Belize Missions

February 2008



Dear family & friends,
Greetings from sunny Belize! First of all, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to each of you who have reached out and ministered to the children and I in the three months since our beloved Brian went home to be with the Lord. I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we have received! Your prayers, emails, cards, letters, financial gifts (and even special cards for our son Cory) have carried us through this difficult time and have helped us find hope and joy in the midst of sorrow and pain. I also want to thank our financial supporters for your continued commitment to our family and to this work. At the present time, I believe the Lord has called me to stay in Belize to continue the work that Brian and I began, and so your support is very much needed and appreciated.
Needless to say the children are missing their dad. Cory often talks about what we would be doing if Dad were here now. As you may know, Cory's adoption was not yet complete before Brian's passing so I have to continue the process as a single parent. The lawyer says it will not be a problem since Cory has been in our home for some time and has already bonded with me. He is now seven and a half and continues to do well in grade two. He loves to read and learn and is as inquisitive as ever!. He sure misses his Dad's presence and the way he made learning fun. Brian was always willing to do research on the computer to find the answers to Cory's hundred and one questions such as 'who was Humpty Dumpty'. (Answer- a cannon!)
Ellie-Grace is a delightful 15 month old who unfortunately is missing her Dad too and who looks for him whenever the word 'Dad' is spoken. In recent months she has been plagued with ill health but fortunately a blood analysis helped pinpoint the problems and she has responded very well to treatment. Her aunt and uncle are considering adopting her and have visited her several times since December. The second time they came, Cory asked her uncle if they planned on teaching Ellie about the Bible and about Jesus. The uncle assured him they were going to teach her about Jesus which gave Cory peace about the situation. We are praying that God would help her relatives make the right decision. We want the best for Ellie and as much as we love her, we know that God sees the future and only He knows what is best for us all.
Being the only parent in the home sure makes a difference in my life. Between running the home and home schooling I find I have a full load to carry. I am learning to decide what priority is for now and what can be left for later. I was asked to continue to do the books for the church and am pleased that Brian had set up a very simple system on the computer which I have been able to learn and use.. Bit by bit I am delegating more and more since I find I can no longer manage all the things that Brian and I use to do for the church with my added responsibilities at home.
We have been blessed by many visitors since Brian's passing in November. We were so happy to have my sister Martha for Christmas and New Years and later in January my brother Dave and his family. In January, Jim Tucker from California came on a two week 'scouting mission' to see if this is the place to which God is leading him and his wife. End of February we're looking forward to seeing Pastor Sam from Chico who will be coming to support us while we do the outreach here in town. We are also counting the days til my sister Susan and her family come in early March.
I'm pleased to report that our church, Hillside Christian Fellowship, is holding its own. Sunday services are currently being led by Pastor Jim and Anna Mensie who weekly drive 3 hours to San Ignacio to minister to our little flock. We have been incredibly blessed by their loving service to our fellowship and their ministry to our family as we go through the grieving process. On February 23rd they will be leading an outreach into our community. As the team ministers music, puppets and clowns our prayer is that many will come to know the Lord as their Saviour. As well, each Wednesday night, Pastor Joel Meyers and his Youth group make the trip from Belize City to lead us in worship and studying the Word. It is great to see the willingness of the saints to clean the church as well as doing the yard work. We are still looking at buying chairs for the church and have been blessed as another church here in our town has allowed us to use their chairs until we get our own.
In closing I just want to again thank you all for your love and support- we could not have come through these last months without each one of you. We have a long way to go but know that our God is faithful and He still has a plan and purpose for our lives.
With love
Margaret, Cory and Ellie-Grace