Dear Friends and Family,
We hope that this letter finds you doing well. The situation in Nicaragua has been going on now for nearly 3 1/2 months. The latest report by the Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights reports at least 448 deaths, 2,830 injured, and 595 people that have disappeared. Thankfully, our church in Nicaragua has remained strong. On July 29th, they celebrated their 3rd anniversary and there were 8 who followed the Lord in believer's baptism. Many have lost their jobs and all, including the church, have faced extremely tough times economically. Prayerfully, we have been able to help some during this time until things stabilize some. This brings to mind the relief effort of the disciples for the churches in Judea during the famine, "Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea (Acts 11:29)." We are thankful to have the means to do so.
During July, we had 10 scheduled meetings in the states of FL, IL, KY, OH, and MI. In between meetings we drove over 3,500 miles and stayed in 15 different places. Thankfully, there were 2 new churches that began to support us financially, bringing us to 92.5% of our needed support.
During our time in Kentucky, one sweet church provided us tickets to see the Ark Encounter. Michelle's parents were also able to come up and see it with us. It was an awesome experience and one that surely changed our children's perspectives of both Noah's ark and the pre-flood world. We send special thanks to this sweet church and to Bro. Tim and Mrs. Lori for their generosity. Near the end of the month, we were able to spend a little bit of time at Michelle's grandparents' house in Tennessee. It was good to see her family. The girls also LOVED playing outside, feeding the chickens, etc. Elijah has also been coming along and is now getting close to walking. We will be celebrating his first birthday later this month.
This month, will you please pray:
1. That God bring peace to the people of Nicaragua.
2. That God continue to advance his Gospel and save souls, even in these difficult times.
3. That God continue to guide us and help us raise the additional support needed.
In Christ,
Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and ElijahBlanz
