Belize Missions: Muchas Gracias!

We have thanked God many times for each and every member of the Belize 2016 Mission Team. We are so grateful that God touched your heart and encouraged you to join the Belize Mission Team. We appreciate the many ways you stepped up to share your gifts, talents, and love. Together, you were invincible...neither fog, nor smoke, nor exhaustion could keep you from serving well as the the hands and feet of Christ.

We hope that you will carry this experience in your hearts for the rest of your lives. We also hope that you will follow in the footsteps of other Belize missionaries and expand your involvement in local missions.

Wasn't it amazing what 48 hands and 48 feet could accomplish in Los Tambos and Unitedville?

We certainly fulfilled our mission statement by handing out a heavy dose of hope and even receiving some back in return. It was a joy to watch each of you grow in mind, body, and soul as you served as disciples of Jesus.

New folks eagerly assumed many new unfamiliar tasks, and repeat team members helped keep our many activities on track. While everyone took a turn at a variety of activities, we wanted to mention a few noteworthy things that stand out about each person.

In addition to driving the famous Andy Van, Andy did a great job preserving the handprints placed on the Standard 2 &3 Classroom wall by our 2006 team. He painted clouds around the handprints and the “God Loves His Little Children” header that he hand-painted in 2006. He thoroughly enjoyed introducing Julie to all of his friends in Belize.

Chandler lent a hand to Natalie and Olivia on the blog. He reached out to anyone else who needed a strong helping hand with great joy and kindness. He gladly worked on construction, painting, lifting heavy totes, bike repairs, and other jobs.

David and Jack worked like best friends turning a tangled pile of used, dysfunctional desktop and laptop computers into a totally operational computer lab with internet access. This lab will make a huge difference in students' readiness to succeed in high school. For yet another year, Jack was delighted to have the congregation at St. Andrews Church sing “Happy Birthday” to him.

Don worked hard on construction projects and really enjoyed family visits. In Belize, parrots are family too! He trustingly followed In His Will employee, Andrew, through the smoky bush and then walked in the footsteps of a young boy leading a trek through through the jungle during a family visit. That is faith! Don was in totally his element when he hammered nails in planks like Jesus.

Eli willingly tackled painting projects, showing great interest in getting to know Fernando, who came to paint with us while his daughter was in class. Fernando told us he was in Standard V at the school when our team first worked there in 2005. Eli also enjoyed working with tools on construction projects and playing with kids. We are so glad we got to celebrate his birthday in Belize!

Isaac was a hit at VBS. With his ukelele, he encouraged enthusiastic singing by all the kids. On our last day, the teen girls in Los Tambos, squealed and swooned as if he were Paul McCartney, when he sang a song he wrote for Sandy.

Julie joined the team late, but served like a veteran. She was totally engaged in connecting with new people. Ms. Lily was thrilled that Andy brought his bride with him, mentioning Mrs. Lamb more than anyone else in her remarks at the community party!

Johnny's hands washed more dishes and gathered up more uniform skirts and pants than anyone else because he has a true volunteer spirit. His level headed thinking, willingness to tackle any task, and “can-do” attitude kept us on track.

Johnny, Don, Chandler, Lucas, Eli and David served as Carmen's hands and feet in his absence by getting several repairs completed at the Learning Center. Their work brought great joy to Carmen and Faye.

Kelley enjoyed taking family pictures and driving the van on beans and rice deliveries. Her big thrill was driving the van onto the ferry to cross the river without sinking the van. She was glad to learn that her long-time friend, Sandy, wants to go to high school. She also enjoyed reconnecting with fellow teacher, Evelyn.

Kobe (and many others like Isaac) enjoyed making kids laugh. His absence from Los Tambos was noticed immediately by numerous kids on Thursday morning when he stayed behind at In His Will to help prepare community party food. All of the kids know and love Kobe because he gives them his total attention.

Kobe, Isaac, and Mark did a great job leading singing at VBS. Kelley, Kobe, Isaac, Lyn, Robin, Mackenzie, and Olivia had fun acting out the story of Moses and the burning bush. Many team members helped with crafts, which the kids thoroughly enjoyed.

Lang experienced many jobs with great interest so it is hard to know what he enjoyed most. Maybe it was family visits. Or possibly the performances by the kids to thank our team. Or maybe it was just simply hanging out with the kids or having them hang all over him. Lang has a great sense of humor, and he kept us and the kids laughing most of the time.

Lucas showed everyone he is a lot like Andy by playing soccer with the kids. He used his feet and soccer skills to connect with many kids. He offered many times to help out however needed. In true Lamb fashion, he enjoyed working on construction and painting projects.

Lyn made sure we dedicated time to the very important spiritual aspect of the trip. It would have been easy without her tenacity to put spiritual enrichment in the back seat while conquering the many other demands on our time. We hope each of you continue to reflect on how Lyn's spiritual enrichment sessions and the entire mission experience touched you.

With Jesus in their hearts and on their fingertips, Lyn, Mary Beth, and Natalie helped Faye prepare and hand out sandwiches to hungry students in Unitedville and packed backpacks of school supplies to help Faye kick off a new school year in September.

Mackenzie found her niche, cuddling, rocking, and loving on an infant for hours while the baby's Mom helped us paint the school. She would gladly still be there rocking if we had not made her come home! Mackenzie, Lang, and Theresa enjoyed spending time with Marisol, who received their gift bag.

Mark made a strong connection with Alex, only to find out later that Alex was the recipient of the Pozega gift bag and nephew of long-time Pozega friend, Celbin. That makes them all kindred spirits! Mark also enjoyed working on the computer desk and on bike repairs.

Mary Beth's servant heart overflowed with love onto kids reaching for drinks and snacks. Everyone in Belize felt the love of Messie Bessie. She freely hugs one and all, not just the kids. She especially enjoys time spent with the mamas. She thoroughly enjoyed attending Joshua's graduation, rocking out on the front row when the choir sang “Lean on Me” and cheering when his name was called.

After a long day working on multiple activities, Natalie and Olivia worked together well on the blog, capturing the essence of the trip so that folks at home could experience a taste of Belize.

Natalie also enjoyed renewing longstanding friendships, introducing Chandler to her friends, and meeting new students. Without a single complaint, she prepared her own gluten free and dairy free meals to make sure she stayed healthy on the trip.

Olivia was totally in her element, serving in Belize. It was a blessing to watch her deliver gift bags to the kids. She experienced first-hand how much the letters and pictures from donors mean to the kids. She easily could have stayed much longer in Belize.

Robin was thrilled to discover new information about who is related to who in the village. She continues to amaze us with her mental map of where everyone lives and her ability to greet almost every child by name. She joyfully shouldered huge responsibility for family visits to deliver beans and rice as well as getting and delivering gift bags.

Sue's caring heart and nursing skills kept the whole team going, despite the heat, poison wood, hurting backs, sore fingers, and other health challenges. She did a great job orchestrating the exciting delivery of colorful new bikes to 19 very grateful children.

Theresa was a huge help, overseeing much of the painting work and ensuring that all of our supplies were packed efficiently and remained well organized. We were able to finish the daunting painting job, thanks in large measure to her leadership and the willing hands of the painting crews.

Andy, Chandler, David, Don, Eli, Isaac, Jack, Johnny, Kobe, Lang, Lucas, Mark, and Tom eagerly helped In His Will staff and neighbors prevent a nearby fire from threatening the mission compound by hauling water and clearing vegetation to create a firebreak. Everyone prayed! We are thankful that Robin had several bandanas which helped the crew avoid smoke inhalation problems. Many firefighters brought home souvenirs from their firefighting experience – painful rashes from brushing against poison wood trees.

Andy, Julie, Kelley, Lang, Lyn, Olivia, Robin, and Mary Beth enjoyed joining Tere and Ms. Evelyn for a lunchtime gathering of former scholarship students. Team members saw first hand the value of the scholarship program as the former students described their jobs which included accountant, cashier, customer service, mechanic, metal fabrication, store owner, and other jobs. It was clear that they are an asset to their employers. Many have been with the same employer since graduation and have been assuming greater responsibilities.

For all these things and so much more, we say, “Muchas Gracias” to the entire team. We are also grateful for the many ways our congregation participates in this ministry. We could not carry out this ministry without the support of many helping hands back home.

We appreciate the many parents and students who gave us joy by working with us (sorry we don't have pics of everyone).

We are grateful for Faye, our awesome In His Will hostess, and for Carmen, a masterful jack-of-all trades. Their handprints are all over our ministry in Belize. Over the past 13 years, they have fed us extremely well, inspired us through their constant service as hands and feet of Christ, helped us plan projects, provided us awesome accommodations, offered valuable suggestions for expanding our ministry, and nurtured us in many other ways.