Day 5: Wednesday (or, How many missionaries can fit into a 15 passenger van?)

Today was a short day, but not because of the rain (although it did rain today). We decided that we wanted to take a trip to go see the nearby Mayan ruins, so we only worked until a little after lunchtime. Still, we got a lot done in a half day.




We started out with one group going to another school for their religion lesson. It's still very weird to me that they not only don't have a problem with religion being taught in the government schools, they encourage it.








While they were playing with the kids, the rest of us were hard at work getting the wood ready to build forms for the foundation. This involved scraping old concrete off with a wire brush (or pounding it off with hammers and then brushing it off).



(This picture included to prove to my children and husband that I actually did some work)




Another group went back down into the field to cut and clear the brambles.





Then we started building the forms.








After lunch, we took off across country to visit Xunantunich (hopefully I've got the spelling right), some Mayan ruins that are located about an hour's drive away from the camp. Man, was the scenery on the drive beautiful. We got there about 30 minutes before the park was supposed to close, which caused a bit of a panic, but the ferry operator let us on and told us to hurry (did I mention that we had to cross a river on a hand-cranked ferry?)

And this is where the 15-passenger van came in. It's a mile walk from the ferry to the entrance to the park, and there was no way we were going to make it up there in time, even though some of the kids started running as soon as the ferry landed. So Bob W., who was driving, stopped and let us in so we could make it to the top before the park closed.

The answer to the question in the title is at least 24, by the way.



We were very friendly, and it's a very good thing that we like each other.

The ruins were really impressive.

Here, let me just show you.
















And a view from the top:






That little red dot at the bottom is me, by the way.

Ashley and I had decided that we weren't going to climb the whole way up to the top, so we tried to walk around the back of the temple to the other side.

I think it may have been the more adventurous choice, because the path took us through the jungle,


and by the time we got around back, we realized that the only way back to the temple was up. It was a bit tougher than we expected, but we made it, even though a howler monkey was throwing things at us as we were climbing.



We ended up on the first landing of the temple, so I got to climb down anyway.

I wish you all could've seen the expressions on everyone's faces when they saw the ruins and that you could've heard their excitement and awe. I think the best quote, the one that sums it all up, came from Susan B, as she reached the top and looked out over the surrounding landscape: How can you not believe in God?

Good question.

I'm seeing him constantly on this trip, from the way our kids work together and get along and show Christ's love, to the sunrise, to the pouring rain, to the Belizians and their joy in the Lord. I know I said ti before, but what an amazing group of people. I mean, where else would you find someone willing to do this?




-Julie M.

Day 4: Tuesday (Rain, rain, go away)

It rained today--one of those stereotypical tropical rains, where it just poured and poured--so we quit work early and went back to camp. But that was okay. It was really hot today and really humid (not that that's different from what we expected), and we pretty much had run out of work anyway (just for today, though).

The job today included digging postholes. This wouldn't normally be a problem, but the ground is really hard, and there are rocks underneath. Lots and lots of rocks.




The other thing we had to do was take some lumber apart. You almost always have to buy lumber used here, especially if you're just going to use them for forms, which is what we're doing. Most of us ended up doing this.







(My new official job title is board-stander. Yesterday, I was The Keeper of the Trash.) Tomorrow, we're supposed to be building forms for the footers--we had to wait until we got the plans approved.

We also had a group of people go to a school and do a lesson. They pull each denomination out into separate groups and have a lesson once a week (and it's interesting how much religion is a part of their lives here, even in the government schools.








We'll be going back to the church after dinner for the second open-air service. The thing that strikes me at the church services is how joyful they are. You can just feel God at work in the congregation. I want to grab onto that joy and almost bottle it up for when I feel far away from God.

The other thing is how absolutely amazing our youth are. What a great, great group of kids. if you're ever worried about the future of our world, all you have to do is watch Alex when he offers to help an elderly woman home (she walked more than a mile to go to church on Sunday, and she had a hard time even walking down the aisle of the church), or watch Sara or Rachel or (name a kid) as they play with the Belizian children. I wish you all could see them and see God working through them, and I wish you could all watch them interact with each other. They may pick on each other, but you can tell it's done in love and laughter.

Location:Camalote Camp, Belize

Day 3: How do you clear a field?

Remember the old joke, "How do you eat an elephant"? (One bite at a time.) today was much like that--you clear a field one stick (and stump) at a time.

The other question would be "How many Aggies does it take to set up a tent?





This was our first job. Our next job was to start clearing the field where the school was going to be built.





















At 2:00 (sort of--Belizian time is a bit more flexible), we had the groundbreaking ceremony. It was really cool to have so many dignitaries there, supporting the school, but the best part for me was being asked (along with Bob W. and Rachel) by the choir to join them in the anthem--we sang The Church's One Foundation. So very moving.

We went back to the camp and cleaned up and then went to the open air service, which was amazing. The singing was fabulous, and you could really feel the Lord moving in the congregation. I just love singing with them.





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Location:Camalote Camp, Belize

Day 2 - Sunday

Note to self: if you use your phone as your alarm clock, remember to adjust it for your time zone. Belize doesn't do Daylight Savings, so when you wake up at what you think is 6:00... It's not. It's only 5:00.

At least I got a hot shower.

Church this morning! This has always been one of my favorite parts of these trips. I just think it's so cool that even though we live far apart, and we may do things a little differently, we still all worship God and love Jesus.








And it didn't disappoint. What an uplifting experience! The service was focused on children this morning, so the youth of the church led us in some choruses. Some of them we knew. Others... not so much. But we learned them as we went along, and it was so much fun. There was a choir, which I always love (they invited me to rehearsal on Tuesday afternoon), and it was Cradle Roll Sunday, so there were lots of very, very cute babies. Three guess as to where Laurinda went after the service.


















Then this afternoon, some of the youth from the church came over to Camalote Camp for MYF.







We played games.
























There were skits and songs.





Brian is caught up in the Sin Box, a box of temptations sent by Satan to get Christians to sin.





Both groups taught each other songs.













Caleb A. gave a "word" (and did an excellent job, too--Pastor Kip had better watch his back!).

Really, it was an amazing day--the perfect Sabbath, I think, leaving us rested and refreshed and ready for work tomorrow.






Julie M.

Belize day 1--arrival

(This was supposed to be posted Saturday, 12 March, but the internet was down)

Amazingly enough, we actually left on time (or close enough for A&M UMC time. The trip down to the airport was uneventful, although we had some troubles at first figuring out where we could get out of the vans at the airport. Check-in went remarkably smooth, and most of us breezed through airport security (only a couple were stopped for the more intensive searches).





And then we were on the plane.

Best thing about the flight? Anna K's expression when we were taking off. She's never flown before, and her excitement and wonder as our wheels left the ground was something to behold. :)

We did run into a spot of bother when we landed in Belize--Lauren had her camera confiscated. She had some Pringles chips and she shared them with Laurinda, who promptly made a duck's beak out of them. Lauren took a picture, not realizing that it wasn't allowed, and a police officer immediately swooped down and took it from her. Lauren was really calm about it, but Laurinda freaked out a bit. He just examined the pictures, deleted the one from the airport, and gave the camera back.

We all made it through customs without any problems, except for Ellley, who had her bags searched. And then we were on our way to Camalote Camp.




First, though, we stopped for lunch. By the time we got to the restaurant, it was about 2:30pm--after leaving the church at 6:00am, this made for some very hungry folks. The food was great, but you could tell it had been a long day already, as evidenced by the people falling asleep at the table.

Another hour drive brought us to Camalote camp, which is just beautiful. Everyone immediately ran to the hammocks (not me though, I was so tired I was afraid that I'd never be able to drag myself out of there).




We moved into our rooms, hung out a bit, watched Alex W. Make a friend (Tyrone, the son of our cook. He's 12, loves football, knows the names of all of the plants at the camp, and is willing to talk to us about his country). We also watched a few teenagers fall out of their hammocks, hung out a bit more, ate dinner (amazing how those boys could eat a full meal again so soon after finishing off a late lunch!), met the pastor of the church, had a short organizational meeting and worship and went to bed.

This is such an amazing group of people. I didn't hear any complaints all day, just a lot of enthusiasm and wonder. I can't wait to see how God works through us through the next week.

Belize it or not...it's almost time!

The youth and parents have been buzzing about Belize. We've gotten almost all of our last minute supplies, like sunscreen, work gloves, and snacks for the road, and now we have just over 48 hours before we begin our journey. I love the excitement of some of our youth. Cheryl asked tonight if we could meet for breakfast before we leave. Considering the fact that we're meeting at 5:30 am, breakfast would come way too early on Saturday. The reality of the situation, however, is that I'll probably be so excited on Saturday morning at 4:30am that I will just be laying in bed awake and anticipating our departure.

Our youth have an incredible opportunity once we get to Belize. We're going to be the first group to work with the new Belmopan Methodist High School. In fact, we're going to be a part of the ground breaking ceremony on Monday morning. We won't be able to finish the high school in one week, but we're going to laying the foundation for groups to come in the future to finish the school. Its likely that the construction of the church will take 2-3 years, so our prayer is that we will be back several times to see the school into its completion. No matter how long it will take, the reality is that with the addition to this school, more students will be able to be educated, which will improve the quality of life for generations to come.

Through the new relationships we hope to form with Belizean students, my prayer is that our team would be strengthened in their own relationships with God. Worshipping Christ with other cultures enables us to see how God's love in Christ is available to all people and that together, we can mutually encourage each others in our relationships with Him.

The foundation being poured this week isn't just with the school building. For many of our youth and adults, serving in Belize will lay a foundation of serving in missions that will be added to each time the have the opportunity to shovel dirt, swing a hammer, or talk with someone from a different culture. This will mark the first many weeks where they will sacrifice their money, time, and energy for building the kingdom of God.

My prayer for our team as that each member would experience God's love and truth through the relationships being built with each other and with Belizeans, through the construction work on the high school, and through the little things that happen that aren't quite planned, but that are God's way of reminding us who is in control.