Hello Everyone
In my last update I stated that the month of July had been rather routine. In hind sight that was just the calm before the storm. August has been a whirlwind of activity full of lifes ups and downs. There is no way I can begin to share it all with you in this newsletter.
As I sat here pondering what to highlight, I heard my husband’s voice calling me. He had gone out about 20 minutes ago to run the bushhog in the high grass. So I grab my hat and went outside to see what was going on. I could see the tractor in the distance and there he was walking towards me. So I asked “What’s up?” He replied something flew up, hit me in the side of my head and knocked the lens out of my eyeglasses. Are you joking me? Andy is nearsighted and without his glasses he can only see clearly what is right in front of his face. No, he wasn’t joking and he wanted me to go look for the lens.
Talk about a needle in the hay stack, or is it in the hay field! God is so good. I prayed and search for about 10 minutes and I was thinking it was hopeless when about twenty feet behind the where the tractor sat, I spotted something shiny. It was a piece of plastic and then I saw another shiny object, it was the eyeglass lens! Hallelujah
Last month, I introduced Jose Medina and Peter Enns and both of them have been a great encouragement to us in the ministry here. Peter and his family have been renting a house in a nearby community. The rent is a burden for them, so they are in the process of building a small wooden house on some property they have leased in Spanish Lookout. Last week, their landlord claimed that due to an error in the billing they now had a $1300 electric bill and 48 hours to pay it. This was a totally outrageous shock and they knew they had to get out of there by the end of the month. So after much hard work they have moved into the campers at the entrance to CMTS Belize where they plan to stay until they can get their house built. This is very primitive living. Please pray for the Lord’s protection and provision as they build their house.
Right after I sent off our last news update, we received a phone call from the Belize Department of Immigration notifying us that our applications for residency have been approved. They wanted us to come into the capital with a security bond and pay the fee of $2000 US per person. We got that accomplished a few days later. Praise the Lord we are officially residents of Belize! True to form, we do not actually have our resident cards in hand. The officials say it can take 3 or 4 months before they will have our cards, while their website says it takes one week! Ah, the slow pace of life in Belize!
In the CMTS shop, Jose is doing a beautiful job of rebuilding our 1986 Chevy pickup truck which had rusted out. This truck is very fuel efficient and will be a big blessing to have back in service again. Also, a church located in a rural village about 2 hours away from us is requesting to use one of our buses to bring their people to services. During 2019, Belize restricted people from traveling by bus and from large gatherings. So we had to park the buses. Belize is slowly recovering and it is good to have the bus in service again. After sitting for several years, the bus must be cleaned, mechanically checked over, insured, and registered for their use.
On August 30th, we were robbed again of our very valuable solar system at the campers. Two weeks earlier Ken Heberling had installed two new solar batteries. This is so discouraging to us and makes life challenging for Peter and his family. The police are investigating. It seems robberies are happening in the area. My daily scripture reading tells me I must trust God to handle what is impossible for me.
We are seeking to ship a sea container to Belize this fall. We have lots of goods stored in the CMTS Warehouse that need to come to Belize. This includes tools, household supplies, sewing material, hospital beds, auto parts, lawn mowers, etc.
We have a shipping quote of $5950, for delivery to the port of Belize. Transport to Buena Vista $500, estimated duty fee $5000. Project total: $11,450
Donations towards this project should be sent to the main office in Pennsylvania. Please state that the funds are for the Belize Shipment.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. Nancy, will be flying into JFK International Airport on Sept. 11th, for a month-long personal visit in PA and NJ. Pray for a safe flight and that Andy will manage well in Belize. We are thankful that Peter and Jose are serving here with him.
May the Lord Bless You and Keep You in His Perfect Peace
Blessings Nancy & Andy Merrick