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.
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.
We give thanks for the teachers, who give hope to the students all year and for the
students who give us enough love to fill our hearts all year.
May God bless you and keep you all in
His care,
Tom and Tere
