God’s provision so far has been amazing! We flew into Belize after a long day of traveling. After some rain off and on in the morning, our group went for pizza in Belize City. Afterward, we visited a nursing home and connected with the residents there through songs, Scripture, and sharing our stories. Afterward, we picked up the teams on later flights and headed to dinner at an amazing restaurant with homemade lime juice and chicken burritos. Then we got settled in at the school where we are staying. Together our team is First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, New Covenant Christian, and Central PA Youth Ministries for an amazing week together in Belmopan and San Martin. All 56 of us came together safely, with every bag and every flight coming in smoothly.

Friday morning began with children greeting us at Vacation Bible School. They were so excited! We talked about God’s love (1 Corinthians 13!) today and we started a “love train” for the craft. All of our preparation is now being enjoyed. Games were fun outside too.

After a beautiful morning together and a fantastic lunch, we shared our life stories among the team members and then Pastor Floyd led us in some evangelism training. We went out to homes visiting in the area and prayed for many people. It was humbling and eye-opening to connect with people in their homes about their joys and their challenges.

In the evening, we held a youth service and got to meet the teenagers of Belmopan. Jeffrey and Marcus shared some incredible words of challenge and encouragement. It was great to hang out and be silly with the youth after the service too. This week is starting off really well. It’s super humid and plenty hot, but we are drinking lots of water and adjusting. It’s really fun to see how everyone is stepping out of their comfort zones!

Woo Hoo!

Vacation Bible School and the “Love Train” are chugging right along! The children lined up with excitement to blow the train whistle and begin another great day together. The Good Samaritan parable held the children’s attention and helped the theme to continue to sink in. We are all enjoying our time together.

In the afternoon, we played a vigorous soccer game with community youth behind the church. It was a great time. Meanwhile, the construction crew went to prepare the site. A devoted member of the church has been living in a house with a dirt floor. As the rains have been coming frequently, the conditions there are very difficult. Today, we have laid the groundwork for her to have a strong, wooden floor. It was so humbling to be a part of this project for her and her children. There is already so much love between us. Praise God for all that He has done in our midst!

Today we enjoyed Sunday school and morning worship. Scott preached from Ephesians 2 on about how God has made us alive in Christ and we are saved by grace through faith. How marvelous it is to be God’s masterpiece! We also prayed together for the needs of the church and we are seeing our hearts uniting with theirs. Many tears were shed today. Dolores (pictured with her new sister, Bennie) is so grateful to have her new, dry floor!

In the afternoon, some of us went to a home for abused children and spent the afternoon encouraging them. They taught us how to play jacks, Chinese checkers and we enjoyed the fellowship there. The majority of our group went to a juvenile detention center/halfway house. We shared testimonies, and split off with the males and females for some good conversations. We were able to listen to their stories, share our experiences, pray for them and help them to see a different future for themselves. It was powerful!

In the evening, Whitney shared her testimony back at the church and Pastor Norman from Belmopan Baptist Church shared the Word from 1 Peter 2. We thought about the significance of being a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and God’s special possession. “Marvelous Light” seems to be the song of our trip. The Belizeans are learning it and requesting that we sing it again. The youth shared how they admired our group and were compelled to do more with God’s people and kingdom. Tomorrow is our last day in Belmopan…

This morning VBS was high-energy! It was great to play with the children and encourage them in God’s love. They recited and memorized John 3:16 so easily. Through tug-of-war, sidewalk chalk, the parachute game and sharing smiles, we had a bittersweet end to VBS.

Train conductor

In the afternoon, we had sports ministry at the church and also scraped and painted the railing at the school. Rust had taken over most of the surface of the railing, and as people would use it, it would continue to be problematic for students. It was great to make some improvements on the building where we have been staying all week. We kept pushing through the afternoon until the work was finished.

Tonight, we prayed with Pastor Norman and thanked him for allowing us to partner with his church. He was blessed to see how God had used our team this week as an extension of God’s Spirit at work here. We have seen God do some beautiful things in our midst here. All glory, honor and praise be to God!

Tomorrow we wake up early and head to Caye Caulker for snorkeling, swimming, and enjoying God’s creation. Thank you for all of your prayers back home. WARMest greetings from Belize--See you soon!