Dear Friends and Family,
September was another busy month. We continue to teach and preach the Gospel throughout San Pablo. Every Saturday we preach the Gospel in parks and neighborhoods. We see new visitors on a regular basis. On September 7th, we had an activity after the service to celebrate Children’s Day. We are also working on plans for our second missions emphasis month in October. Last year, our church embraced faith promise missions giving and took on two missionaries for support. The church has not only kept its commitment, but exceeded it! We have also had the opportunity to send a group of about 18 people or so to help one of the missionaries with an evangelistic children’s day activity in the town where he is planting a church. It was great to encourage him and help the church to see how we are sowing the Gospel in other communities. In preparation for missions month, I have contacted several Costa Rican pastors and missionaries to inquire about others who are being sent out to start new churches. If the Lord allows, we hope to do even more this year – not only financially, but also through prayer and sending groups to help with evangelism training and support. Near the end of the month, we also had a teen activity and ladies ministry activity.
At the beginning of the month, Jeremy received news that his sister, Mary, was in a head-on collision. She had severe injuries and her life was at great risk. He then took a short trip to support her and the family. By God’s grace and many surgeries, she has stabilized and has improved in many ways. Her recovery has been nothing short of miraculous, but she still has a long way to go. She lost much of her small intestine, and we are praying that her body will be able to receive nutrition. Please pray for her and her family.
Near the end of August, we celebrated Elijah’s birthday. In September, we celebrated Jeremy and Lila’s birthday. We also had several activities for Costa Rican independence day. Besides that, we have continued to prepare for our next furlough. Jeremy has attempted to contact with all of our supporting churches and has tried to schedule as many visits as possible. We now have 32 out of 39 possible services scheduled. We have a few available services that we hope to schedule soon. It has been good to speak with many pastors and we look forward to seeing our family, friends, and supporting churches again.
As we prepare for October, please pray:
1. For my sister Mary and that the Lord will heal her in a miraculous way.
2. That the Lord will bless our missions month and allow our church to do more this year.
3. That the Lord will provide land and a building for our church in His timing.
In Christ,
Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz