We arrived safely in Belize this afternoon with all of our luggage. From the airport we headed into Old Belize for a late lunch and were able to explore the gift shop and get acquainted with Belize's history. Next, we went to Liberty Children's home in Ladyville; we toured the home and had the opportunity to play with about 40 children that live there. We travelled west towards Belmopan, just in time to have pizza for supper at the hotel before having our orientation meeting. Pastor Norman Willacy welcomed us and described the projects we'd being working on throughout the week. We're looking forward to Sunday Schools and a morning and evening church service tomorrow.

This morning we woke up and enjoyed fryjacks, eggs, bocane (like muffins), and lots of local fresh fruit at the hotel for breakfast! Then we headed off to Sunday schools and the morning church service at Belmopan Baptist church; we were able to teach Sunday school classes, lead the worship, give four of our group's testimonies, and preach the sermon. Afterward, we came back to the hotel for lunch and had the chance to rest, swim, and explore the community. In the evening we headed back to church for a traditional Belizean meal of stewed chicken, rice and beans, fried plantains, potato salad, bread pudding, muskmelon, watermelon, and delicious pineapple and bananas. We also headed to Cotton Tree village to lead the evening Sunday service there. Please keep us in your prayers as we head into the community tomorrow to meet with the locals and hand out flyers for the week's activities. We are hoping to make personal connections and help people with their needs as well as pray with them.

We woke up bright and early this morning - some of us may say that the cheerful birds singing woke us up a little earlier than we would have liked - and got ready for door-to-door ministry in some of the outlying poorer neighborhoods of Belmopan. We brought two full boxes of fliers for the weeks activities along with some tracts, split into small groups, and spread out. We handed out the majority of them - some of us even had excited helpers and shadows following us around, eager to tell their family and friends about VBS! A few of the goups got to see small shops infront of peoples homes where ladies were making corn tortillas from scratch to sell and most of us were able to visit with the people in their homes for quite awhile. Some of the crew was able to begin the process of leveling the floor and digging trenches for the concrete floors of Anna and Delores, the two women whose homes we'll be working on. We also learned that sunscreen is important as a couple of us got slightly pink today. We came back into town for lunch at the church, got our supplies, and headed off to VBS. When the bus went to pick kids up, they filled the bus to the max! There ended up being over 150 kids in the church and we recognized many friends that we had met in the morning! At Marla's House of Hope and King's Children's Home some of us got to do foam crafts and lessons with skits as well as play games and just have fun with the kids. Others of us got to sing songs with the kids and play basketball with some of the older kids. We were very worn out by the never-ending energy of the kids by the end of the day. When we were finished with everything, we were able to eat burritos, chips, and salsa at Cheers, a great local restaurant! We left two t-shirts that we all signed at the restaurant to be displayed with other shirts from around the world. A great time was had by all. The weather has been sunny with a few random showers. Fortunately we've had a nice breeze to keep us from melting in the heat!

A bus that holds 52 passeengers has only standing room after our door to door invites this morning. We counted over 160 children on the first day.

This is a before picture of the house where we will put in a cement floor in Sister Anna's house in Belmopan.

This morning most of us headed straight to the painting sight, Belmopan Baptist High School. We dove right in, and we not only painted the bottom three feet of all eight classrooms coffee brown, but were also able to do the same on the front of the building on both floors, the bathrooms, and a room in another building! We will be painting the tops of the classrooms on Thursday. The school is already looking better, and we can't wait to go back and finish the job! Meanwhile, a small crew was out at Anna's house framing up her living area and small kitchen so that the concrete can be poured. We had to reinforce the walls of the house with boards because most of the other boards in the house were rotting, and we put mesh wire in place so we should be ready to mix and pour concrete next time. The last small group of us went into the community near Anna's house and were able to have great conversations with some ladies and help them wash clothes in the stream. For the afternoon we headed to VBS at the church and the two children's homes. We still had over 100 children at the church, and the children were more responsive this time while being just as excited as they were the first day. Afterward, we had the opportunity to support Delores, the other lady whose home we'd plan to work on but were not able to because of the government; she sells crafts, like baskets and jewelry, for a living, so many of us purchased these things from her while we waited for supper. Then we prepared for the youth night and women's Bible study. We watched Night at the Museum and had popcorn, but most of our youth were so busy talking with and listening to the Belizeans that we didn't really see too much of the movie. Three ladies along with two children showed up for the Bible study, and they had some very good discussions going. So far the weather has been hot and humid, yet we're told it has been cooler than usual for this time of year. God is truly blessing us and the community this week.

Color of choice - coffee!

Our Morning of Recreation!

Our Morning of Recreation!

Today we went to Xunantunich, one of the tallest Mayan archaeological sights in Belize! It was over a mile hike up hill to get there, but the view from the top was spectacular - we could even see the Guatemalan border. We also went into our third day of children's ministries and they are going strong. It will be sad to say goodbye tomorrow. FInally, today we had our evening evangelism service. We had a great night of worship, sharing testimonies, a skit about love, and a powerful sermon. Amen!

Today was the day for finishing projects and saying goodbyes. In the morning we were able to finish painting the classrooms and more at the school – we also had the opportunity to paint the restrooms, offices, and much of the front of the school building! Also, our sister, Anna, now has a cement floor in her living and kitchen areas along with a front and back stoop so that she will not have to bail water from her house each day it rains. In the afternoon we met with the children and youth one last time before saying our final goodbyes at the church. We’ll be waking up bright and early tomorrow to ride the bus and catch a water taxi to the key for debriefing and relaxing after a long work week. We’re so very excited to share everything that has happened and how God has blessed this mission!

Today was the day for finishing projects and saying goodbyes. In the morning we were able to finish painting the classrooms and more at the school – we also had the opportunity to paint the restrooms, offices, and much of the front of the school building! Also, our sister, Anna, now has a cement floor in her living and kitchen areas along with a front and back stoop so that she will not have to bail water from her house each day it rains. In the afternoon we met with the children and youth one last time before saying our final goodbyes at the church. We’ll be waking up bright and early tomorrow to ride the bus and catch a water taxi to the key for debriefing and relaxing after a long work week. We’re so very excited to share everything that has happened and how God has blessed this mission!

It was quite the day at the caye! We took the bus from Belmopan to Belize City and then caught a water taxi to The Belize Odyssey Hotel on Caye Caulker. It was an interesting journey as it rained on and off most of the morning. We almost made it without getting wet in the boat, but as we were unloading our gear the wind started blowing and it began to pour! Oh well, at least it's not cold when it rains here. After we got all settled in we had the chance to explore the gift shops, restaurants, and just relax on the beach before going snorkeling! Though the rain continued intermittently, we didn't let it stop us from enjoying ourselves. We began the evening with a meaningful time of worship and by sharing the highlights of the week. It was clear that God had been working through people on this trip. This morning (Saturday), each individual group within our large group made the trip to the airport and departed safely. Though we will miss our new friends, we are looking forward to being home and reuniting with our loved ones.