Team Belize is back

Friends, Family and Supporters,

 

We’re back and it was quite a successful trip!  NHCC students lives were changed and we were able to successfully partner with a local church there.  For pictures visit http://www.bohallimages.com/Published/album/ click on 2007 in the upper left hand corner and choose Belize Mission Trip from the bottom of the list that appears.

 Ministry Highlights

While in Belize we partnered with Pastor Floyd of Bermudian Landing Baptist Church.  BLBC has a congregation of 15 people.  

 

On Sunday we were in control of a morning and evening service in which each student shared either a devotion, or a testimony or both.  Brandon gave a fabulous sermon that evening.  On Wednesday we held another service with our students leading worship and sharing testimonies.  By the end of service Wed., each and every student had shared from the front twice.  They all did a great job and several of the testimonies has lasting impacts on those in the congregation.

 

We hosted Vacation Bible School on Monday – Thursday and had 100-125 kids packed into the one room church every single day.  They had fun learning key verses each day, having shouting wars with the phrases “God is Real”, “God is With Us”, “God is Strong”, and “God is Awesome”, playing games that emphasized the Bible verse, learning Bible stories in story time, making crafts and singing praise songs with actions.  Probably 90% of these kids are unchurched kids.    

 

Our team also had the opportunity to play with and share the Gospel with 35 kids at a local orphanage and assisted with meal time at a local rest home.  The students were a little nervous about how to relate to the older folks but got into it and were very helpful by the end of our 2.5 hours there.  Feedback from the staff at the home was that the residents there were VERY touched by the time that was spent with each of them.

 

We also had the opportunity to visit the homes of several new believers in the area and provide them with some encouragement.  At one of these homes the person we were to visit wasn’t there but the hired worker was and we were able to share the Gospel with him.  We were told by a local woman that he always said that he would come to the next church event but never showed up.  Imagine our delight when the next night he attended the church service that we assisted with! 

 Recreational Highlights

Fun things that we got to do while there…the church was in the middle of the local Baboon Sanctuary where the Howler Monkey makes its home.  One day after lunch the tour guide took us out for about 30 minutes and we got to see them, feed them, and hear their call.  Imagine the TRex sound from Jurassic Park, that’s pretty much what they sound like. J 

 

One afternoon for a couple of hours we made a quick drive to a local Mayan Ruin called Altun Ha.   We learned about their religion and belief that each person had to enter and go through 9 levels of Hell before entering and ascending the 13 levels of Heaven.  Unless of course you were the captain of the winning team in the sacrificial sports game.  In that case, as the winner, you had the honor of being sacrificed and going directly into the levels of Heaven.  Hmmm.

 

And our final day in the country we took a water taxi out to Caye (Key) Caulker and basked in the sun of paradise.  We got to do some snorkeling, some hammock swinging, swimming and wandered around the lazy island with a population of 1,000.  God’s creation at its best! 

 Thank You

I’m very grateful to each of you for praying for the team while we were away and for those of you who provided monetary support.  My main purpose on this trip was to see the lives of our teens changed and their worldview rocked and I believe that happened hugely.  There was also the added bonus of God’s Word being spread through a great number of kids that may not have otherwise heard.  Please continue to pray through the week as Satan will be trying very hard to diminish the impact that has been made for God’s kingdom.  To Him be the glory!!

 

Love,

Mandy