Belize Mission Trip 2016 | Day 7 | Wrap Up

3/11-13/2016

Day 7: Today was our last work day in Belize. Our job was to finish up all of the projects we had started. We used all of the paint we had left to finish putting one coat on the lower school building. The men worked hard to get the roof and kitchen in Mrs. Benadicta's house back together. Some of our team were still out for the count, and I wasn't feeling all that great, so I mainly took pictures of the ladies conducting a quick Bible school lesson for the kids in the chapel at the school.  They did an amazing job catering the lesson to each age group and getting the kids involved.

Last time I came to Belize, I got to witness a wedding. This time, I got to witness a baptism of a 3 day old baby Kai. Pastor Tim does an amazing job of explaining why Presbyterians believe in infant baptism. It was such a tender moment to see my mother-in-law stand proudly beside Jess, her mom, and her little boy. It was a great night, filled with love and laughter.

Day 8: Goodbyes are always hard, but this year proved to be the hardest. I know my "season" in Belize has come to an end with my desire to start a family of my own. I woke up with a heavy heart and dreaded the moment we would pull out of Camelote village. We stopped at Mrs. Benadicta's to say our goodbyes to Jess and the baby. Mrs. Benadicta hugged me, and the tears started falling. She said "Isn't it such a blessing that God lets us be sisters?" Such a sweet, sweet lady! I made sure to tell "my kids" to behave themselves and continue to work hard to be examples for their friends. I probably cried halfway to the airport.

I know my time in Belize has changed me. I look forward to the day I can come back and see the growth of, not only the community, but the friends and family I have made there. I can look back on the memories I made and the experiences I had in Belize with a smile, knowing they made just as much of an impact on me as I did on them.

Day 9: After a long day of travel (yesterday), 2 hours in line for customs, we missed our connecting flight. We stayed in Miami overnight because the only flight they could get all 10 of us on was in the morning. We flew from Miami, to Tampa, then on to Charlotte. We made it home around 1 pm, and boy was I glad to be home. 

Overall, as with the last trip, I am truly humbled by my experiences. I cannot begin to describe what God has shown me about myself this last week. I look forward to starting a family of my own, but I will truly miss the people in Belize. They have a large part of my heart.

Belize Mission Trip 2016 | Day 6

3/10/2016

We had about 69 kids come to our last day of Vacation Bible School (on 3/9/2016)!! I cannot believe we had that many kids come. It was just amazing to see God working in their lives. Pastor Tim stopped by their classes to give them some words of encouragement and say a prayer with them. They were so excited to see him. To me, that shows how much trust and love our church has built in that community by coming back year after year.

Before Bible school tonight, we were able to get in and finish Mr. Pesch's classroom. Every wall had two coats, inside and out. The ceiling was even painted! They finished the wiring and made sure all of the electrical components worked as they should. We were going to move the classroom chairs in after lunch, but the teacher was so excited, he did it by himself! We were also able to provide Mr. Pesch with a bike. He walks over an hour and half a day to school and back just to teach. We are hoping the bicycle will help cut down on the time he spends walking and allow him to spend more time at home with his family. It's nice to meet a teacher at St. Jude who is passionate about their kids and teaching.

After lunch, we were able to go to Hopkin's Beach in Belize. It was BEAUTIFUL. It was a nice day to rest and rejuvenate for our trip home. After we got back, Delinda and I snuck off to see sweet baby Kai. Jessica is doing well. I continue to pray for her and her little boy every day. They are never far from my heart and mind. Heman, the maintenance man at the camp, took the "newbies" tarantula hunting tonight. If you ever stay at the Baptist Training Center in Belize, you have to experience the tarantula whisperer. 

Our work in Belize is coming to an end. I am approaching the last couple days with a heavy heart. I know this will be the last time I visit these precious people for a while, and it makes me sad. Friday will be a whirlwind of activity as we strive to finish all of the projects we've started. I am looking forward to finishing, but I'm dreading the day we leave.

Belize Mission Trip 2016 | Day 5

3/9/2016

I have been sick for the past day with the stomach bug. If any of you have had the dreaded bug, I am sorry. It really sucks the life out of you. I am feeling better today, though, but will not be returning to work this week. The CDC recommends staying home for at least 3 days after you stop having symptoms because you are still contagious. Sitting here on my couch, I almost didn't want to pick my computer up. However, I couldn't deny you another glimpse of my fabulous trip, so here it goes!

We cannot keep our team well. One person gets better, two more go down, two get better, one more goes down... It's a vicious cycle. Despite that fact that so many of our team is sick, we are accomplishing so much! I'm amazed at how well our team has come together to get things done. 

The Bishop came for confirmation at St. Jude's today. His visit was kind of disappointing. I was excepting a lot of pomp and circumstance, and there wasn't any. We were painting at the lower school building, and I expected to know when he showed up. He came and left without us even knowing! There were a lot of people that stayed at the school afterwards. Sounded like they were having a party. 

Though I don't consider myself a "Belize Veteran" as it was only my second trip, I have enjoyed getting to know the "newbies." The folks from New Sterling that I haven't gotten to know before and folks from Boyce Memorial are a joy to work with. Overall, this trip is turning out exactly as I'd expected. I'm beginning to dread the end of the week, though. 

Belize Mission Trip 2016 | Day 4

3/8/2016

My friend, Jess, had her baby!! We were all praying for her as we worked. His name is Kai Alexander. Delinda (my mother-in-law) got to be in the delivery room and witness the entire thing. Their hospitals are not held to nearly the same standards as ours. Even though Delinda, Pastor Tim, and Judy had to wait at the hospital LITERALLY all day, baby Kai is here. He is healthy and strong, and mama is doing fine.

We painted again today. Some of the kids from the village asked if they could help, so we let them. That was an experience! I was so excited that they wanted to help. It gave us the opportunity to talk with them and give them the experience of making their school a better place. I hope it helps them appreciate their buildings more. You would not believe how much writing was on the walls, from names, to silly stuff, to down right vulgar stuff! I also hope the kids will learn that it's OK to go get a teacher if they see someone defacing the school. 

After dinner, we got together our 2 lbs of candy we were asked to bring, and we put together bags for the kids. The bags included candy (obviously), as well as pencils, erasers, and Sunday school lessons. We also made bags specifically for the teachers at St. Jude's. We made over 300 bags! It was so much fun assembling the bags and passing them down the line. I can't wait to give them out to the kids on Friday at the Bible School program we are holding.

There were 53 kids in VBS today. Since there were so many kids yesterday, our teachers regrouped and decided to do stations. Susan ordered little booklets to bring with us this year for Bible school on the "colors" of Salvation. She ordered 50 booklets and somehow God provided enough for all 53 children! As our pastor says, "loaves and fishes." 

Overall, it was a long and tiring day out in the hot sun, but the Lord blessed our village family with the healthy arrival of sweet baby Kai. 

Belize Mission Trip 2016 | Day 3

3/7/2016

Welcome to work day number 1!! Before we start our work day, we have devotions as a group in the morning. Pastor Tim chose a book on Humility. I can tell just from reading the first few chapters, this is going to be one of those books I stop, start, stop and start again. It will be hard to get through because it's personal, but I'm looking forward to finishing the book (eventually). (Hey at least I'm honest!)

It was so nice sitting under the chapel (which is really a big gazebo), singing praise to the Lord, studying God's word (even though it was on a tough subject), and listening to the rain beat on the tin roof. 

Since it was raining, we couldn't start our work at the school. Instead, we were tasked with painting the ceiling in the kitchen that we cook and ate in. Have you ever painted a ceiling before? It's not exactly easy. I can't tell you how many times I had to stop and wipe paint flecks out of my eyes! It was fun though. All of us, working together, got the kitchen painted in about an hour. That was after one of our ladies spent about 20 minutes stirring the paint because it was old! Maria and I had a paint war, and ended up with splotches of white paint all over us.  After lunch, we did get to go paint at the school for a little bit.

Monday night was the first night of Vacation Bible School. With the help of the principle at St. Jude's (the school in Camelote that we were painting) and some of our young friends in the village, we had over 50 kids. That is the most we have EVER had, from my understanding! I cannot believe it! God is so good. The ladies who were teaching were amazing. You can tell they have a passion for teaching. I admire their strengths!

After the kids left, dinner was cleaned up, we sat around in the chapel and sang songs. It was absolutely inspiring and beautiful. I'm looking forward to all God has in store for us this week. 

Belize Mission Trip 2016 | Day 2

3/6/2016

It's Sunday! We were settling into Belize life and it was time to go to church. We attended a church in Belmopan called Bethel Church. The service was...interesting. The lesson was on grief. It was very informative, but lacking in spiritual depth. After church, Pastor Tim gathered us together to explain why the service "set off alarm bells," as he put it. This church has suffered recently. They have asked their pastor to step down for personal reasons. They were getting ready to lose their bus that brought the majority of their members to church (they didn't own the bus, but couldn't afford to buy it and keep up the repairs).

After learning that information, and letting it soak in, I realized how blessed I am to have an amazing church and pastor. I also admired the speaker who took the time to study for a lesson on a subject that
many people in Belize know little about. His bravery was inspiring. Please keep Bethel Church in your prayers as they seek God's guidance for their future.

After church, we ate lunch at Hode's Place. I love the authenticity of the food. It's amazing! On our way back home, we stopped at the Mayan Ruins in San Ignacio called Xunantunich (a.k.a. The Stone Lady). I climbed all the way to the top. The view was absolutely breathtaking! The ruins were in excellent condition (not that I'm an expert on Mayan ruins, but they looked good to me). I decided that Mayans must have been tall. The steps were very tall and narrow. The climb to the top was exhilarating. We had to cross a river to get to the ruins... I called it a "row boat on a cable wire." 

It was a great day to celebrate and admire God's handiwork. However, I had been in Belize for a day and a half and I was anxious to begin working!

Belize Mission Trip 2016 | Day 1

Hi friends! Back in January, I posted a blog about what's been going on in my life (A New Year | A New Focus). In it, I talked about my Belize Mission trip. Well, I just got back from Belize Sunday! I kept a journal while I was there and I plan on taking you through my trip day by day. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy....

Today was a travel day. I had to be at the church at 3 AM ready to go, so I was up at 2:15. We traveled for most of the day. Our flight left at 7 am. Travelling all day was not particularly fun, but getting to Belize made it worth it. We got there in the pouring rain, loaded our bags onto the vans in the pouring rain, and drove out of the airport in the sunny blue sky. After having dinner at Cheers, we headed to the Baptist Training Center. The closer we got, the more I began to recognize. There were so many changes, good chances, since the last time I'd been there!

Pulling into the Baptist Training Center in Camelote was like coming home. Seeing all the kids that I met from the previous year and seeing Maria, Sophie, Jessica, and Mrs. Benedicta brought me such joy and made my weary spirit happy. The first thing Jose said to me when I stepped out of the van was "So, I heard you got married Shannah. You married Mrs. Delinda's son." I thought I was going to die I was laughing so hard. 

Since this is only my second trip, I didn't expect to be so welcomed again. They might not remember me! Boy, was I surprised. Those kids are so smart! We also had the most people we've ever had in the 6 or so years New Sterling has been going to Belize. There were 26 people total: 20 from New Sterling and 6 from Boyce Memorial. The people from Boyce Memorial were real excited to be there and super nice.

Overall, day 1 was exciting and tiring. I couldn't wait to dive in and see what the Lord was going to do with our group!

Mission Monday: Gettin' Crafty

Good morning literary friends! I know, I know! You're wondering, where have you been? Things have been busy, busy, busy in the life of your Faith * Love * Books Blogger, and I've fallen behind on everything! So, in an effort to get back on track, I will be reading up a storm (especially since my hubby will be working late all week).

In other news, my church (New Sterling A. R. P.) is gearing up for another fun and exciting mission trip to Belize. I went last year and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Some of the people in that village had nothing, and they were willing to give us all they had. It was definitely a humbling experience and an honor to go. I've made several life long friends and got to be a part of two people giving their lives to the Lord. We also helped paint and repair a school, repaired and basically remodeled a family's home that was falling apart from termite damage, and bought them a new energy efficient refrigerator to replace their very old, costly one.

I say all this to say that we need your prayers as we head into this next mission trip. We have plans, but as my preacher likes to say, they are "loose" plans. We want to do what the Lord directs us to do, so we keep our options open and our hearts ready and listening. Right now, we are in the fundraising portion of our preparations, with a few major events coming up to help cover the costs of our plane tickets and the supplies we will need once we
get there. If you are interested in making a donation, please message me through the CONTACT ME page. I would love to send you a formal letter and an envelope addressed to the church. It is a taxable donation and the church will send you a receipt.

If you can't donate right now, but still want to help, please consider purchasing one of the book marks or cards that I've made (they are first come, first serve until I build my supplies and stock up on paper in order to accomodate special orders or requests). Half of every book mark and card sold will be given to the New Sterling Mission fund. Please comment below if you are interesting in purchasing a book mark or card with your name and email address in a non-spam format (email(at)domain(dot)com). I will contact you for your mailing address and arrange for payment.

Any way you can help out would be a tremedous blessing, and know that we covet your prayers. Thank you for your time and consideration, friends! God Bless!

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" Hebrews 6:19
Bookmark - $2 (2 available)

"For the Lord is Great and greatly to be praised" - Psalm 96:4
Bookmark - $2 (2 available)

Stampin Up! "Happy Birthday" Card w/ Envelope
$6 (1 Available)

Stampin Up! "Thank You" Card w/ Envelope
$6 (1 Available)

Stampin Up! "Just Beecause I love you" Card w/ Envelope
$6 (1 Available)