Hi there from Belize!
It’s been awhile since my last update, but we’ve also been a bit distracted as we get ready for this baby. So I’m going to do my best to let you know what’s been going on with us over the past couple months, and what are plans for the near future.
I’ll start off with this pregnancy since it’s the main thing on my mind lately. God has blessed me with a very smooth pregnancy, especially for my first one! I was a little nervous about going through this for the first time so far away from family, but not only has it been relatively easy, but God has also given me plenty of people here in Belize who are happy to help (and are also very excited for the coming of our little Belizean baby). We’ve been able to see a wonderful doctor for this whole pregnancy, and she has guaranteed us that she will be the one delivering the baby as well. It’s coming up fast now!
Last week the ladies at St. Andrew’s church threw me a surprise baby shower. I had been having a rather bad day, I’ll blame it on hormones, and David said we could go on a walk in the evening, but to wear something nice. I assumed he was taking me out to dinner since the day had been so crummy. When we got near the community center and saw that the door was cracked we went over there to check it out. Now on one hand that sounds suspicious by itself (the ladies were concerned that gave it away), but we always check when the door is left open in case someone forgot to lock up. We were greeted with loud shouts of “Surprise!” and a fully decorated room, lots of food (pibil, yum!), and fun games. It was a wonderful time with the ladies! So much laughter, baby stories, and good advice. Our son is going to be surrounded by his very large Belizean family.
David and I then took a couple days for a “baby moon” as a sort of last chance to get away just the two of us. It was so relaxing and nice to spend time together. It also came at just the right time! During that trip I started to have some complications that made us decide to go in and see the doctor early when we got back. Normally I don’t like going in before my appointments because it usually turns out to be nothing, but not this time. After checking on me and the baby (he is perfectly healthy, praise God), she found out that my body was in fact trying to have this baby a bit early. Right now I’m at 34 weeks, and while he could be born now, she said for his safety and the due to the facility they have available it would be much better if he holds off for at least two more weeks, or longer if possible. So after some steroid shots for his lungs, anti-contraction medication, and house arrest/bed rest for the remainder of this pregnancy, we are now just praying and waiting for our son. Please continue to pray that he holds off for a couple more weeks. God has also blessed me with an amazing husband who has been not only doing all of his work, but also covering mine. Last night he even made brisket for dinner! Please pray for David as he serves here in his regular ministries, and helps me now that I’m stuck in bed. It’s a lot of extra time!
Unfortunately with this change in my pregnancy it has also meant discontinuing of a lot of my work here for the time being. Piano lessons are on hold, choir is on hold, David is now covering all the chapel services again, and since I’m not allowed out of the house, my church music ministry is also being covered. Thankfully God had already blessed us with the Hansens coming to live here! Not only are they thriving in their individual ministries, but they are also a huge blessing to us personally (willing to help whenever needed), and Evan has already been joining me on Sunday mornings for music, so God is making sure everything is covered. We were already anticipating this change in my ministry with the baby coming, it’s just a little sooner than we expected. Please pray that we can make all the transitions necessary with the coming of our son, as well as the transitions that will be necessary as we prepare for our “home ministry assignment” this summer. More on that in a little bit.
As far as other ministry things going on here, there’s a lot! We continue to have youth group every week, and while it can be a bit tiring, there are still lots of kids coming and we are planning our next service project, pre-summer fun activity, and youth retreat here in the next couple months. Working with youth has its ups and downs, but we can already see quite a few potential leaders growing in this group.
Earlier this month St. John’s Cathedral held a service for the licensing of lay minsters. While we had renewals of old licenses, we were also able to officially welcome two new young lay minsters for our churches. Both are doing extremely well in their work and are not only able to lead the service with confidence, but are also really leaning into ministry with extra services and pastoral visits in the community. Please pray for the whole ministry team in each church, but especially for these two girls. Pray that we can continue to build them up in their ministry, and that God will raise up even more laborers for the harvest.
As we’re coming to the end of March that has meant not only are we fully in the Season of Lent, but that we are already looking ahead to Holy Week and Easter. My favorite time of year in the church (it goes back and forth between Easter and Christmas). David has been working very hard to prep everything for Holy Week. Not only is it the busiest week in church, but with my due date being the following week, he has had to make sure that everything is ready in case he has to miss one or more of the services. We’re praying for that not to be the case, as it is also his favorite time in the church as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord.
While there are many more things in ministry going on here, it’s also hard to cover everything in one update. So I’m going to jump ahead to our Summer and Fall plans as they more directly involve you. David and I are planning our “home ministry assignment”, or our time in the States raising support and recharging as it were, to begin in mid-June and go until the end of November. On the one hand that sounds pretty long, but on the other, we have a lot of churches and people to visit across the entire country, all while traveling with a newborn. We will be contacting churches and people directly to setup times when we can visit you and your churches in person. We are very excited to share more about our ministry here, and what we believe God has planned for us here in the future. Please pray for us as we organize a very complicated, but exciting trip for the upcoming months. While we are definitely looking forward to seeing all of you, one of our main priorities is going to be raising money for the extra addition in our family. I would ask that you prayerfully consider supporting our family monthly, even before we come to visit you. We have had to get more ministry reimbursements lately, and while we are 100% trusting in God’s provisions, we are also asking you to consider partnering with us. If you know anyone who would like to support a missionary family, please feel free to share our information with them. We love adding people to our team! We might be the ones serving here in Belize, but you are just as much a part of our ministry as Senders and Prayer Warriors. I would also ask, for those of you who are already supporting us financially, that you prayerfully consider increasing your monthly gift to help support our son joining us in ministry here in Belize. Again, we are very much looking forward to sharing so much more with you in person, but we also know our time in the States will be limited.
We will see you all very soon! And while things are going to get busy quickly when we have this baby, I’ll make sure to keep you updated on his arrival! Thank you for your prayers and support!
Love,
Team Alenskis