This month, our letter is being sent out a little behind schedule because we wanted to wait and include some big decisions. Last month, we completed the last of our scheduled meetings for furlough. We were part of one missions conference in TN and one other meeting with a supporting church in KY. After returning home, we enjoyed being able to be a part of all of the activity at our home church. Jeremy was also glad to teach Sunday school and help with events when he had the opportunity. Due to the civil unrest and economic crisis in Nicaragua, we have been able to help our church with a relief offering. Despite the economic crisis, we were proud to see three men attend their 1st year promotion of their studies at the Bible Institute. One is serving as an intern under the pastor, while the other two are actively evangelizing and planting the Gospel seed in 2 neighboring cities for upcoming church plants. God has blessed and even provided homes for meeting locations.
For the last several months, we have been closely monitoring the situation in Nicaragua. We had hoped and prayed for the crisis to be resolved, but there is still no resolution. The U.S. Embassy continues the level 3 travel advisory, stating "avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and security" along with many other warnings. After several months of prayer, seeking godly wisdom, and heeding the advice of our pastor and field director, we sadly come to the conclusion that Nicaragua remains too dangerous and too unstable for our family to return at this time. This is a very difficult decision that we never expected to or wanted to make. We have also been seeking the Lord's direction for our next term. At this point, we believe that the Lord is leading us to go to Costa Rica until Nicaragua has stabilized. There has been a massive migration of Nicaraguan refugees to Costa Rica and we are praying about the possibility of a special ministry to help them. We do not yet know all that the Lord has planned for us, but we know that God is doing a work that is much bigger than we can understand.
In the near future, we are planning to personally contact our supporting churches regarding these changes. This month, please pray...
1. That the Lord bring peace and stability to the people of Nicaragua.
2. That the Lord continue to use our church plant to win souls and plant other churches.
3. That God will direct and lead us regarding our future ministry in Costa Rica.
In Christ,
Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and ElijahBlanz
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