Greetings from Belize,
God is really "shaking things up" in Belize! This is actually a literal statement in lieu of the 7.1 earthquake we experienced around 2:20am on May 28th. That was a new experience for the Gaither family to be awakened by the house moving and the sounds of cabinet doors opening, dishes rattling, and things falling from shelves to the floor. The house did sustain some minor structural damage, but fortunately all of us are safe and unharmed. Nevertheless, that is a great reminder of how awesome our God is, and if He can cause the earth to tremble, how much more He can impact the world with even one individual that says "yes" to Him.
As alluded to in the previous paragraph, the Gaither four are finally together again in Belize. Sheila, Brandon, and Micah had been in the states awaiting Micah's passport. Finally, the passport arrived and the three of them were able to join Randy in Belize the second week of May. It's great to be together again working as a family on the tasks to which God has called us. Besides, Randy needed someone to do the dishes and the laundry...
Seriously, God has blessed us tremendously in the past two months with some wonderful donations just in time to help with the work projects lined up for this summer. Corinth Baptist Church in Darden, TN donated a 1 ton truck which is exactly what we will need to haul the concrete blocks and building materials for our construction projects among other things. An individual from Fort Smith, AR donated a Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck that will be a tremendous asset with food distribution in remote villages as well as providing an economical means of transportation. We also were blessed with a second generator donated by Celebration Christian Fellowship in Little Rock, AR. This second generator will enable us to have electric power for the construction in the north at More Tomorrow as well as for construction and church services in the south at San Isidro. Praise the Lord!
Speaking of More Tomorrow, the construction on the 30' x 60' multi-purpose building has begun and the foundation is now complete. A teenager from Fort Smith, AR took on this task as an Eagle Scout project, and his team will be in Belize in July to complete the construction. The building will serve as a place of worship, a preschool, and a facility for medical/dental teams to provide services to the village. Several men and teenage boys in the village have pitched in to help with the construction. We are all very excited as we are seeing things progress so rapidly.
Well, one school year has come to a close and we are currently preparing for graduation at Children's Nest which is the preschool in Valley of Peace. The ceremony will take place on June 13th and we hope to have some great photos to share with you in the next newsletter. Also, registration has begun for the 2009-2010 school year. There are still several children in need of a sponsor. Please let us know if you would like to sponsor a child for the upcoming school year.
As always, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for all your prayers and financial support. God is good to supply all our needs and it is often times through the generosity of people like you that He meets our daily needs. He is truly an awesome God!
Blessings,
Randy, Sheila, Brandon & Micah Gaither
June 10, 2009
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
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