Assessing Needs and Clothing Provisions....

Day 5

We spent the entire day with our sister church members and were able to provide each of them with a huge bag of clothes.  Pastor German provided the resources but Quest missionaries had to sort and organize the clothes into men, women and children's categories.

We used the EQC worship facility and pushed all the benches against the wall.  Then several men took turns lowering bags of clothes from the upper room above the church to the floor below.  Missionaries then spent hours sorting the bags.

Matt and Curt MacDonald spent much of their time in the upper room moving bags of clothes and cleaning.  Each team member was required to wear a dust mask, as the humid Belize climate had made the clothes dusty and damp.

 Vickie poses for the camera as she sorts clothes in EQC.

Debbie works to quickly categorize sizes.

Micheal Albright organizes the young boys section.

 

Betsi works with EQC members and friends to fill bags of clothing for various families.

Shannon stops for the camera during work.

Children are always livening the mood at mission events - and this was no exception.  This one yellow slide kept about 6 kids entertained for hours. Their faces are always so very bright and loving.

 I will end with this photo of Travis taking a break to hold one of the youngest helpers, as his mother spent time selecting her clothes.  The Belizean people - these families that are now our forever friends - are truly a beautiful blessing to our lives.  It remains a honor to serve them even in the smallest of ways.

Blessings to All,

Joey  (on behalf of your Quest missionaries)

Continued Group Fellowship in Belize….

Apologies for the late blog posts but our internet service was extremely slow yesterday and today.  The signal seems fine right now so I will catch everyone up to speed.

Day 4 (Tuesday) found our group a little tired but ready to begin a brand new day of work together here in Belize.  The vans arrived around 9:30a.m. delivering men, women and children from the various villages we minister to/with. 

The women began their day with devotionals and prayer and then started a very special project.   Each woman received a piece of canvas and some acrylic paint.  The canvas was pre-marked with abstract lines and shapes that did not reveal any specific imagery and the women simply had to paint colors in certain places. (i.e. paint by numbers)

We were pleased to have Verna and Austin's wife Deli with our ladies.

 Julie Gray spends time with several woman from Maya Mopan village.

 Our men's group was inspired to make some furniture for Pedro and his family.  Many of you may remember that his home was vandalized and burned to the ground last year.  Quest assisted with raising the funds for new materials and EQC rebuilt a new house.

We had a lot of scrap wood left over from the bed building and by the end of the day we had made a dining table, two benches and two adirondack style chairs.  The outpouring of work toward this family's needs is simply amazing - as they have dirt floor and absolutely no furniture in the house whatsoever.

James Thomas and Pedro show off their stool leg.

Adolfo smooths the rough edges.

Ron and Oscar cut lumber to length.

Young men of EQC make the table for Pedro's family.

As our men and women worked together, members of both teams took turns helping to care for the Belizean children.

At times this room seemed like "Daddy Daycare".  Angel, James and Ron pull their shift.

Curt MacDonald said his knowledge as a grandparent helped him take a foam noodle beating with grace. :)

As evening rolled around, EQC and Quest joined together in worship.  Debbie Banks preached a powerful message and we were so very proud of her.  Pastor German gave an altar call and many people came forward to receive prayer.

The two Amys smile for a picture after service.

After the buses had left to take everyone home, Travis, Michael and Joey went out back of the chapel and began taking night, long exposure photos - so I leave you with this image of the Camalote night sky and a grove of banana trees.  By the way, the light in the background is the lights from Westar truck stop (2 miles away) and the trees are illuminated by just a few light bulbs nearly thirty yards away.


In Christ, Joey

 

Fry Jacks for Breakfast help make Mission Blankets and Beds....

Greetings from Always Beautiful Belize!!

Our missionaries woke early Monday morning to spend time in their devotionals and prepare for the first day of group work projects.  As we sat on the screened porches and in the garden hammocks enjoying the sights and sounds, rumors began to fly that "fry jacks" were hot and ready in the kitchen.
For those of you who may not know what fry jacks are, let me describe them:  Imagine a very light, thin pastry that is made in a triangular shape and fried in the shallow oil from a black iron skillet.  Although there is no sweet component, the dough is irresistible - and so we have nicknamed it the "Krispy Kreme of Belize".... now we just have to convince them to drown it in a sugary glaze!!

Once breakfast had finished, vans driven by James Thomas and German began to depart our camp bound for various villages.  They returned soon with what seemed to be fifty of our Belizean friends who would spend the day working along side us.

The Women's Group met in the chapel and had over 30 ladies representing several generations.  Most brought their infants and young children along with them.  The ladies spent the day in fellowship together making blankets, having lunch and sharing several scriptural lessons/activities.  Our Quest missionary women were so very blessed to be here in community with their Belizean sisters.

As the ladies worked in the chapel they had to endure the sounds of chop saws, circular saws and drills.  The Men's Group was about thirty feet away crafting beds under the tool shed - and having a great time doing so.  Matt MacDonald lead the first day's lunch lesson on our theme of GRACE. Belize it or not, Travis Cain once again led the charge and 35 beds were completely finished in one day!  From a personal standpoint, it was a pleasure to be working side by side with young men like Julio, Luis, Pedro and Joshua.  And it was refreshing to welcome a few new faces into our clan - like Angel, James and Rudolpho.  When each bed was finished, Matt pulled the branding iron from the fire and burned a cross into the head boards and foot boards.

Similar to last November's experience, our team took turns entertaining the children of the men and women participating in this week's camp.  The infants and some toddlers spent time in the Maya House kitchen watching movies, napping and screaming.  Vickie Veatch helped to organize activities for older children on the large screened porch - and from the sounds of things, an exhaustively good time was had by all.  :)

Our day ended around 4pm and everyone gathered around the vans to say goodbye and return home.
The weather was perfect, the fellowship was great and the Lord's work continued.

In Christ (and on behalf of Quest missionaries)

Joey

Our Sabbath Together.... Day 2

Our first full morning in Belize found several of our missionaries rising before the local roosters in Camalote village. (~ 5am)  The aroma of Starbucks coffee and the camp's blooming garden eased everyone into their personal quiet times and devotionals.  

Even thought sunrise can be a very peaceful time here, there was a buzz of excitement about spending another worshipful Sunday with our long-time friends from The Evangelical Quest Church.  As we all got ready for breakfast, missionaries were setting up chairs in the chapel - others embarked in the vans bound to pick up the locals from various villages.  Tuning instruments could be heard as Melvin, (EQC's worship leader) and some new friends from San Ignacio began to get into their rhythms.  

Anticipation soon gave way to the sounds of diesel engines coming down the road and we knew that many more hands and feet were about to inhabit our camp.  Within minutes, hugs, kisses and well wishes spread throughout the chapel like wildfire and everyone began to get reacquainted. 

Pastor German welcomed everyone to Camalote Camp and the praise music began to play.
The children of EQC could be seen in nearly every missionary's lap or holding our hands.  Seeing how quickly our two worlds reconnect is one of the most beautiful testimonies to what God can do when He is at work.

As I mentioned, Melvin and some new friends from San Ignacio did an excellent job of leading worship and soon it was time for God's message to be delivered.  I would like to thank John Kenney for his inspired sermon outline - expounding on the parable of the Sower from Mark 4: 1-20. (It made my first preaching assignment in Belize much easier and definitely more coherent than I could have imagined)

Once the service had concluded, our missionaries broke the congregation down into smaller groups of men, women and children.  Travis Cain did an excellent job of leading the men's group and Vickie Veatch facilitated the women's independent study time.  But by far, the most impressive group here was the children's group - which or course, had many many leaders!  July Gray, Ron Hartshorn, Micheal Albright, Debbie Banks and more helped to lead these wonderful kids in song, coloring crafts and story time.  This was next-generation ministry at it's best.  These little ones were more well behaved than ever before.  They listened intently as Ron and Diane Sheffield read bible stories, stayed on-task as the group colored images of Christ, and sang their hearts out as music time came.  This respectful attitude can only be attributed to the hard work of Alice and German and the leaders of christian education at our sister church.

As we all finished our group lessons, the smell of tamales lingered from the camp kitchen.
Everyone lined up around the chapel quickly and we served 100 plates of food in minutes.

Vision of the afternoon to-come were soon dampened as storm clouds rolled in and we had to quickly load everyone back on the buses to get them home.  What would have been our fun day at the river turned into a little extra R & R - but everyone spent time resting or getting to know each other a little better.

After dinner, we once again gathered in the chapel for circle time.  And let me tell you this - God is moving in this team and in this place.   Oh, yesterday was German's birthday so we all celebrated with chocolate cake!

Stay Tuned.......

Joey

 

And the Mission Continues...

Greetings to all those back at The Quest Church!  Your Belize Missionary Team had an exciting day of travel as we made our way from Augusta, Georgia to Belize, Central America.

Our flights out of Augusta and Atlanta were smooth and uneventful.  Although our first attempt at landing at Phillip Goldston Airport in Belize City resulted in what I will call a "tower buzz."  Our pilot reduced the plane's air speed and lowered the landing gear on approach to the tarmac - only to pull up at the last minute and climb straight back over the emerald blue Caribbean waters.  This raised a few eyebrows (and pulse rates) to say the least.  However, his second try was a success.  :)

We were greeted by Alice, German, Melvin and little Jennifer Pop (a member of our sister church, EQC, and a sweetheart).  Our favorite baggage porter, Ernesto, loaded our bags into the mission vans and we headed over to a seaside park in Belize City for lunch.   Alice's homemade burritos never seems to disappoint - especially a hungry crowd of missionaries.  Oh, and I must include this note - even though she only lives about 45 miles from Belize City, little Jennifer has never seen the ocean until today!

After our amazing food, we once again loaded into the vans for our trip to Camalote Camp.  I am so very sorry to report that we had absolutely "zero"  automotive snafus. :)  Apologies, but sometimes those stories are the most-remembered.  Our vans rolled into Camalote Camp and everyone made a mad dash for the hammocks.  I think Ron Hartshorn actually beat everyone there.

We took a short time to unpack and relax. Then we once again boarded the vans -  one group headed to Arizona Village and another left for Maya Mopan to reunite with old friends and encourage families to worship with us this week. This was a special time for people like  Betsi Baker  - who saw Ida Canti for the first time in 3 years.  And we visited Pedro's house -  his new house (with a real, working door) that Quest helped to rebuild after some thieves
burned it last year.

 The group enjoyed a traditional Belizean dinner of stewed chicken and rice and beans tonight. And afterward - we had a very powerful "quest circle time" in the Camalote Chapel.



Well, once again the crickets are my only company on this warm, balmy evening on the back porch.  I can't count Vickie Veatch cause she is in the hammock next to me sound asleep.  It's late... again.  So I leave you with just a few images from today.  

Blessings from Always Beautiful Belize!

Joey  

 
 p.s.  Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary to my in-laws, John & Diane Sheffield - Who just happened to surprise my wife and joined our missionaries for a few days.  And Happy Birthday to German Gallardo!   Belize-it, Belize-it all.