January Trip Report

Wow-what a week in Belize! It was so special to serve the people of Belize again alongside both Mom and Dad and special friends from Alabama and Texas. We arrived in Belize on Saturday, January 16. On Sunday, we attended 2 different morning worship services ( Santa Elena Baptist Church and Lagoon Road Baptist Church). It was a great experience to worship with our Belizean brothers and sisters! We also were a part of a men's outreach event, involving 2 local churches (Santa Elena Baptist Church and San Ignacio Baptist Church), on Sunday evening. We had a great time of worship and sharing. We had over 20 men from the 2 different churches. We were very encouraged by their commitment and desire to grow in their relationship with the Lord.

The team, which I was assigned, was privileged to have worked at the Cayo Deaf Institute (http://cdi-belize.net). Our task was to remove the old roof and install a new roof on bldg #8 and also demolish and install a new porch. After several broken drill bits and bent nails, we were able to accomplish the task God had planned for us. We began each morning with prayer as we arrived on-site and our focus was to keep the main thing the main thing-the main thing for the week was to be an example of Jesus Christ to all we came in contact with. The construction project was just a means to be used by God.

There are a few instances that come to mind when I reflect on the week at CDI. One of the most special moments was seeing the kids walking across the property from the classroom to lunch and lining up to hug each one of them. Another is being able to eat lunch with the staff and kids each day, what an honor! The kids were a living example of both joy and contentment. We left each day with those two words in our hearts and minds as we reflected on each day’s work. What an inspiration to see the kids always with a smile on their face and joy in their heart! They truly ministered to us each minute we were there.

A very teachable moment for our team was on Wednesday afternoon: We were working hard on the porch when the kids were released from school and came to play with us. We were so involved in the construction of the porch that we asked the kids to “go away” while we worked. We left later that afternoon very convicted we missed an opportunity to play with and love on the kids. We temporarily lost focus on the main thing. We prayed that evening for forgiveness and another opportunity on Thursday to spend with the kids. God definitely honored our prayers!! We were able to spend time with the kids Thursday morning and again in the afternoon. It was a special time! The most special time was with Clarence and Jona (age 12)-Jona, through Clarence’s interpretation, responded to Jesus after hearing the gospel presented by placing his faith and trust in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

Thank you to each of you for your prayer and support! It was very difficult to leave Belize, but very exciting to come home to Sara and the kids! Please continue your prayers for the mission efforts in Belize. I am planning to return to Belize in June or July for a few days to conduct follow-up and also begin planning for our 2011 trip. The dates for our 2011 trip are January 15-22.