Starting off the year the right way!
January was another wonderful month with our youth. We laid a solid foundation by starting the year with a study on salvation. Through this, we wanted to ensure that no one's salvation was taken for granted, to help them develop greater confidence, and to equip them to share their faith more effectively with those around them. In March, we looked at the groups unreached with the Gospel in South America and challenged our youth with four Bible passages about our role in missions.
In our youth group, several birthdays fall in January. So we celebrated a lot, and there was cake almost all month long! First, there were Isabelle and Andrej the first week, then a week later it was Veronika's turn. The following week, just before we left, it was Rosalie. There was a week off, and Samko, Terezka's brother, celebrated his birthday at the beginning of February. A small, practical gift linked to a verse and our wishes that God would help them grow in the coming year accompanied them all.
Speaking of Veronika, her mother underwent several weeks of chemotherapy and surgery related to her cancer. Let us continue to pray for her health and salvation.
Keep Andrej and Silvia in your prayers; they are taking care of the youth in our absence. We are doing all we can to support them remotely, including recording video studies so they can then present them to the youth group when needed. Andrej's schedule as a caregiver has prevented him from being with the youth group occasionally. He recently requested to be off for all youth groups at least until June. Upon receiving his schedule for March, we were excited to see that he was off work every week on the day of youth group! Praise the Lord!
A faithful God
This year, as almost every year, God has allowed us to finish the year with 100% of our support. He has always provided financially or otherwise, and we praise Him for that. We also thank all of you who have contributed financially to God's work here.
God and His perfect timing
Those who receive our regular emails (if you'd like to join, contact us by email at the end of this letter) have seen how God has provided for our needs just at the right time, never late, even recently.
We had already received two offers for vehicles for our trip to North America, but with some challenges. In January, God found us the perfect vehicle, right here in Quebec City! Every complication we had with the previous offers was resolved by this vehicle—praise God! Then, we needed a mattress, and within 24 hours, God found us one, along with a bed frame, with delivery included!
The next item might surprise you, but we are grateful to the Lord that our van in Slovakia broke down four days before our departure for Canada. We are grateful to the Lord that things happened the way they did! On the way to the airport four days later, it would have been disastrous. If I hadn't gone to the garage on Tuesday with our coolant leak problem, this breakdown would likely have happened Sunday morning on the way to Vienna Airport. For this, and for His hand that we saw intervening in several different ways throughout this misadventure/blessing, we praise Him, we thank Him.
Our mechanic, a brother in the Lord, inspected the extent of the damage. Something came loose internally and traveled at high speed, breaking the oil pan from the inside, among other things.
His final verdict is that the van will unfortunately need a new engine. According to his estimate, for a remanufactured engine installed, the bill would be around 6,000 euros (almost 10,000 Canadian dollars), with a 1.5-year warranty. A used engine in Slovakia, while cheaper, would only have a two-week warranty, and odometers are very often tampered with to show a much lower mileage than the actual reading. For this reason, to avoid potential short- to medium-term repairs on an engine with an unknown history, a remanufactured engine seems the best option. We will have a warranty and a much longer lifespan for our vehicle, which is otherwise in very good condition.
Let us pray together for the Lord's guidance and provision in this situation, both for us and for the garage. Let us also praise Him, for things could have been much worse.
Coming to a church near you
On Sunday, February 1st, we arrived in Quebec City and began visiting churches the following Sunday. Here is our schedule for February and March:
-Sunday, February 8th: Chauveau Evangelical Church, Quebec City
-Friday, February 13th: Youth Group, Brethren Assembly, Lévis;
-Sunday, February 15th: New Horizon Church
-Friday, February 20th: Youth Group, New Horizon Church
-Sunday, February 22nd (morning): St. George's Evangelical Baptist Church
-Sunday, February 22nd (evening): Brethren Asssembly, Lévis
-Friday, February 27th: Youth Group, St. George's Baptist Church
-Sunday, March 1st: Lotbinière Evangelical Christian Group
-Friday, March 6th: Youth Group, New Horizon Church
-Sunday, March 8th: Cap-de-la-Madeleine Brethren assembly
-Sunday, March 15: Hope and life assembly, Quebec City
-Sunday, March 22, Evangelical Baptist Church, Trois-Rivières;
-Sunday, March 29, Evangelical Church of the Etchemins, Charny
All our Sundays are filled-up, but we are more than willing to do something at another time during the week. We would be happy to come, whether it's for a youth group or a prayer meeting. Traveling does not scare us! Just let us know, and we will visit you with great joy whenever possible. We are here to serve, just like when we are in Slovakia!
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers during our many trips.
Loved ones
Although we are sad to leave our loved ones in Slovakia behind, we are blessed to be able to spend precious time with our loved ones in Quebec. In Quebec, people celebrate Christmas in July as a tradition, but we had Christmas in February with our family!
We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity these months in Quebec give us to take care of our parents and for our children to spend quality time with their grandparents.
God bless you and
we look forward to seeing you soon!
Philippe and Isabelle Bélanger
Our support comes only through churches and individuals that God puts at heart to encourage us financially.
We do not receive any support from other organizations or missionary groups.
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