Belize Trip Updates
Sunday, March 14, 8:15pm
We are here safely and are about to call it a night. We've spent the afternoon in orientation and preparation. The food is great - the beds are soft - and we're looking forward to a good night's sleep after a long day of travel.
We will hit the ground running tomorrow with our construction project at the school (building a pavilion for the kids lunch area) - and the kids program (a daily VBS style program where we teach about 300 kids - songs, skits, Bible lesson). We'll also have a meeting with the mayor of the city we're serving. Pray for a great start to our ministry week and pray for wisdom as we see the areas we should pour into further!
Monday, March 15, 7:30pm
It has been a great day. Our first day with the kids went really well as we began teaching them about the armor of God. We also started painting a picture on one of the walls at the school that will remind them of all we'll learn this week. Ted met with the Mayor of Belmopan today along with some City Council members to network and learn more about how we can partner together to reach people. The government is absolutely open to us sharing the gospel with kids at the public school, etc. We also began the construction project. The concrete forms were poured over the weekend and we began to put up the posts this afternoon. Tonight, we're doing a Ladies Tea Party where Jenifer will share her testimony and the men are going to have a discussion as well. Please pray for physical and spiritual stamina as well as a continued sensitivity to how God is leading each day. Thanks for all your prayers. More tomorrow.
Ted has also posted a video on facebook ...
Tuesday, March 16th, 9:30pm
Thanks again for all your prayers. Last night was a great night with the Ladies' Tea Party as Jenifer shared her testimony and asked women to share their fears and doubts. The men watched a video about wisdom in decision making. Tonight was a Married Couples' Date Night and Ted/Jenifer went to share and be a part of that. Today, we entered into the second day of our VBS at the school and we finished the "Armor of God" painting on the wall of the school. The construction project continues to go well as all the beams are now in place and the cross beams are almost finished being laid. If there are no complications, the roof will be laid tomorrow and we'll have a dedication on Thursday morning. A good portion of this trip is centered around researching needs and how we can continue to build/expand our partnership with the church in Belize. There has been some great discussions about the need for spiritual formation, healing, and training of leaders. A lot of ideas and vision are being formulated. Please pray for the construction to go smoothly tomorrow and for a tour of the hospital. The health care is not great here and we're looking at how we can partner in this area as well. Diabetes is a huge problem as the general diets are not healthy at all. We're also studying the 7 statements that Jesus made in the gospels which start with "If you want to be my disciple, you must _____________" We are being challenged rethink a lot of our categories about what it means to follow Jesus. Today, we talked about the difference between love as a primary motivation and efficiency. In a culture where efficiency is not worshiped as it is in the States --- God is definitely speaking to us. Pray that we'd continue to be open to all the things that God is doing in us (and through us). We want to make sure that we're not just trying to do things "for Him" and getting an "experience" that we can take home, but to love and pour our lives out. We desire to expand our capacity to love and we're asking the Father to take away whatever is filling us besides love that is diminishing our capacity! Thanks again for all your prayers!!! More tomorrow ...
P.S., Becky Rambo wants everyone to know that she was "attacked" (and that words is put in quotes for a reason) by a "giant spider" that she claims was as big as the spider on Lord of the Rings (Shelob). However, the author of this blog saw the spider after it was killed and believes that an alternate explanation/description would be more appropriate in calling it the "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Don't tell Becky - let's just go ahead and let her believe that she was "suffering" for Jesus as she endured this spider.
Wednesday, March 17, 7:18pm
We had another great day. We began the day with another VBS with the kids and the construction project. Both "projects" have progressed along very nicely. The kids have loved learned about the armor of God and singing new songs and memorizing Ephesians 6:10-11. The construction project has now moved to the final stage as the first part of the tin roof is in place with the rest to be finished in the morning. A "balance beam" area for the elementary children was constructed today as well. A few of us went to the hospital today (which was an enlightening experience) to meet people assess the prospects of bringing a medical team next year. The prospects for such a venture look great and the need is huge. Preventative medication and education is such a need. Most of the people in the hospital are gravely ill and resources are slim. Personnel is slim as well. Finally, please pray for us as we finish up at the school in the morning. We also have a team going to the prison tomorrow afternoon. We'll meet with the HIV support group and meet with the warden to talk about getting a Celebrate Recovery group going in the prison. In addition, Jenifer is going to work in the hospital medical clinic. We continue to learn so much about God and following Him as we love others - as we see people as He does - as we listen to His leading moment by moment. One of our team members commented that "letting go of expectations and trusting God's leading to be used as He desires" is the heart of what they're learning. Thanks for partnering with us in prayer for our projects and for what God desires to do in us.
Thursday, March 18, 7:00pm
Again, we are grateful for your prayers this week. We finished our last full day of ministry at the school and in the community. It was another great day in so many ways. We saw all the work come together. It's like we'd been pouring water into a glass this week and today the glass was full. We learned that attendance at school has never been so high. Because we came and started the day with the program, the kids were motivated to come. We finished the last part of the armor and took the pieces and "transferred" them to the kids! Our team was wearing the pieces of the armor and one child took the helmet of salvation, another the belt of truth, etc. It was a moving symbol of what was happening this week. We had the opportunity to pray with a young girl who'd been having problems at school and interact with her parents. It has been amazing to be in "public" school that not only allowed us to share the gospel and pray but asked us to do so. I feel like there is so much more and it's hard to put it in words - but it has been such a privilege to partner with these amazing people down here. In addition, the pavilion was completed as well. Pictures to come soon. Even though we leave to catch the boat in the morning, we'll go to the school one more time because the principal asked us to come so that attendance would be up one more day. So, we'll review everything and celebrate with the kids and then get back in the bus and head for the coast. We spend the rest of the day and night on Ambergris Caye for a time of rest and refreshment before coming home.
The time at the prison was frustrating as a lot of the rules have changed and we were limited in what we could do. However, it was good to know that this is not going to be a good option for future ministry. The future is bright in terms of opportunities here and we look forward to sharing it with everyone.
Finally, please pray for safe travels and a solid time of reflection before we come home. This will be our last post because internet access might be limited on our last day. Love to you all!