Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings from Costa Rica! We are now beginning rainy season and are once again discovering new leaks in the roof that need to be fixed! Last month was a slightly better month than the one before. We have kept on keeping on and were encouraged that one lady from the church has begun helping out with door to door visitation. One young man named Joel called upon Christ for salvation. Please pray that God will motivate him to come to church and grow in his faith. We have also spoken with several others who are interested in attending. Unfortunately, throughout the month we saw new cases of COVID skyrocket to twice the highest peak from last year. In fact, we are now seeing about twice as many new cases per million as India, one of the hardest hit countries. Many hospitals are now full and people injured in car accidents are now being sent to other hospitals farther away to get treatment. Anticipating another round of lockdowns, Jeremy was able to do some grocery shopping for our family and a few other needy families. Within a few hours of that, the government announced one week of lockdown for everything deemed "non-essential" and stricter restrictions for the whole month of May. This means that churches are once again unable to hold normal services. On a positive note, we have received a good report from Nicaragua. The newest church that was planted out of the church we started is now coming along quite well.
As for our family, we have been doing well and constantly adjusting to the situation here at any given time. I believe we are much better able to handle lockdowns and such after what we went through last year. Thankfully, at the moment, the kids are still able to attend school in-person. This means that we are able to get more done throughout the day. One of the downsides of the lockdown is that we have had to reschedule our baptism service for our second daughter, Ellowyn, and two others. She was saved last year and was excited to finally be baptized, but it looks like she will have to wait a little bit longer. The girls have recently been helping out more in the kitchen and learning to cook. Elijah has been working towards doing "big boy" things like cleaning his room and helping out with chores around the house. But all of our kids seem like they are growing up quickly!
Last month, we requested prayer regarding Michelle's ID and residency process. Thankfully, we were connected with a man from a church we attended back when we were in language school who works in the government. He was able to find the problem and get it resolved. Michelle now has her resident ID. That is one big obstacle out of the way! This month, please pray:
1. That God will continue to help us reach the lost with the Gospel in creative ways.
2. That God will help us to find a better meeting location for rainy season.
3. That God will continue to build His church here in Costa Rica.
In Christ,
Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz
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