These past few months have raced by, as we are very busy in God’s work. In May, God allowed us to have a team from Cuernavaca, Mexico, come help us with our mission church in Corozal. Our hearts are full of gratitude for their investment of time and energy in our ministry. This team was able to stay for one month. Each day they went soul winning and held Bible Clubs in the neighborhoods near the church. At the end of the month, 6,580 people had either heard the Gospel personally by door-to-door outreach, by coming to a church service or Bible Club, or by receiving a tract. It was a joy to see 145 new visitors come through the doors of the mission church. One new lady who visited was so excited that she returned the next Sunday with 3 more family members. Later she invited the team to her house for a meal, where she had even more family members waiting to hear the Gospel. Praise God for His goodness! Please pray that many would stay and become faithful members.
In June, it was our privilege to host a team from Valley Baptist Church (Pastor Kevin Cowling) of Mesa, Arizona. This team’s mission was to help us with our Sunday school building roof and to host Bible Clubs in the neighborhoods of our main church in Orange Walk. This group of teens had a great spirit and were very helpful and willing to work. We pray that the trip was a blessing to them, as they were such a blessing to us.
In July, we had the opportunity to have Pastor Warren Johnson and four ladies from his church in Flower Mound, Texas, visit us. They were a great help with our Vacation Bible school. We had over 90 children come to this annual event. All kids heard the Gospel, and some trusted Christ as Saviour. Please pray that these children would continue to come to our services each week and grow in their faith.
With all that God seems to be doing, our adversary the Devil does not seem too happy. We are still having trouble getting our visas (work permits). We have jumped through every hoop we’ve been required to jump through and are still being denied. We are not sure how this problem will be resolved. We do, however, have faith in our Lord and trust His timing in all things. We would appreciate prayer for this matter. Please pray for guidance in how to proceed and direction in what steps we need to take. We had to hire a lawyer to help. We want to thank everyone who has helped us financially with this matter.
Lastly, we ask for prayer for Tonya, as she is preparing to deliver our fourth child in October. We plan for the baby to be born here, which is a very different experience for Tonya. Please pray for peace, for Tonya to have the right doctor, and for a safe delivery. She is a bit nervous since this is the first baby to be born here in Belize. Thank you.
Thank you for your love for us and for your love for Belize. We count it a blessing to be your missionaries.
May God bless you and your ministries.
Israel Alvarez and Family