Brandon's View

This trip has been one ill remember for the rest of my life. Everything we did for the people and church here made it worth every penny. I can honestly say not one person has had a bad experience. We all had a great time doing everything for the church and the people here. The people of the town really see and appreciate what were doing and it makes us want to do more. I really am gonna miss the people here and I hope I have the opportunity to come back to help and see everyone ago. It's been the best decision I have ever made to come on this trip. The group is amazing, we all enjoyed seeing the hard work pay off. I think we can all say if we have the chance to do the trip over we all would do it again. I cant wait to see what god has in store for us has we go on. I hope this group has another trip in its future.

Tuesday

Today we started the morning before 5:00am. We went to the street market and handed out coffees and sweet bread and talked, prayed and encouraged the people around Orange Walk. After our distributions we went to the shops ourselves to buy souvenirs before we headed to the church for lunch of black chicken soup with rice (it actually was really good). After lunch we played a long game of soccer in the hot sun and now we are getting ready to go to the church for our last dinner, a special Bar-B-Q.
A few of the team members is experiencing a little digestive discomfort so some extra prayers in that department would be greatly appreciated.

Monday

We have been gone a week and so many things happened in one weeks time!

Today, we started out the day with several team members going to a local Belizian restaurant for breakfast and then we went to the church to meet a few families that went to the church and then split into groups to going house to house and evangelize and encourage the people of Orange Walk. We took turns giving a testimony and then praying for the people and families.

At lunch, we decided to take an impromptu trip to the northern part of the country to the town of Corozal and went swimming in the ocean.

Kaylah

Today was mostly a church day. We went to church in the morning then came back to the hotel. I fell asleep and when we went to church the second time I thought it was the morning again haha. The Lamania Ruins was my favorite part so far, and cant wait to walk around the town and go shopping.

Sunday

Today was church day for us here. They had Sunday School time in the morning. In the Hispanic culture "church services" are held Sunday evenings. Both of the services went well and a handful of our group members were able to lead the church in worship.

Tomorrow we are heading out to do village visits. (Sorry for the dust specs showing up when using the flash in the evening service, it is a dusty floor)

Lamanai Myan

Today was our day off, we took a boat ride over 20 miles to a sight of the Lamanai Mayan Ruins. It was really neat to see. We are currently enjoying some down time before dinner and a youth service at the church tonight.

Tierney's Take

Hey guys! I'm having so much fun here in Belize! It is incredibly different from home in so many ways. I did not realize how much I love air conditioning until I did not have any. We have it here at the hotel but in the church there is none and the humidity here is horrible! It rains almost everyday but not long it usually only lasts a few minutes and then stops. I've only gone to one church service and I had no idea what was being said because it was in Spanish and the English was not that easy for me to understand either but I still really enjoyed the service and I cant wait to go to the others! Working in the church is hard work but it's worth it. I've been working with Jess and Jenae in the bathroom and I am so unbelievably happy that we finished it! You would be amazed how different just a bathroom can be! Everything here makes me really cherish what I have back home. I'm really excited to eat some normal American food when I get back! The meals here actually are not that bad! They are not my favorite but they are good! I'm having such a great time. I wish I could stay longer so that I could finish the whole church for Ruben but I'm so happy that we have gotten so far! I'm having such a wonderful time here!

Maribeth Ault

     Day 3! It's crazy to say that considering it's felt like we've been here forever. For my first missions trip it has already been astonishingly eye opening. The experiences we have all had the chance to be a part of in just these first three days is amazing. For me what stuck out the most was how happy people are no matter how much they have. It is so clear how materialistic we have become at home in the states and how different it is here. It's crazy to think how different things could be/would be at home if we acted the way people do here. So many things to be thankful for!
     We've all been making great progress on the beams, the classrooms and painting. Jess, Tierney and Janae finished the bathroom in a wonderful green and grey with a pink accent line, it's amazing to see the transformation. The food has been amazing, Ruben's wife and the girls who help her have been such a blessing. Several of the girls have been jumping in and helping with the beams, they are so excited to hammer on the concrete and it's so refreshing to have extra hands that are so willing to help without being asked. God is amazing and works in very mysterious ways and I cannot wait to see what else he has in store for this group!

     Hey Mom & Dad! Love you! Say hi to Harrison, Kat and the dogs for me, see you soon :)

Rain Rain Again

It is the rainy season in Belize, and it has rained everyday we are here. But at least most of our work is indoors! We were back at the church working today and stopped for ice cream on our way back to the hotel.

The pictures below are from today, during a break in the rain we were able to squeeze in a little game of soccer with some of the local families, and pictures of the bathroom painting crew that did an amazing job renovating the bathroom at the church. The picture of St. Christopher's hotel is a picture of the hotel we are staying at. And Jake is showing everybody the size of the insets here.

Thursday

Kali's Thoughts

Hi mom and dad, today we started to build a wall upstairs. To build the wall we had to mix concrete, sand, and water together. We also got paint and started painting the downstairs walls and the bathroom. We had chicken for lunch and then went home and went back to church to eat chili for dinner. We had our first service at the church and it was different from back home. I'm glad I get to enjoy these new experiences. Miss you all!

Belize Day 1

After we got settled in our rooms, we went back over to Ruben's church to begin the work. The team did a tremendous job jumping right into action.

Part of the group was filling in steps with aggregate to prepare for the final pouring of the concrete, while others transported sand, prepped for the block walls and began demolition of a few pillars and beams in the church.

We are looking forward to a restful night sleep and we are back at it again tomorrow.

We have arrived

We have arrived in Belize!

All of our luggage came and made it through customs!

We enjoyed beautiful hour long school bus ride to the town of Orange Walk and went straight to the church for lunch. We had beans and rice with chicken with a side of habanero and onion sauce to spice things up.

We are currently at our hotel getting checked in and getting settled. At 3:30 local time here we are leaving to go back to the church to begin the work and have dinner there.

Everybody is doing well

The morning in San Salvador

Good morning from the Pacific Ocean.

We slept well and had a nice breakfast. The hotel was amazing with lots of wild life and a chance to see a little bit of the country side and culture of El Salvador on our drive to the airport this morning.

Everyone is doing well, and we are currently at our gate waiting for our next flight to Belize.

In San Slalvador

Hi Everyone. We have arrived safely in San Salvador, after a rather eventful and run around at the airport, we finally made it through customs and immigration and are sleeping well.

We are at the Washington DC airport waiting to board.

Belize 2015

Getting ready to leave...

Keep your suitcase to 45lbs or less.

Make sure to eat a lunch before meeting at the church at 11:30am

Belize Trip Prep

The Belize Trip is coming upon us!

June 22 11:45am meeting at the church to depart.
Make sure your suitcase is not over 45 lbs including the team supplies.