A Trusted Friend

Post for July 9, 2024

Wow! It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through our programming! Time is flying here in Belize, but we’re taking advantage of every single moment here. No time is being wasted – the Good News is too costly and too worthy for us to sit idle. We have to move. We have to GO. 

This morning, we started our day with breakfast on the rooftop. Once again, we were greeted with a rainbow – a symbol of God’s promise. For breakfast we had Johnny cakes, eggs, bacon, beans, watermelon, and orange juice. After breakfast, we transitioned into our devo time before our team huddle. During our team huddle, we went over the plans for each program today. Once we gathered all of our supplies, we got on the bus to head to the school. We had the most perfect breeze as soon as we got to the school. We got the classrooms set up for each station and started to welcome our campers! We had some new friends join us today, and it was so fun! During our opening session, we sang ‘Oh Happy Day’ and there’s a part in the song where the beat drops and the kids get to freestyle a little bit. It was a hit today! It’s so fun to watch them learn the dance moves and become more confident each time.

Today, our squads learned that “God is a friend. He can be trusted.” Today’s story was Zacchaeus, and the theme verse was Ephesians 3:17. It says, “Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.” The kids got to make friendship bracelets to remind them that God is their friend. At Fun and Games, they got to feed the circus animals by throwing bean bags in the correct holes. Camp went by faster today than yesterday, and relationships are growing stronger and stronger by the minute. 28:19 Ministries is built on relationships. We’re so grateful that this team of people is so invested in getting to know each camper on a personal level. So many of the kids are asking about former team members – even some former team members that haven’t been in a decade! The relationships that are built here matter. They leave a lasting impact that can be felt years later. We filmed a quick camp tour and shared it via Facebook Live this morning. If you’d like to get a glimpse into camp, head to our Facebook page!

After camp, we debriefed under the trees at the school while we waited for the bus to come pick us up. We got to share wins and stories from the day. Some team members played soccer in the field up until the moment we boarded the bus. Once Estellyn came back to pick us up, we went to the hotel and headed straight up for lunch. Lunch today was baked chicken, rice, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, watermelon, and juice. It was delicious and filled us up to sustain us for the rest of our programming! After lunch, we had a few minutes of down time to refresh and gather supplies for the afternoon programs. Around 1:30pm, we huddled up and got on the bus with all of our supply bins. Once we arrived at St. Matthew’s, we joined hands in a circle to pray over the programming today and to unify as a team before separating into our different spaces. As we prayed, a heavy breeze blew through the valley. The presence of God was felt. 

The woman and the teen girls learned about the anointing woman. The teen girls got to make their own perfume during the craft time. The women had a really special response time following discussion. The boys continued in their Warriors study and got to spend time today building a shelter for their tribe. The boys are split up into two tribes. Everything they do is a challenge to be able to receive points on the scoreboard. To end the day, they had a food challenge. They had a tribe face off to see who could eat the item without making a face. They started with blue Takis before moving on to Extra Sour Warheads. The grand finale was dried out crickets. The boys thought it was both disgusting and hilarious that they got to eat a cricket.

When we got back to the hotel, we had almost a full hour of downtime before dinner. Some debriefed about their programs and a few played soccer in the field. For dinner, we had a build your own burrito bar with homemade tortillas and fresh pico. The juice of the night was watermelon juice. Our dessert was delicious banana bread! It was still warm from the oven and was so yummy!

After dinner, we gathered in the church for team worship. Each team member received a slip of paper with the names of donors on it. We got to spend time reflecting on the people that helped us get here – the ones that said yes to go through financial support. It was such a powerful time of testifying to God’s goodness. We’re so in awe of the Lord’s provision for each team member and wanted them to catch a glimpse of it to. We got to share a little more about who 28:19 is and how team members can become directly involved in the work we’re doing in Belize and around the world. We sat and talked for an hour about God’s goodness and faithfulness. 

After team worship, everyone jumped into getting their supplies ready for tomorrow’s programs. Some of us played Dutch Blitz and Cards Christians Like. We were cracking each other up and having the best time!

As you can see, today was a full and fun one! God is so good, and so faithful. I wish I could say that I had enough energy to get some pictures up today, but we’re giving it our all every day. If you want to see a more real time update, our Instagram (@2819ministries) is the perfect place to follow along! 

Thank you so much for reading! Pictures to come later!