National Presbyterian Church

Made it to Belize!! great time at an orphanage, delicious Bar. B.Que, fun time with some kids at a children's ministry in Orange Walk Town

Sweet smiles were waiting for us, some familiar faces some new faces, as they welcome us back to Caledonia.

Running around, singing along, playing soccer ,over all just having fun with some kids.

We had a wonderful Church Service with praise and worship from the team and the Caledonia church. Mitchell played the drums with the Belizean Group and I think they want to keep him on permanently. Later, we hit the streets to spread the start of VBS and minister to the Belizeans which turned out to be the other way around. The families gave us mangos and opened their houes to total strangers. Later we played football and played with the kids. The team is very special and you can feel the spirit moving. The day ended with a delicious meal and preparation for VBS.

Lilly inviting kids to VBS.

Peeking into a truck full of mangoes.

After a fun-filled Sunday, we woke up early today ready to do some work projects. We had the opportunity to work on a building in the back of the church that will have a couple bathrooms and storage for when hurricanes come. We were also at a home in the community cutting grass and doing some other yard work. It was a lot of hard work in the hot sun, but after lunch we got a wonderful surprise: a dip in the river! We went swimming in our clothes and got to cool off from the hot sun. It was such a blessing! After the swim we did our VBS and had over 80 kids show up!!! Praise the LORD! We had a great time sharing Bible stories, playing games, doing some crafts and building relationships with the kids. At dinner we celebrated Gabe's birthday with the families that cook and serve us our food. The experience was unforgettable. Be sure to ask us about Monday night when we get home! God is good and we know that He is going to do great things this week in us and in the community. Pray that we are open to follow the Holy Spirit and that we are willing to go where ever God leads us. Thanks!

Alec doing a little bit of concrete work.

showing games

Ok, so not quite cliff diving, but the excitement of jumping in the river was overwhelming!

Hannah and McClane playing Simon Dice (Simon says) with the kids from VBS.

This is what we had for lunch today: speared fish! It was incredibly delicious!

Today was a lot of fun! We had the opportunity to take a boat through the New River to the Mayan ruins of Lamanai! We climbed up some really high Mayan ruins and we were even able to see over to Mexico! We got to see a lot of wildlife, including the monkey that Alec got to feed. It was a great break and very interesting! When we got back we did our VBS and saw a lot of familiar faces and some new ones! We all worked really hard and shared the love of Jesus with these kids. Tonight we had a church service and Janie and Josh both shared their testimonies. Very courageously they got up in front of 50+ people and opened up about how God changed their lives. Pray that tomorrow we will have even more kids at VBS and that we will continue to be bold for Jesus. Pray for our youth night tomorrow night, that we would see many lives come to faith in Christ.

Wow!

Climbing the highest Mayan temple in Lamanai

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ~ 1 John 3:16 This morning in Belize, we stopped to consider the practical implications of this Word. What does love mean, really? And how do we go about living it? According to Scripture, "True Love" is Jesus Christ literally laying down his life for you, me, and all of mankind. When we consider "laying down our lives," we almost instinctually think of death, of dying for another, like Jesus did. But, as McLane mentioned, many of us may not be "asked" to literally lay down our lives. Practically speaking, we ARE asked to lay down our lives, but in other more subtle, and arguably, equally important ways. The Lord compels us to lay down our earthly possessions, time and resources, our God-given gifts and talents. And if you think about it, that is because He loves His creation, and He wants to use US as instruments of His love. Isn't that something? A big part of this mission trip has been cultivating servant hearts for our God. To develop, and demonstrate love for His people. Being here in Belize, we have been absolutely surrounded by Godly love. Although we came here to serve, we have actually been ministered to by our Belizean brothers and sisters who have laid down their lives for us on a daily basis. Accepting us (strangers) with open hearts, feeding us three times a day, letting us stay in their homes, sincerely praying for us with the power of the Holy Spirit. Every day, I have seen our youth being deeply blessed by this community, who love God and live to serve one another. I have also seen Christ's love and strength through them, through their smiling faces and eagerness to love the children in the community despite their physical exhaustion.Please join us in praying that our love will continue in ACTION and in TRUTH when we return home. Today, we prepared meals for 27 families in Caledonia, finished up some of our service projects from yesterday, and continued to love on adorable children at our second to last day of Vacation Bible School (VBS). After dinner, we had an amazing service with some of our youth, where Connor shared a powerful testimony, we prayed in small groups, worshipped together, and of course, played Ninja. We can't wait for what tomorrow brings.