October 2023 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

It is hard to believe that we are already in October. September is one of the busiest times of the year for us as we have both Children’s Day and Costa Rica’s Independence Day right after beginning a new school year. We have continued to proclaim the Gospel throughout San Pablo. We continue to preach and teach sound doctrine. We met one couple on visitation that is now attending with us on Tuesday nights. Jeremy also had an opportunity to preach at the language school where new missionaries learn Spanish before serving in their field of service. Unfortunately, our church van has continued to have several problems. We have now passed the window of time to have it pass inspection and we are no longer able to drive it. Yesterday, we had it looked at by another mechanic and we believe we may have found a problem that has eluded us for a long time. However, there will be significant costs. At this point, we are looking to sell it to someone who can fix it up. Jeremy has begun looking for another van and is considering all of the options.

September is also a very busy time for our family. We are now in the rainiest time of the year. That means lots of getting wet and setting our shoes out in front of fans to dry off before the next day. Michelle’s parents came down to visit us for a couple of weeks. We could not slow down, but they were able to help out in different ways. It is always good to see them. We were also able to celebrate the birthdays of both Jeremy and Lila. Lila is now 12 and Jeremy is one year older than he was before (now 39). The kids are doing well in school and are being stretched in different ways. Someone asked Elijah’s teacher what she did when the other missionary kids did not understand what she was saying in Spanish. She said that she has Elijah translate for her! It looks like he is getting a lot of experience from a young age! The girls also do a good job of bridging that gap between the Costa Ricans and other missionary children.

Before sharing our prayer requests, we would like to send special thanks to our sending church, West Jacksonville Baptist Church, as well as a supporting church in Tennessee that have sent special offerings to help purchase a van. Thank you! This month, please pray for the following:

1. That God will continue to save souls and add them unto the church.

2. That God will help our church to grow spiritually in both faith and in practice.

3. That God will lead us as we explore the options of getting another church van.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

September 2023 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that this letter finds you doing well. We expected for last month to be a month to be able to catch up on a few things. Instead, it was a difficult month. But God is good and continues to bless! We have continued to knock on doors and preach the gospel throughout San Pablo. We have continued to see new visitors. There is one new family that has become very faithful. We also now have 5 candidates for believer’s baptism and hope to meet with them individually as we plan a special baptism Sunday. On Tuesday evenings, Jeremy has been teaching through our church doctrinal statement. We also had a special mother’s day service. Last month, we asked for prayer for our church van. Unfortunately, it has continued to have problems. Despite various repairs, it has had consistent problems. If we cannot get it fixed to run properly and pass the emissions test, we may need to sell it and consider the possibility of buying a new church van that we can maintain and use for many years. Not only has the van been in and out of the shop, but we’ve also had our car in the shop for about a week and a half. As a result, it’s been a lot harder to get things done. Thankfully, the car is now out of the shop and working great again!

Last month was not only complicated due to vehicle issues, but it was also difficult for our family. One morning, Jeremy received word that his oldest brother David had passed away early that morning. Although his health had declined over the years, it was still unexpected. Jeremy then found a flight to visit his family and attend the funeral. When Jesus spoke of those who would leave their families for his name’s sake, He did not speak of it lightly, but rather as an example of one of the most difficult things that His disciples would do for His name’s sake. Without a doubt, the hardest thing about serving as foreign missionaries is not being able to be with one’s family. While Michelle cared for our children in Costa Rica, Jeremy spent a little extra time with His family in GA to try to support them however he could. It was good to see his family, though obviously difficult given the circumstances. We will miss David very much and trust that we will one day see Him again with the Lord. Upon returning to Costa Rica, Jeremy had to hit the ground running to catch up on things at the church. Near the end of the month, we celebrated Elijah’s 6^th birthday.

This month, please pray that God will strengthen both foreign missionaries and their families as they serve the Lord in foreign lands. Also, please pray for the following requests…

1. For our church plant in San Pablo, Costa Rica.

2. For more salvations, baptisms, and spiritual growth.

3. For us as we make decisions regarding the church van.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

August 2023 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family

We are a bit late getting our letter our this month, but we’ve got a bit more to share! Since our short trip to visit family last month, we have been going non-stop to prepare for hosting a missions group from our sending church. We bought some more chairs and a new table. We also installed another wall fan and installed two new windows for better ventilation. We cleaned up our church van and put in a new alternator within days of their arrival to make sure it was ready. Michelle was very diligent in planning details and working on the itinerary. Once the missions team arrived, we stayed very busy with various activities. They helped us with handing out tracts door to door as well as at the local farmer’s market. Our sending church pastor, Rodney Kelley, preached on Sunday morning as Jeremy translated. The teen group also sang on two different occasions. During our regular door to door evangelism one young man named Jeshua called upon Christ for salvation. We also have one young man named Ulises (pronounced Oo-lee-ses) who has expressed his desire to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. We also had a few church members express desire to serve the Lord in the local church. Please pray for them! We also held our second and third English services with new visitors each time. There was one new family from the US as well as a new Costa Rican couple.

As for our family, it was good to see pastor Kelley, and the missions group from our home church. Some of the teenagers were part of our junior church many years ago. It is a blessing to see them serving the Lord and seeking His will for their lives. Our kids really enjoyed spending time with them. When they weren’t involved in church or handing out tracts, we were able to take them to the pacific coast as well as to the Irazú volcano. On the way up to the volcano our church van overheated on two occasions and we could not proceed any further. Thankfully, we were able to find alternative transportation and make it to the volcano just in time before it was closed. Michelle and a church member were able to bring them back by way of a couple of trains. Thankfully, Jeremy was able to get the vehicle home without much trouble. Lord willing, Jeremy will bring it to a mechanic tomorrow to determine what is causing the problem. We really hope it isn’t too serious (or expensive!).

This month, please pray for the following requests:

1. That the Lord works in the lives of those mentioned who received Christ or are taking steps of obedience.

2. That the Lord continue to build up His church in San Pablo.

3. That the van repairs will not be too expensive or hinder its use in bringing people to church.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

July 2023 Prayer Letter

 Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that you had a happy 4^th of July! We began last month by making a few changes to our new location for the church. We bought and assembled shelving as well as some new chairs and other things. We also held our first monthly English service. We saw some new visitors including a few who had not attended church in nearly 20 years! We hope to see a few more new faces next time. We have continued our regular visitation and one lady named Theres (like Theresa) received Christ as Savior. We also completed lots of preparation for a brief US trip. Initially, Jeremy was scheduled for Jury duty (Yes, missionaries can be summoned for jury duty if they maintain a US license). We were able to also visit family, friends, and our home church. This was an important step for the church to be able to continue in our brief absence. Jeremy prepared one man to take the bus route. Michelle prepared lessons and materials for two women to take the children’s Sunday School class. Jeremy also prepared one man who has some theological training to lead the services and preach a couple of times. We have also had to copy keys, prepare bank accounts and other things. Even when not there in person, Jeremy kept contact with the church and provide guidance as needed. While in the US, Jeremy has been working with pastor Kelley from our home church to coordinate the plans for the youth group trip to Costa Rica in August. Jeremy was also able to give a brief ministry report and preach on a Sunday night.

Although we stayed busy, last month was a nice change of pace for our family. Elijah graduated from kindergarten and the girls got straight As in their classes. Once we came to the US, it was good for them to spend some time with friends and family in the US. They were even able to attend one VBS. What a blessing it was to attend church together as a family. Normally, we are the ones serving before, during, and after every service. What a blessing it is to be ministered to by others. This happens in churches all over the US every week – May we never take this for granted! We were also able to spend time with our families. We often go years without being able to see them… so we value every opportunity to spend time with them.

We are so thankful for all of you who pray for us regularly. This month, please pray:

1. That God will work in the hearts of the youth who will visit us on a short term trip next month.

2. That God will continue to save souls and add them unto the church.

3. That God will continue to care for our families in the US while we serve the Lord abroad.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

June 2023 Prayer Letter

 Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that every one of you are doing well. Last month was a pretty good month. Early in the month, the building owner confirmed that we could rent a larger location in the same building for the same price. We began making plans to change locations at the time of our next rent payment. We had to do a little work to repair the walls and paint them, among a few other things. We had to rent some scaffolding for a day to repair the high ceiling and paint it afterwards. We then had to move everything over as quickly as possible to turn over the keys to the old location. We then settled things into place for our first service. Our first Sunday we had a good turnout, but unfortunately it was a bit hotter with less air flow. We then installed 2 out of the 3 wall fans that we purchased. Last week, we had several new visitors and had a new high attendance of about 52 people! Michelle said that the kids class areas were just about full. We are still getting settled in and will work out how to better use the new area. This month, we are preparing to hold our first English church service as a trial. Apart from Belize, whose official language is English, Costa Rica has the highest English proficiency in Central America. There is a high demand to learn and practice English as well as a significant population of foreign residents who speak English and do not have a place to attend church. We hope to be able to minister to them as well as reach out to Costa Ricans who are learning the language. Many have expressed interest and we are praying for a good turnout. Our goal is to glorify God buy using our talents to proclaim the Gospel and ministry to as many people as possible.

Our family has been doing well, although we have been super busy. The kids are doing well in school and are near the end of their school year. The girls were able to opt-out of some of their final exams because of their high grades. Elijah was chosen to speak a portion in Spanish at his kindergarten graduation. Once school gets out, we are looking forward to taking a short trip to see our family. We have been working to prepare the church to continue on in our absence.

Last month, we requested prayer for Mrs. Liliam. Thankfully, she has been making progress towards recovery and is feeling a lot better than she has in several months. However, she is still not yet 100% and we continue to lift her up in prayer. In addition to praying for her, please pray:

1. For the Holy Spirit to work in hearts, to convict of sin, and to lead others to faith in Christ.

2. For Jesus to continue to build up His church here in San Pablo, Costa Rica.

3. For God to guide and protect the church during our brief absence.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

May 2023 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

It seems like we just sent our last prayer letter! Last month was a pretty good month. The week preceding Easter is known as Semana Santa (Holy Week). We had a church family movie night and for Easter we had an early sunrise service with a breakfast and fellowship time. In the latter part of the month, we worked hard to get caught up on a lot of things. We are now looking at taking a few more steps forward. We have continued to preach the Gospel from door to door in San Pablo. We have seen some visitors. On Sundays, Jeremy is preaching a sermon series on “Foundations” of the faith and on Tuesday night he is teaching a series on personal evangelism. Last night we had a practice or “role-playing” session. It was good to see many people practice sharing the Gospel with others. We have finally been able to split our children’s Sunday school class. Michelle teaches the younger kids and a faithful man named Alberto is teaching the older kids and teens. Generally speaking, we have seen some increase in faithfulness, which is encouraging. One lady has recently expressed her desire to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. Jeremy has also been counseling a couple on family/marriage issues. Most Sundays recently we are nearly full, and we are looking at possibly moving into a larger space in the same building for the same price. Jeremy has also had to do some work to fix the church bathroom sink as well as fix a problem on the church van. There is always so much to do, but it is encouraging to see how we are moving forward!

As for our family, we stay very busy. The kids are doing well in school and are constantly improving their Spanish. They are usually able to “bridge the gap” between the Costa Rican kids and the children of missionary families. Last month, they had Spring Break and we were able to take a day trip together. In the Summer, we are planning a short trip to see our families. Unfortunately, there seems to have been a problem with the renewal of the passports because only Elijah’s passport has arrived. We are working to figure out what is going on with that. We are also waiting for our renewed residency cards which are already about 2 months beyond when they were supposed to arrive. God is very good at teaching us patience!

Last month, we asked for prayer for a lady at our church named Liliam. Thankfully, she has made some improvement, but still needs a lot of prayer. This month, please pray:

1. For Liliam’s health to continue to improve.

2. For God to continue saving souls and add them unto His church.

3. For God to continue to raise up laborers within the church.

4. For God to work out any complications with our passports and residency IDs.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz

April 2023 Prayer Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Last month was another busy month. We were able to get some work done on the church van, then schedule another appointment for the inspection. A few days before it was canceled and we were told we can wait until September. So that’s a blessing! We also were able to present all of our documents to renew our legal residency and it appears that we will be granted another 2 years. We also took a trip to the US embassy to renew some passports. In the church, we have seen some positive signs. Despite several people being out sick, we were nearly full on a few Sundays. We’ve seen some visitors and one lady has been coming very faithfully. Some have been getting involved in helping in different ways. Michelle is also getting some help in the children’s class, so that is encouraging! Jeremy also had the privilege to preach to the missionary students at the language school on two occasions. It is a great opportunity to encourage new missionaries and pass on some of what we have learned. We have also been planning for a short trip to the states in June to visit our families. We are also working on plans to host a team from our home church in August.

Apart from all of the appointments in government offices, our kids have been very busy with school. All three of our kids have had to do special projects for a science fair. They all did a great job. In the church they’ve also been helpful. Ellowyn usually makes the coffee. She also has expressed desire to help teach the small kids in Sunday school. Lila helps to set up. She has also been practicing a song to sing with us. They both take care of the small kids during our Tuesday night Bible studies. Elijah helps out from time to time. In the week before Easter, we had a break long enough to take a day and do a little hiking. On the 13th, Michelle and I (Jeremy) celebrated 14 years of marriage! It is amazing how much time flies! God is good!

Last month, we asked for prayer for Lilliam. Earlier in the month, she fell at church and we had to call paramedics. Thankfully, she had no serious injuries. In the following weeks, she showed some improvements! We keep praying and see what the Lord will do. We are also thankful that over the months a few churches have increased our support. Compared to June of last year, for every $100 we get $23 less in local currency. On top of that, we have seen inflation on par with the US. So, we are really thankful for that extra support. This month, please pray:

1. That God will help Lilliam to recover and give God the glory.

2. That God will continue to save souls and add them unto the church.

3. That God will continue to raise up laborers for His harvest here in Costa Rica.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, Ellowyn, and Elijah Blanz