Belize Team
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday Update!
Hi Everyone,
Still having internet problems, but I'm writing this in faith that it will get posted :) Today has been yet another full day. We woke and had breakfast at 7:30am, then we were off to the school for the last day of painting. Our team met in the school chapel before we started the day, so that we could do a morning devotion and pray together. It was a perfect start to the day! We still had a large chunk of painting to get finished, and it was uncertain whether we would have enough paint to finish the job. Around 11am, we still had a lot of the last building to finish, and we were running out of paint. Thankfully, the principal was able to do a paint run, as our team ate lunch and played with the students. Some of our team also spent the morning building a puppet theatre for the school puppet team. Since this was our last day at the school, we wanted to spend extra time playing with the students. Some of our team brought face paints, which were a huge hit with the students :) After lunch, we painted like crazy to finish up the final building before our departure deadline. Thankfully, we had just enough paint to finish the job. We had a touching moment with the teachers and principals. Plus, there were many sad good-byes as we said our final farewell's to the students at the school.
At the mission house, some of us showered, and others simply used a garden hose to remove all of the paint from their skin. We had 30 minutes to shower, change and load into the van for the final VBS at the learning centre. Our final VBS session focused on the resurrection. It was a huge blessing to see the children worshiping and interacting with the puppet presentation. It was also a blessing for the leadership team to see how much our teens have engaged in ministry with these children. Time and time again our teens would reach out to the children with love. It was awesome to see!
After the VBS, we came back to the mission house for a supper of BBQ'd chicken and tortillas. Then we each had some personal quiet time with God after supper. Tomorrow is our last full day in Belize, and it was important for all of us to take some time and debrief the week, and unpack the day. In the evening we had a games night and then a worship and debrief time together as a team. This has been yet another amazing day!
We are thankful to God for:
1. The opportunity to finish the painting job that we started.
2. That no one was hurt during the painting.
3. That Tracey's foot is much stronger.
4. For a fantastic final day at the VBS.
We ask for your prayer support for:
1. Our snorkeling trip tomorrow.
2. For our group, who are leaving new friends behind in Belize
3. For continued safety for the team.
4. For God to guide our hearts as we go through the final stages of our week.
Still having internet problems, but I'm writing this in faith that it will get posted :) Today has been yet another full day. We woke and had breakfast at 7:30am, then we were off to the school for the last day of painting. Our team met in the school chapel before we started the day, so that we could do a morning devotion and pray together. It was a perfect start to the day! We still had a large chunk of painting to get finished, and it was uncertain whether we would have enough paint to finish the job. Around 11am, we still had a lot of the last building to finish, and we were running out of paint. Thankfully, the principal was able to do a paint run, as our team ate lunch and played with the students. Some of our team also spent the morning building a puppet theatre for the school puppet team. Since this was our last day at the school, we wanted to spend extra time playing with the students. Some of our team brought face paints, which were a huge hit with the students :) After lunch, we painted like crazy to finish up the final building before our departure deadline. Thankfully, we had just enough paint to finish the job. We had a touching moment with the teachers and principals. Plus, there were many sad good-byes as we said our final farewell's to the students at the school.
At the mission house, some of us showered, and others simply used a garden hose to remove all of the paint from their skin. We had 30 minutes to shower, change and load into the van for the final VBS at the learning centre. Our final VBS session focused on the resurrection. It was a huge blessing to see the children worshiping and interacting with the puppet presentation. It was also a blessing for the leadership team to see how much our teens have engaged in ministry with these children. Time and time again our teens would reach out to the children with love. It was awesome to see!
After the VBS, we came back to the mission house for a supper of BBQ'd chicken and tortillas. Then we each had some personal quiet time with God after supper. Tomorrow is our last full day in Belize, and it was important for all of us to take some time and debrief the week, and unpack the day. In the evening we had a games night and then a worship and debrief time together as a team. This has been yet another amazing day!
We are thankful to God for:
1. The opportunity to finish the painting job that we started.
2. That no one was hurt during the painting.
3. That Tracey's foot is much stronger.
4. For a fantastic final day at the VBS.
We ask for your prayer support for:
1. Our snorkeling trip tomorrow.
2. For our group, who are leaving new friends behind in Belize
3. For continued safety for the team.
4. For God to guide our hearts as we go through the final stages of our week.
Wednesday Update!
Hi Everyone,
There have been some internet issues here at the mission house, so our apologies for the late postings. We had another incredible day! Since our painting job is so huge at the school; the team ate a quick breakfast and then hit the road. We painted all morning, until we attended the Ash Wednesday service with the students. Some of our team performed a liturgical dance that was really, really, powerful. The team found the entire service really moving. What a blessing to worship with our brothers and sisters here in Belize. We ate a quick lunch, and then went back to painting for another hour. Of course, in the midst of this hour there was also a bunch of playing with the children during their break time and lunch time.
Aroud 1pm, we struck out on our afternoon excursion. We drove toward the Guatemalan border and visited some amazing Mayan ruins. It was an extremely hot, and sticky day, but that didn't stop the team from climbing to the very top of the tallest ruin. The weather did make our swim in a nearby swimming pool that much sweeter. Then our group did a little shopping for souvenirs before going out for a nice dinner in a restaurant in St. Ignacio. Altogether, I don't think I've ever seen a more sleepy group of teenagers at 9:10pm. As we debriefed the day, many of us couldn't pick a favourite moment... because the day was filled with too many fantastic moments. We are very grateful to God for the people that he has placed in our pathes and the special moments of fun that have blessed each day.
I can't thank people enough for your prayer support.
- Tracey's foot continues to heal. She is now walking carefully, and she was able to join us for the hike to the Mayan ruins.
- We continue to work in the hot sun without any signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion
- Our team continues to grow closer together
Please continue to pray for:
- Safety and good health as we continue to paint the school tomorrow.
- Sound sleeps, since we have another very full day for our last two days in Belize
- That God would speak to the hearts of our team members, and that they would experience him in new ways in the days ahead
There have been some internet issues here at the mission house, so our apologies for the late postings. We had another incredible day! Since our painting job is so huge at the school; the team ate a quick breakfast and then hit the road. We painted all morning, until we attended the Ash Wednesday service with the students. Some of our team performed a liturgical dance that was really, really, powerful. The team found the entire service really moving. What a blessing to worship with our brothers and sisters here in Belize. We ate a quick lunch, and then went back to painting for another hour. Of course, in the midst of this hour there was also a bunch of playing with the children during their break time and lunch time.
Aroud 1pm, we struck out on our afternoon excursion. We drove toward the Guatemalan border and visited some amazing Mayan ruins. It was an extremely hot, and sticky day, but that didn't stop the team from climbing to the very top of the tallest ruin. The weather did make our swim in a nearby swimming pool that much sweeter. Then our group did a little shopping for souvenirs before going out for a nice dinner in a restaurant in St. Ignacio. Altogether, I don't think I've ever seen a more sleepy group of teenagers at 9:10pm. As we debriefed the day, many of us couldn't pick a favourite moment... because the day was filled with too many fantastic moments. We are very grateful to God for the people that he has placed in our pathes and the special moments of fun that have blessed each day.
I can't thank people enough for your prayer support.
- Tracey's foot continues to heal. She is now walking carefully, and she was able to join us for the hike to the Mayan ruins.
- We continue to work in the hot sun without any signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion
- Our team continues to grow closer together
Please continue to pray for:
- Safety and good health as we continue to paint the school tomorrow.
- Sound sleeps, since we have another very full day for our last two days in Belize
- That God would speak to the hearts of our team members, and that they would experience him in new ways in the days ahead
Tuesday Update!
This morning we awoke at 7am, and had yummy french toast, eggs and fresh pineapple for breakfast. Then we met as a team and had a devotion, before striking out for St. Hilda's. Our team is now responsible for painting the outside of all of the school buildings. This is going to be a pretty huge job, but it was awesome to see how hard our team worked together, despite the intense heat. We even had five team members who volunteered to stay behind after lunch and keep painting so that we can finish painting on schedule. Today, was also the first day for the students to be back at school since yesterday was a holiday. Many of our team members had a ton of fun playing with the kids during recess and lunch break.
Our awesome hosts surprised us with a trip to a private swimming hole after painting. It was so amazing of them to help us cool down after hours in the hot sun. The team loved splashing around in Iguana Creek :)
Our VBS was intense this afternoon with almost 100 children showing up from the village. Yesterday's theme was Jesus' birth, and today we focused on Jesus' life. It was definitely a chaotic time, but a lot of fun to sing and dance with the kids. It was a blessing to be able to love them and tell them about God's love.
Supper was tacos, and then we spent the evening working on dramas for the ash Wednesday service tomorrow at St. Hilda's. We then spent the rest of the night playing games and relaxing. We feel really blessed that Tracey's foot is much, much better. She didn't end up going for an X-ray, because the healing is happening so fast.
We ask for your prayers for the following:
1. For safety as we go through our day.
2. For sound sleeps, since our days are so intense.
3. As always, please pray that our team continues to grow closer together, and closer to God.
Thanks for your support!
Anna Caines
Our awesome hosts surprised us with a trip to a private swimming hole after painting. It was so amazing of them to help us cool down after hours in the hot sun. The team loved splashing around in Iguana Creek :)
Our VBS was intense this afternoon with almost 100 children showing up from the village. Yesterday's theme was Jesus' birth, and today we focused on Jesus' life. It was definitely a chaotic time, but a lot of fun to sing and dance with the kids. It was a blessing to be able to love them and tell them about God's love.
Supper was tacos, and then we spent the evening working on dramas for the ash Wednesday service tomorrow at St. Hilda's. We then spent the rest of the night playing games and relaxing. We feel really blessed that Tracey's foot is much, much better. She didn't end up going for an X-ray, because the healing is happening so fast.
We ask for your prayers for the following:
1. For safety as we go through our day.
2. For sound sleeps, since our days are so intense.
3. As always, please pray that our team continues to grow closer together, and closer to God.
Thanks for your support!
Anna Caines
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sweatin' it at St. Hilda's
Hi Everyone,
It's been another jam-packed day in Belize. This was our first full day of serving at St. Hilda's school and the learning centre. We awoke at 7am, with breakfast at 7:30am. We definitely are not going to lose weight on this mission :) The food here has been amazing! After breakfast, our team had a morning devotion and then some individual quiet time with God.
Following our quiet time, we got dressed in our painting gear and drove 10 minutes to St. Hilda's. Our team will be painting the outside of the school buildings throughout the week. It was a pretty sweaty piece of work... painting for three hours in the hot Belizian sun. We were helped by some local children, who worked alongside us. Some of our team members also helped fix the school bell, and some broken window slats around the school.
After painting we had time to come back to the mission house. We showered and rested before we went to the learning centre to run the VBS program for the local children. The VBS was a ton of fun! It was amazing to see all of our teenagers jump in and work with the children here in Belize. We had three stations for the VBS: games, music/puppets and crafts. It was a blessing to see the fruit of all of our planning and organizing during the past winter months.
Supper was a traditional Belizian meal (chicken & rice). It was absolutely delicious, and our team agreed that it was our favourite meal of the week (so far). We spent our evening planning for tomorrow's VBS, and debriefing from our day. Our days are so full, that no one seems to mind when bedtime comes at 9:30pm. In fact, many in our group were looking pretty pooped by supper time.
We are still reaping the benefits of your prayer support. All of us are seeing God in action in both the big and little things. We have a few prayer requests for everyone:
1. Tracey injured her foot yesterday swimming, and we believe that we will be taking her to get an X-ray tomorrow. We want to be careful that it is not a break, and potentially get her a set of crutches until she is able to walk normally. Please pray that she will heal quickly, and that she can still participate as fully as possible with the people here in Belize.
2. Please continue to pray for safety for all of the team.
3. Please pray that God continues to work in the hearts of both the mission team and the people that we are serving.
Thanks for all of your support!!
Blessings!
Anna Caines
It's been another jam-packed day in Belize. This was our first full day of serving at St. Hilda's school and the learning centre. We awoke at 7am, with breakfast at 7:30am. We definitely are not going to lose weight on this mission :) The food here has been amazing! After breakfast, our team had a morning devotion and then some individual quiet time with God.
Following our quiet time, we got dressed in our painting gear and drove 10 minutes to St. Hilda's. Our team will be painting the outside of the school buildings throughout the week. It was a pretty sweaty piece of work... painting for three hours in the hot Belizian sun. We were helped by some local children, who worked alongside us. Some of our team members also helped fix the school bell, and some broken window slats around the school.
After painting we had time to come back to the mission house. We showered and rested before we went to the learning centre to run the VBS program for the local children. The VBS was a ton of fun! It was amazing to see all of our teenagers jump in and work with the children here in Belize. We had three stations for the VBS: games, music/puppets and crafts. It was a blessing to see the fruit of all of our planning and organizing during the past winter months.
Supper was a traditional Belizian meal (chicken & rice). It was absolutely delicious, and our team agreed that it was our favourite meal of the week (so far). We spent our evening planning for tomorrow's VBS, and debriefing from our day. Our days are so full, that no one seems to mind when bedtime comes at 9:30pm. In fact, many in our group were looking pretty pooped by supper time.
We are still reaping the benefits of your prayer support. All of us are seeing God in action in both the big and little things. We have a few prayer requests for everyone:
1. Tracey injured her foot yesterday swimming, and we believe that we will be taking her to get an X-ray tomorrow. We want to be careful that it is not a break, and potentially get her a set of crutches until she is able to walk normally. Please pray that she will heal quickly, and that she can still participate as fully as possible with the people here in Belize.
2. Please continue to pray for safety for all of the team.
3. Please pray that God continues to work in the hearts of both the mission team and the people that we are serving.
Thanks for all of your support!!
Blessings!
Anna Caines
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