Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ from Belize!
O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 107:1
This is a time of thanksgiving not only in the United States, but also here in Belize. Not because of the special holiday called "Thanksgiving". No, that is not celebrated in Belize. But because the Lord has been gracious to his children and preserved the life of my dear wife Janis. About a month ago Janis was sitting at a meal with me when her vision suddenly went black. She went on to experience severe chest pains. This created a difficult situation since the local hospital does not even own a heart monitor. The best treatment option available to us was over the border in Mexico; however this was difficult as we don’t speak any Spanish. Nevertheless we were blessed with the help of local Belizeans who recommended doctors and transported us back and forth across the border many times and served as translators. Notably the help of a local pastor Ermilio Guerra and his family was key to our success as they would willingly drop everything day or night to rush Janis to the hospital in Mexico when necessary. Janis is doing much better now after experiencing some very difficult moments and I expect to see her back in action very soon.
There is even more to be thankful for here in Belize. Since hurricane Dean struck here late last August we have been concerned with trying to provide food to needy Christian families who were badly affected by the storm. We have been very blessed to see that other Christians also share this concern. This loving concern of Christians, one for another, is actually an evidence of our salvation. The Word of God states: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." (1 John 4:7) I am pleased to report that due to the love and generosity of Christians for other Christians over 3000 lbs of food have been distributed so far. Because the hurricane destroyed the large papaya crop here, many workers will continue to be out of work for many months. Organizations - like the Red Cross and others that came to help immediately after the storm - all left some time ago. However, we have received enough donations to continue the food distribution for the next two months and expect to bring the total amount of food distributed up to almost 9000 lbs. The only other person we know of who is still trying to help these people is a Christian man who has been coming up from Belmopan (central Belize) to help families put roofs back on their homes.
We also noticed that after the hurricane a local bank was offering 9% loans to parents so they would be able to purchase the necessary supplies to send their children to school. We have received a few of donations specifically for this and are helping Christian families with this need.
Thank you all for your prayers, love, encouragement and support. Indeed, there is much to be thankful for during this time of Thanksgiving!
Yours in the Lord Jesus Christ
Andrew & Janis Hill
Missionaries to Belize