He Created Everything

Today was our first full day of ministry, and it was incredible. God showed up in every space, and we’re still in awe that He would invite us to be part of what He’s doing here in Belize. What a gift it is to share His love and watch Him move in the hearts of so many people.

Our day started with another beautiful breakfast on the rooftop. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and everyone was full of anticipation for the first day of Bible Adventure Camp! We even got to see a hummingbird fly by during breakfast. If you’re not familiar with where we stay, the hotel sits right along the Hummingbird Highway, so it felt like such a special way to start the morning. We enjoyed eggs, Canadian bacon, beans, tortillas, apple bananas, sweet tea, and, of course, plenty of coffee for those who needed an extra boost before camp!

After breakfast, we each spent time with Jesus through our daily devotional before gathering in the lobby to organize our supplies while we waited for the bus. We even squeezed in a few minutes to practice the camp dances together. There was lots of singing, laughing, and making sure we remembered all the moves! Samantha did an incredible job leading us both in the lobby and later at camp.

Before we knew it, Estellyn arrived, and our excitement immediately skyrocketed. She already had a bus full of kids with her! Seeing familiar faces from last year and getting to reconnect with so many of our friends was such a special way to begin the week. After Estellyn dropped us off at the school, we unlocked the classrooms and finished setting up for the day while she went to pick up the rest of the campers. Then, before long, the bus rolled in and Bible Adventure Camp officially began!

We welcomed 63 kids to camp today, and we had so much fun learning about God’s Wonders Great and Small! Each child checked in with Amy and Alli, received a name tag, and was assigned to a squad for the week.

One of my favorite moments happened during check-in. A group of boys arrived together and wanted to be in the same squad, so Amy jokingly made them promise to be on their best behavior if they were going to stay together. Two of the boys were from Valley Community, and one was from Pomona. I asked them how they knew each other since they didn’t attend the same school. The sweetest response came next. “Miss, we met right here at camp! We met two years ago, and we love being together every year at camp!” My heart just melted. Not only do we get the privilege of building lasting relationships with these kids, but they’re building friendships with one another that wouldn’t have existed without Bible Adventure Camp. Every conversation, every connection, and every relationship matters. What we’re doing here MATTERS.

When it was time to kick off the Party, Maddie took the stage to officially welcome everyone to Bible Adventure Camp. This year’s theme is Beyond: God’s Wonders Great and Small, and every lesson, craft, game, and activity has been thoughtfully designed to help these kids discover who God is and just how much He loves them. We’re so grateful for Maddie, 28:19’s Programming Director, who creates every piece of our curriculum. The work she does has an eternal impact, and we get the incredible privilege of watching it come to life. Whether it’s a child hearing about God’s love for the very first time or one who can still remember last year’s Bible Points, songs, and dances, every moment is rooted in Scripture and created with the hope of pointing each child to Jesus.

Today’s Bible Point was “God is Powerful. He created everything.” The Theme Verse of the day was Colossians 1:16 “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth.” The kids are great auditory learners, so they had it memorized pretty quickly! Each station reinforces the Bible Point and the Theme Verse. At Activation Station (games), the kids got to play “Earth, Water, Sky” (our version of Rock, Paper, Scissors) and race to beat the opposing team. At Creation Station (crafts), kids created their very own solar system mobile to remind them how powerful God is because He made everything! The kids LOVE coloring, so that really enjoyed today’s craft! At Hydration Station (snack), the kids decorated a squad flag after choosing a name. We had Blue Dolphins, Pink Stars, Green Stars, and Yellow Bees. If you were here last year, you know how much Doug loves his Yellow Bees! At Investigation Station (experiments/activities), the kids are invited to see the world in a new and exciting way, leading them to leave in awe and wonder of the world God created around us. Today, they spent time discovering just how BIG our solar system is by creating a model of the Solar System outside. The next station, the Bible Exploration Station (Bible stories), is the whole point of Bible Adventure Camp. It invites kids to believe the character of God through true stories from the Bible. Today, our teachers taught the story of Creation. Like I mentioned, every single station is designed with these specific kids in mind, and it all reinforces the Bible Point and Bible Verse. We really want these truths to live in their hearts forever. 

When the final bell rang for camp today, the kids ran to the bus while we cleaned up and closed up every classroom. We hopped on the bus with all of the kids and got dropped off at the hotel for lunch. We enjoyed chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and Lime Ginger Juice. Such yummy comfort food after a full morning at camp! 

After lunch, we had a short break before needing to gather everything for our afternoon at Love Conference! During this time, it started pouring down rain enough that the power got knocked out at the hotel AND at the community center in Valley Community – today’s conference location. Like I mentioned yesterday, Love Conference is brand new this year! So, today was our first time executing it! We showed up to no power at the community center and pivoted to still allow things to go on as planned. Emerson was our driver for Love Conference so Estellyn could pick up all of our conference attendees! We had 33 people (and a lot of children) from all across the valley join us for Love Conference today! As they registered, they were assigned to a Rally Group. They entered the room and joined the seats near their Rally Group leader. The Rally Groups will spend the entire week together! After Maddie welcomed everyone and shared the heart behind Love Conference, we worshipped together with “The Perfect Love of Jesus” and “Good News”. We learned that worship is more than just singing, it’s how we express our love to God. Then, Amy shared a short message about the Creation story and how we were created out of love. 

After the conference portion of the afternoon, it was time to put what we’d just learned into action. This is when Love Conference shifts into the outreach portion of the day, and our Rally Groups spring into action. We are so excited to get to serve alongside our Belizean brothers and sisters as one team. Since today’s conference was held in Valley Community, we had the opportunity to welcome families from the village to the Love Center. We were so excited to serve 22 families this afternoon!

After checking in, each family received a “For God So Loved Belize” bag filled with a washcloth, soap, rice, and beans. From there, they were invited to shop in our children’s clothing closet. Thanks to the generosity of so many people who donated clothing back home, parents were able to choose new outfits for their children in what felt like a real shopping experience. Seeing their smiles as they picked out clothes was so special.

Families could also enjoy chips and dip, have their blood pressure checked, receive prayer, and take home a new Gospel resource that explains the message of Jesus in simple, easy-to-understand language. One of the things that makes this resource especially meaningful is that it’s available in both English and Spanish. William and Diana, a couple from our English Learning Community, translated the entire booklet into Spanish so even more people can hear and understand the Gospel. What an incredible gift to our ministry and the people we’re serving! Imagine all of the people whose eternity will be impacted because of this!

While all of that was happening inside the Love Center, a Rally Group was outside hosting a carnival for the kids. Between the games, balloon animals, face painting, and nonstop laughter, it was a little chaotic in the best possible way. The kids loved every second of it, and so did we.

Watching Love Conference come to life was so beautiful, and we know each day this week will have its own unique moments that remind us of God’s love for us.

After packing everything up, we got back on the bus and headed to the hotel for dinner. Tonight’s menu included stew beef, rice, salad, chocolate cake, and watermelon juice. It was all so delicious! We continue to be so grateful for Miss Shirlene and everyone who works so hard to prepare meals for us each day. They truly care for us so well.

After dinner, we had a short break before gathering for our nightly team meeting and worship. We spent time debriefing the day, celebrating the ways we saw God move, and worshiping together through “Give Me Jesus” and “Fall Like Rain.” These moments together have become one of our favorite parts of the day. They help us slow down, reflect on everything we’ve experienced, and prepare our hearts for whatever tomorrow holds.

Before heading to bed, many of us stopped by to shop Kim’s (Pastor Lord’s wife) handmade jewelry from Gems of Belize. Our team always looks forward to supporting her beautiful work and picking out a new pair of earrings! Then it was time to prep supplies for tomorrow, spend a little more time together, or finally get some much needed rest.

What a day. What a faithful God. His presence is here. His love is changing lives. And we have the incredible privilege of watching it unfold right in front of us.