When we arrived in Belize, we jumped right off a plane and into a bus for our journey to Red Bank...and what a journey that was! We stopped at Cheers and filled up on burritos before hitting the road again. The road to Red Bank was bumpy and had lots of curves. We came to a washed out bridge and drove across a makeshift bridge, but not before our leaders trying to make us think that there was no way to cross except to swim. We made it to Red Bank and it was dark, but there were bright lights on in the church as people were singing and waiting for us to arrive. We walked into the church and sat with the people of Red Bank, but we couldn't understand a lot of what was being said. After the service was over, we had a quick meeting in the bus and unloaded all of our luggage so we could get settled in for the week. We moved things around until we were finally settled and we were ready for some sleep. The night was short due to moths, confusion in the time difference, the hope of a shower, and the early rising of the sun. We waited for our breakfast to arrive--it was Fry Jacks and Beans--and as we ate our tasty meal, we had our orientation meeting. We got to walk around the village to invite kids to VBS and it was very hot. We saw huge turkeys, houses of wood with roofs made out of branches, and got to meet and have conversations with lots of people. We are praying that many of them will come to the services this week. After our walk around the village, we jumped right into construction: tiling, sanding, measuring,mixing cement, and drinking lots of water! We got a lot accomplished this morning and more will be done tomorrow. Now, it's off to VBS then an evangelism service. We look forward to seeing what God has to do in the rest of today and the rest of our stay in Red Bank.

Wow, we have seen a lot these last few days and have seen each other be used by God in amazing ways. VBS has been incredible, chaotic, exhausting and a huge blessing all at the same time. On our first day, we had 180 kids show up!--we weren't expecting that many until the last day, so praise God!!!! We have had a blast doing crafts like coloring and making necklaces with them as well as sharing stories from the Bible with them and playing football(soccer). We brought down a parachute that has been a hit with all of the kids. Yesterday we visited the school down the road right before VBS and the kids just followed us back to the church. It was amazing to see one of our team members holding hands with a chain of local children. The number of kids that come has continued to grow with each day and it is such a blessing to hear them shout the memory verses at the end of each day. To God be the Glory! Our evangelism services have been great as well. We have been able to lead some worship, do some dramas--the bugspray drama Pastor really enjoyed, give some testimonies and give the message. We have been so blessed to be forming relationships with the people of Red Bank. We have been walking around the village inviting people to the services that are going on and this morning we did Prayer Walking where we intentionally walked around the village praying for Red Bank and its people to be blessed by God. So much has been going on with our construction projects as well. We have several groups of people working on tiling the front of the church, finishing the second bathroom(the first one we already finished!), building and sanding and varnishing new and old benches for the church. There is a lot of work that has been done and we still have one more day of construction on Monday. We know that it is only by the strength that God gives us that any of this work is being done, so to Him be the Glory!!! Please continue to pray for us as we continue to the work God has planned for us here in Red Bank. The heat is extreme here and there is little relief from it at night, so it is starting to wear on us, so continue to pray that we regain our strength and remain healthy so we can finish out our trip strong! There are a few of us who aren't feeling very well today as well, so pray that they will be healed so they can work along with us again tomorrow. Above all things pray that God will be glorified in all we do and that those in Red Bank would come to know Him and grow in their faith! Thank you for all your prayers!

It's hard to believe our time in Belize is already coming to a close. Mark was saying today that our first day in Red Bank seemed so incredibly long, but after that time flew by and now it's just about time to say goodbye to our new friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. We are finishing up our ministry time today and are soon getting ready to leave. All the construction projects we set out to do are completed. A lot of hard work and dedication was put into each of the projects. We prayed over the projects that they would be used to grow the church for the glory of God. VBS has continued to draw more and more children every day. On Saturday, there were over 250 kids there. Wow! God has definitely blessed us with strength. Each night we were here, we had service and the church was always packed by the end of each one. People who were uncomfortable coming to church stood outside and listened to the gospel being shared through drama, music, testimonies, and the messages that Mark or Matt Slegh had given.We got to visit with several people and pray with them after the services and during walks through the village. Some of us met a girl who is six years old, but cannot walk or eat. She drinks milk from a bottle but her family doesn't know if they can afford the milk anymore, so they don't know what to do. Please be praying for that family. On Sunday morning Steve and Nancie became God parents to a little baby girl in the village and Mark performed the dedication. What a blessing it was to see our team members become so connected with a family so quickly and to see that God had a plan in mind for them to meet this family when they did. Be praying for that family too as Rosa(the mother) has a lot of pain and may need to be taken to the hospital. Some of our construction money went to putting fans in the church, so we had an electrician, Orlando, working around us most of the week. He has been such a blessing to have around. He brought us mangos two separate times just because he knew we would enjoy them. He has pain and swelling in his leg and is trying to get to a good doctor, but cannot afford it. Please be praying that he would be healed or that God would provide a way to get him to a doctor. Pastor Edilberto, who has been our host this week, and his family are struggling with medical bills and the need to go to a doctor as well. There are so many needs in this community and we want to do more. Please be prayiing for those we have gotten to know in Red Bank that God would pour out blessings on that community and its people.

Now, as we head out to Belize City for a day of relaxation and reflection, pray that we won't forget all that God has done in us, through us, and inspite of us in Red Bank. Pray that we will not let what we learn go to waste as we head back home, but that we continue to grow in our faith and serve God always. Pray continually.

Many of us enjoyed our VBS time and our time with the children. Many of us enjoyed the construction and work projects that were completed. Many of us enjoyed the relationships we had with the people we met. Many of us enjoyed seeing how touched Pastor Edilberto was by our presence and service. Many of us enjoyed sports ministry, prayer ministry, evangelism services, and fellowship time, but all of us saw God working in us and through us to bless the village of Red Bank, Belize. We couldn't have predicted all that happened and we can't know the extent of our impact, but we do know that we were all touched, we were all blessed, and we were all changed by this experience. The tearful goodbyes that were had on Monday night will not be soon forgotten. Children clinging to us and crying, wanting for us to stay. Adults thanking us for all we have done with tears in their eyes. Pastor's heartfelt gratitude and thankfulness for our presence. We will not forget and we are humbled that God chose to use us to bring Him glory. After packing up and getting a short night of sleep, we woke up to the sound of people gathering around the church to see us one more time before we left. We loaded up the bus and said our goodbyes again. Pastor came onto the bus to thank us one last time. He openly wept with gratitude and said goodbye. We were all blessed by him and his willingness to serve no matter what. He told us that even if we don't see him again on earth, that we will be seeing each other in heaven. What an encouragement. We prayed before leaving and headed for Belize City for a day of relaxation and reflection. We had lunch at the Bird's Isle--this restaurant doesn't have any walls--and it rained and the wind blew the rain into the restaurant getting many of us wet. What an experience! We went to Old Belize after that and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of games and other fun! Our final team meeting was a great time of reflection and worship. It's unbelievable that our trip is already over, but it has been a time that has had an impact on us.