What a special day God allowed us to have to finish our stay in Belize. I can't remember being this hot but God just continued to bless. This is the first time in my life that I enjoyed the Church service from the bathroom as it was the only seats to be had! All week my heart has been touched by the people and especially the children. It is very hard for me not to become emotional as I look into the faces of these sweet children as they clamor for our attention.

There were many reasons why we wanted to be a part of this trip, and God has met them all. The Lewis family are very special people and the Church and Village people truly love them. One little girl came up to Brenda on Saturday and told her that she loved her and that she reminded her of her great, great grandma. After laughing about this Brenda realized what a special compliment this was. I'm so very proud of our teens and there interaction with the kids. We are so blessed at Southeast Baptist Tabernacle! May God continue to bless the Lewis family and the Church.

From our Heart...Mr.Chuck and Mrs. Brenda

We can't describe a more exuberant day. From the start, ministering to the children at the St. Peters RC school, to the finish, relaxing in a cafe (waiting an hour for our drinks!), God blessed our time with each other and the people of Belize. 

Our day started off with a fantastic breakfast casserole and pancakes to give us energy for the field day at St. Peters RC school. The kids had a blast playing various games from Big Ball (where Nate and Charlton might have trampled a few small children) to tug-of-war. After some sweaty games and a gourmet lunch of hot dogs and chips, Mr. Chuck presented a message about obedience and a simple Gospel message using the Wordless Book. It was a great reminder of how the Gospel is so simple that children can understand it, but yet so powerful that it washes away our sins.

After the hard few days of work, we were all looking forward to the refreshing experience of cliff jumping! Even Mr. Chuck got in on the thrills. And, we're sorry to break the news to Mr. Ruley, but Nathaniel Robert Ruley did in fact jump off the cliff... twice. The water was refreshing and it was a good way to relax before the next few eventful days.

Our day ended with a trip to a near cafe where we ordered milkshakes and frozen hot chocolate. Today was a very exciting day and we're looking forward to the days to come.

Nathan Ruley & Alex Garner

After three showers, three delicious dinners, and more than three gallons of water, our third day is coming to a close. We started the day by picking up trash around the community park and church building. On the way home, we stopped by the Bay of Honduras to take some pictures. When we got back, we helped the Lewis family do odd jobs around their house. The boys finished painting outside, set up the volleyball net, and started building the racetrack for our matchbox race on Saturday.The young girls painted more inside, washed the vehicles and windows, while Mrs. Mowrer and Mrs. Garner helped Mrs. Lewis with cleaning the house. 

Before church, we spent time at the community park handing out flyers inviting the kids to our Super Saturday Race Day. We were able to bond one on one with the kids and teens of Belize for the first time. We were told that people in Belize do not enjoy their pictures being taken, but the kids were begging to have us take videos of them on the merry-go-round just to see how they looked. They also enjoyed the pretzels we had leftover from our (many) flights. We were accepted by them right away, and their smiles were contagious. 

At church, many of us stood outside greeting people as they came in. It was interesting to hear their many stories and get to know them better. They have a love for singing, and listening to them praise the Lord through song was a blessing. Mr. Garner preached a wonderful message from Ephesians 5:1 about following Christ. He was able to connect with the Belizean people through jokes and basketball. 

As Ephesians 5:1 says, "Be YE therefore followers of Christ as dear children." We are all our own missionary, and we all have our own mission field wherever we go. For this week, our mission field is in Belize, but our "mission field" could also be as simple as talking with the person in the drive-thru about the Gospel. Just like the Belizean children wanted to be with us, follow us, and play with us, we must also desire to follow Christ in a similar way. 

Continue to pray for us as we spend more time with the children in the area and give the Gospel to them. Also pray that we have a good turnout for our raceday on Saturday. We look forward to seeing how much more God works through us, the Lewis', and the people of Belize. 

Brook Altmann and Ruth Stephens