Greetings from Belize,
What a great start to the
year 2012! So far this year has been
extremely busy and fast-paced as well as a bit challenging at times, but what a
joy to be a part of God doing such great things. We have hosted nine teams, attended a mission
conference, and welcomed a new family to Belize since the beginning of January.
We have been blessed with
some fantastic teams so far this year.
These groups have spanned the gamut from mechanical work keeping
everything running around here, to construction and maintenance, to evangelism and
medical. We always look forward to
January every year when all of our vehicles are serviced, repaired, and put
back on the road. Mechanical needs are
never in short supply here, and we are very fortunate to have someone who makes
an annual trip to literally keep us going.
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| New addition being sprayed with sealer |
The northern campus received some much
needed and long overdue TLC from several folks.
The buildings were power washed and either painted or sealed. Lights and ceiling fans were repaired or
replaced, and storage containers were cleaned out and organized. Our road and drive way were even repaired. The campus looks fantastic thanks to all those
who worked so hard!
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The construction teams worked here at
the northern campus as well as out in the villages. One group built a new room at the campus that
we had initially planned to use as additional storage, but it is so nice we
have decided to use it as more of a conference room when we are conducting
training courses for our pastors and leaders.
These guys also provided the funding to put siding on a church building
in San Isidro which should be completed this week. Another team began construction on a house to
be used as a parsonage for the pastors of our church in Valley of Peace. They completed the frame and put the roof on
the house. (pictured at right)
Two different medical teams
worked in the southern part of Belize.
These two groups saw over 1400 patients in eight villages. Many of the people in the remote villages
have no access to medical care except for the visiting medical teams that
volunteer their time and resources. In
addition to addressing physical needs, these individuals showed the Jesus movie and gave away over 300
Bibles.
In the midst of all of the
activity with teams, the Gaither family was privileged to attend a Missions
Conference in Albertville, AL. The
weekend was filled with pampering, great food, and wonderful fellowship. We had the opportunity to meet a number of other
missionaries from various places around the world and experienced and awesome
move of God during those services. Randy
was honored to preach during two very powerful Sunday morning worship
services. Sheila spoke to the RA’s and
GA’s on Sunday evening, and the entire Gaither family shared with small groups
on Saturday (Micah provided the comedy while Brandon did an excellent job
presenting our ministry). Special thanks
to First Baptist Church Albertville for the invitation and for making it
possible for us to be a part of such a great weekend!
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| Jason, Kristen, Ashley, & Jacob |
With all the growth the
ministry has experienced as well as the busy schedule, we have been praying for
some help on the ground here in Belize.
The Hancocks arrived in Belize on February 12th to assist us
with all the “behind the scenes” work to keep things going around here. We are grateful to have Jason, Ashley, Jacob
(12yrs), and Kristen (9yrs) as our new neighbors here at the northern campus. Welcome to Belize and to GEM Hancock family!
As far as the Gaither family,
in the past few weeks Randy has been busy with 23 child dedications, 4
baptisms, and 1 wedding as well as preaching and teaching throughout our
churches. Sheila is trying to keep up
with the printing of all the certificates and getting the dirt stains out of
Randy’s white dress shirt (the traditional attire in Belize for special
occasions). One recent Sunday after a
baptism service a quash stole Randy’s shirt while he was changing clothes in a
little hut. If you have never heard of a
quash, it is a furry animal in the raccoon family with a long monkey-like
tail. These little guys are typically
very cute and social, but apparently Randy didn’t think so as he was running
after one to reclaim his shirt. Brandon
is busy with school as usual. In his
spare time he has been trying to work on speaking English with a Spanish
accent. He has learned that when he
blends in with the locals he gets better service and prices on things at
market. A driver’s license and a discount…he gets to
do the shopping all the time! Micah is
working on his social skills as well…if you call ordering around his new
neighbors “social skills”. He is
convinced that Jacob and Kristen are exactly his age and as an extra bonus they
let him boss them around. What are we
going to do with him??
Blessings,
Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and
Micah
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