After much energy invested in planning, packing, building excitement and praying for the trips, we are finally in Corozal! The afternoon was spent gathering at the airport with all three groups coming together to form one team for the week, driving the couple hours north to Corozal and setting up the area we will call home for the next week. We arrived, played an impromptu football and hacky sack game with the neighbor children, were welcomed by a group who had heard about the mission on the radio and had been praying for us. We then jumped back on the bus for a short ride to the town plaza where we experienced our first Belizean meal, bbq chicken, homemade flour tortillas, bread pudding and tamarind juice. Afterward, it was back to the community center for some time of fellowship and….finally…..some sleep!!
We awoke refreshed and excited for the day of praising God in His house in Corozal, Emmanuel Baptist Church. After another tasty breakfast, we arrived for Sunday school. Lots were waiting for us t the church and each Sunday school class was led by members of the team. Afterward, the Bethel Unversity group led the service which included music, testimonies and a message given by Moses. What a treat it was at the end of the service, when we found out there was a little baby girl who was to be presented at this service. We shared in the joy of that ceremony and grabbed some lunch before heading to the hospital where we got a tour around the facilities and had the opportunity to pray over some of the patients.
After the day of travel on Saturday, a time of relaxing and walking around the village, visiting the beach and enjoying the company of one another was rejuvenating. Sunday evening was back to church for another service, this one lasting over two hours and full of testimonies by the Christ Memorial group and a message about communication. Vernon Christian School put this together and shared how prayers can be full of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication (ACTS). The youth band from Emmanuel Baptist played for us and we ended the night by praying for the upcoming week.
This morning is off to a busy start with Vernon and Christ Memorial laying cement floors at a mission church in San Narciso and Bethel running a medical clinic in a village just north or Corozal, Paraiso. We are excited to come together and serve in the schools and at a vacation bible school this afternoon. Thanks to all those at home that are supporting us through prayers!

PS Elsa and Kate send their Matts their love :)

God has been faithful! He has brought forward people in need of medical help (we have reached our daily limit both yesterday and today!), He has opened doors for us at government schools for us to be able to teach ten different classes at each school, He has provided us with hard working locals who are teaching and working alongside us as we are putting an addition on the church and He has provided us with many little ones to share the love of Christ with at the vacation Bible school. We feel more and more blessed as we realize the amount of work the congregation has been putting into hosting us. The food has been wonderful and the hospitality we have felt from each person makes it that much more real that God has provided us with many brothers and sisters in His name to keep and care for one another. We look forward to participating in a Bible study this evening and taking a visit to the nearby lagoon tomorrow! Many thanks for all the prayers from back home.

Wow, no one can believe this is our last day of ministry! Yesterday was a rejuvenating day for all as we took turns leaving the sites for some down time at the local lagoon and beach. We served in Xaibe for the medical clinics and school visits, before going back to San Narciso for the Bible school. Word of mouth has been bringing in more and more children every day for the Bible school. Last night was the prayer service at the church in Corozal, but Pastor Rodas really wanted to hear testimonies of our group (the members of the church had shared their testimonies Tuesday night). It turned into a two hour service with many from our group going forward to share what God has been doing throughout their life and just within the past week. Words of encouragement were also shared with Emmanuel Baptist. In between testimonies, we sang songs in Spanish, including one song that we had been practicing the entire week! It was a powerful time of fellowship and, if we weren’t waking up early this morning, it could have gone all night! What a testimony to God’s power, that He can so well connect groups from across the United States, Canada and Belize to share stories of His grace, strength, love and faithfulness that can encourage one another in our own walks. We will truly leave this week having new brothers and sisters in Christ. Please pray for safety as we spend the day tomorrow traveling and for each group member as we are processing the week and the unique ways God has called each of our hearts to serve Him.