We are here

We have endured a lot of driving, flying and even a hike across a wire wooden bridge to arrive at the YWAM (youth with a mission) base in Belize. What a journey but boy was it worth it. Upon arrival we enjoyed a wonderful Belize dish of rice with beans and local seasoning with stewed chicken. You want to believe after a long day that this meal was heavenly.

We just finished sharing the high and low points of our day together. It is undeniable that people are seeing God move in some fantastic ways and all are excited. From having Sophie be amazing through the new experience of travel to arriving early in Houston. We even had a stranger give us a monetary gift to put toward good use in Belize.

Due to technical limitations pictures are just too hard to upload. Although getting them on Facebook has been a breeze; I apologize to all who don't have Facebook. Tomorrow's a new day and we are stoked, stay tuned because God is on the move in Belize and we are in hot pursuit!!!

2 Days to go!!!

This past Sunday we had our commissioning service and it was one to remember. Our team was surrounded with the prayer and support of our congregation, prayer partners and home team. Everyone in the group was moved by the love and unity that poured over us as we were launched into our role as a missionaries. Thank you so much for everyone who came out!

As we are preparing to go, the next two days will include vast amounts of running around, last minute inoculations, mass amounts of packing and spiritual preparation. Certainly for some of us there are mixed feelings. Excitement is an obvious feeling that I see in the others around me. But still there are more subtle hints of nervousness and confidence. These two feelings are particularly interesting and I believe that God can use both for the good of the group. Those of us walking in a feeling of confidence are humbled by the prospect of leadership and preparation while those of us feeling a bit more nervous are inspired and challenged by the confidence of others. The beautiful thing is that God has brought us together in love and unity. And its by that love that the people in the air ports, in Belize and here in Canada will know that we are sons of daughters of the living God!

"Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples" John 13:35 NLT

Everyone pray for good weather, safe travels, and for God's Kingdom to come!

17 days!!!!!

     In just 17 days our group will be in transit between Saint John, NB and Portland, ME. We will be sharing excitement with each other all the while a little crammed into one of the few vehicles we are driving. The build up on that day will likely be stifled by the long drive and early wake up call (4am) for our flight, but I doubt that any of us will lose that spark for long; I know I wont! I mean how could we with the prospect of a warm tropical climate ripe with opportunities to do some work for the kingdom!
         
     It occurred to me as I was listening to Mike (our pastor/spiritual coordinator) this past Sunday that these 17 days aren't meant to be simply endured. These 17 days aren't to be viewed as the unfortunate amount of time that we need to endure before we can finally embark on our journey. These 17 days should be viewed as a time of spiritual/physical preparation. Just as Daniel was intentional about his time preparing for the unknown by daily prayer and fasting, we too should be savoring the time we are given to prepare for this journey. William Nicholson speaks best to the concept of prayer when he said:

"I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God- it changes me.” William Nicholson, Shadowlands. 

     Just yesterday, a large portion of our mission team and our prayer partners circled up and held hands in a time of prayer. We prayed for covering, we prayed for victory, we prayed for each other and we prayed for the people we will come into contact with. I think when we are in the moment we often feel as if we are doing something to change God. I believe in those times God is simply trying to change us. But, looking back on all of the preparation the team has shared in I have noticed a lot of change in myself toward each person on the team and those supporting the team. I see brothers & sisters where I once saw friends & acquaintances. I see mothers & fathers where I once saw only Christians. And I see myself being able to sacrifice everything for those around me. Its in the times of prayer/fellowship like this past Sunday where its clear God has changed me.

Coffee House Pictures

Hello Everyone!!
This is my first blog post for the Church of the Resurrection Belize mission trip! I am super excited about what is going on with this group. We have gone through an amazing team building weekend at Dayspring and our first group fundraiser (the servant auction) was hugely blessed. Being the guy taking the lead for fundraising certainly has its challenging. It means walking the fine line of being financially focused and Kingdom oriented. Luckily for me the team is active and helpful in keeping that balance.
We are approaching the second group fundraiser this Wednesday December 12th; the coffee house/bake sale. I am very excited to see a whole list of people that aren't known to our community come out and take in the great line up of musicians. I hope a great number of the congregation make an effort to come out and build relationships with those people outside of our congregation. What a great way to relax during the fast paced Christmas season.

Don't forget to keep bringing your bottles to the Bayview redemption center in Grand Bay. The Church of the Resurrection has account their and all the proceeds will go toward the mission trip! We will be doing a formal door-to-door bottle pick up on January 05, 2013. Thanks so much everyone!

 

Brent Harris

Dayspring and Silent Auction

Thank you so much for your prayers for the weekend!! We had a fantastic weekend at Dayspring ministries. We arrived Friday and enjoyed an evening of games, teaching and worship. It was wonderful to spend relaxed time together as a team :) Ben Peterson traveled all the way from Quebec to help us with team building activities that encouraged us to forge a stronger sense of community and trust in our team. These activities started at 5:15am!!! It was an incredibly full day of outdoor activities that challenged our minds, bodies and sense of patience :) We were very thankful for Ben's leadership throughout the day, as well as the awesome facilities at Dayspring. Rhonda Peterson even prepared and served the supper for our group at the end of this full day. What a blessing!!

Sunday was a hot dog lunch and Servant Auction at the Church of the Resurrection. One of the LIFE small groups in our church volunteered to bless the Belize mission by sponsoring and preparing this lunch. Brent Harris organized and ran the servant auction whereby people in the parish were encouraged to bid on the various team members. Each team member had a list of gifts and skills that they would use to serve the highest bidder for an afternoon. A huge thank you to the LIFE group for their generosity and support. Also, thank you to everyone for your donations and bids!!

Thank you for your on-going prayer support. It is an essential part of this mission.

Update November 15

The away team has been meeting every two weeks since September, and we have done a lot of solid learning together on the nature of mission, God's heart in mission, and trusting God for the road ahead. This weekend will be an important time of team building. The team is going to Dayspring Ministries. This ministry centre is located outside of Saint John and they have an excellent facility for hosting groups. We have invited Ben Peterson, a trained instructor in Christian outdoor team building, to come from Quebec for this weekend. He is going to be leading our group through a wide range of challenging outdoor events to help us come together and work as a team. We will be spending the night at Dayspring and committing all of Saturday to these activities. Please pray for good weather and safety during this weekend. Also, please pray that this weekend will help us strengthen our trust in each other, and strengthen our sense of unity as a team.

Following this action packed weekend, we are having lunch and a servant auction after church this Sunday. One of the LIFE small groups in our church has generously offered to host a lunch for the Belize mission team. Following the lunch, people will have the opportunity to bid on various team members. Each team member has a list of skills and gifts that they can offer up for an afternoon to the highest bidder. For example, many of us can do yard work, household chores, babysitting, cooking and other useful activities. The money raised by this group fundraiser will be going to bless the people in Belize as well as potentially off-setting the cost for team members who are working hard and yet still need some support in their personal fundraising.

Please help spread the word about the servant auction this Sunday! Furthermore, please join us in prayer this weekend as we experience some intense team building.

Blessings!