July 21, 2022
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Belize! It is amazing to me how fast time flies by. It was really good to have Joel Smith and his son Jett here with us for a week at the end of May. They helped with some projects here and we showed them a little bit of Belize. It was good to get caught up with what is going on at CMTS in Pennsylvania.
We are very disappointed that the US government has not processed and granted transit visas for the Haitian interns nor for the Haitian work team. They tell us that the US embassy in Haiti will not allow anyone access. Everything in Haiti is such a struggle. These young men had worked very hard to raise the funds for their travel and submitted all of the required paperwork but there is no permission granted. We are all trusting in the Lord through these processes no matter what happens. In the meantime, Andy is discipling and working with one or two local young men (they do not come every day) on smaller maintenance projects and the rebuilding of the Toyota Rav 4 engine. The rebuild is taking a long time as we keep having to wait for the correct parts to be located.
Andy was sick the 3rd week of June. The neighbors had come down with a Covid 19 variant (the kids brought it home from school) and he had been with them the day before. He was out of commission for about 5 days. I thought for sure I would get sick too, but I was fine. I came down with bronchitis July 10th. The coughing and lack of good sleep was exhausting. I know we are loved here because every time we get sick our friends show up with their homemade remedies. They call it “bush medicine”. It is everything from chicken soup, including the feet, to home-brewed teas with lots of garlic, ginger, and lemon grass. It’s great stuff but I kept getting worse. I went to the doctor on the 14th and she prescribed an antibiotic and steroid treatment. Wow, now I feel like superwoman.
Ken Heberlig and his friend Jeff, arrived July 7th from New Jersey. They came to do an upgrade on our solar system. Two new panels were added to the roof. We now have eight and what a difference it has made. We were working at the maximum energy output before and on rainy days we would sometimes run out of power. Then they installed a smaller solar system at the workshop. It will run lights, fans, and small power tools such as drills and saws. Ken says we can even plug in an RV trailer there if we need to. What a great blessing this is for the ministry.
Andy and I do a lot of hosting here in Belize and it is really interesting who the Lord brings to our door. We have had some international guests including people from France, Canada, and South Africa. Then there are the local pastors and their families, fellow missionaries, neighbors, and friends from church. Recently, a number of families have moved to Belize from European Countries because the governments there are passing laws that are damaging for families. Basically, they are removing the rights of parents. I really enjoy this part of our ministry here. Our conversations are so interesting and often centered on what the Lord is doing in their lives.
In May, we started a large garden, as we were anticipating feeding the interns and those who help us with lots of fresh vegetables. It has been a real learning experience. The ground is fertile and the plants both good and bad grow well. So do the insects. I have come to the conclusion half of what we planted will be for the humans and the other half for the bugs! So far, we have planted sweet peppers, lettuce, zucchini squash, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, and sweet corn. I am already harvesting sweet peppers and lettuce. Andy has undertaken raising strawberries in our raised container beds. He had to build a protective screen covering to keep the cutter ants from carrying off our plants. It should do a good job of protecting the berries from the birds. We will keep you posted on the “strawberry war” and let you know who wins, the ants, the birds, or Andy!
Thank you for your support and prayers. May the Lord bless you.
Andy and Nancy Merrick
