Hello from the rainforest! We have officially entered the rainy season here in Belize. Each week this season, we have experienced downpours. Our property is lush, green—and full of mud! Even so, we have had a whirlwind of activities these past two months.
In August, we held our Vacation Bible Schools in both churches. The combined average attendance each day was about 175. Our church folks had fun doing crafts, Bible memory, Bible lessons, games, and singing with the kids. Many new kids heard the Gospel and trusted Christ. Thank you to those who prayed for this event.
On September 16, we celebrated our nine-year anniversary as a church. We hosted a group of college kids from Tabasco, Mexico, and Campeche, Mexico, who came on a missions trip to help with our outreach activities. We planned a big outreach service in our local stadium on Saturday, September 15. We had superheroes, a drama, jumpers for the kids, cupcakes for all, and, of course, a clear presentation of the Gospel. Praise the Lord! We had over 400 people come to this event. Many trusted Christ, and we have new people in church as a result. The Sunday of our anniversary, we had 180 in our services. We were blessed beyond measure by the groups that came and helped us during these two big days. I want to give a special thanks to the churches that helped us financially with this special event: Pastor Marc Johnson and Iglesia Bautista la Fe of Durham, North Carolina, and Pastor Bruce Goddard and Faith Baptist Church of Wildomar, California.
The day after our anniversary, we held a Revival Fires Conference. We had special speakers fly in from the States and from Mexico. We also had the privilege to host people from over 12 different churches. During this conference, we had preaching each night. During the day, we had classes for teens, for married couples, for children, and for pastors. This conference was a great encouragement to our church family and to me. Many decisions were made for Christ and for His work.
In August, a young man named Alfredo Lara came to work with us as an intern for one year. He is a recent Bible college graduate and wanted to work for a missionary for a year. He will be helping with our youth group, music classes, and our van routes. Please pray for him to adjust to the different culture of Belize. So far, this young man has been a wonderful addition to our church. Pray also that we can get his work permit worked out soon. Working with the government here usually takes awhile. Thank you.
Thank you for your prayers and support these nine years. We are indeed grateful to you for helping us reach the people of Belize. Our two churches have been growing numerically and spiritually. Pray that God’s work would continually be done. We also ask that you pray for Tonya, as she lost her father three weeks ago. Pray for healing and for peace. God bless you.
Israel and Tanya Alvarez