A Loving Father

As I spend each day looking at the people and places surrounding me, all my mind comes to is “the Lord is in this place”. It’s easy to feel His presence here and to see His hand at work. His presence is felt in the joyful glances across rooms, the cool breeze in the still heat, and in the majesty of the mountains that surround us. It’s everywhere. His presence has gone before us and is beside us in everything we’ve done. 

Every day feels a little sweeter than the one before – with precious reminders of God’s goodness sprinkled throughout. We began our day with breakfast on the rooftop. While we were waiting for breakfast to be ready, we shared in conversation as we were surrounded by the sounds of birds chirping and light rain hitting the roof. We looked over our shoulders to see the most beautiful rainbow where the end was situated just above the village where our sweet friends live. It was a beautiful way to start the day and a precious reminder of God’s promise.

We had fry jacks, salami, bananas, watermelon, and juice for breakfast. Afterwards, we transitioned into quiet time individually. We loaded up the van for camp and headed to St. Matthew’s to get set up. 

We had close to double the kids today that we did yesterday – God is so good! The kids are having so much fun at camp! They love each station, but the game station (Kelley and James) and the escape room station (Peyton and Chantel) have been a favorite. But more than the station, they love the people leading them. Today at camp, we talked about how God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us so we could have eternal life. The kids here are very good auditory learners, so they’re grasping the verses and the Bible points so quickly and easily. They get so excited to have their passports stamped at each station. Time has been flying by and it feels like it’s time to go in the blink of any eye. Today, I was asking a little girl what her favorite part of camp was. She looked at me and said, “Hmmm…my favorite part was…JESUS!” Knowing that they get the why behind all of the silly games and cute crafts – that’s beautiful.

I told one of the little girls that we’ve known since our first year that we were looking at pictures of her when she was 4 years old. Her jaw dropped as she looked at me. She said, “You know what’s funny? My mom has ONE photo of me as a child, but you have so many!” 

After camp, we all got into the van and drove to Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce Factory. We picked out souvenirs and little goodies to take home with us. Before walking out, the worker gave us all a Marie Sharp’s reusable bag. We loaded up the bus once more. When we got back to the Macaroni, we washed up before being ready for lunch. We had yummy pizza for lunch and almost everyone chose a soda to have with it.

After lunch, we prepped our hearts and our things for the women’s conference and boys small group. Before packing the van, we prayed over Kerstin and that the Lord would speak through her. Kerstin was our speaker for the day at the women’s conference! She shared her testimony of how God has shown His love for her in such a beautiful way. Her life has been changed and she’s such a light to the people around her. Her story inspired so many people today and opened the door for vulnerable conversation. Women shared so openly and beautifully at their tables. A room filled with sweet conversation and life stories that point to His faithfulness. We had 23 Belizean women show up for the conference today, plus our 11 team members.

As I looked out the window during the women’s conference, I could just see the boys flocking to James. Everywhere he moved, a delayed response of movement followed. There’s something in his spirit that the little boys cannot get enough of — they’re so attracted to it. 

After the women’s conference was over, we went back to the hotel to debrief and rest before dinner. The majority of us played our new game, Cards Christians Like. It was so fun! For dinner, we had scalloped potatoes, fried chicken tenders, salad, garlic bread, chocolate cake, and sweet tea. DELICIOUS! We’re fed so so well here! 🙂 After dinner, we sat together and chatted until the bugs got too aggressive. Once the bugs were too much to handle, we went downstairs for team devotion and worship. Our team time has been so Holy Spirit led – not knowing what will happen until it does. James shared about the power of opening up your hands in worship. We worshipped together before starting our study of Colossians and sharing God moments. God is so on the move in this place and space — seeing emotional walls break down and the lightbulbs finally going off in their heads. It’s such a joy to see. 

After devotion time, we broke out into pockets of conversation. This team is amazing. This team is full of so many giftings. 

Today was all about being loved by God. Teaching the women and kids that we are loved but also reminding ourselves that we’re God’s children too. It can be hard sometimes for connection points to be made between life in Belize and life for us in the States. But it’s clear to see that God has gone before us and He’s already done the work. He just needs us to show up. What connections could you be missing because you’re too busy trying to figure out all of the details when God really just needs you to be present? Say “yes” to Him today. Rest in His promises.

Thank you for reading the blog and for praying for our team! We’re so grateful!