Dear Friends and Family,
It’s hard to believe that we are now at the end of another year. 2023 was a good year for strengthening the church here in San Pablo. The Lord has grown the church and strengthened it spiritually. Last month, Jeremy continued preaching through the book of Joshua while our children and teen Sunday school classes have continued in Genesis. On Tuesdays, Jeremy has been teaching through the church doctrines contained in our doctrinal statement. That has been good for grounding the church in sound doctrine. We had a slight delay with the church van, but finally received it on Thanksgiving day. That was a blessing because the following Sunday we had a special Thanksgiving celebration together with the church of another BIMI missionary about an hour away. Jeremy was also glad to have baptized 5 people who have trusted Christ as their Savior. In the coming weeks, we plan to receive several others as members. The process of planting a church from the ground up isn’t easy or simple, but the Lord is faithful to build His church. We have continued to preach the Gospel throughout San Pablo. We average between 3-5 people who go out knocking on doors every week.
As our children grow, we have begun to realize more and more that the Lord is also using them for his purposes. The children help us set up for church. Lila and Ellowyn take turns helping to watch the smaller kids. All three of our kids have done very well in school and help to bridge the gap between the Costa Rican children and the other missionary children who are learning Spanish for the first time. They have also had a positive spiritual impact on the other kids around them. We are so thankful for them. We are all looking forward to December as they will have a break from school and we will have a little more time to spend together as a family. Just within the last few days the kids decorated the house for Christmas (almost) all on their own. This year, we will be spending Christmas here in Costa Rica. Although we would really like to be able to see all of our family, we know that isn’t always possible. However, Michelle’s parents will be able to come visit us for a little while in December, so we are looking forward to that.
Before closing out with a few prayer requests, we just want to say “thank you” for all of your prayers and support and “Merry Christmas” to all of you. Please pray:
1. For Liliam, a lady who attends our church, who is in the hospital and in much pain.
2. That God will continue to bless our church plant and strengthen it in 2024.
3. That God will continue to save may souls and use us to make a difference in San Pablo.
In Christ,
Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz
*Below, we have included a few pictures of the van and the recent baptisms.
