June 2020 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that each of you are doing well. We are still doing our best to keep pushing forward during the COVID epidemic. We cannot legally have church services, but we have been doing online services. Jeremy has been preaching through the book of Philippians and teaching through the baptist distinctives. He was recently invited to teach a group of pastors a series of lessons on soteriology. Although we are very limited during this time, we are working very hard to lay a strong foundation for future growth. Michelle has been working with another lady to begin monthly ladies meetings. The social distancing rules has severely limited our outreach during this time, but we have been able to use social media to reach out and build relationships within the community and increase exposure to our ministry. Among other things, Jeremy was able to run a social media campaign to freely distribute a book that explains the true Gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

As for our family, we have been mostly confined to the house for nearly 3 months now apart from infrequent trips to the store. Jeremy has been able to visit some of those who attend with us to try to maintain those relationships in person. Michelle has been very busy homeschooling the kids both with what they need to do for their Costa Rican school, but also for their English and other US-based courses. Lila recently finished her 2nd grade US courses and Ellowyn finished her Kindergarten courses. Pretty much all public parks and play places are all closed, but we have tried to take the kids out on a family day each Friday to visit a national park or some other type of place where they can stretch their legs and get a little exercise. We hope that things will return to normal soon.

Unless there are further restrictions, churches should be able to begin holding small services on June 21st. The currently proposed rules are extremely strict and will reduce our seating capacity from around 30 to about 8-9 people. All outside options are closed and neighbors have even threatened to call police if children are seen playing near the parks. Even renting another location is equally difficult because we would need a very large and expensive location to hold even the smallest congregation. This month, please pray...

1. That God will open doors and remove obstacles to ministry here in Costa Rica.

2. That God will help us to continue reaching out and seeing souls saved.

3. That God will continue to strengthen and build His church here in Costa Rica.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

May 2020 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that each of you are doing well during this time. We have been praying for health and provision for those who are in the states. We have tried to stay active and keep moving forward during this time. Last month, we added Sunday morning services and this month we have added a new prayer and fellowship time every Friday. Although some have become less faithful in "attending" our online meetings, we have seen several others begin attending and become more faithful. It has been very difficult to be evangelistic during this time, but we have been trying to build up those who attend to serve God in greater ways. We are hoping to see greater commitments that will help us to move forward in future phases of the church plant. We have also helped out with providing food to some families who are struggling economically. We recently drove through the city and were shocked to see how many businesses were no longer there. On Sundays, Jeremy has been preaching a series of messages from Philippians on "Hope from God in Difficult Times." On Tuesday nights, Jeremy is now teaching on the Baptist Distinctives which will help lay a good foundation as we develop into a church. It has been good for them to see from the Bible why we believe in these foundational truths such as Biblical Authority among others.

Our home life has also changed very much. In the past, our girls attended a local school and Michelle did additional homeschooling with them for English and a few other courses. Now Michelle is doing lots of home assignments from the school as well as the homeschooling. We have had to make several changes to be able to get everything done from home while barely being able to leave the house. Thankfully, within the last few days the government made a change that allows Jeremy to drive again. After nearly a month of not being able to drive, he is happy to be able to drive again. Although we long to get back to normal, we are trying to make the most of the extra time that we have together during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you pray for us, please know that we are praying for you. This month, please keep in mind the following requests:

1. That God continue to help us reach souls for Christ during this time of change.

2. That God will help those who attend our meetings to stay faithful and grow spiritually.

3. That God will build relationships and lay a strong foundation for our church plant.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

April 2020 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that this letter finds each of you in good health and doing well. Last month was a drastic change for the mission work here in Costa Rica. Since the corona virus arrived here, schools have been closed, civic events are canceled, and the government has suspended all religious gatherings. While the number of confirmed cases is slowly rising, 40% of restaurants have closed and unemployment is skyrocketing. Our last home bible study had a much lower attendance and we have since switched to doing online Bible studies with a program called Zoom. This allows for us to see each other and chat as well as sing together while sharing the hymns through the application. Since then, we have seen attendance begin to rise again, though still just a bit lower than we were. Many have said that the messages were very encouraging for them during this time. While many churches are trying to "maintain" during this crisis, we are trying to continue growing and plant a church for the glory of God. We are very thankful for the month and a half or so we had to get started before entering a national / worldwide crisis. We have also begun holding Sunday morning services as we are working to transition from an evangelistic home bible study ministry to a new church. Another new part of our ministry is that we are now helping to do shopping for some more vulnerable elderly folk as well and those with great needs.

As for our family, we have made many adjustments. The embassy has informed us that there are no more planes returning to the states. Costa Rica immigration laws have also changed. If we leave for any reason at all, we will not be allowed to return for the foreseeable future. We would also lose all of the time, work, and money invested in the residency process. Unfortunately, due to their foreign license laws, Jeremy can no longer legally drive on his USA license. Michelle has 1-2 more months before she can no longer drive. We are unable to get Costa Rican licenses until our residency application is approved. We hope and pray that things remain stable, but we are prepared in case things get rough. We know that God is in control and that through this He will provide many opportunities for us to minister to others. God is still on the throne. We know that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28).

This month, please know that we are praying for you. We are very thankful for all of your prayers and support. Please pray for the following requests.

1. That God will keep His hand upon us and others during this tough time.

2. That God will continue to provide the needs of both churches and missionaries.

3. That God will use this difficult time for "the furtherance of the Gospel" (Phil. 1:12)

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

March 2020 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that this letter finds each of you doing well. This last month, we have stayed very busy with the weekly Bible studies and doing visitation/evangelism. We are strategically visiting every house beginning in the area near our home. Last month, we saw 8 new professions of faith. We have averaged 15-20 in our Tuesday night Bible studies and one night we had 33 people in our home. I believe 11 were visiting from the other church we had served in, but it was still a high of 22 even without them. We have been laying a strong doctrinal foundation of the Gospel and are developing a strong core group through which we will officially launch the church in God's timing. We have built many relationships within the community and have an ever-growing online group for the church plant ministry. Many have been interested in Sunday services because their work schedule doesn't allow them to attend on Tuesdays. We will be announcing Sunday services very soon and hope to see an increase in attendance. We are also looking into other locations to host Bible studies for increased outreach. A little over a month ago, Jeremy began with visiting with a little outside help. There are now 4 other men who are helping out with visitation/evangelism. One of them believes he is called to the ministry and though we are not yet ready to begin a Bible institute, he is beginning online courses to begin preparations for future ministry. The Nicaraguan church has now launched their own Bible Institute with about 16 students. We are glad to see how God has multiplied the work there.

As for our family, we are healthy and doing well. The son of a couple who attends our Bible studies is now joining our girls in their English home school studies. Recently, the corona virus has arrived in Costa Rica with 5 confirmed cases not too far away. In church, people are now doing elbow touch greetings instead of handshaking. We attempted to stock up on some hand sanitizer, but it has proven hard to find. We know that God is in control, but we will do what we can to be wise and minimize risks.

This month, please pray:

1. That God will continue using us to reach the lost and see more souls saved.

2. That God will help our efforts to follow up with those who have made professions of faith.

3. That God will continue to lay the groundwork for a strong and biblical baptist church in the city of San Pablo.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

February 2020 Prayer Letter

Dear family and friends,

We hope that you are doing well. Time is flying. Last month, we received the final documents for our residency process. They have now been submitted and we are simply waiting for their approval. Before beginning home Bible studies last month, Jeremy preached in two different baptist churches who will be praying for us and possibly helping in the work. Thankfully, the Lord has answered prayer and sent a few people our way to help with the church plant. Our first (unofficial) Bible study was only for the core group of friends and family. Jeremy taught on the Great Commission and laid out the mission to reach San Pablo for Jesus Christ. The following day we began visiting the area. After receiving the invitation, one woman visited our home and said she had been praying that God would giver her a place to study the Bible in San Pablo. Another family began attending who was looking for a Gospel preaching church. We have also met a couple of Nicaraguans who were very interested in attending. We have now visited just over 300 homes. Jeremy has preached on city buses and in the central park. One teenager received Christ as Savior and several others seemed very close. Many attentively listened to the message and carefully read the gospel tracts that we gave them. In our next Bible study, we had a few that could not come, but we still had about 15 people meet. Jeremy has begun to teach a series of messages on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has also been doing some work on the ministry website, Facebook page, and Whatsapp group.

Until we begin holding Sunday gatherings, we will continue attending another baptist church in a nearby city. It has been good for the kids to make friends and be part of kids classes. At our home, we have made many changes to accommodate the Bible studies and also make a kids area. Michelle has continued doing homeschool with the kids. They will be returning to school in mid-February. Another important thing for us is that we have been working to build more relationships in the community.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I believe the Lord answered many of our prayer requests last month. This month, please pray for the following:

1. That the Lord will save souls as we proclaim the Gospel in San Pablo.

2. That the believers here will learn the Word of God and become grounded in the faith.

3. That God will established a vibrant, Gospel-preaching baptist church here in San Pablo.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and ElijahBlanz

January 2020 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to the new year. Although, Jeremy wrote last months prayer letter, wewere so caught up in the work that he forgot to send it!It can be read on our blog at Blanz2nicaragua.blogspot.com. We apologize forthat. Last month, we finished our commitment to helping in the Atenas church plant. We had special Christmas parties for each age group. In January we will have an official "goodbye" service to conclude our service there. In the meantime, we have continued working on the final requirements for legal residency and establishing a new religious organization in Costa Rica. We have purchased some equipment for the upcoming church plant. We have spoken with our home owners and they agree with the need for a Gospel preaching church in the area and are very supportive. We have also spoken to others in the region about our vision and some have offered to help out and shared ideas to better reach the community. Some will be helping us with visiting and evangelism. Until we have an official start to the new church, we will be visiting some other Baptist churches in the area to share our plans and ask for prayer. This month, we will be ramping up the visitation and evangelism. We have also received a good report from the church we started in Nicaragua. Pastor Berner has informed me that they will soon begin a local church Bible instituteto train people for the ministry!

In Costa Rica, December is the end of the school year. Ellowyn graduated from kindergarten with a great report from her teacher. Lila also finished first grade with great grades. They have also done very well adjusting to the language and culture. Elijah has also been growing up quickly and learning new words every day! The kids are now on "summer" break until February. We had a special Christmas and always enjoy celebrating the birth of our Savior. In the home we are making several changes as we will begin hosting weekly Bible studies. We are converting our garage to an area to hold meetings. Our home owners have been a great help and have made us a new storage area. While it is a bit hard for the kids to leave the church where we have served, they are excited that we will soon be starting a new one.

We want to send special thanks to all who gave special Christmas offerings. This month, please pray:

1. That God will open doors and prepare hearts for the Gospel in San Pablo.

2. That God will save souls and draw others to be a part of our home Bible studies.

3. That God will bless our efforts and lay the groundwork for a Gospel preaching Baptist church in San Pablo.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and ElijahBlanz

December 2019 Prayer Letter

(This letter was written in December, but accidentally was not sent until now)

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that this letter finds you doing well. We have stayed busy here. Jeremy has continued to help with the visitation at the church. While we were visiting a few months ago, we met a teenager and his mother who were from Nicaragua. His mother called upon Christ to save her. Since then, she had to return to Nicaragua and left her son in the care of a church member. Since then, he has been very faithful in the church. Every week he has been excited to help us out in visitation. Although another family had to move away, the church has been growing. Jeremy has been been teaching on God's plan for the family as well as on the sufficiency of the Scriptures for faith and salvation. Jeremy has also been working on various materials for the current church and our next church plant. Near the end of the month, we were contacted by our lawyer about some issues with the religious association that was helping to sponsor us here in the country. We are praying about establishing one which will be sufficient for our church, other ministries, and even to help other missionaries with legal residency. We have gradually been shifting our focus more to our plans for the next church plant. Jeremy has been sharing our plans with others. There are now a few different churches that have expressed the desire to help. There are also two other families who are planning to help us with evangelism.

Last month was very busy for our family. Because we are still awaiting approval of legal residency, we had to take another short trip to Nicaragua. There is a small shack on the Nicaraguan side which serves food. While there, Jeremy was able to share the gospel with the people there. While we now feel like experts at border crossing, we look forward to no longer having to do it. The kids have been doing well. We had some sicknesses which made things more difficult, but we are better at the moment. Lila has been doing great in school and got excellent grades on her exams. Ellowyn has also been getting much better at her Spanish. Elijah has even surprised us with words we never taught him. At the moment, we are at home without a car. It is getting repaired from when a motorcycle hit us 6 months ago. We are still awaiting another replacement part from Japan.

This month, please pray:

1. That God use our ministry to save souls and add them to the church.

2. That God will help the church to mature spiritually and give them a burden for the lost.

3. That God will lead us as we make plans for the next church plant.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and ElijahBlanz