Logston (Belize) Update – January 2024

J4 January 2024 Newsletter

Jesus, Take the Wheel

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

We pray you and your family had wonderful Christmas celebrations! May the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love of Christ shine in you and through you throughout 2024. Thanks for checking out our latest newsletter!

Greetings dear friends in Christ,

What does a normal day for a boots-on-the-ground, Belizean missionary look like?

We get this question quite often, so let’s dive in!

First, “normal”? LOL! There’s no such thing.

Second, make sure you DO have boots, because it gets muddy.

Have you heard the country song, “Jesus, Take the Wheel”? That’s what we have to do every day. We often start our days thinking, “We have to do this” or “We need to do that”, but God quickly reminds us that we have to surrender and submit to His plan for our day.

A recent example: we had 20 hours of notice to drive our fellow missionary family, the Flores’ (Pastor Benjamin, Karina, almost 3-year-old Lukas, and almost 3-month-old Matheo), from Camp Concordia, Belize to Chetumal, Mexico. It’s about a four-hour drive each way, not including the border crossings. We’d never made this journey before and were apprehensive about how Malachi would do being stuck in his car seat for this long (among other things). Thanks be to God that, overall, things went smoothly.

Baby Matheo was an excellent passenger during the drive from Camp Concordia to Chetumal.

Since we mentioned little Matheo Flores, here’s an update/recap on his situation:

Matheo was born October 19 in Belmopan, but had major complications during the delivery. He was immediately ambulanced to Belize City and placed in a NICU until November 15. Praise God he is doing much better, but his left arm isn’t moving, possibly due to nerve damage suffered during the delivery. The family needed to visit Mexico City to see specialists regarding Matheo, as well as procure his passport (his parents are Bolivian and Norwegian). Their original flight from Belize City to Panama was cancelled due to the grounding of the 737 Max8 airplanes. Thankfully, they found a flight through Chetumal and safely arrived in Mexico City.

Fellowship + Food + Fun = Thanksgiving at Camp Concordia

On Thanksgiving, we were blessed to share a traditional Thanksgiving meal with some of our local workers and their families! It was a wonderful time, and we are so grateful for all they do for our communities and for us.

In December, we celebrated our first graduates of the new ESL program in Valley of Peace! Miss Jordan (top) is very proud of her students.

Eight students graduated from the first year of ESL classes offered in Valley of Peace! Here is a message from Miss Jordan:

“Our first year of ESL in Valley of Peace was INCREDIBLE! We learned so much about the needs within the community. The students worked hard on their weekly homework and found opportunities to practice their English with others in this Spanish-speaking community. I am proud to share that eight students graduated from the program and received a certificate of completion on December 22nd during the Preschool Christmas Program/Worship Service (learn more about this below). The students have more vocabulary and are speaking English more clearly and confidently. We look forward to see how God uses this service to shine HIS light in 2024. Thank you all for your prayers and support for English classes in Valley of Peace, Belize.”

Go Tell it on the Mountain!

Jordan and I had the honor of playing Mary and Joseph in the first Preschool Christmas Program at El Buen Pastor Lutheran Church. Malachi also dressed up as a shepherd and did great while his parents were “acting”. The students of Little Lambs Preschool were the real stars of the program. They did great with the three scenes Pastor Benjamin directed, as well as singing and signing, “Go Tell It on the Mountain”. They really lit the fires in our hearts to do exactly that: tell the world about the birth of the Messiah, the best gift ever. We praise God that El Buen Pastor was packed on this special evening, enough so that several people were standing outside to witness the story!

Christmas Eve Candlelight service at El Buen Pastor Lutheran Church.

We had both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services at El Buen Pastor. After the Spanish Christmas Eve service, the congregation had dinner and fellowship together. It was another wonderful opportunity to be in relationship with our Lord and with Belizean brothers and sisters. Malachi even helped pass out tamales!

On Christmas Day, we had service in English and afterward, sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus and had cake!

Having some ocean fun!

Another bright “God Wink” we had over the holiday season was an opportunity to take one of Jordan’s ESL students and her three girls to see the ocean – for the first time! This dear family fled from El Salvador six years ago during the Civil War, settling in Valley of Peace, Belize. Since living in Belize, they have never had an opportunity to take the 1.5-hour drive to see the ocean. The day was all smiles and pure joy! The youngest could not stop saying “¡Mamá, es hermosa!” (“Mama, it’s beautiful!” in Spanish) on the drive as we approached the ocean. We thank God for the opportunity to share the gift of travel with this sweet family and for the mission van being available for us to take this day trip together.

Jordan and Malachi getting the word out about the next round of ESL classes!

Jordan led a successful ESL Open House last weekend to recruit students for the upcoming year and kick off 2024. Last year, Pastor Benjamin led the Open House. However, with his absence, we needed to “roll with it” – we did mention there is no such thing as a normal day. We had about ten people attend as Jordan was able to effectively communicate all of the details in Spanish! There were also snacks and Jordan’s well-known Sweet and Spicy Tea (thanks to her mom). Jordan shared with me on the drive home that she was so nervous she almost fainted during her presentation. Next steps are placement assessments for the new students and then classes will begin!

We are excited for our new and returning students!

Prayers

That the Flores family receives clear answers from specialists about Matheo’s left arm, and that his passport is processed as smoothly as possible for a dual-citizenship family.
Prayers of healing for Justin, as he is dealing with two skin maladies: contact irritant dermatitis and dyshidrotic eczema. Also for safe travel in early February as he attends the Honduras Foro.
For the many attendees of the Christmas Services – that hearts would continue to be stirred to know and follow Jesus.
For the 2024 ESL Program and that students will be as passionate about learning English as the 2023 students.

Thank you for taking the time to hear how God is working through our family in Belize. As you read, mission work is not a 9-5 job. It’s 24/7 and we are thankful for the opportunity to serve our Belizean brothers and sisters.

Vivit,

J4 – Jesus, Jordan, Justin & Jamie Malachi

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