July 2017 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

Last month was a very busy month here in Nicaragua. Early in the month, we held a special service for “Children’s Day,” which is a national holiday here in Nicaragua. We had about 150 people in attendance, including about 110 children and teenagers. Near the end of the month, we held a special Father’s Day service. There were about 120-130 people present, and 2 made professions of faith. Although many people come and go with time, we were thankful for one new family who began attending very faithfully and even helping out around the church. Jeremy has been using the remaining months here to help ground the church doctrinally. He started a series on the study of the Holy Spirit. Many people have been left very confused on this topic, and it is a great opportunity to reinforce biblical teaching. There has been much interest, and we are excited to see the people gain a biblical understanding of the Holy Spirit. We are pushing on in all of the local church ministries. One family recently opened up her home for us to host a teen service in their neighborhood. We are thankful for that. We have enjoyed seeing how God is building His church.

Instead of celebrating Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Children’s Day all separately, Lila and Ellowyn’s school held a special “Family Day.” We enjoyed getting to see Lila and Ellowyn singing their songs in Spanish. Many people are surprised to hear how fluent Lila has become. Last month, we also began making more preparations for the baby to be born in August as well as setting up meetings for furlough. We have contacted nearly all of our supporting churches in the South. We are waiting a couple more months for our residency to get extended before calling all of the remaining churches up North. You can view our current furlough schedule at Blanz2Nicaragua.blogspot.com and by clicking the tab that says, “Our Schedule.”

We are thankful for all of your prayers and support. This month, will you please pray for the following?

1. That God keep His hand upon Michelle and the baby during the last 2 months of pregnancy.

2. That God continue to use His church here to see souls saved and lives changed.

3. That God will give us wisdom as take the next steps in the church building process.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, and Ellowyn Blanz