Belize Update - Days 4 and 5 - April 5th and 6th

Our fourth day was the half-way point for the week. Most of the team spent the morning shopping or relaxing at Camalote Camp, while the Construction Team continued on with their project.

After lunch, our entire team headed out to a local river spot with the kids of Evangelical Quest Church. It has been extremely hot here, so this was very welcome break in the middle of the week. The water was cool, and everyone seemed to really enjoy their time there.

We concluded our 4th day by taking all the Evangelical Quest Church volunteers to dinner. This was just a way for Quest to thank the members of our host church in Belize for their incredible hospitality and generosity toward us. They are amazing hosts, and we really enjoyed the opportunity to tell them that and thank them with this dinner.

Day 5 began with breakfast, and then some planning for an outreach for the afternoon. All of our teams worked together to get out into local villages and deliver soap and other items to the people we visited. Additionally - about 50 kids from our host church were involved with this outreach effort. Our goal was to help them to see that they, too, could be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world they live in. Additionally - we stopped by the construction crew's sight for a dedication of the new homes they had built.

After a long afternoon, we headed back to camp for a bit of rest, and then dinner. Following that over 100 people gathered for Good Friday worship at Camalote Camp. The night began with kids re-connecting with us, then a powerful combined worship experience (where we and our Belizean sister-church came together as One for worship).

At the close of the service, Pastor German Gallardo called for anyone who wanted to give their lives to Jesus Christ to come forward. A couple dozen did. It was powerful as the Quest Team came up front to stand with and pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

We concluded the night with hanging out and getting a quick pic of our entire team....

Belize Update - coming tonight!

Apologies for the lack of a blog update yesterday....

Watch for days 4 and 5 coming late tonight!!!

Belize Update - Day 3 - April 4, 2012

The Quest Belize Team is in full swing. We've been here just over 2 days, but it really feels like we've been here much longer. It seems things just happen quicker here for some reason - relationships are formed and solidified quickly, the team bonds together because of a common mission, etc.

All teams were engaged in ministry today.

The Medical Team spent the day in Maya Mopan, a village on the other side of Belmopan. The team saw over 60 people, treating them and praying with them when requested. One of the difficult, but very real stories from their day, was when a 15 year old girl showed up and told us her mother had kidney failure and was dying. Without a father, and as the only child, this young girl wants to donate a kidney to her mother - but was turned down. A couple folks from the team prayed with her, asking God for healing and strength. Stories like this abound here. Our reaction is usually uniquely "American" --- just go to the hospital and get it "fixed." But it's just not that simple here. There is limited care and extremely limited financial resources for much of the population.

A Village Outreach team headed out to Maya Mopan this morning as well. They took the bags of rice, beans, and flour that had been packaged yesterday to families in need. It was an incredible time as the team would visit from home to home, learning about each family and spending time praying for them and their needs. Families are always extremely friendly and welcome the care and prayer provided.

The Construction Team continued work on the 2 homes they are building. It was an extremely hot day, but they marched on and are just hours away from completing the entire project. More pics from their work coming tomorrow....

The Kids Team ministry grew as about 20% more kids showed up today than were here the first day of camp. They sang songs, did more crafts, played games, and learned more about Jesus. Kids were really bonding with our team and relationships with them have gone deep quickly. Bonds have been made that will never fade away.

The church we work with here, Evangelical Quest Church, had a friend of the church pass away late Monday night. So though it was unplanned, many of our team participated in a Wake (Tuesday night) and a second funeral service and graveside service today. We gathered at the deceased's home, had a short service there, then walked about 1.5 miles behind a small truck carrying the casket. About 50 people followed the truck singing songs about life and resurrection. Once at the graveside, John Kenney shared some words and then the casket was buried, while everyone watched. Though very different than most American funerals, it was a truly beautiful experience of love and community gathering together to mourn the loss of a loved one.

Tomorrow we're spending the morning at the river with kids from Evangelical Quest Church, then the afternoon will be spent relaxing or shopping.

Thanks for letting us continue to share our experiences with you. Though we came to give of ourselves in Belize, we are finding that Belize is truly giving more to us...

Belize Update - Day 2 - April 3, 2012

Our second day in Belize began by waking up to a beautiful sunrise after a great night's sleep at Camalote Camp, our "home away from home" for the week. It truly is an oasis in the middle of this country. Incredible grounds and foliage, hammocks everywhere, and the sounds of birds and even silence.

We ate a big breakfast of "fry-jacks" (think elephant ears from carnivals in the USA ... but without the powdered sugar), fried beans, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. There was plenty of coffee consumed as well! After breakfast teams packed sack lunches and headed out or stayed back to prepare for different missions/ministries for the day.

Around noon kids started arriving at Camalote Camp for the first day of our "Camp God Rocks BELIZE." There were over 60 kids. Many new relationships were forged, as well as old relationships rekindled.

During this time a few of us and a few Belizeans also began packing "care packages" - of rice, beans, and flour - that will be taken to local villages for distribution during the week.

The Kids Team had an amazing day! The kids absolutely loved "Camp God Rocks BELIZE." There was singing, games, crafts, Bible teaching, sports, and just hanging out together. The kids here quickly attach to our team members, and so there were hugs and high-fives going on all day. Day 2 of kids camp is tomorrow, and our Kids Team can't wait to see these beautiful kids again. Just a note - most of the kids at camp this week are from the Evangelical Quest Church that we work with - coming from two local villages.

While the Kids Team was doing their thing back at Camalote Camp, the Medical Team was out at a local village seeing people with medical needs. It was a good first day, and tomorrow will prove to likely be their busiest day of the week as they move over to another village. Flyers have been distributed and the Medical Team will see dozens of people at a local church.

I'm always amazed at what the Construction Team is able to accomplish in such a short time. This week they are building two small homes for a large family. As of today one of the home has the roof trusses up, and the second home will have trusses by tomorrow. The team may be able to attach the metal roofing tomorrow as well. Amazing. These guys are extremely hard workers - leaving early and returning late in order to get the job done.

As all the teams arrived back to Camp in the late afternoon, we learned that because of the death of a local woman connected to the church down here, there would need to be a funeral tonight (or "wake" as they call it). Tonight was planned as "Bible Study Night" where members of Evangelical Quest Church would come and share with us as one church through worship and Bible study. So because of the funeral service involving pastor German Gallardo, part of our team went to support him and the family in mourning, and the other half stayed back to run the worship and Bible study time - which included kids ministries.

After everything concluded tonight, team members could be seen all over the Camp talking and laughing - the sign of a great first day.

Tomorrow is coming, and we're not sure what it will bring - but we look forward to what God has planned.

Continue checking the blog and sharing it with others this week. Thanks for letting us share the stories of our week with you!

Belize Update - Day 1 - April 2, 2012

Well ... we're in Belize!

The day began bright and early when the team gathered at 4 am at The Quest Church in Martinez. Things went smoothly as we packed the bus, had a brief prayer send-off, grabbed a sack breakfast (thanks Debbie & Jeffrey Banks!) and loaded the big bus to head to Charlotte for our flight.

One last Starbucks run in the airport terminal, then it was on the plane for a mid morning direct flight to Belize City, Belize. Upon landing in Belize, our 20 Quest missionaries met up with 2 more who flew in from Atlanta and the 22 of us met our in country hosts and then hopped on the now-familiar "Evangelical Quest Church" bus.




After about 20 minutes on the road (we were headed to the capital city of Belmopan, just over an hour from the airport) we pulled off the road to grab a quick lunch that was prepared for us by Alice Gallardo (she is the pastor's wife of the church we work with in Belize). Coca-colas in glass bottles, fresh fruit, and the most amazing homemade burritos ever (seriously - handmade soft tortilla shells, fresh cilantra ... you get the picture!).




Then it was back on the road so we could get to Camalote Camp, a beautiful camp nestled in the on the outskirts of the capital city. We unpacked, got settled, and a few minutes for rest in the famous "hammock hut."



Then our team split up - and most folks headed out to Arizona Village to visit with kids (some of whom we've met on previous trips). Other members of the team headed out to run errands and get supplies for the first full day of mission work (Tuesday). This includes stopping by the local pharmacy and also the "mall" where we purchased many items - to includes 900 lbs of flour, rice, and beans that will be packed in small care packages to be handed out in local villages during the week.



The evening ended by everyone meeting back at camp for a delicious Belizean dinner of chicken, rice and beans, etc. After dinner we had our first "Quest Circle Time" where we gather for worship, prayer, and sharing. Powerful time as team members shared their hopes and fears about the week. Pastor German Gallardo also shared his heart with us.

At the close of our devotional time together tonight, Noah showed up. Noah's story can be found in older blog posts (just scroll back to first trip), but it was so encouraging to see and hear from him about all that God has done and continues to do in his life. He is on fire for Jesus. Inspiring to say the least!

A past team member had a small gift sent to him by way of this team, and so we shared it with him tonight. He was extremely touched, as were we all.


It's going to be an AMAZING week. God, in His grand design, has set this week aside so that this team may be used by Him to be His hands and feet among people that we have come to know as family.

Tomorrow begins the first full day of ministry - village outreach, kids ministries, medical, and construction. Pray that we'll be a blessing to the beautiful people of Belize.

Back to Belize - April 2012

So on Monday, April 2, a team of 23 will depart the USA for Belize, Central America. The Quest Church began a long-term relationship with The Evangelical Quest Church in Belize just a couple of years ago, and that relationship continues to grow and flourish. Our mission is to partner with this church to love and share Jesus with the surrounding communities through various means (worship, construction projects, medical teams, kids ministries, etc).

As we prepare to go, will you pray for us?

Here is a list of the 23 people on Quest's Team:

Matthew Banks
Heather Barrs
Joey Barrs
Jessica Bolyard
Travis Cain
Brenna Carlile
Bryan Evans
Christy Evans
Kevin Goss
Julie Gray
Whitney Holden
Billy Hughes
Julie Kenny
John Kenney
Sheila Kenney
Kim Lyons
Allen Perry
Christina Reynolds
Chris Sansing
Evan Seepe
Lindsey (Page) Seepe
James Thomas
Vickie Veatch