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Greetings once again from Always Beautiful Belize! For those of you reading back home, we will be blogging every two days - due to slow internet upload speeds.
Monday found our missionaries up early and preparing for the men and women team projects. After a breakfast of eggs, ham, refried beans and fruit, the vans went to various villages to pick up our Belizean friends so that they could join our work.
The women began their time together by making beaded bracelets. Diane developed this craft and everyone had a great time. Susan and Lisa led a lunch devotion lesson on Loving God.
Later in the afternoon, the ladies broke out into song and dance after more crafts.
Over at the EQC church facility, the men were hard at work buying and hauling materials to the job site. Belize is in the middle of the rainy season and the church grounds were a muddy mess - so German spent the day hauling nearly 50 yards of crushed stone and Dan used the backhoe to spread the rocks over the yard.
Terry, Luis, Jose and Chris primed the sanctuary ceiling in preparation for the acoustic ceiling spray tomorrow.
Michael and Travis began roughing in the outdoor kitchen while Ray and Ron began door framing.
John, Camryn and others hung sheet rock and applied joint compound.
After the day's work came to an end, Ms. Ethel made a delicious spaghetti dinner and the group spent about an hour sharing in circle time.
Work continued today at the church and at the camp. The ladies continued making beads in the morning. Heather B. and Ragan shared a lunch lesson about Loving Ourselves. During the afternoon, bead making became the craft - but the women found time to sing and dance again. And they all took turns caring for the small children (Vickie and Sandy really enjoyed this).
At EQC, the sanctuary ceiling was sprayed with acoustic material and the walls were painted a sky blue color. The outdoor kitchen counter was nearly completed and cement porch blocks were being laid.
In the education rooms sheet rocking continued and all of the joints were sealed.
A brick barbecue grill is also being built in the backyard - with German's mother supervising the construction.
Whew! What an experience this has been so far. So much work has been done and yet so much is yet to do. And our revival/crusade begins Thursday evening. So pray that we get it all accomplished by then.
Well, here is where we leave you. We promise to send another update on Thursday.
Blessings,
Joey
Greetings from your November Belize missionaries! Our team landed in Belize City yesterday morning. Alice, Vany and Victor welcomed us at the airport with the big bus and ministry van. After a few minutes of introductions, hugs and reunion time, we headed into downtown for lunch at the Princess Marriott Hotel.
After our bellies were full of stewed chicken and rice and beans, we loaded back into the vehicles for our one hour ride to Camalote Camp in Camalote Village. As we arrived, Mr. Ray and Ethel came out to greet us. It always feels so great to arrive back at our home away from home.
We settled into our rooms, spent time in the hammocks and had a great dinner. After eating, the group had our first circle time - a time of prayer, sharing and devotion led by Travis and Debbie.
Bedtime came early around here and the pillows felt oh-so good.
As day broke this morning the coffee began to flow - and the garden came alive with the sounds of nature. We all spent time with our devotionals and His Word
as Ms. Ethel prepared our first Belizean breakfast. We ate scrambled eggs, sausage, refried beans and journey cakes.
Today is our first full day - the Lord's day - Sunday. An awesome day of worship and fellowship. The team headed over to the new EQC worship facility early to prepare for service at 9:30. The congregation soon arrived and it was great to see everyone.
Pastor German welcomed everyone and Lisa and Ragan helped lead praise and worship time. Sister Rash gave a testimony and Pastor Terry led a prayer. The children then left for their Sunday school lesson with Vickie and others in the education building. Following a few worship songs, Pastor John delivered a bold message about the Fruit of the Spirit. As the service came to a close, our team assisted in feeding the entire congregation lunch - hot dogs, cookies and juice.
We originally had plans to take the children to swim in the river after church but the cooler, rainy weather prevented us from going. We said our goodbyes, loaded everyone back into the buses and took them home.
The team came back to camp and began preparing for our first mission workday tomorrow. The men spent time planning the church improvement projects and the women prepared bracelet supplies for the women's seminar.
At dinner, we all sang Happy Birthday to German and Alice served Tres Leches cake to everyone. By the way, Lynn Hartshorn spent time with Alice's sister learning how to make this wonderful dessert.
Well, it's getting late and the crickets are out. Everyone is in bed so this is where I leave you. Good night and God Bless - from a small yet very special village in Central America.
In His Grip,
Joey
