We are once again at the end of the year and another year on the mission field. We would like to thank everyone who has been praying for us and helping us financially to be here doing God’s ministry. As we reflect over the last 15 years, we remember the good times and the bad. The Devil has tried to stop us many times from doing God’s will in this country. Graciously, our great Saviour has helped us to continue doing God’s will.
This year especially has been a good year. We have seen a lot of people saved and baptized. Many new families have joined our church. There are many needs that come along with these blessings. We need help with the teen department and music department. We are asking the Lord to send people to us who are willing to labor alongside us and fulfill these needs. The two main languages we speak here are English and Spanish. English is the native tongue, but a good percentage of the people where we are speak Spanish. There is a great need for co-laborers. Perhaps the Lord would lay it upon your heart to visit or help in these areas. Please pray. If you would consider coming, please send me an email at israel.alvarez@fbmi.org, send me a text message, or talk your pastor. If you are calling from the USA, my number is 011 501-613-1148. I also have a WhatsApp account with the same number.
In October, we had our 15th anniversary. This year was quite unusual. We almost canceled the conference due to a severe tropical storm. It was pouring rain for many days before the conference. Since our guest speaker was here and we had already promoted the conference, we went ahead with the plans. The buses still ran, and we had 185 people come on Sunday night. The Lord miraculously stopped the rain for the few hours of services that night. Our hearts were rejoicing, and we saw the hand of God. Three people trusted Christ and were baptized. Thank you for your prayers.
In November, we were able to host a trimonthly Youth Rally with like-minded churches. Some teens from the other churches were able to preach for a few minutes. That was an encouragement to our teens. As we often do, we ask you to pray that we can started a Bible college for these young people who are giving their lives for Christ.
We would like to thank Faith Baptist Church in Wildomar, California, and Calvary Baptist Church in La Puente, California, for donating toys for the kids for Christmas. We are very thankful for their love for the kids of Belize. We will be giving these toys out at our annual Christmas Banquet.
Our family is doing well. Isabella seems much better after her recent bout of illness. We appreciate so much all of the prayers for her health. Our youngest, Timothy, just turned five! This brings us to a new stage of life with all of the children now in school. Tonya is certainly busy with all the homeschool preparations and teaching.
From our family, we would like to wish you a wonderful Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year.
In Christ,
Israel Alvarez
