September 2017 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

Last month was a very special month for us. As the month progressed, we had more and more visits to the capital city of Managua for Michelle’s prenatal doctor appointments. We also had to get prepared for a newborn baby. On Saturday, August 26^th, our first baby boy, Elijah Nathaniel Blanz, was born. Thankfully, he and Michelle are both now healthy and doing great. Lila and Ellowyn are also very excited to have a little brother. Since then, we have been busy with other appointments. Since he will have dual citizenship, we are working to get both his passports and legal documentation from both the Nicaragua and United States governments. In early September, we are awaiting a visit from Michelle’s parents. It will be a very special trip for them to meet their first grandson. We are all looking forward to the trip.

Since the 2 year anniversary of the church plant, we have continue to see the church grow and strengthen. Pastor Berner and his wife Alma are doing a great job. Later this month, they will take a short trip to another city to help evangelize and area where a young Bible Institute graduate will begin planting a church. During this time, Jeremy will do a little more around the church. Other than that, Jeremy has been trying to work himself out of a job. We will be leaving for furlough in December and we want the church to be ready to keep pushing forward. Pastor Berner recently began a home outreach to hold in-home evangelistic services in different parts of the city. He has a great vision and will do a great job even after we leave. He also organized a “Soup and Sale” event at the church to raise funds for the building project. The other day on visitation, Jeremy spoke with a woman named Elsa who said she knew she would go to Hell. Jeremy explained to her that her only hope is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. She did not yet receive Christ that day, but the seed was planted. Please pray for her. Jeremy has continued making plans for furlough. We now have a few more meetings on the schedule. We have made our furlough schedule available to our supporting churches at “blanz2Nicaragua.blogspot.com” and under the tab “our schedule.”

This month, we intend to get our legal residency extended to 5 years. This is very important as it affects our furlough from March until October. After this, we will book more meetings. This month, please pray:

1. That God convict and save Elsa and others who have heard the Gospel preached clearly.

2. That God will help our residency extension to get approved without delay or problems.

3. That Michelle will have a great recovery from giving birth last month.

In Christ,

Jeremy, Michelle, Lila, and Ellowyn Blanz