Meet SAMS-USA: David and Mary Beth Alenskis

Meet SAMS-USA: David and Mary Beth Alenskis

by | May 3, 2017 | Belize

Meet David and Mary Beth Alenskis. They are missionaries in Belize where David is serving in ordained ministry by strengthening local leaders in two Anglican churches as well as in the local Anglican schools. Mary Beth is reaching out to the youth through music in both the churches and the schools. Learn more about their ministry and calling.
Ministry:

The church in Belize needs more thoroughly-trained leaders who are willing to serve inside and outside of the church in pioneering ways, to announce the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to embody his excessive and supernatural love for sinners. As SAMS missionaries, David and Mary Beth are dedicated both to serving as leaders for Anglican churches and schools in Belize and also to training up new leaders who will continue to grow and deepen the Body of Christ.

David has been called to serve as the Priest-in-Charge (Senior Pastor) of St. Andrew’s and St. Hilda’s churches and as chaplain for St. Andrew’s, St. Barnabas’, and St. Hilda’s schools. In addition to providing pastoral ministry on a local level, he has been serving more broadly among the western churches and the nation-wide Anglican diocese. In particular, he has been raising up newly ordained and lay ministers, and the goal is to continue this leadership development to the point where these local communities can disciple new believers, cultivate new ministries, plant new missions, and establish new schools.

Mary Beth will be taking her first steps in this missionary endeavor! Though it’s all a little new, she is excited to join David in his life and ministry in Belize. Mary Beth will be working with the women in the church (possibly through women’s groups and bible studies), as well as using the gifts God gave her in music to accompany for the churches (as they are currently doing all services a cappella), and work with kids in the church or school teaching them music and praising God.

Calling:

Mary Beth:

“I have always loved the idea of missions, but never expected to be a missionary myself. That’s not to say I wasn’t prepared to serve God where I am, I just never figured that it would be on the foreign mission field. But, as God brought David and me together to share our lives, he has also been bringing us to share in missions. I have visited Belize now three times, and I am looking forward to beginning life as a missionary next year!

If you are trying to discern God’s will for your own life, pray that the Lord will give you clarity, and then open yourself up to the clarity that he brings. When his direction within your own heart matches up with what “seems good to us and to the Holy Spirit,” I think you will be astounded by the places the Lord will take you!

Missionary life wasn’t my original plan.  Missionary life wasn’t even my back-up plan.  I knew I wanted to serve God, but I didn’t know what that would look like.  But through prayer and discernment, God has brought me to this next step in my life where I get to share the Gospel, serve Him and others, all with my best friend here in Belize. ”

Prayer Requests: 

  • That the Lord would give them health, and heal them when illness occurs.
  • That the Lord would grant the financial support necessary to continue serving in Belize.
  • That the Lord would guide their ministerial candidates as they discern God’s will.
  • That the Lord would daily fill them with his Holy Spirit, his fruit and his gifts.
  • That the Lord would cultivate their hearts and minds to serve wholeheartedly in Belize.
  • That the Lord would keep them diligent in meetings, study, prayer, and worship.
  • That the Lord would facilitate communication between them and their ministry partners.

Visit David and Mary Beth’s missionary page to learn more. Would you prayerfully consider supporting them? 

If you are trying to discern God’s will for your own life, pray that the Lord will give you clarity, and then open yourself up to the clarity that he brings
Mary Beth Alenskis

SAMS Missionary to Belize

Two Very Special Visits

Two Very Special Visits

by | Mar 6, 2017 | Belize

So instead of writing a regular update today I decided to go a different route and tell you what it’s like visiting different people’s houses every week … Which means a few less pictures, sorry! I was talking to a friend just last week about how different it is going to someone’s house here verses in the States. For instance, when I was living in California and wanted to go over and see a friend I would call and we would setup a day and time to see each other. Here in Belize we visit people three days a week in the afternoon and evenings. All it takes to go see someone is to show up at their house, shout, “Good evening,” and then we are typically invited in to visit with the family. Sometimes we do call ahead and make sure the family will be home in the evening, but most of the time it’s more spur of the moment. I think that is one of the qualities of Belize that I’ve come to really appreciate. People here are readily welcoming and happy to have us come visit.

I’m going to tell you about two different visits we have done recently that have stuck out to me.

A few weeks ago we went to Georgeville just to walk around and see who we ran into for visits. As we were talking to one gentleman these two boys from St. Hilda’s school ran up, all excited, and asked us to come to their house to visit their mother. We were happy to go and so they led us back along the path to their house, running ahead to hide behind bushes, shouting for us to keep up, and finally dashing up the steps to their home shouting to their mother that, “Father David is here!!” We knew the boys already, just from school, but we had never gone to visit their home. Their mom was happy to have us come in and visit with her, but her excitement was nothing compared to the boys. In pretty much every home we visit I enjoy talking with the family and getting to know people better, but what made this home stand out to me were these two boys. Right when we came into their home they played hosts. We were talking to their mother and one boy ran up and asked if we liked coffee (he’s maybe 9 years old), and then he ran back into the kitchen to try and make some. He would then run back out with a can of food that he was trying to open so we could eat. As he was out talking to us we watched as his little brother snuck back into the kitchen, grabbed a large spoonful of sugar and stuffed it into his mouth before running back out to keep asking us questions. These kids were excellent hosts, and extremely adorable … as well as having excess amounts of energy! Their mother, a very friendly woman, told us how much her sons loved the chapel services at school and how they actually remembered the different subjects and would come home talking about them with her. Her son then ran out with his Bible and wanted to read one of the passages David had covered weeks before in chapel. The boys wanted us to pray with them, read more Bible stories, and sing songs from church. They did not want us to leave! After we had prayed and said goodnight to everyone one of the boys came up to me asked me, “Can you sing me that one song from church that goes something something something something something something and sounds really pretty?” I laughed and said, “I’m sorry, I’m not sure which one that is.” To which he replied, “Just sing every beautiful song you know from church really fast.” It was so cute!  Sadly I did not have time to sing him every pretty song I knew as it was now well past sunset and time to go. It was fun to unexpectedly visit a family’s home we had never been to that not only had really cute kids, but a family where the kids primarily wanted to talk about things they learned in chapel. This visit was one of those encouraging ones where I really felt like we were getting to know these people and making a difference in the little boys’ lives.

Now every week we go on lots of visits, with some being good and some being really hard. The visit I just told you about was fun and easy. We got to know the family better and spend time with these kids outside of the school setting. But this past week has been one with very hard visits. We have visited a few people this week with very sick children. I didn’t know you could love kids you just met so quickly, but this week proved that you could! I’m just going to tell you about one of the boys today, but please pray for both.

Last week we were asked to go to Cristo Rey Village and visit a sick little boy from St. Andrew’s school. We hadn’t met the family before, but we went to their house right away to pray for him. When we got there the little boy was curled up on the couch and clearly very sick. As David talked with the parents I started to make silly faces at the boy. His fever would come and go in the evenings and as it started to fade he began making faces back at me. Eventually he got up and came over to me and we played for the rest of the evening. This kid is a pro at making silly faces. He would make one and then instruct me to copy him exactly, to which I apparently did not do correctly because he would repeat it over and over saying I still didn’t have it quite right! He then went back to his room and grabbed his book of truck stickers and then proceeded to plaster my body with lots of stickers. He told us all about how he missed school and so he decided to throw a party the next day (to the “oh reallys” of his parents) so we and all his school friends could come and eat lots of food and then spend the night in the living room. He then informed us that we would of course all have to sweep the house after as it wouldn’t be fair for his mother to clean at his party! He was full of ideas and plans to see all his friends again soon. He didn’t want us to leave ever and kept making sure we knew not to leave when he would leave the room for a minute. At the end of the evening when we were going to pray for him David anointed his head and when his mom went to brush his hair back after the boy panicked and said, “Don’t touch! That is where the special stuff is!” It was very important to him! This little boy won my heart so quickly!

After a couple days we went back to visit the boy and his family again. Right when we walked in the door, after giving us big hugs, he looked at me and said, “I know what you want!” He then ran out of the room to get his stickers and cover me again! After talking and playing for awhile the boy then informed everyone that he was going to marry me. David turned to him and said, “I’m sorry but she’s already married to me!” This did not convince the kid. He said he was going to build me a house and plant lots of flowers around it so we could get married. David informed him that those were fighting words, to which he laughed and then replied very seriously to me, “If you don’t marry me I’m going to take back all the stickers!” A very serious threat! Well, he finally settled with marrying our daughter if he couldn’t have me. Ha! He was so funny!

The next time we visited he immediately gave me a sticker (I think that’s a thing now), and we continued playing a talking for the hour or so that we were at their house. He even called us yesterday to say goodbye before going off to the doctors. While we could barely understand him on the phone, (he’s a rapid speaker!) it was a very cute gesture!

It’s hard telling you about that last little boy. While I’ve only known him for a week and half so far, he’s already, as David calls him my “little buddy.” It’s hard telling you about him because while I had so much fun visiting with him I know he is very sick: acute leukemia at eight years old. While I would play with stickers, make silly faces, and run around the house, David would sit with his parents and discuss his sickness, treatment, side effects, doctors, and every hard and horrible detail of what’s going on with this little boy. I got to grow attached to a very lively little boy full of stories and games, who, other than a few moments of clear sickness or pain during our visits, was otherwise ignorant of what lies ahead of him. David got to sit and comfort grieving scared parents and look over test results.

It’s hard to tell you about this. It’s hard because if I just left out the leukemia part it would look like another story of a cute little boy and an otherwise good visit with a very friendly family. But sometimes the visits we make here are hard. It’s never, ever easy to see sick children. I’ve been so angry this week at the sickness all around us. How incredibly unfair it seems to see children suffer. I already said I’m only telling you about one sick boy, but this has been a week of life threatening sickness with lots of people here in town. I don’t know why these things happen, but I do know God is still in control. We’ve already seen answers to prayers just this week with my “little buddy” getting admitted to chemotherapy faster than expected! While it has been really hard to love these families so quickly and then see them hurting, I’m happy God put us in a place where we can get to know them, pray for them, and minister to them in these difficult times.

So that’s just quick look at what our visits are like here in Belize. Sometimes our visits are just happy and encouraging, like the first one, and sometimes we visit families that we instantly love and still grieve with during incredibly hard times.

Please be praying for the sick here in San Ignacio. There are three families that we visited this week who are scared and need prayers for healing and peace.

Thank you for continuing to pray for David and me too!

Here’s What We’re Doing in Belize!

Here’s What We’re Doing in Belize!

by | Feb 17, 2017 | Belize

One of the wonderful things about living in Belize is the weather during this time of year. December, January, and February here have cool pleasant days and even mildly “cold” nights. We’ve been here for six months now and one of the main ways I can tell it’s been that long is my adjustment to the weather. Want to know how? When we moved here it was in the 90s and very humid. I didn’t know I could sweat so much! But now if the temperature gets down to 75 (that’s right, I said down like that’s low … ), I’ll be freezing! It’s very strange to get to this point where I’m cold in hot weather, but fun to see how I’m adjusting. Anyway, with the weather being cooler, and wetter, David and I have been sick for a month and a half. It’s hard to want to write an update when I feel like I’ve been in bed for weeks. But here we are! The first week where, other than a cough, I’m healthy!

So, now that we’ve established relatively good health, and very nice weather, I can tell you what’s going on here with our ministry!

Right after the New Year David and I had a wonderful visit from his parents. They had not been to Belize in almost three years! I loved getting to spend time with both Brian and Roberta here in our first home. I also want to point out that it’s funny how our choices for food become more varied when we have guests. For instance, I got sick the last couple days that his parents visited and David and his mom made waffles. Waffles! We bought a waffle maker during our first month here and this was the first time it was used. Needless to say, Saturday is now waffle day! Whether we were taking them to one of the many beautiful places in Belize, or just spending time together at home, it was nice to get time with family. We don’t always know how often family will be able to visit, so it’s always a treat!

Since I already told you I was sick for the past month I’m going to skip the days/weeks where I was in bed and focus on the ministry.

By mid January things started picking up again. We were back in chapel with the school kids, making our regular pastoral visits, and starting back up with music ministry.

As you know I started a youth choir last year and after a break for a couple weeks we started back up again. I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having with this group of kids. Last year we had about eight kids coming, and it was great because they were all regulars, but this year we have all of those kids coming back plus more! I have to attribute my love for these kids, and youth choir in general, from my experience in choir as a kid. I had the most amazing choir director from my home church. Mrs. Segarra taught me to sing, to praise God through music, and to love singing! Well I’m working on the same thing with these kids. Last year we focused on Christmas songs for our Lessons and Carols service and now this year I’m teaching some of my favorite choir pieces from when I was a kid. I told them that the songs were going to start getting a little harder, but they were definitely up for the challenge. We’ve started having choir every week and have even had new kids coming to check it out! Youth choir has become one the highlights of my week. And this Sunday St. Andrew’s Youth Choir is joining another choir from Spanish Lookout to help lead worship for the morning service! The kids are very excited!

One of the new ministries I’ve started this year is teaching piano. It’s been just over a year since I’ve had students and I didn’t know how much I missed it! So far I have five students that I’m teaching each week and at least that many more looking into getting keyboards so they can take lessons too. This is really exciting! Not only is all the money from the lessons designated straight for the church’s youth fund (something we’re setting up for youth group, Sunday school, and choir), but I’m also getting to know a lot of the kids and their families from school.

What else can I tell you? This Sunday we are starting an English-language service of Evensong at our sister Spanish-language church in Santa Elena. Right now all the services we do are in English, with a lot of the pastoral visits in Spanish. We are excited to start this new service not only for a new outreach opportunity, but the plan is to have one of the Lay Ministers lead the service and preach while David and I lead music. Then in a few months we’re planning on replicating the Evensong service at St. Andrew’s Church, only that time in Spanish. As we look towards planting churches in different areas of Cayo this is our first step in that direction. I’ll be sure to let you know how this new service goes!

This Saturday we are holding our first youth retreat in Selena Village. The plan was to hold it right after Christmas, but David came down with a pretty awful stomach flu and we had to postpone. Well everyone is healthy and the plans are back on!

I’m going to take a side note here and say that boys are funny. This retreat for the youth group is going to have food, games, team building, music, and worship. So out of the blue a couple days ago David came up to me with this little boy grin and said he found something he really wanted, something that we could use for the youth retreat. Slingshots. He looked so excited just to tell me about these slingshots. Don’t get me wrong, I think slingshots are fun, but I didn’t know it could get anyone this animated. Here’s how I know it’s a boy thing though; I told one of the boys from youth group that David had us pick up a couple slingshots for the retreat (sort of as an offhand statement) and without even saying anything he walked over to David and just to give him a high five. Ha! So excited to shoot stuff! This should be a fun retreat.

 So I think I’m about coming to the end here, but I’ll finish it off with a visit we just had by a team from Texas. While David and I were raising support last summer we had the privilege of visiting Church of the Incarnation in Dallas. Not only was this church absolutely gorgeous, but also the people were incredibly friendly. This church has been sending a team here to Belize twice a year for many years. When we visited their church they told us about the mission trip planned for February and asked if there was anything they could do specifically for David and me. They wanted one of the many projects they planned (they send a large team) to be helping us, particularly our house and yard. Well they offered to help cut down dead trees and paint our house. As many of you know our house used to be baby pink … definitely not one of my favorite colors. A team came on a Saturday, and even though it rained off and on all day (and multiple times that week) these people helped us paint our house a nice bright blue, as well as cutting trees that had been burned. The rain ended up being more of an issue than planned, so it took us longer than we had hoped, but with the help of people from church later in the week (when we finally got sun!) our house is almost finished! David and I are so thankful for all the help we had this week! There are so many people that helped and our house is almost done! Thank you!

I think that’s probably everything for now. Please continue to keep us in your prayers! There are many new things starting up here that will require lots of prayers, and as you now know, we’ve been sick. A lot. I’ve been told that after a year you stop getting sick so much. Half way there! Please pray for good health, all of our new ministries starting up, and continuing new financial support.

Thank you for all your prayers!