Dear Friends and Family,
It's hard to believe that it is already February! In January, we hit the ground running and haven't stopped yet! We have begun holding services in our new location and have seen an increased attendance. I believe that it was the right step at the right time. Our in person children's Sunday School has also been a success. By the 3rd or 4th week, we were already at maximum capacity in our home. Last week, we made the transition to holding Sunday School in our new location where we will have more space. It has been a blessing for the kids to learn together and play together. The parents have also enjoyed being able to fellowship during this time. In the coming weeks, we will begin an adult Sunday school class as well. We are also excited to see a small group going out for visitation evangelism every week. Unfortunately, we ran into a few more obstacles in our legal residency process. Thankfully, as of yesterday, we have one more step completed and should be receiving our IDs very soon. We are in a race against the clock to obtain our IDs and obtain Costa Rican driver's licenses before we lose the ability to drive again. We have also seen some more positive developments in the religious association which we are establishing. It is some extra work, but this should provide an open door for future missionaries to serve in Costa Rica as well as legal protection for our future ministries.
As we begin February, we will be seeing a lot of new changes. Next week, our girls will be beginning classes at a small Christian school. In order to serve here as missionaries, Costa Rica requires that we come in through the invitation of another legally established ministry. We are thankful for a Christian School that has extended this invitation. Michelle will be helping to teach English for a few hours per week. During this time, Elijah will be attending a preschool where he will make huge strides in learning Spanish. On top of everything else last month, we had about a week or so when we had we had to practice quarantine due to exposure to the COVID virus. Shortly after exposure to a family that was later confirmed positive for COVID, Michelle came down sick. Not only did we have to move some church activities to digital, but we also had to make several changes around the house. After a few days, Michelle was able to get a test. Thankfully, she did not have COVID. We were relieved to return to normal.
For the month of February, could you please pray for the following:
1. That God enable us to finish our residency and get our licenses before losing ability to drive.
2. That God will continue to work in the hearts of those who have heard the Gospel.
3. That God will continue to build His church here in Costa Rica.
4. That God will provide the funds needed for the church here to have their own building.
In Christ,
Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz
