Last Ministry Day With The Kids

Well, today (Thursday) was a bitter sweet day. It was the last day with the children but it was also the day we focused on the Gospel!

The class activity for the day was a fun Gospel themed scavenger hunt. We had a series of 5 challenges that our classes had to complete that reviewed the lessons the children learned throughout the week finishing with the Gospel story. These clue were little objects like a rock that symbolized the stone that was rolled away from the tomb. In the morning we were able to take the younger kids on the scavenger hunt outside which was similar to attempting to herd cats. This was a little chaotic because we were outside and running around and it was exciting and they seemed to just lose their minds, haha! But, then they surprise you by remembering the things you talked about in those crazy moments or even from the times you thought I’m just not effective. It reminds you that it’s not your message you’re sharing it’s God’s and He uses you regardless of your qualifications or in spite of your perceived lack of abilities! The little ones loved the scavenger hunt and everyone received a salvation beads bracelet when they were able to answer questions about the Gospel story.

It started to rain during lunch and into the afternoon so the older kids did an adapted scavenger hunt in their rooms. Many of the older kids knew the Gospel story and were able to quickly answer the questions and complete the challenges, which allowed us to explain a little further about the different clues and the parts of the story they referred to. It’s my hope and prayer that these kids move from knowing about Jesus and what He did for us to actually knowing Him on a personal level. They’re almost there and perhaps for some of them they truly do. But, real change in Belize will happen when these kids become the spiritual leaders in their communities and country.

It has been a long week that has flown by! We have all made connections with the children in our classes and we were dreading the moment we inevitably had to say “goodbye” but as the Kids Konnect leaders taught us, we don’t say “goodbye” we say “until next time” whether it be in this life or the next. For me, it was hardest leaving the little ones. I was paired with Karen, Rachel, Michael, and Kamran in the Infant II class who were from 6-8 years old. They were adorable and loved to give hugs. And every one of them seemed to have an endless supply of joy.

We often forgot that it was thanksgiving but we were reminded of what we should be truly thankful for, God’s grace. We did get some turkey for dinner! Chef Rob made us some turkey toastadas with a cream sauce on a bed of cilantro and lime rice with a side of bread with garlic hummus. An interesting combination that totally worked! It was delicious! If it weren’t for my Aggies losing the football game, it would have been a perfect Thanksgiving ;)

Tomorrow (Friday), we’re ready for our day of reflection where we can take some time to process what God has shown us this week!

Tyler

Ministry Day 3 With The Kids

Two coconuts and one bottle of water left. We may have to start cutting people off. Just kidding!J

                We woke up to super strong winds and rain and coldness.  Once we ate breakfast we loaded up in the van and headed to the school.  Since it was raining we were unable to have big group time with our first classes.  So we each told the story of Job and talked about his perfect integrity to our own classes.  Karen’s class (she is teamed up with Tyler and Rachel’s family) sang a lot of songs that we do from our church like “I want to sing, sing, sing” and “Father Abraham.” Crista and Shane are teamed up with an English couple, and they taught us a few really fun British games that she is excited to take back to her class!  Katie (who is teamed up with George and Jessica) brought a little North Woods flair by teaching their kids 10 pin bowling using plastic cups.

                Then we came back to lunch at our hotel for some burritos and mango juice, which was really delicious! In the afternoon the sun had come out so we were able to have our big group time where we all come in chanting our team cheers, very loudly and with great enthusiasm! Our afternoon classes also talked about Job and watched a video of kids acting out the story of Job. Karen’s class spent the rest of the afternoon playing a game called ants on a log, basketball with the boys and doing, and hand clapping cheers with the girls. Crista’s class acted out the story of Job kind of like the video, did an interview game for the kids to get to know one another better, and played several group games. Katie and Jessica had fun connecting with the girls through dancing and singing, and drawing pictures.

                When we got back to our hotel Karen and Katie went kayaking while Crista took pictures. The evening ended with singing worship songs on the pier. It is so awesome and moving to sing to our Lord while listening to the crashing waves of the Caribbean Sea.  

                The Lord is definitely moving on this mission trip. Everyone is having a wonderful time and can’t believe it is already Wednesday; however, we know the devil is trying to mess us up because several people have been feeling sick. So please continue to keep all of us in your prayers, especially our health right now. Also continue to pray for all of the children, teachers, and families that we come in contact with that we will let our light shine for JESUS!!!!

Crista, Katie, and Karen

Ministry Day 2 With The Kids

God is awesome!!  That’s how I can sum up our second day.  Yesterday our group went away a little discouraged.  I think we wanted to connect with the kids so bad we expected it to be a breeze.  The kids however were a little wary of us.  The morning class was chaotic and the afternoon group was standoffish.  I know we all prayed last night for a smoother day and to allow us to make a connection with the kids.

Today as my group (Karen, Tyler, Michael, Kamran and myself) approached our morning class they were singing our class chant with huge smiles waiting to greet us.  That was God showing us that he is awesome and answer prayers!  Our morning went great as we learned about David and Johnathan and the commitment they had to one another.  Our verse for the day was Psalms 37:5.  The kids made up movements to go along with the verse and we filmed it for a slideshow later this week.  We played a relay race with a ball and had a cup stacking challenge.  The kids were so loving today and didn’t want us to leave.  God is awesome!

We broke for lunch and had chicken, beans, rice and coleslaw at a restaurant named Tina’s.  It was so good.  Then we went to a local gift shop to buy souvenirs.

The afternoon class was awesome as well!  The kids were happy to see us back.  They really go into making up actions to go along with the memory verse for the day.  We had them make hearts to thank their teacher for the commitment she has made to them.  The things they wrote really touched my heart.  These kids who seemed so disconnected yesterday showed tons of love for their teacher today!  We split the boys and girls up to spend some one on one time with them.  The guys took the boys and talked about commitment and played basketball.  Karen and I kept the girls and had “girl talk”.  They really opened up and talked about their families, favorite things, what they are good at and what job they wanted.  We had doctors, teachers, accountant and one girl wanted to work as a doctor on a cruise ship.  It gave us a chance to get to know them better J

Chef Rob made us a wonderful dinner tonight.  Larry led our devotional.  He spoke about how God laid these works we are doing long before we ever even knew.  All the glory goes to Him.  We are just the hands and feet that go before him.  We ended with worship on the pier and sang many songs that I felt touched each of us in our own way.  I definitely felt God’s presence there on that pier!

Rachel

Ministry Day 1 With The Kids

We arrived on the sight with no clue of where to go or what to do. We were told to walk around to the back of the school, and there we find the whole school doing an assembly. (I later found out it is a Monday only thing.) 

We stand in the back watching every one of us a little timid and lost. It was fun seeing how all the kids started off their week. I find Crista and head over to our class room. My group consisted of Crista, Rosemary Jones, Barry Jones, and Myself. The Jones’ are a sweet old couple from Cambridge, England and are parents of one of the team members that is always here.  Our first class of the day was with the first year kids who have only known school since September. I was amazed to see that they all knew how to read my name and write their own without a pre-written example. We played a few games with them and then went to lunch. The kids all go home for lunch so we went to a small restaurant where we had burritos. (The only way I can describe is sloppy joe mix for the inside.) We came back from lunch and went to our second class. It was to Standard 3 for my small group of four. Standard 3 was a group whose age was from 8 to 10.  They had two classes in the same room so we took our group and went outside. The boys of this group learned my name so fast yet I only remember one. (His name is Tony which is close to my name Anthony.) We covered the same story of Noah’s ark. Then we played a few games and went home. It was a very good day and a great way to start the week.

Shane R.

Harvest Celebration

Day two (Sunday) started with meeting the rest of our team over a French toast and fruit breakfast. The other group consisted of people from Dallas, Philadelphia, and Cambridge, England (we love their accents). :) At 9:30, we left for a kid’s church service at Pomona Christian Community Church. We met together for singing fun songs, and a Bible story. Afterward, we split into groups for discussion, crafts, and games. We then ate lunch at a restaurant called Macaroni Hill. Everyone went to the third story, where there was a breathtaking view of the landscape.

After lunch we headed to Silk Grass Baptist Church for a Harvest Festival service. On the way, we stopped at a gas station, where several people bought snacks and drinks (only because they wanted to get change in Belizean money as a souvenir). Once we arrived at Silk Grass, we heard the testimony of an 11-year-old boy, and future pastor, who told us how he used to trust his mom in providing for his food but now he knows that his food is provided from the Lord. His “sermon” was a good description of the reason for the Harvest Festival, which is for the Belizean people to celebrate their thankfulness for the food that God has provided.

Several people then sang songs and performed dramas, and we heard a guest pastor preach the Word. After the service, we had an opportunity to try some of the food people brought to the festival, including tamales and empanadas. Although we were not with our biological families, it was wonderful to celebrate Thanksgiving/Harvest Festival with our Christian brothers and sisters.

-Crista, Katie, and Karen

The Journey Begins

Well, day one is down in the books and after a long day of travel we finally made it to our home for the week!

10 of us met at the Houston airport at 7 am yesterday morning and we began or journey to Belize. (Jackie and Ray were able to catch a flight on Friday while Larry and Cameron flew up early Saturday.) It was a pleasant trip without any real setbacks. We all seemed to meet random people who were excited for us and our trip blessing us on the way! We are definitely moving with God's blessing! After we landed in Belize city we meet David Glass who drove us about 3 hours to Hopkins, while stopping at a nice little restaurant called 'Cheers' along the way for dinner. We had some delicious burritos and limeade. The roads were a little rough and it was dark most of the drive but we made it at last to the Parrot Cove Resort where our team will be staying for the week while on mission. We got settled in and called it a night and were ready to hit the ground running in the morning!