet Micah...
We would like to introduce everyone to our newest son, Micah John Daniel Gaither. He is currently 2 months old. Micah's favorite pastimes include eating, sleeping, and playing with his big brother Brandon. This picture was taken during a very animated "conversation" with Brandon.
April 18, 2009
April Update
Greetings from Belize,
This is an exciting time to be alive and be a part of the Kingdom of God. The opportunities to share Christ with others are so tremendous and far greater in these days.
This past month has been very busy while in the states. We were privileged to visit several churches and meet many wonderful people as we traveled around to personally update congregations regarding the ministry in Belize. Besides having the opportunity to share God’s love and the amazing things He has been doing in Belize, we made a lot of new friends and are looking forward to seeing many of them again soon in Belize.
With the meetings all over and business wrapped up for now in the states, Randy is back home in Belize taking care of everything there and gearing up for the upcoming teams. The weeks ahead are going to be powerful as we have three teams that will be ministering through backyard Bible clubs and evangelistic outreach in villages across the country. We also have a team coming to distribute much needed items in one of the remote villages. In addition, we have three construction teams that will be constructing our church and preschool in More Tomorrow and completing the internet project in Valley of Peace.
Sheila and Micah are still waiting to receive Micah’s passport before they can return to Belize. Brandon is staying behind with mom to help with Micah and keep up with his school work since mom is his teacher. Brandon really wanted to return to Belize with Randy, but his teacher would not grant him an extended spring break.
On the topic of school, we are getting ready for the 2009-2010 school year in Belize. We are thankful for those who sponsored children over the past year enabling them to attend school. Unfortunately many families cannot afford an education for their children as the cost averages $250 US dollars per child per school year. Please let us know if you would like to sponsor a child for the upcoming school year.
Thank you for being a part of this ministry. We really cannot thank you enough for your generous and faithful support, prayers, and encouragement. May the Lord bless you!
Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah Gaither
This is an exciting time to be alive and be a part of the Kingdom of God. The opportunities to share Christ with others are so tremendous and far greater in these days.
This past month has been very busy while in the states. We were privileged to visit several churches and meet many wonderful people as we traveled around to personally update congregations regarding the ministry in Belize. Besides having the opportunity to share God’s love and the amazing things He has been doing in Belize, we made a lot of new friends and are looking forward to seeing many of them again soon in Belize.
With the meetings all over and business wrapped up for now in the states, Randy is back home in Belize taking care of everything there and gearing up for the upcoming teams. The weeks ahead are going to be powerful as we have three teams that will be ministering through backyard Bible clubs and evangelistic outreach in villages across the country. We also have a team coming to distribute much needed items in one of the remote villages. In addition, we have three construction teams that will be constructing our church and preschool in More Tomorrow and completing the internet project in Valley of Peace.
Sheila and Micah are still waiting to receive Micah’s passport before they can return to Belize. Brandon is staying behind with mom to help with Micah and keep up with his school work since mom is his teacher. Brandon really wanted to return to Belize with Randy, but his teacher would not grant him an extended spring break.
On the topic of school, we are getting ready for the 2009-2010 school year in Belize. We are thankful for those who sponsored children over the past year enabling them to attend school. Unfortunately many families cannot afford an education for their children as the cost averages $250 US dollars per child per school year. Please let us know if you would like to sponsor a child for the upcoming school year.
Thank you for being a part of this ministry. We really cannot thank you enough for your generous and faithful support, prayers, and encouragement. May the Lord bless you!
Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah Gaither
March 18, 2009
March Update
Greetings,
What a blessing these last few weeks have been as we have seen so many great things happening! All the wonderful and mighty things God continues to do never cease to amaze us.
In the past month we have hosted several teams. These teams ministered to a number of villages through medical clinics, construction projects, and vacation Bible school for the children. It was exciting to see the team members personally witnessing to so many people about their personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The impact was tremendous as people were saved and lives changed.
Things continue to progress rapidly in More Tomorrow. We had been praying about the location for a church building. God not only showed us the location but miraculously provided the finances to purchase the land. We will now be able to construct a multi-functional building on this site. In addition to the building being a place of worship for the church, it will also serve as a preschool and accommodate medical/dental teams that come to provide care in the village. We are tentatively scheduled to start construction on this facility in June.
Another prayer request we have had is regarding a van to provide much needed transportation for the church and ministry functions such as taking people to church and food distribution in the various villages. The vehicle would also be used to shuttle teams from place to place. We received a designated gift toward the purchase of a new 16 passenger van. This generous gift will cover one half the cost, and we know that God will provide the remaining funds needed to make the purchase possible.
The church at San Isito continues to grow strong. The congregation is looking forward to the day we begin the construction of a church building in the village. There are also a number of other villages to which we are still committed to preach the Gospel and construct buildings to accommodate the churches.
Our most exciting praise report is that God has blessed us with a beautiful and healthy baby boy. Micah John Daniel was born on February 18th weighing 8lbs, 8ozs. and 21 ¼" long. Fortunately Randy made it back to the states 4 days before Micah arrived so Brandon didn't have to learn to drive while taking Mom to the hospital. We are all adjusting to a new baby in the house and remembering all over again how beautiful the stars are at 2:00am. We will all be returning to Belize in a few short weeks once Micah receives his passport.
Thank you again for all of your continued prayers, support, and love.
Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah Gaither
February 8, 2009
February Update
Here we are just weeks into 2009 and God is mightily moving in Belize! We are looking forward to another fantastic year as God has many great things in store.
After a series of meetings in the U.S. during December, Randy returned to Belize January 2nd anxious to get back to work. The first team arrived on January 3rd and it has been nonstop since then with amazing blessings each step of the way. From mechanical teams to construction teams and a medical team the ministry opportunities abound.
The church at More Tomorrow continues to grow and thanks to Crestline CP Church and Spring Valley School in Birmingham, AL the children each received wonderful Christmas presents. That was the first time many of the children had ever received a present. What a tremendous expression of love that was shown to the children! We really appreciate the folks in Birmingham that truly went the extra (few hundred) miles to make this Christmas very special for those children and to demonstrate Christian love for people they have never even met.
Through a work team from City Christian Fellowship in Fort Smith, AR we were also able to provide a gift to the entire village of More Tomorrow. This team made repairs to the roof and ceiling of the community building where we have been holding church services. The bats have been evicted and new electrical wiring installed. The wiring will enable us to have lights and electrical outlets for our sound system utilizing generator power until the government connects the electricity. How wonderful it will be to actually see all the smiling faces during our evening services as it gets dark very early in the jungle. And the absence of bats flying around our heads is an added bonus. The people in the village are also very proud of their newly renovated community building and enjoyed working side by side with the team members.
The Lord continues to show us great favor as we were recently awarded a grant by the Kingdom Missions Fund to purchase a generator. Our special thanks goes out to that wonderful group of mission-minded folks working hard to supply funding to various ministries around the world. This generator will enable us to not only supply power for the community center at More Tomorrow, but assist with our medical teams, dental teams, and new construction projects. The generator will also be used to supply power for the new church in San Isito that meets on Saturday evenings. The uses for the generator and the opportunities they provide are endless.
On a personal note, Sheila and Brandon remain back in the states in Arkansas awaiting the arrival of our newest son, Micah John Daniel Gaither. He is "scheduled" to arrive on February 18th, and we are all hoping that Dad's plane makes it in on time so that he is here to greet
Micah as well. Randy has had to brush up on his cooking skills while alone in Belize, and Brandon has been doing a great job taking care of Mom in Arkansas even during the winter weather. We are all looking forward to being together again soon.
Thank you to everyone for all of your continued prayers and support. May God continue to richly bless you!
Randy, Sheila, and Brandon Gaither
Mailing List
We have had several people ask how to get on our mailing list. The easiest way to sign up for our mailing list is through the website. Click on the "contacts" tab which is to the far right toward the top of the screen. This will take you to a page to complete your mailing information. Once you complete the information just click the submit button below and you will be added. Thank you for your interest in our ministry!
December 29, 2008
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
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
November 12, 2008
November Update
God continues to poor out His favor here in Belize! He has blessed us with cooler temperatures and safety during the recent floods. It has been a very rainy month here with a tropical depression that came to visit and just didn't want to leave. After two weeks of continuous rain night and day the rivers and creeks could no longer be contained. Although the Belize River, along which we live, met us in our backyard we were very fortunate that it never invited itself into our home.
Many other folks in our area were not quite so fortunate. Several of the villages were completely under water with homes and crops destroyed by the flooding. Once the water receded we were able to get to a few of the nearby villages and distribute much needed food. Due to the destruction that was caused and no way in or out of the villages the people are in desperate need.
We were not able to have worship services for two weeks in More Tomorrow because of the extreme flooding. Although we had tried to reach there by boat our attempts were unsuccessful. This past Sunday we were finally able to return and had an exciting service with the largest crowd since beginning the church. That afternoon two church members accompanied us as we distributed food to every home in the village. Since this is a farming community, we will continue to assist with food as God provides while the crops are being replanted and the people get on their feet again. Through the house to house ministry, we were privileged to meet most all of the residents and several expressed a great interest in attending the church.
Due to the generous donations of many of you, the finances are now available to purchase a piece of property in the southern part of Belize in the Ketchi Indian village of Jalacte. We have begun the process of securing the property and the people are very excited about the prospect of having a preschool for their children. As this is government land set aside for the Indian people, there are a series of meetings that must be conducted before the transaction is complete. Randy has already had his first meeting this past week and will continue the process until everything is finalized.
Recently a group of men and their families requested to meet with our ministry regarding the possibility of starting a church in their village of San Isito near Bella Vista. Randy was able to meet with them a few days ago to discuss a new church development. Each of the men shared his testimony of his personal relationship with the Lord and the hunger to have someone to teach and preach the Word. Questions about the Bible and doctrine were discussed as well as the organization of a church body. Then there was a tremendous time of prayer before the Lord as a group. The presence of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming in that place. At the end of the meeting the church was organized and land was designated by the chairman of the village for future construction of a church building. The church body will begin meeting on November 8th in one of the homes. Please pray with us as we move forward with this second church plant. I know God has many exciting things in store.
With all of these things going on, we are fortunate to have a young man from Van Buren, Arkansas that has agreed to come help us here in Belize for 3 months. Ben Smith arrived on October 19th in the height of the flood. Ben was initiated to the mission field and its many adventures his first night as we had to have a large truck pull us through the swollen creek to get back home from the airport. His luggage had to be moved into the seats to keep it from getting wet as the back of the van we were driving was floating and water was coming through the doors into the vehicle. Nevertheless, Ben quickly learned to splash through the water and mud as he hit the ground running and has been a tremendous help.
On a more personal note, Sheila and the baby are doing great. We are anxiously awaiting the February due date and hoping he has a name by the time he arrives. Brandon is still surviving home school and enjoying many adventures in the caves, jungles and ruin sites. He even spotted a crocodile in our backyard when the flood waters were so high. Randy is keeping busy with many meetings and all aspects of the ministry. There are currently 5 additional villages that are requesting our assistance with starting churches so his work is just beginning.
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support for the ministry of GEM. It is encouraging to know that you are faithfully standing with us to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
May the Lord richly bless you,
Randy, Sheila, and Brandon Gaither
Many other folks in our area were not quite so fortunate. Several of the villages were completely under water with homes and crops destroyed by the flooding. Once the water receded we were able to get to a few of the nearby villages and distribute much needed food. Due to the destruction that was caused and no way in or out of the villages the people are in desperate need.
We were not able to have worship services for two weeks in More Tomorrow because of the extreme flooding. Although we had tried to reach there by boat our attempts were unsuccessful. This past Sunday we were finally able to return and had an exciting service with the largest crowd since beginning the church. That afternoon two church members accompanied us as we distributed food to every home in the village. Since this is a farming community, we will continue to assist with food as God provides while the crops are being replanted and the people get on their feet again. Through the house to house ministry, we were privileged to meet most all of the residents and several expressed a great interest in attending the church.
Due to the generous donations of many of you, the finances are now available to purchase a piece of property in the southern part of Belize in the Ketchi Indian village of Jalacte. We have begun the process of securing the property and the people are very excited about the prospect of having a preschool for their children. As this is government land set aside for the Indian people, there are a series of meetings that must be conducted before the transaction is complete. Randy has already had his first meeting this past week and will continue the process until everything is finalized.
Recently a group of men and their families requested to meet with our ministry regarding the possibility of starting a church in their village of San Isito near Bella Vista. Randy was able to meet with them a few days ago to discuss a new church development. Each of the men shared his testimony of his personal relationship with the Lord and the hunger to have someone to teach and preach the Word. Questions about the Bible and doctrine were discussed as well as the organization of a church body. Then there was a tremendous time of prayer before the Lord as a group. The presence of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming in that place. At the end of the meeting the church was organized and land was designated by the chairman of the village for future construction of a church building. The church body will begin meeting on November 8th in one of the homes. Please pray with us as we move forward with this second church plant. I know God has many exciting things in store.
With all of these things going on, we are fortunate to have a young man from Van Buren, Arkansas that has agreed to come help us here in Belize for 3 months. Ben Smith arrived on October 19th in the height of the flood. Ben was initiated to the mission field and its many adventures his first night as we had to have a large truck pull us through the swollen creek to get back home from the airport. His luggage had to be moved into the seats to keep it from getting wet as the back of the van we were driving was floating and water was coming through the doors into the vehicle. Nevertheless, Ben quickly learned to splash through the water and mud as he hit the ground running and has been a tremendous help.
On a more personal note, Sheila and the baby are doing great. We are anxiously awaiting the February due date and hoping he has a name by the time he arrives. Brandon is still surviving home school and enjoying many adventures in the caves, jungles and ruin sites. He even spotted a crocodile in our backyard when the flood waters were so high. Randy is keeping busy with many meetings and all aspects of the ministry. There are currently 5 additional villages that are requesting our assistance with starting churches so his work is just beginning.
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support for the ministry of GEM. It is encouraging to know that you are faithfully standing with us to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
May the Lord richly bless you,
Randy, Sheila, and Brandon Gaither
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