Belize - Friday

The house is complete!!!

Yes - we got walls up inside, a roof on top and a front door that locks on the house.

Saturday morning we will dediciate the house.

Praise God - the house was built without any injuries despite a team of inexperienced carpenters.

After we finished the house, we were treated to a trip to a local swimming hole on a nearby creek (more of a river)  There was a strong current that made swimming fun. Eddie jumped off the side of a cliff after one of the locals did so. His necklace broke and we all thought it was down stream somewhere. Darwin - a local guy who lives here with Ron and Linda - dove down in 6-7 feet of water, in a strong current, and FOUND the ring that was on the neckalce. A true miracle!

God IS here!! He is AMAZING!!

In the evening we went to Belmopan for a interdenominational worship on the steps of the capital. Christians from different churches, different countries, all worshipping together and praising God in unity.

Prayers:

team - continued safety. Scott and Kelly as they travel home Saturday.

The Bell's - healing for Mr. Bell. Rest for Mrs. Bell.

Belize - the local churches are involved in a lawsuit with the government to prevent homosexual acts from becoming legalized. Pray for the Supreme Court's decision.

Photos to come later!

Thursday in Belize

There are still some difficulties with loading photos, but here are a few ...

Wednesday (day 1 of build) at the end of the day.

There are 4 walls, the house is up on 7 foot posts.

The other house is where the Bell's are currently living.  

Some of the team helping lead worship at the Wednesday evening service for Mt. Hope Community Church.  A few even led the children's ministry that night.

Thursday (day 2 of build) - Half of the team went to the house to continue with construction and half stayed at the mission to help with odd jobs. Chris and Kelly helped work in one of the library trucks sorting and organizing the books.We were even able to help Ms. Linda get the church library set up - she said she had been dreaming of starting one since she got here several years ago. It was such a blessing to help her get this set up. Others helped sort and organize donations.

The team was framed!!

The building crew returning for lunch ... you don't see 16 people piled into the back of a pick-up too often.

At the end of the 2nd day of construction, the house had glass windows installed, a rail around the porch, rafters and gables for the roof and the inside walls framed. And according to Becky - the house was also thoroughly swept! 

This evening, we went up to St.Ignatious for ice cream (!) and to walk around the town. There is a strong Chinese influence here with several restaurants and the grocery stores are "Chinese Markets." 

Our evenings end with song and devotions. In God's amazing way, the devotions are tying together. Even the ones that were prepared prior to the trip. The major themes have been trust and obedience. For a group of Americans who are used to many comforts and luxuries - there is a large amount of trust for our comfort. And obedience in doing what God wants us to do in spite of our own desires. As the mission team t-shirts say, "It's not about me." It's about sharing Christ with our actions. 

Prayer:

for the team - to trust God and be obedient with grace.

Chris - her legs were eaten up with bug bites (you can do an incredible connect the dots on them!) and they are starting to itch something fierce

The Bell family - as their house gets dedicated in the next couple of days.

Mr. Bell - healing. He has 2 months in bed. His wife only makes about $100/month to cover all expenses.

Team Members - various aches and pains from the physical labor.

Pastor Ron and Linda - there are 11 kids living in this house. Patience.

Wednesday - Belize Day 2

Sorry for the lack of photos ... the connection is slow and kept getting hung up. 

The morning started with gray skies and drizzle. There was an approaching storm, but it went around us. Thankfully. The drizzle and overcast skies helped to keep us from getting too hot while working. After a few hours, the sun came out, but there was a nice breeze. God took care of us today!

The house now has a floor, four walls with siding, and a front porch. We had enough people working that each one had their own stud to nail into. The house is coming together so amazingly fast. The family is even helping where they can. One of the sons has been helping hammer on the siding. Mr. Bell has a window he watches all the action through. He has a smile on his face constantly.

The locals have no fear - they will stand on the window frames and lean out to get a nail in the right spot. Imagine if we had that kind of trust in God. Enough to balance on one foot on a 2x3 board, lean out 14 feet above the ground, hold on with one hand and drive a nail with the other. How much more will God get done through us if we did?

After we worked on the site for the day, we visited a local woodcarver. The ministry built their house and a few shops in the village. The gentleman does incredible work and also attends the mission church. Then we went for ice cream. What a treat!!

The evening ended with worship service with the community. Singing, sharing, praying. And the thought that our Spirit of Joy family was worshipping at the same time reminded us that the world is not so big and family is never ver far away.

Prayers:

For the Bell family - healing for Mr. Bell, rest for Mrs Bell as she cares for the entire family.

For the team - praise for an injury free day (except for a lot of bug bites!) and

continue prayer for safety and patience.

For the mission - that God will clearly show them what He wants them to do in the coming year.

For our families - comfort as loved ones are missed ... both here in Belize and at home.

Tuesday - Travel Day

We are all in Belize, but Satan had a field day trying to stop us from getting here!

The second group arrived at the airport at 4am and some were interviewed by the local tv ... Why in the world were we at the airport at that time of day? Those interviewed did an excellent job of telling about our mission trip.

There was rain from Charlotte to Atlanta.

One group was so late from Charlotte to Atlanta they would have missed the connecting  flight to Belize. However, the plane for Belize was not even there yet. Satan tried to bungle this, BUT GOD made certain the team was all in Atlanta so we could travel together.

If you look closely - there is an extra face in the crowd. A reminder that throughout this entire trip, there is another face in the crowd ... the face of Christ.

We were worn out from the early morning and long day of delays.

There are more stories of God's graciousness as we got on our final leg ... but some stories have to wait to be told when we get home. As we proclaimed on the plane (that we sat on the tarmac in for over an hour) 'God is good!'

We easily made it through customs and met Pastor Ron. We were greeted by a passel of kids who eagerly loaded our luggage onto the bus and then sang and laughed the entire way to the misison.

Pray

for us to allow God to lead us where He wants us to go

for open hearts and minds - both in the community and the team

for Eddie - he is very congested

for safety as we begin work on the house tomorrow

God is good. All the time!

Amen

And we're off ...

Part of the Belize team is heading to Atlanta tonight.

Part of the team is meeting at Spirit of Joy at 3am (feel free to come see us off)

Part of the team leaves about 2 hours later. 

Tuesday morning we all meet in Atlanta and fly together to Belize. 

There we will build a house for the Bell family.

The beginning of the Bell's house. The house is on 7 foot posts. 

Below is the community we will be working in. Oasis Ministries also built some small businesses to help families generate income. 

We will also worship with Mt Hope Church. 

Please pray for safe travel - both in the air and on the drive from the airport to the place we are staying.

Pray for grace and patience as we stay in close quarters together in an unfamiliar location. 

Pray for Pastor Ron and Linda - our hosts. 

Pray for the Bell family who will have a new house. 

Pray for the rest of the community we will be interacting with. 

Pray for our families that will be holding down the fort while we are away. 

Pray for the love of Christ to shine through us all. 

Amen.

More Belize Info ... and Oasis Ministry

The team will be staying near Unitedville, Cayo, Belize

This is about 60 miles from Belize City on the coast and 

20 miles from the border with Guatemala. 

(on the below map, Unitedville is located slightly southwest of Belmopan)

We will be inland and surrounded by fields and forest. This is a poor, rural area.

We will be working with Oasis Ministries while there. Oasis has a school, a library truck to reach surrounding communities, a church with regular worship services, and a building ministry to help the people in their community have safe shelter. 

Children waiting their turn at the library truck.

Checking out books inside the library truck.

Linda - one of the organizers of Oasis Ministry

About Belize

Belize is in Central America on the Caribbean Sea and bordered by Mexico and Guatemala. 

It is about the same size as New Hampshire. The capital is Belmopan. 

Spanish is the main language, 

but many people also speak English and Kriol

and a few still speak Mayan as well.  

Population is about 321,000 

(Charlotte has almost 606,000)

Belize was previously British Honduras and still uses a parliamentary system with an elected House of Representatives, appointed Senate and Prime Minister.

About 50% of Belizeans belong to the Roman Catholic Church. 

25% are Protestant and the rest are a mix of other religions. 

Tourism is one of the largest industries. 

There is also an import/export business with the US being that largest partner.

Unemployment is high in Belize as is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. 

Exchange rate as of today (12/13/11)

1 USD = 2 BZD

4 out of 10 people live in poverty. 

Literacy is at 76%.

'Rice & Beans' consists of white rice and red kidney beans cooked together in coconut milk.

Seafood and chicken are plentiful as is fruit.

Belize has beaches and diving with the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean and a popular diving spot known as The Blue Hole. 

Belize is also home to many caves and rivers the run through them. There are Mayan ruins to explore as well.

... just a small picture of the country the team will be calling home for a few days ...

Belize Trip - two weeks and counting!

The Mission Team has been busy prepping and praying for our upcoming trip. 

Here are some photos of a model of the house we will be building for the Bell family. 

It is covered with prayers from the Spirit of Joy family. 

Please continue to pray for the trip and that Christ shines brightly. 

WV Mission Trip

Want to hear about the WV Mission Trip? 

Want to see photos from the trip? 

Then come to SOJ THIS Sunday - July 24 - and hear stories, see pictures and get a glimpse of the work God did this week. (during both services)

Monday Update

Ok - It's actually Tuesday morning, but that is ok!!!

There are three teams going to work on houses.  One is helping build an addition with a contractor. One is painting and scraping and painting. One is roofing and working on a bathroom. When everyone returned yesterday, they were hot, dirty, sweaty and smiling.

God is so good!!

In addition to the work teams, there are a couple of folks taking the kids to VBS.  Thomas, Sophie and Eli worked hard yesterday knocking on doors and inviting strangers to join us at VBS.  For 6-8 year olds, they truly showed that it wasn't about them and did things they would normally not do. We had one little girl show up for VBS, but firmly believe that we are exactly where God wants us and are doing what God wants us to do.

Evenings are filled with games, dinner, devotions and singing. New friendships are being forged. Relationships are being strengthened. Comfort zones are being stretched. God is above all being glorified!!

Arrival in WV

The team arrived safely at rthe mission. We are settling in and getting organized. More updates later!
CK

T-Shirt Design

Countdown to WVa!!

We leave in 3 weeks for McDowell County, WV.  A team of Spirit of Joy members ranging from 6 years old and up will go up there to share the love of Christ by helping rehab houses, fellowshipping with homeowners and anything else that needs done.

We will try to use this blog to keep everyone posted on fundraising, travel plans, and updates from the trip - including photos.

Blessings,
The 2011 SOJ Mission Trip Team