December Update

 

Christmas greetings,

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord,” (Luke 2:11).  This is undoubtedly the most wonderful and amazing message ever heralded of all time.  After hearing this great news, the Magi began the tradition of giving gifts in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and as children we looked forward to the gifts we found in our stockings on Christmas morning.  As we grow and mature we realize that the greatest gifts are not those that can be contained within a stocking, but those that are from our Heavenly Father and cannot be contained on this earth.

With the Christmas season upon us, we find ourselves reflecting on this past year and all the wonderful gifts from God regarding the ministry in Belize.  Since the beginning of 2011, He has added two new church developments bringing the total number of churches under GEM to nine.  Not only has God increased the number of churches, but He has also provided a pastor for each of the churches, and most importantly souls are being saved each week. 

We were privileged to host 21 teams this year that helped us with several construction projects, evangelism, discipleship, food distribution, and distribution of clothing and shoes in at least nine different villages. Construction on three church buildings was begun with one of those three being already completed.  Construction on the preschool in More Tomorrow is almost finished including the bathrooms and water tank which will service both the church and the preschool. New bathroom facilities were built on the northern campus and new mattresses for the bunks enable us to rival five-star accommodations (well, maybe not quite).

The Gaither family is also greatly blessed and enjoying this Christmas season.  As tradition would have it, we have made out our Christmas lists and are looking forward to what we might find in our stockings that special morning.  Just to give you a glimpse, Randy has got the fountain of youth at the top of his list while Sheila is hoping for that never-ending buffet that includes lots of chocolate with almonds (hold the rice and beans please).  Brandon is looking for a Dodge Challenger (yep, with a hemi), and Micah would like a real train that he can drive when he is not riding his very own merry-go-round. 

But in all seriousness, we are honored that God allows us to be used by Him in His great plan to expand His Kingdom.  It has truly been an amazing year!  This Christmas season, and for the years to come, may each of you have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope, and the peace of His love.

Merry Christmas!

from Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah

November Update

Greetings,

The Lord God Almighty is great and worthy of our praise! His blessings on the ministry here in Belize are innumerable. What a privilege to see and experience the mighty hand of God moving and working in such power.

What a joy to see people coming to Jesus Christ day after day.  Recently we have been staying quite busy

going from river to river baptizing new believers every week. With this being the rainy season in Belize, the rivers have been quite swollen which makes for very swift water and a muddy slide to get into the water. As you can see from the picture, Randy and Pastor Rudy are standing between the trees and the bank of the river due to the flooding. In swift waters it takes two pastors to hold on to the person being baptized lest they come up out of the water a few miles from where they went down. Nevertheless, the baptism services and joyful celebrations continue…neither rain, nor flooding, nor occasional crocodiles will stop the baptisms. All in all, no words can aptly describe the excitement as our churches continue to grow both spiritually and physically.

(Everyone who attended the meeting)

(Randy with  9 pastors and 2 associates)

Because our heart’s desire is to win, baptize and make disciples, we have begun a new program for training our pastors and leaders. We will continue the individualized training given to the local pastors and churches in their villages, but we have also begun a program of joint training and education. Bringing everyone together not only provides a solid biblical foundation, but it also builds a strong fellowship between the churches, pastors, and leaders. Our first joint meeting was held in September. There are nine pastors and we had hoped to have anywhere from nine to twelve pastors/leaders in attendance. However, we were pleasantly surprised when twenty-three people showed up that morning. It was a fantastic meeting as people from all the different churches in various villages had an opportunity to get to know each other. Each of them came with such hunger and eagerness to learn more about God’s Word…even regarding the basics that we often take for granted. The meeting started around nine o’clock in the morning and by six-thirty in the evening the people were still not ready to leave.

 

As far as Gaither family news, we fortunately have not had any close encounters with critters in the house since the wush willy in Brandon’s bed. However, there have been a couple of sightings of crocodiles at the baptism services within 20ft of Randy while he was in the water. Randy has made it his personal goal to make sure all the pastors are very healthy, well-fed, and always between him and the crocs during the baptism services. With Brandon now driving, Micah has decided that he needs to get in on the action. Micah has become quite the authority on telling the driver when to speed up, slow down, and turn right or left. There is nothing like having a backseat driver that is only two years old! Brandon handles the extra direction from his little brother very well (the earphones in his ears help), but Sheila is less than compliant most of the time. Wonder why Micah always talks about “airplane” when he gets out of the car with her???

Blessings,

Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah

September Update

Greetings from Belize,

With summer wrapping up and fall approaching, we are reflecting back on all the wonderful blessings of God and the many teams that came and labored with such dedication. We are also looking forward to seeing the great work that the Lord is continuing to do in the ministry here in Belize.

It was a much more comfortable stay for all the groups that came this summer due to a very generous gift from Corinth Baptist Church in Darden, TN of 50 new mattresses for our campus. Also, fans were bought by a group from Hopewell Baptist Church in Parsons, TN (a nearby sister church to Corinth) adding a wonderful “coolness” to the stay as well. Together these make for a much more pleasant night of rest.

The rains continue to pour down here in the jungle, but it hasn’t slowed down the baptisms in our churches as we continue to see people saved. However, it does present a challenge at times to keep your feet planted in the swift rivers while baptizing. It is so exciting to see lives being changed by the Lord Jesus Christ. To the right you see Randy pictured with Pastor Mas and one of six new Christians from Valley of Peace baptized on August 7th. You may view a video of one of our recent baptism services by the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrapwCz_tx8

In recent weeks we have hosted five teams who covered many villages throughout Belize. Their activities ranged from VBS and sports camps to construction projects. A team from Corinth Baptist in TN held a VBS for the children while having Bible study classes for the men and women in both Valley of Peace and More Tomorrow. Often times there are a few adults who will join in on the activities for children. It was such a blessing to have organized activities for the adults as well who are so hungry to learn more about the one true and living God versus the clay figures they have been exposed to all their lives.

Two youth teams from Central Christian in AR ministered in the village of Bella Vista. These teams worked very hard putting siding on our church in that village. They also provided many activities for the children including a family movie night for the entire community. In addition, these teams distributed a ½ ton of food to the villagers and spent over eight days going door to door sharing Christ as well as witnessing one on one on the streets.

A team from Hopewell Baptist in TN worked in Hope Creek village. The ladies held a VBS for the children while the men worked on constructing a building for our church. In just one week the men had all four walls up and were ready for the top beam to be poured to support the rafters and a roof. We just began the church in Hope Creek in March and the congregation is so excited about having a building as there are no other churches in this village. Pictured to the left is the Hopewell team in front of the church building.

August also meant a very busy time preparing for “back to school”. There were children to be measured, uniforms and shoes to be purchased, and many backpacks to be stuffed with school supplies. In addition to the 30 preschool students attending our Children’s Nest Preschool in Valley of Peace, GEM is sponsoring over 35 primary and high school students who would not otherwise be able to attend school. We are still in need of at least 23 additional sponsors. Please contact us by email at gem3737@gmail.com if you are interested in assisting a student. Pictured to the left are stacks of backpacks full of school supplies and to the right is Sheila distributing backpacks in More Tomorrow.

Of course “back to school” hit the Gaither household as well. We enjoyed a long summer break, but home school classes resumed on August 15^th…whether Brandon was ready or not. While Brandon is tackling chemistry and Spanish II, Micah is working on counting, number and letter recognition and his Spanish. As many 2 year olds do, when something is not going exactly how Micah wants it he starts yelling “help me!” However, if someone doesn’t respond to his plea quickly enough he begins yelling “¡ayudame!” I guess he thinks we don’t understand English anymore... Sheila stays busy with her Spanish-English pocket dictionary trying to figure out what Micah is saying and her periodic table trying to remember everything she forgot about elements and ionic compounds. Randy, on the other hand, has been busy trying to oversee five different construction projects we have going on at the same time and relocating wildlife in his spare time. Apparently all the rain we have had lately has caused the “critters” to search for higher ground. One wush willy (aka black iguana) recently found a nice, cozy, warm place to lay his head in bed with Brandon. However, Brandon was a little less than thrilled with his new roommate when he was awakened at 2:00am by the 16 inch lizard in his bed. YIKES! Brandon made sure that little guy never got the chance to be relocated… In the jungle every day is a new adventure!

Blessings,

Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah

June-July Update

Greetings from Belize,

We are having a fantastic summer with several teams and a lot of activities. There have been many people and a lot of exciting activities from Vacation Bible Schools, to construction projects, and Bible studies and revival services. More than the busyness of people and things going on, there is an unexplainable joy as we continue seeing people saved and experiencing the life changing presence and power of Jesus! We may never really know this side of Heaven just how many lives have been touched through the dedication and labor of those who have been obedient to God’s call and followed His leading…both those who come to Belize for a short term mission trip and those who reside in Belize.

In the six weeks since the beginning of June we have hosted eight different teams. Several teams were from Arkansas with others from Louisiana and Tennessee. These groups ministered in eight of the nine villages where we have churches. It has been very heartwarming to see folks from the US making a real connection with people in Belize through sharing of their personal testimony, activities for children, worship services, food distribution, and overall demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ.

In addition to the personal ministries that have been taking place, one team also worked on the water cistern for the church and preschool in More Tomorrow. They built a raised concrete platform for the cistern and put up guttering on the church to catch rain water. This water will service restrooms (with real flush toilets) for both the church and preschool.

On June 18^th we held a graduation ceremony for the Children’s Nest Preschool in Valley of Peace. It was a great celebration and 27 students graduated ready to begin primary school (the equivalent of kindergarten in the US) in September. There were also four younger students who successfully completed the first year of preschool and plan to return to preschool in the fall since they are not old enough yet to begin primary school. We appreciate all the hard work of the students as well as the teachers: Ms. Elba, Ms. Ruth, and Ms. Olga. Congratulations to all of you!

Speaking of Valley of Peace, we would like to welcome Pastor Camilio Mas and his family to the Valley. Randy had been talking to Pastor Camilio for quite a while regarding his faith and God’s call on his life. On July 3^rd Pastor Camilio was installed as the full-time pastor at the church in Valley of Peace and he moved his wife and five children from a Ketchi village in the southern part of Belize to begin serving God as part of GEM. In just two weeks the attendance has doubled and two individuals have been saved. Praise the Lord!

Celebrations continue with a special anniversary service in Bella Vista. On July 17^th we celebrated the one year anniversary of our church in that village. There was standing room only inside the church and many people gathered outside to listen through the doors and windows. The building in and of itself is another reason for celebration. Until just a few months ago, the congregation was meeting under tarps. We now have a concrete floor, a thatch roof, and board siding. No more standing in the mud to praise the Lord…not at church anyway.

Just to let everyone know, the Gaither family did not fall off the face of the earth. We were without a computer and modem for about a month so we were unable to keep up with our email communications. Now that we are back online it has been a struggle in all the busyness to get to the HUGE back log of emails. We have literally been running so quickly in so many different directions for the past few weeks that we can’t keep up with each other. Randy changes hats every time the wind blows…besides being a missionary and senior pastor for nine churches; he has been a bus driver, a plumber, a tour guide, and overall errand boy. Sheila is busy trying to get all the records caught up after being without a computer for so long as well as getting school supplies, books, and uniforms together for all the students we sponsor. Brandon was able to spend several weeks in the states this summer visiting friends and family. He turned 16 the end of May and thanks to Grandpa, Nana, and a borrowed car from Aunt Shannon he now has his driver’s license…YIKES! Micah has also been working on his driving skills. A wonderful lady sent a tricycle to Belize with one of our recent teams (thank you BB!). Zeke and Hachi (our two dogs) are less than thrilled with Micah having his own set of wheels, but Micah is having a blast. He has put so many miles on that tricycle that the tires are already worn down to the tread wear indicator. With those two boys driving it’s no longer safe on the road, sidewalk, or in the yard!!

Blessings,

Randy, Sheila, Brandon, and Micah