Dear 2017 Belize Team Members,

What an awesome crew you are! Thanks to all of you for working so hard despite equipment failures and sweltering heat to make the 2017 Belize Mission Trip a huge success. We appreciate the many ways you shared your love for Jesus, the families, the teachers, our co-workers from the village, high school graduates and students, and the adorable children. We have no doubt that serving in Belize has made your spiritual lives more relevant!

Olivia, you have become a lifesized kid magnet, and it is neat to watch you give joy to the children.

Martha, you were in your element when you read to children in the youngest classroom. 

Eli, you quickly gained enough new skills in repairing bikes to be our “go to” bike repair guy with help from villagers, Noe, Reynaldo, and Joshua. 

Robin French, thanks for your passion for leading family outreach, delivering beans, rice, and other supplies to the families and praying with them. We are glad you got to meet Ada's daughter!

Don, Julie, Kacie, Kobe, and Lyn, you delivered insightful and relevant spiritual enrichment sessions to start our work days centered on God.

Don, Chris, David, Jack, and Lucas, you did a great job creating a bench to protect kids from a safety hazard.

Kacie, your love for others was evident in your interactions the people of Belize, your Dad, and the team; your love flowed through your tears on the last day in Los Tambos.

Don, thanks for making the Tennessee barn wood cross from for our hosts and for your hard work in Belize.

Andy, Don, and Robin Rohwer, your steady painting hands did a great job refurbishing the school sign in a way that preserves the hard work of former student, Merlin Duarte.

Andy, you drive the most popular van. What more can we say? Oops! Maybe Julie is about to take your driving job.

Robin Rohwer, thanks for sharing your creativity and artistic gifts by teaching an impromptu art lesson.

 

Julie, the teachers really appreciated your willingness to share tips for recognizing and helping troubled youth (note: the kids in the pic obviously have no troubles).

Lucas, you showed determination and persistence in everything you tackled from painting to building the bench to continuing to write the blog despite technical problems with the pics.

Greg, you took teamwork to a new level when you served as Jack’s painting ladder! You and Kacie were clever to find 6 kids to paint that block wall in record time.

 

Kelley, you did a great printing highly prized family pictures, assisting with family outreach, and showering the kids with love.

 

Gabe, you showed maturity beyond your years, fitting right in with the team, the work, and a new culture.

 

Isaac, thanks for once again sharing your musical and gymnastic talents; some kids are probably trying to do  backflips and singing right now!

Mary Beth, the babies, the mamas and the students in Belize know they are loved by God because of the many ways you show Him to them.

Lyn, your painstaking efforts to preserve the “Educating Future Belizean Leaders” sign on the school will inspire Los Tambos children for years to come; thanks for leading the Spiritual Team to inspire us.

Chris, thanks for getting us together for some awesome team pictures and for taking on the extra tasks of handling family pictures, class pictures, and the bike distribution.

Jan, thanks for efficiently handling the gift bag project and for being a steady presence in Nelsy’s life. We are glad you could attend her high school graduation and participate in the team celebration for graduates.

David, you are one amazing computer guru. We are in awe that you could overcome technical difficulties to steadily and single-handedly get 12 donated, dysfunctional laptops working great.

Jack, thanks for being such agile monkey, climbing on the roof to paint those hard to get to spots. It was cool that you inspired Chris to get up there for pics and Isaac to join you painting up there.

Kobe, your bond with Nehemias and other kids shows your big influence on them. We are glad you came to Belize, even though you had to leave for your summer job in Ohio at 4:30 a.m. right after we got home.

Jack and Kobe, thanks for listening so attentively to David Requena about his dreams to start a community garden. By the end of the week that idea had evolved into preliminary plans for a garden to be planted at a village church by older Los Tambos School students and high school students. The harvest will be used to feed students at the school.

Sue, even though your surgery prevented you from going on the trip, you were with us in spirit and you are still a vital cog in our team wheel.

Everyone came home with Los Tambos blue paint on their shoes, hats, shirts, shorts, and other places. We returned with a bigger hearts for this mission and local missions.

We are grateful to our congregation for the many ways you support this mission, even if you cannot go to Belize. You are also a vital cog in our team wheel!

High School Graduates from 2102 - 2016, we are glad several of you could get off work to meet with us at one of our favorite places, Western Dairy. You touched our hearts with your interest in giving back by starting to raise funds for an Alumni Scholarship and possibly work/study scholarships. We are all proud of you and appreciate how you inspire younger students.

Los Tambos teachers, you are a very dedicated staff. Keep up the great work! We are envious that you get to spend so much time with our adorable young friends.

To our gracious hosts, the Plett Family, who operate the Direct Christian Impact Mission Center, you made sure we had clean water when we were thirsty, delicious food when we were hungry, a new cool (air conditioned) place to stay when we were "homeless," and a washing machine to give us clean clothes. You were Jesus to us! We look forward to a long partnership with you.

Blessings,
Tom and Tere