December 2015 Update
This is the most wonderful time of the year. What a year it has been! As we prepare for Christmas, we are reminded of how much we really have been blessed.
Many things happened in our family and ministry; Stephen and Kelly are growing and are very happy at school.
God continues to move and show His love and presence to us and his people; it is great how our congregations are learning, growing and serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
During 2015, we finished the walls of Emmanuel Church and now we are ready to install the roof. The roof materials should arrive in Roatan on Monday December 28th. We will immediately start on all the prep work to be ready for the Miramichi Worldwide Team from New Brunswick that arrives on January 27th and we trust that they will be able to complete the roof installation; we will work together and we certainly believe we will be a blessing to each other.
On March 9th the New Song Church team from Port Perry, Ontario will arrive too, and we hope that they will complete the installation of the doors and windows, plus the floor foundation for the altar section. We also have evangelistic outreach plans while they are with us.
A month ago we started a combined service at Emmanuel Coxen Hole every two weeks, with the purpose of developing and strengthening the relationship between the congregations in Coxen Hole and Brick Bay.
On December 20th we delivered Christmas presents to the kids in rural areas. We took the youth from our church and they were blessed to see the children’s smiles when they received a present. We walked from home to home delivering the presents from 7:30 am to noon. That walk around the community was such a blessing for all of us.
We would like to thank all of you for your prayers and financial support. We are thankful for every individual, family and parish that monthly or yearly makes a donation either for our ministry or for our Church Building project in Coxen Hole.
We are really grateful that the Diocese of Fredericton in New Brunswick has continued to do extra work by receiving your donations towards our ministry and that these have been enough to send us a stipend every 15th and end of the month, which enables us to live and do our ministry.
We are also grateful that SAMS Canada has arranged that you can now continue to donate towards the construction of Emmanuel Episcopal Church through Latin America Mission (LAM) Canada.
Please continue to pray for:
1. Continued financial support for the next three years as we continue to serve the Lord on Roatán, Honduras.
2. Completing the doors and windows at Emmanuel is now a priority. These are expected to cost about US$12,700 i.e. about Cdn $17,700!
3. Our congregations: St. Peter by the Sea in Brick Bay and Emmanuel in Coxen Hole.
4. Short Term Mission teams that are planning to come to Roatán soon:
a) From Miramichi, New Brunswick from January 27th to February 10th to help with the roof installation and VBS;
b) From New Song Anglican Church in Port Perry, Ontario from March 10th to 19th.
c) A group from St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Tampa Bay, Florida, is coming to Roatán on a cruise on January 26th. We plan to meet at the church in Coxen Hole for worship and give them a tour. We thank them for their donation to build the altar and lectern.
5. Sewing project training in January.
6. The ongoing construction in Coxen Hole – we will start on part of the roof on December 29th in preparation for the team arriving on January 27th.
7. Please pray for Gerardo and Cindy, our youth leaders whom God has provided to take responsibility for guiding the young people.
8. Spiritual and practical outreach in the local communities.
To further help our church building grow:
Would you please consider making a regular monthly donation through 2016? (Everything here is in US$. Please remember that the Canadian dollar has depreciated about 17% since the start of 2015!)
The doors and windows are expected to cost about US$12,700 i.e. about Cdn $17,700! So please also donate towards the installation of the roof and/or the doors and windows.
If you are able, here is how you can donate:
1. Kara Mejia, through the Diocese of Fredericton:
Make cheque payable to: The Diocesan Synod of Fredericton
Include on the Reference line: The Honduras Mission
And send to: Anglican Diocesan Synod of Fredericton
115 Church Street, Fredericton, NB E3B 4C8
Or, you can go to their website, or click on this link now: http://www.anglican.nb.ca/giving/index.html,
for various ways to give. The Anglican Diocesan Synod of Fredericton telephone number is: 506.459.1801.
2. Emmanuel Church, Coxen Hole, through LAM Canada
Make cheque payable to: LAM Canada or Latin America Mission
Include on the Reference line: Coxen Hole Church
And send to: Latin America Mission (Canada) Inc. 3075 Ridgeway Drive, Unit 14 Mississauga, ON L5L 5M6
Alternatively, it should be possible shortly to make a credit card donation online through: http://www.lamcanada.ca
(You will then click on Donate; then enter an amount you wish to give (either one time or monthly); and under SAMS Canada, indicate to whom or what you wish to make the donation).
In addition, through LAM you can arrange to have pre-authorized deductions. Please contact Karen (Communications Coordinator) at LAM Canada, at 905.569.0001.
Thank you very much for your prayers and continued support that enables us to continue in this ministry.
May God continue to richly bless you at this Christmas season and throughout 2016.
Nelson and Kara Mejia
Episcopal Church of Roatan/ Nelson and Kara Ministry 