We are in the middle of the hot season—days where it seems there is no escape from the heat. I guess it’s time to set up the pool and turn up the air conditioning.
In March, we held our annual Missions Conference. We had a fellow missionary from Cayo, Belize, preach for us. Our people here are mostly from villages. They live simple, humble lives. God moved through the conference, and as a church, we now support nine missionaries in different parts of the world. I am amazed at the generosity of our members. What an honor it is to pastor a church with so great a faith.
In April, we were privileged to have a missions group from Longview Baptist Temple in Texas. Thirty-eight teens and adults came out to help us in our annual soul-winning campaign. This group had an excellent spirit. They were a blessing to our ministry, as well as to us personally. They were also able to contribute toward some dorms we are building on our property. This year we had the opportunity to present the Gospel in 21 different schools. Many of the schools were government schools. One school was a Catholic school to which we had been previously denied entrance! Praise God! The Gospel was presented to about 6,000 students, teachers, and principals. Hundreds of them received Christ as Saviour. Each student received a New Testament, and each teacher and principal received a Bible. It was an amazing week as we watched our Lord work.
While the group was here, we were also able to celebrate the one-year anniversary of our mission church in Corozal, Belize. That Sunday we had 17 first-time visitors, with an attendance of 50. The church has grown into a group of faithful believers. We are excited to see what God will do over this next year. Please keep praying for growth. Please pray also as we continue to search for property to buy. We are currently still renting but really need to find a different place.
In other news, we are happy to announce that Tonya is expecting our fourth baby. She had a rough bout of morning sickness but seems to be on the mend. We are asking prayers for protection of this new little addition. Our hearts are full of gratitude that God would bless us with another child.
We have one more prayer request. We are having a bit of trouble renewing our work visas. We keep having to jump through hoops and run around in circles. No one will tell us exactly what the problem is. We trust the Lord to work this out in His time. Please pray that we will figure out what we can do to get this taken care of.
We are privileged to serve here in Belize. Thank you for your faithful support!
Sincerely
Israel Alvarez and Family