Greetings from Belize. My heart is overjoyed to be home! There is nothing like a good night’s sleep on your own bed. My family and I arrived back in Belize on November 8. Our church people here had a welcome-home service with lots of good Belizean food!! What a true blessing to see our people again and begin our work anew.
I am amazed at all the answered prayers we received while being on furlough. Generous people from many of our supporting churches made enough donations to send some vehicles for our ministry. The main reason for the furlough was to take care of immigration paperwork. I am glad to say that the Lord worked out each detail, as only He can. I have been a Christian for over 24 years, yet God’s grace amazes me still. Thank you to all who have prayed for these requests, and may you rejoice knowing that God has answered each one.
During our furlough, our hearts were encouraged and renewed. So many people spoke words of encouragement, listened to our stories, and treated us with immense generosity. Our souls have been rekindled to keep fighting the good fight. We have returned to the field with strength and desire to take on the next level of our ministry. May each one of you know that we do not take our call lightly. We are honored and humbled that you would partner with us to bring the good news to the people of Belize.
During the months of October and November, we were able to attend four missions conferences. During preaching at the conferences, many decisions were made to give for missions or to go to the mission field. We also had many opportunities to go soul winning. Our family has seen 23 people trust Christ since our last prayer letter. Tonya met a young man in Michigan who had never held a Bible or heard of Jesus Christ. No matter what country we are in, there are still people who need Christ.
We thank the Lord for His protection and for bringing us back to our mission field. Just in the first week of being back, we are reminded that the harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few. Join us in prayer as we launch out and start another church this January. Our church people will begin to canvass the area and find a place to rent. Pray for a good response from our efforts.
Our church will be celebrating its 8th anniversary this December. In December, we have many outreach programs scheduled to try and share the Gospel. One thing we do each year is a big Christmas banquet with food and toys for the kids. We ask that you pray that many souls would be saved and for our vans to arrive before Christmas. Thank you for loving us and investing in our ministry.
May God bless you all. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Yours truly,
Israel, Tonya, Alyssa, Analea, and Isabella