Two are there, twenty to follow..

Tom and Tere arrived in Belize on Friday ahead of the team to prepare our way and set the stage. They attended the graduation of Emerson. He is the first of the seasons graduates that Ft City Presbyterian Church is following.

Last week our team had our Packing Party. After consuming lots of good food prepared by awesome support staff coordinated by Linda Schnoor, we packed and weighed 25-30 twenty two gallon tote boxes. We loaded our Living Tree bags for the students Los Tambos School, household items, dresses and shorts hand crafted by our own Flannel Floozies, books, school and VBS supplies. Each of these will be a team members suitcase allowed on flight.
This week we finish up our last minute packing and prepare ourselves for what our mission needs from us as we "Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus".

Pre-Tripping

Countdown to Belize Mission Trip 2013!
Our wonderful team of 22 will be leaving Fountain City in just over 2 weeks! We have planned for our travel and are being flexible with the itinerary. Life in Belize runs a little slower than we are used to, but we know we will accomplish all that we are supposed to. Today Tere reminded us that we have travel buddies-another body on the trip that will be sure we don't forget to return. 
For some it will be their first trip-it is always exciting to see how the newbies are affected. Stay tuned.

As a pre-trip workout out team rallied together during Operation Inasmuch in April 2013. We worked at Ft City Elementary doing landscapework and enjoyed a cookout that afternoon.

We Are Back!

Boarding the plane on Sunday in Belize City to head home brought yet another day of mixed emotions.  We eagerly looked forward to sleeping in our own beds and seeing family and friends at home.  Yet we were sad to be putting so many miles between ourselves and those we have come to love in Belize.  Many of us turned this sadness into joyful anticipation as we look forward to returning to Belize next year.  We began to feel pains of separation anxiety, realizing that the daily smiles and hugs from our team mates would not occur as frequently.  We now share a bond with each other and a commitment to serving God that will last the rest of our lives.


We were glad to land safely at McGhee Tyson Airport.  It was overwhelmingly wonderful to be greeted there by a large contingent of family members and friends.  This ministry experience has certainly deepened our relationships with God, with each other, and with many people in Belize.  We eagerly await what God has in store for us next!

Luke welcomes his sister, Darby, home

Jackie is clearly excited to hug her son, Reese

  

Rachel jumped into Robin's arms and would not let go

Johnny got a warm reception from Emma, Andrew, and Laura 

Caleb greeted Melissa with flowers



It Is Official: Marvin and Reynaldo Are Graduates!

On Saturday, most of the team went to the 49^th Commencement at Sacred Heart College (that is what high school is called in Belize).  The ceremony was held outside at the campus courtyard under big tents.  A total of 162 students graduated.  Of course, we applauded and screamed shouts of joy when the names of Marvin Ernesto Mundo-Lopez and Reynaldo Junior Garcia were announced.  They each approached the stage to receive their diplomas with huge smiles on their faces. 

After the graduation, several team members enjoyed visiting with the excited graduates and a large group of very proud family members and friends.  We were very honored to be able to share this special time with them, culminating 4 years of dedicated and hard work in high school.

Marvin Accepts His Diploma



Reynaldo Accepts His Diploma



Marvin's Aunt Jesus Recinos; his grandmother, Matios; his sister, Jessica; his Mom, Alicia Lopez; Marvin; his sister, Roxana; his Uncle Sebastain Villata; and his Aunt Rosaura Villata

Theresa, Lyn, Natalie, Marivin, Reynaldo, Tere, Tom, Jacque, and Sue

Tomasita and David Gonzalez, Marvin, and Erick Aguilar

Reynaldo plans to enroll at the University of Belize in Belmopan. He will begin his studies in the fall. Marvin plans to work until January when he will also begin studying at the University of Belize.

Back to Back Celebrations

This is a continuation of the previous blog post.  On Thursday afternoon, we hosted a community celebration at Los Tambos Government School.  Many parents, younger siblings, and students participated.  We recognized high school students for their hard work and offered congratulations to the three graduates for the example they have set for the younger students.  Jessica Lopez, who is completing her second year of high school, spoke to the younger students about her love for learning and encouraged them to consider going to high school.  We thanked the community for the warm and friendly reception they always give us.  The children sang Father Abraham for their parents.  We served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, cookies, and Gatorade to everyone in attendance. 

Linda, Jacque, and Lyn serve refreshments

The youngest students delighted us with a very cool dance.  The boys wore white or blue shirts, and the girls wore colorful skirts.  They danced around a pole decorated with streamers.

Dance performance

An older group sang for us, and a third group performed a skit.  We really enjoyed their performances.

Wishing we could have stayed longer at Los Tambos, we tearfully gave our last hugs and loaded the vans to go the graduation celebration for Maria, Marvin, and Reynaldo that we hosted at the Mennonite Church where Mike and Vickie Coverdale serve in youth ministry.  Including our team, almost 50 people attended the celebration. 

Maria enjoys the slide show

Lyn opened with prayer and a devotional message from Jeremiah 29:11 about God’s plans for our lives and the hope we gain from Him.  Mefi Martinez, former principal of Los Tambos Government School, gave an inspirational talk, reflecting on the student’s younger days and encouraging them to continue their education.  Lily Reyes, current principal at the school, opened her remarks with a quote from Oprah Winfrey and encouraged the students to dream big dreams.

Next, we showed a slide show produced by the McDonough’s Just in Time Productions that featured pictures of the students from 2005 to the present.  The slide show was interspersed with scriptures and other words of encouragement. 

Reynaldo and Marvin enjoy the slide show

We gave each graduate some gifts that included a photo album with photos used in the slide show, Jeremiah 29:11 dog tags for the guys and a necklace for Maria, and wallets with Christian symbols for the guys and a change purse for Maria that had scripture on it about trusting in the Lord.  We concluded the celebration with fellowship while sharing ice cream, lemonade, and cake that was masterfully cut by Jacque to ensure everyone received a piece. 

Marvin, Maria, and Reynaldo

The students and their families really appreciated the opportunity to celebrate with us, and we greatly enjoyed spending this time with them…in a beautiful air conditioned church.

Montano Family

Garcia Family

Lopez Family

Saying Good-bye Is Always Hard

Think about the most emotional and difficult good-bye you have ever said.  That is what today was like.  We shed many tears on our last day with our friends in Los Tambos.

We finished distribution of beans and rice, completed many bike repairs, delivered a battery to Fernando, and repaired the water tank.  One bike needed a seat, pedals, and tubes.  Once repairs had begun, we saw that the bearings were worn out.  So that child received a new bike bringing the total distributed to 20.  Melissa did a great job with the bike clinic to the delight of many children.

Melissa adjusts a seat on a new bike

Fernando was thilled to receive the battery, and he greatly enjoyed attending the community celebration.  Theresa met a woman from the Belize Cultural Center who is going to get him some books in Spanish about Belize culture.  It was one of those amazing God things.

Several team members went to a Spelling Bee at a nearby school.  Hannah Gonzalez from Los Tambos won the spelling bee!

Hannah wins the spelling bee! 

We had a community celebration when school dismissed.  As people were gathering for the celebration, we showed a video (using solar power) that featured FCPC's Mission Possible Kids packaging seeds for distribution to Los Tambos families and decorating lunch bags to be used by the team.  It was very cool that Robin got to point out her daughter, Rachel. 

Robin shares information about Mission Possible Kids

Johnny pointed out his daughter, Emma, and Mary Beth pointed out her grandson, Gabe.  At the end of the community celebration, we rushed off to the party fo the high school graduates.  More about that later...

The bell just rang for breakfast...That is all for now.

A Day that Began with Patience

Today our “Before Glow” session was about patience.  Our scripture reading was from Matthew 18:21-35.  Lyn pointed out that God’s patience stands between his wrath and his grace.  She also reminded us that God’s treatment of us is the standard for our treatment of others.

Joe, Dave, Johnny, Tom, Andy, and Theresa left at 6 a.m. to start painting the preschool building at the In His Will Learning Center.  By the time the rest of us arrived at 9:00, they had made substantial progress on the first coat.  Robin joined the painting team upon arrival.  With steady work throughout the day, the painters finished putting 2 coats on the building before sundown.

The rest of us assisted Lyn with the Women’s Bible Study where she delivered a lesson about Jeremiah 29:11 to 6 women from the Unitedville.  Kelley, Melissa, Natalie, Sue, and Whitney helped with the craft which involved making a cross and bead necklace. 

At the morning session, Tere took photographs of the women and their beautiful children and printed them on the spot.  Lyn offered the Bible Study a second time later in the day.  Andy took and printed the photos at the afternoon session.   A total of 8 women came to the sessions. 

Althea talked about fasting for 21 days, and Delverene talked about teaching a children’s class at their church.  They are both learning to play guitar so they can enhance music at their church.

Darby, Kelley, Jacque, Melissa, Tere, Theresa, and Tom accepted an invitation from the Martinez family to attend a lunchtime birthday celebration for their son Oseas who turned 13.  The hospitality of the Martinez family was amazing.  Upon our arrival, Abner, another son, was cooking barbeque chicken over a fire on the outdoor “oven/grill.”  His Mom was making flour tortillas over an open fire as well.  Odelia had made potato salad and slaw for us.  She and her Mom had also prepared a birthday cake.  The entire meal was absolutely delicious, and our hosts and hostesses made us feel entirely comfortable in their home.  Oseas seemed to enjoy our rendition of Happy Birthday in our broken Spanish. 

We learned that Mr. Martinez, who preaches at the local Pentecostal Church, spent several years in seminary.  We really enjoyed spending time with Alex, Odelia’s beautiful 2 year old son.  He entertained us by tossing pieces of chicken out the open door to the family dogs and by smearing icing on his face like kids at home.

After the birthday party, team members distributed rice and beans to 4 families, including the family of Fernando, the man who was paralyzed when he fell out of a tree 2 years ago.  We were thrilled to see him sitting in a wheelchair on the front porch and making decorations for a relative’s upcoming wedding.  He was wearing a shirt that had the words, "I'm needed" printed on them.  That shirt speaks volumes about his positive attitude.  He was also wearing the cross that Andy gave him last year.

In past visits, Fernando was laying in bed and barely moving his hands. Even though he is only able to sit up for about 2 hours each day, it is awesome to see how much he has improved.  Theresa, who is a Spanish speaking wonder, engaged Fernando in a great conversation that drew out his friendly smile and helped us learn more about him. He is very interested in learning about history and other subjects. His family has installed solar power and has a computer for him but they do not have a battery needed for power.