Wonderful Week of Ministry
Well, the whole team has returned to Texas. God blessed us with no injuries or illnesses, but many new friends. Internet in Belize wasn't quite as easy to use as I'd imagined, so I'm going to try and squeeze our whole of ministry into one post. Of course feel free to email me or anyone else on the team for more details!
SATURDAY
American Airlines was very kind in helping us speed through both the ticketing process and security. Our flight was 9:20-11:20 and we arrived in Belize to rain! At the airport we met Philip (our MTW contact), and Ashley (2 week intern) who both became a part of our team and we loved every minute with them. We ate lunch in the city of Orange Walk amidst our 2 hour bus ride from the airport to hotel. Dinner was served by "our" church in Xaibe and so we got our first chance to meet some of the members.
SUNDAY
Still raining! We were happy for the cool weather but wondering if it'd let up or just rain the whole week. Church service #1 was at Cristo Rey, the founding church of the Xaibe location. What I remember the most was how welcoming the members were, and also how joyfully they sang praises despite having a guitarist who never seemed to play on key or with tempo. Church service #2 was at Xaibe, followed by dinner. It was great to meet more members who were just eager to get to know us.
MONDAY
Breakfast at 7 and work at 8! Our construction project for the week was building the walls of a bathroom/shower (eventually to have plumbing and electricty) to replace the outhouse. The team got right to work, learning how to mix cement by hand and how to lay block. By the end of the day we'd laid 6 rows of block and the maestro (Belizean construction leader) was astounded. About 5 people went out into the village telling locals about our VBS. We held a VBS from 2-4 with games, crafts, and Bible stories about Paul. That first day we had about 70 kids. The ladies in the church not only made us lunch but also dinner every single day!
TUESDAY
Work on the bathroom slowed as the walls got about chin heigth and taller. We also started digging a ditch behind the building for the shower drain. Philip (MTW guy) encouraged the team to take time to build relationships with the church members who worked with us each day. Another group of 8 team members got to go into the village again. They were treated to fresh coconut milk, avacadoes, and this fruit that had a green rind (like a lime) but inside looked lik snot. Some liked it ... I did not. VBS in the afternoon was a lot of fun and we ended up with 105 kids! A group of us face painted all 105 of them, to their delight.
WEDNESDAY
This was a tough day to wake up and work. The bathroom continued to get higher and 3 of the team decided to work through VBS to ensure our ability to put the roof on, on Thursday. The whole team ended up staying at the church from 8am - 7pm. We had VBS from 2-4 again. God provided us with rain that gave us a nice break during the work day and stopped right before VBS. We had more face painting and some kids who came back with the memory verse memoriezed (Romans 1:16). I was very proud. Three of the young girls on the team felt sick to their stomach most of the day, but all seemed to recover by 2 or 3. Thank God!
THURSDAY
We couldn't believe it was our last day already. With the bathroom walls all built the team focused on the drainage ditch, which we dug and filled in 2 or 3 times before the placement was right! A few people worked on the roof, but there was only room for a few up there. And a few more worked on chiseling holes in the block for electric outlets and the door frame. It was non-stop, hard work, and by the end of the day we were proud with our progress and had completed more than expected. VBS from 2-4, although we were happy to play until 5:30. We had around 110 kids (maybe more). It was so hard to say good-bye to the kids and the dear church members who blessed us with their love and hospitality.
FRIDAY
The team's day off! We journeyed to the Mayan ruins of Lamanai, an hour bus ride and 2 hour boat ride away. The river was beautiful and we saw spider monkeys, Jesus Christ birds, blue herons, and insect bats. The ruins were astounding and the history was fun to hear, especially after meeting a few Mayans during the week. We all got to climb up the tallest temple and managed to make it back down too! Our church brought us dinner one last time. The team shared things that would impact their lives and it really touched my heart to hear.
SATURDAY
Because of drop-off and pick-up times we ended up at the airport for 5 hours. We used that time to say extended good-byes to Philip and Ashley, whom we were very sorry to leave behind. After lunch, last minute souvenir shopping, and a nap we were off and back to Texas.
Combined, the team took over 2,000 pictures which I would love to share with you, but I'll resist and just share this slideshow which we put together for our report to Lakeside on Sunday evening. **Trying to figure this out ... in the meantime the video is posted on Ariel Bealer's facebook**