This July finds our family in good spirits. The country of Belize has lifted all bans on meeting together as a church. Praise the Lord! We have begun to hold normal services again and only need to wear the masks inside the church vans. We weren’t sure what the reaction of our people would be when our church did reopen. Thankfully, though, everyone has returned, and we are ready to press onward as a church. We want to thank every church for their continuous giving, even throughout this pandemic. Most of our supporting churches have remained faithful in their giving. We know that a lot of churches are struggling during this time, so it’s encouraging to know that people have sacrificed to give support. Thank you.
Our first Sunday back together as a church was celebrated with three baptisms. The personal, in-home Bible studies we have done have encouraged our people to grow, even while we were not meeting at church. It was amazing for our people to see people wanting to get baptized and growing even through the hard months of quarantine. During the quarantine, we, of course, did online services and had small group meetings in homes. I also sent messages via texting. However, there is just something beautiful about worshipping together in God’s house. Seeing people face to face and having human contact is wonderful for the soul. We are overjoyed to be in our building again.
Since our country has pretty much gotten back to normal, we have decided to go ahead with our Vacation Bible School at the end of July. The local schools return to classes the first week of August. Please pray that we would be able to reach the children of our community with the Gospel. Pray also for our church in Corozal, Faith Baptist Church. As we mentioned in our last letter, the anniversary of this mission church was canceled. We have rescheduled this celebration for August. Pray for salvations and baptisms—we would love to see many new faces in the pews.
As for family news, we are all doing well. Little Timothy just turned eight months old. He is busy crawling around and bringing baby laughs to our home. Our girls finished their homeschool year during the quarantine. We are praying about and trying to figure out how to get schoolbooks here for the new year. We usually have friends or groups bring materials when they visit, but obviously, no one is visiting right now. Please pray for this situation.
We are thankful for your prayers and support. This year has been different, to say the least. We will pray for you as well. What a comfort it is to know that God is and always will be in control. God bless you.
In Christ,
Israel and Tonya Alvarez