October 2020 Prayer Letter

 

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that each of you are doing well! According to the New York Times, Costa Rica has the 9th highest number of new COVID cases in the world per 100,000 residents. Thankfully, there seems to be a slight reduction in new cases over the last few days. Things are gradually opening back up. Unfortunately, until our legal residency process is completed and our religious association is approved, we cannot get permits needed to hold services in a rented building. We have looked for closed church buildings to rent which would already have permits... but to no avail. We have sought after local event halls, but the few that are nearby are all closed. We have even contacted every church that is nearby with the hopes to be able to rent the use of their building on a day when it is not used... all with no success. Instead, we have found that many other established churches are struggling with the same issues. Some have already lost their buildings. Others are unable to meet in the buildings that they have due to lack of permits and increased government enforcement. We then made plans to hold "Bible studies" and "prayer meetings" in our home as we did before the pandemic. We did a trial run service with our family with others attending virtually in Zoom and Facebook live. We did not use a microphone or external speaker beyond the projector. After the service we found out that our neighbor has contacted the neighborhood association and threatened to call the police on us. This was extremely discouraging as it seemed like our last option. Through a highly unusual circumstance, Jeremy was able to speak with the chief of police. After discussing the situation, we learned that it is precisely because we are not yet formally identified as a church that we are able to hold such meetings in our home without the risk of government closure. This last week we held our first "normal" service with Zoom and Facebook integration. Not only did our neighbor NOT call the police as she threatened (to our knowledge), but she has made comments to the neighborhood association that she felt the need to change in some ways. Among other blessings, the work has continued to grow and one man named Alonso prayed to receive Christ as Savior.

Family life has continued to be unusual. School classes has been canceled for the rest of the year. For Lila's 9th birthday we were able to take her to visit a coffee farm. Ellowyn will be turning 7 this month. Where does the time go? Elijah has been making great progress on his Bible verses. He has now memorized Bible verses for the letters A-H. The girls have also been able to receive some tutoring in Spanish which is very helpful during this time when they rarely go out. All in all we are so ready for things to get back to normal.

This month, please pray:

1. That our legal residency and religious association will be approved so that we may get the required permits.

2. That we may keep moving forward and see an even faster expansion of churches being planted.

3. That God will use us to help see more souls saved and disciples made for Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

September 2020 Prayer Letter

 Dear Friends and Family,

We are now in full blown rainy season here in Costa Rica. As for the pandemic, new cases are still increasing faster than ever. We are presently in what is called a transition phase, but churches should be able to begin holding in-person services soon. We have a few obstacles that we are trying to work around. We are still awaiting the approval of our legal residency as well as the religious association which is necessary to exist as a church and not face government closure. Because of this, we are having to be both wise and creative in finding ways to move forward. Who ever said that planting a church during a pandemic would be easy? We have continued developing our online services and outreach. Jeremy has been preaching a series on "Jesus, The Savior" as well as teaching through the doctrines of the Holy Spirit. We have continued to see slow and steady growth. Michelle has kept busy in developing the ladies ministry. We have seen continual growth in the ladies ministry and have heard great feedback from some who have been attending. She has also been holding virtual children's classes which have also seen growth. We were also very excited that one of the first members of our first church in Nicaragua will be sent out in January with her husband to plant a new church in Northern Nicaragua. What a blessing! They have not only received the Gospel but are now multiplying the Gospel ministry through national church planting. Please pray for them.

As expected, the COVID pandemic has been challenging for our family and other families around us. Jeremy has been able to help some other needy families with food during this time. Michelle stays very busy with all of the homeschooling she does for our girls. She is actually doing both the local schooling in Spanish as well as a homeschool program in English. Between caring for the kids, schooling the kids, and doing lots of the ministry, it seems like the days just don't have enough hours to get it all done! But we are glad to see that they are both doing very well, despite the difficulties. Near the end of last month, we celebrated Elijah's 3rd birthday. It was a bit unusual to celebrate with only our immediate family, but that's just part of how life is at this time. During our nightly devotionals, Jeremy is now teaching him Bible verses for children from A to Z. This was a blessing for our girls and he has been enjoying learning these Bible verses as well.

As a result of the pandemic, we have seen a decrease in our support level. We are extremely grateful for all who have supported our ministry and for those who sacrifice in order to keep doing so. Please know that we are praying for you during this time as well. This month, please pray:

1. That God will help us to reach more souls for the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. That God will continue to build and establish His church here in San Pablo, Costa Rica.

3. That God will strengthen and provide the needs of churches in the USA and continue sending forth laborers into His harvest!

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

August 2020 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family, 

Greetings from Costa Rica! We hope that you are doing well. Here, in Costa Rica, we are in the midst of the second wave of COVID-19. Unfortunately, the lockdown rules are stricter than they ever were before, but we are doing our best to keep pushing forward. Nearly all businesses and commerce has been closed apart from essentials like food and medicine. We presently have 1 week of opening phase before 2 more weeks of closure phase. Jeremy has continue to teach and preach 2-3 times per week. He has also been increasing our online outreach. Michelle has been organizing ladies meetings which have increased in attendance. She has also been holding online kids classes which are also growing. Jeremy has begun to get the men involved in planning for creative and innovative forms of outreach during this time. He has also been able to help others with food during this time.

As for our family life, COVID-19 has changed many things. For one, it has been about 5 months since we have been able to leave the house regularly. Our kids have continued to do their schooling online. Elijah has recently started his most basic level homeschool. We have really had to be creative to find opportunities to get the kids out of the house to get a little sun and exercise. Jeremy and Elijah were able to get much needed haircuts during the one week open phase. We are really looking forward to when things are able to open up again. We are very thankful that we were able to have the opportunity to begin the ministry here in San Pablo for a little over a month before the pandemic hit Costa Rica. Thankfully, all of that hard work and momentum gave us just enough of a start to form a core group for the church plant that has stuck with us during this time.

Although the situation has been tough, we are thankful that God has been good to us. We are still on the mission field and we are still able to do the work. This month, please pray:

1. That God will help us to be innovative in reaching people with the Gospel, despite the obstacles to ministry.

2. That God will help us to reach more souls for Christ.

3. That God will continue to establish the new church plant here in San Pablo, Costa Rica.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

July 2020 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope and pray that each of you are doing well. Here in Costa Rica, we are facing a second wave of the virus that is much worse than the first. Within a few days of allowing churches to hold services, the government went back on reopening for most of the country. Those that can hold services have very strict rules and most people are not comfortable with attending. We have continued to hold online services during this time. Last month, Michelle organized the first ladies meeting for our church plant. There 13 present including a 3 girls and several visitors. This month, they have planned another ladies meeting. Jeremy has continued to preach 2-3 times per week. Jeremy is currently learning to use a new streaming software which should help us do better online services and outreach. In light of the present government restrictions and the current trajectory of the situation, it appears that online services may be our only way to meet for quite a while. The church in Nicaragua has also faced a very tough time. The government has done very little to limit the spread of the virus. Hospitals are overwhelmed. The economy is suffering tremendously. We have been able to help with some economic relief during this time.

As for our family, it has now been nearly 4 months since we have been able to leave the house regularly. Our kids have continued to do their home studies, and currently have a brief mid-year vacation from classes. It has been a little bit of relief to not be so busy doing home school on top of everything else that we do for a little while. We have had to be creative to find places where the kids can play outside due to most places being closed. Michelle has been working with another lady and will be holding our first virtual Sunday school class for children. This has given us one more form of outreach for our ministry.

As we continue to move forward in these uncertain times, we know that we must trust the Lord every step of the way. Are you pray for us, please know that we are praying for you as well. This month, please pray:

1. That God continue to remove obstacles to ministry and outreach here in Costa Rica.

2. That God will bless our efforts to bring the Gospel to the community.

3. That God will continue to establish His church here in San Pablo, Costa Rica!

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

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