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!
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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
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