Our Fishing Expedition

Post for July 13, 2024

Our final full day in Belize has come to a close. The bins are being packed up, suitcases are ready to roll, and team members are asleep. We have an early wake up call in the morning, and it feels so weird that it’s already time to head home. This has been a week of miracles. This has been a week of unity. This has been a week of sacrifice. God is so good and so faithful to allow us to be a part of what’s happening here in Pomona. 

This morning’s breakfast was speedy since we had a tight schedule to keep. We had Johnny cakes, eggs, watermelon, sausage, beans, and orange juice. Around 8AM, our bus picked us up to take us to Dangriga. On our way, we stopped at a gas station to grab some ice for our cooler. It’s just under 30 minutes to get from the hotel to Dangriga, so we got to the water around 8:45AM. Clint and his crew had the boat ready for us! We put on life jackets and hopped into the boat. The clouds in the distance weren’t looking promising, but it wasn’t anything crazy enough to keep us from going. About 1/3 of the way into our boat ride, we started to feel raindrops. Almost instantly, it turned into a downpour. It felt like we were in the Bible story where Jesus calmed the storm — lots of water movement, pouring rain, and dark clouds. It only lasted for a few minutes, but we were drenched by the time it ended. Thanking Jesus for safety (and for backpacks that kept all of our belongings dry)! It took about an hour to get from Dangriga to Bread and Butter Caye. Once we got there, we got a tour and some instructions for the day. 

By the time we got to the Caye, the storm had passed and the sun was shining! We started out by taking photos in different groups. Then, we freshened up our sunscreen and hopped in the water! We had access to paddle boards, a water trampoline, floats, hammocks, and lounge chairs. After everyone got settled, the tour guides started giving out snorkeling equipment to anyone who wanted to go snorkeling. Belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world, and it’s BEAUTIFUL! Most of our team went out to snorkel, but some of us stayed to nap in the hammocks. Around 12:30PM, we had lunch under the thatched roof. Clint made us bbq chicken, salad, bread rolls, baked beans, and juice.

After lunch, we spent more time in the water and then circled up for “church” in the water. We even had one of our tour guides and his son join us! PLUS a tour guide that was with a completely different group! It was his first day on the job – we cannot make this up! We sang Amazing Grace and thanked God for all He’s done this week. Then we went around and shared how we’ve seen God move this week. This team has been so full of faith and has given 100% in everything – it was so sweet to hear eyewitness testimonies from the week. At the end of our “church service”, Amy invited people to be baptized if they were interested. E, the tour guide from the other group, stepped into the circle wanting to be baptized. Our team surrounded him to pray over him and celebrated his decision. Then, he was baptized!!! He had no idea who we were, had only just met us, and was moved to be baptized! God is so good! Afterwards, our team stayed around to chat with him and some scattered to different areas of the island. Moments later, we heard commotion coming from the water. ANOTHER tour guide (from our group), M, decided he wanted to be baptized! Y’all this is crazy – this doesn’t happen! This is NOT normal! Two people who were complete strangers to us decided to surrender. Shortly after the team left the water, Amy was talking to our tour guide, W. He re-dedicated his life to Jesus right there in the water! That’s THREE people who began new life today! The kingdom grew today. You may be wondering why this blog post was called “Our Fishing Expedition” when we didn’t even go fishing. In Mark 1, God commands us to become fishers of men. Today, we went fishing. Not for the fish of the sea and not by any action of our own, but by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Our team was overjoyed and overwhelmed by what we experienced today. God is at work here, and He’s not done.

We spent about another hour swimming, hanging out on the swings, and playing corn hole before having to get on the boat to leave. Our boat ride back to Dangriga was about an hour long again. While we didn’t get hit with any tropical depressions this time, we did experience really choppy water. When we got back to Dangriga, Estellyn was waiting on her bus to take us back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel, we rinsed all of the salt and sand off and changed out of our swimsuits before dinner. Our dinner was fried fish, baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, bread rolls, salad, fruit, carrot cake, sweet tea, watermelon juice, and fruit punch. It was so delicious and the perfect last meal of the 2024 Mission Experience. The staff at Davis Falls has gone above and beyond to make us feel comfortable and to keep us fed and ready to GO.

After dinner, we each had a task to do to finalize packing and clean before leaving tomorrow morning. We got everything done so much faster because we worked as a team. Now, all the bins are packed, suitcases are zipped up, and in a few hours we’ll be on our way to the airport. There aren’t really words to describe what God did this week. He showed up and He moved. He exceeded expectations and left us in awe at every turn. He’s a Father, a Friend, a Miracle Worker, and a Rescuer. His character has been on full display this week. God’s not done in Belize – He’s just getting started.