Sundays/Monday

     Sunday
Today the team went to a local church for our morning service and spent the rest of the day adventuring around Mayan ruins. The service was very engaging and was quite different than what we have back home. The sermon was great but the service was more inclusive than most services many of us have encountered.

     The Mayan ruins were also very cool. We climbed to the very top of the tallest ancient tower and as we looked out one side we could see Guatemala and Belize on the other side. We truly live in an awesome time in history where we can appreciate such history.

    After we went to a local restaurant called Hodes. It was an awesome time and everyone enjoyed sitting down and having a meal together after a great day of rest. From mike playing a large Belizean xylophone for everyone in the restaurant to Tracy getting called babe by our writers, laughs were had by all! We certainly enjoyed our sabbath down here in Belize.


Monday


Well it's the beginning of many of your work weeks and down here in Belize its the beginning of ours too!! Today was our first day that the team split up to take on a couple of different tasks. The first group of us were 7 that went to a local school. Half the day was spent learning about the school and meeting the kids. The other half we spent cleaning some houses here on the YWAM base to bless the staff here.
The staff here is absolutely amazing, it only seemed right to bless them as much as we can.
    The other 14 of us went to help Troy and a local contractor Darrell build his new bible school. The vision for this school has been developing for a few years and it is finally taking physical form. Many of the local ministry here have been ordained with little to no bible education and Troy, Barb, Carmen and Faye are seeking to change that. They are building a school that can teach pastors/priests across denominations the more mature teaching of scripture. Its an amazing fest of unity that 6 different denominations are supporting this and We get to be a part of it! After losing half a day waiting for delivery of bricks and rebar, we still managed to get 8 out of the ten walls stsrted. We worked hard and all were pleased and tired by the end of the day. Despite multiple doses of sun screen many of us still got burnt ; The Belizean sun is an unforgiving one.

     At the end of today we all went for amazing swim in the creek near the base and it hit the spot. It was truly something out of a movie. Hanging palm trees, crystal clean water, and soft sand beneath your feet and oh ya, 25 degrees. Are you jealous yet :)?

Vacation bible school

Today we had a very busy day. We had about 40 young energetic Belizean kids come to the Ywam base to attend our vbs; boy was it busy. We had our fearless leader Mike and Jamie leading music and memorizing the ten commandments, April and Tracey were very busy with crafts and Luke and many more of us were maxed out playing games. You have got to know that these kids are awesome and full of get-up-and-go. After it was over the drama group led by my self (Brent) did a skit called the "dirty shirt."

You really have to be here to see and grasp the reality of the what is happening here. I've had one little boy named Travis and two little girls named Covenant and Demaris hanging off every limb. Cameron Eagles has made a little following of groupies. April, Elyse and Tracey have had to basically do the crafts for the kids just because they wanted attention so much. Matthew Nutter continues to go at full pace in soccer with the locals. And there are more stories to tell but I don't want to spoil all of them. One more though is worth mentioning. After the dirty shirt skit, I gave a talk on it and tied the whole thing into the gospel, and the kids gave me their undivided attention. What was learned later though was that people in our group were approached by the kids to help ask jesus into their heart. It was totally amazing.

Tomorrow is the Sabbath and we certainly need it. We will also explore some Aztec ruins :). We miss u all and wish you all a good sleep and great Sunday.

Arrived - Photo Proof

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