Our third day in Belize began with a trip to Belize City from Belmopan (where we have been staying for the first 2 days of our trip). On the way out of Belmopan we stopped to see a man named German, who is starting a church out of his local business facility (he does road repair, etc). The picture above is of his local business (that doubles as a church 3 or 4 days a week!). This next picture is where they meet in that facility for worship.
German is an incredible man with an incredible heart for God and people. He and his wife and children have a ministry to many young people in the community - especially those not connected with a church. Their desire is for these young people to know Christ and to experience His love in their lives. German is living this out every day in his world. Here is a picture of German and I together. What a Godly man he is.
Following our time at German's new church, we continued on to Belize City to meet the President of the Methodist Church and his staff.
The President and another staff member took us one hour north to a small town called Santana where we met the staff and students of a local school there. In Belize, the schools are almost all run by churches. This one was being run by the Methodist Church. The school has 3 teachers and 68 students in grades K-8. They have a tiny building with 3 classrooms that they meet in. We arrived just in time for lunch and had a great lunch together. Following that we went out and played with the school children (they were having recess). They taught us some games, and of course Vickie Veatch taught them some games as well!
Vickie Veatch set up correspondence with the head teacher of the school and talked about kids from Quest and kids at this Belizian school exchanging letters, pictures, etc. The following picture is one that my daughter, Morgan, made for one of the kids. This little girls name was Britanny and was very touched that she received this picture. She showed it to all her friends.
The following picture shows you the school building (this is the only building - very small) and the students and teachers. They were incredible kids. Very loving. Very fun. But there is also great need at this school. They have food needs, curriculum needs, facility needs, and the list goes on.
One other note - this school also serves as a church on Sundays, as well as a hurricane shelter.
Following our time at the school we stopped by some ancient Mayan ruins that were very close by. That's Vickie Veatch, Eric Brisendine, and Heather Barrs at the top!
After our time at the ruins, we headed to a small island off the coast of Belize called Caye Cauker. We've been there last night and today relaxing and reflecting on the incredible week we've had. We had a great 2 hour worship and reflection time tonight just reminiscing about the week and all that we've seen. We shared memories and where we feel God leading us as a church community.
Tomorrow we head home - early in the morning - so this will be my final blogpost for now. I'm so thankful to be a part of such an amazing church community with an amazing developing vision for international missions. The team is excited to share all we've learned with you and where we feel God is leading us as we seek a long-term relationship with the incredible people of Belize! See you soon!
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