Wow, already we have witnessed God’s movement and abundant blessing here in Belize! After our morning of flying, we headed to the hotel to drop off our bags and grab our supplies for the orphanage. As we pulled up to the orphanage, we saw all the kids eagerly awaiting our arrival. They welcomed us in and were so excited to play. We spent the afternoon making fun hats, playing relays, bouncing on balls and painting nails! It was so much fun being with all the kids and getting to know them. We’ll get to go back tomorrow and play some more. We all piled back onto the bus to drive around and hang up our posters to advertise and invite kids from all over to our Vacation Bible School that we’ll start on Monday. It was an adventure driving around Belize looking for the best places to hang our hilarious posters. Then we returned to the hotel to rest a little before supper. Later, we had our orientation meeting where we talked about the things we are looking forward to this week. There is an overwhelming sense of God’s presence among our team members, which is becoming more and more obvious as we continue to unite as one team here in Belize! Most of us were tired from our packed day and are looking forward to sleep tonight, but all of us are looking forward to the church services we get to be a part of tomorrow.

Today we attended Sand Hill Baptist, which is located about 30 minutes from our base. We started out teaching Sunday school for the adults, older children and younger children. In the adult class, Rick taught about obedience and did an amazing job that touched many of the member’s hearts. In the older kids’ class, Cody, Liz, Amy, Hanns and Angie sang a song about the Good Samaritan. In the younger kids’ class, Kim told the story of the Good Samaritan with the help of some of the kids in the class. After Sunday school, we all attended church and helped lead worship. Josh preached on finding joy in persecution and continuing to bless the name of the Lord through trials. God spoke through him to minister to the congregation and definitely anointed the words he spoke. After the church service, we headed back to the orphanage to run around and play with them one more time. We had played games with water balloons, which just ended up being somewhat of a water fight! It was a lot of fun spending time with the children, there were about 40 kids that ranged from ages 3-18. However, it was difficult to say goodbye to their smiling faces. Later, we went through some life story training before heading back to Sand Hill Baptist for the evening service. At the evening service, Bob taught on forgiveness and how as we live in forgiveness we become more and more like Jesus. Cody and Kim then shared their testimonies that were completely Spirit led and reached out to specific members of the congregation. We are so excited to start VBS tomorrow and get going on the construction project!

The kick off of our VBS was a great success! There were about 85 kids that came and hung out with us all morning. We taught the kids new songs and dances that were filled with energy and fun. Norton and Ned made their debut today and the kids were left chanting for their return tomorrow. We cannot wait to see what God has in store for VBS tomorrow and the amazing opportunity to teach them more about God. We also started our construction project of painting the inside and the outside of the church. Steve started the special mural he has planned for the youth room. It was a lot of work prepping the walls and sanding the cement, but many hands make work light – so it didn’t take us long to see the progress that was being made. Tonight we will go back to Sand Hill Baptist for an evangelism service. Please pray for our team as we continue to minister to the members of the church!

Another great day of VBS, praise the Lord! There were about 110 kids that came today to learn about God and how to shine their lights. The kids have already done an amazing job learning the songs and dances we’ve been teaching them. Although we were all covered in sweat, it was incredibly rewarding to see all the kids smiling faces screaming and dancing to the words, “Jesus, You are my best friend, You will always be, nothing will ever change that!” After VBS, we were surprised with an adventure to St. Herman’s Cave and the Blue Hole! We got to take a jungle walk and observe God’s beautiful creation and then with the help of flashlights and a tour guide, explored a cave that had been used by the Mayan people. Since we were all hot from the cave adventure, Giovanni took us down to the Blue Hole for a dip in the fresh water spring that flows out from the cave. It was so refreshing swimming and playing around in the caves for the afternoon. For dinner, we ate at a burrito buffet called Cheers and spent time just relaxing and reflecting with each other. To end our exciting day, Tony surprised us all by treating us to ice cream before heading back for our debriefing meeting! All in all, today was a great day! Please be praying for the Love Feast we have tomorrow. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for the family ministry for the members of Sand Hill Baptist.

At VBS today we taught the children about prayer. Norton and Ned began the morning acting out what it doesn’t mean to pray and then finishing their skit with the right way to pray, “Just like talking to your best friend!” The kids had so much fun together learning and playing. It was great today spending time with the kids, especially since we’ve been able to build relationships with not only the kids that keep coming to VBS but also their mothers that bring them. After VBS, we had a quick lunch and then got right into our construction project of painting the church. We were able to start on the little kid’s classroom that is right next to the church today and we’ll be able to finish it up tomorrow. We also painted the door frames and the other two classrooms inside the church. It has been cool seeing the transformation the church has gone through in just a few days. The sports ministry today was a blast! Many of the VBS kids came back to play games and run around before going back home and cleaning up for the Love Feast. The Love Feast was an intentional time of family ministry and fellowship. We decorated the church for the members to come and enjoy a meal together and then Grant taught on what God’s idea for family really means. Although the evening did not go exactly as planned, there were still many seeds planted and relationships built throughout the evening. Please pray for all of us tomorrow as we have our last VBS program and our closing time with Pastor Henry; it is crazy how fast time has gone by!

Today was our last day of VBS and we focused on the salvation message. It was yet another exciting day, packed with energy and fun! There were almost 150 kids that showed up for our final VBS, which was such a blessing. Before we danced our last Norton and Ned dance, we led the children through a salvation prayer. We trust that God will fill the hearts that prayed the prayer with us and they will become forever friends with Jesus. After many picture and goodbyes, we started on finishing up painting around the church. It was phenomenal to see the transformation the church went through in just one short week. There were 3 murals that were painted, both of the buildings outer walls were painted, the three classrooms, the stage and the church name. We worked so hard to get as much done as possible to bless the members of Sand Hill Baptist Church. The final closing ceremony with Pastor Henry and other leaders within the church was amazing. We were able to donate all of the things we brought for them and in turn we were blessed with gifts from the church members. What a surprise! Tonight we will go enjoy dinner and a concert by the Heavenlies. They are a popular Belizean band. Burton Brooks is a member of the band and he was one of the leaders on our trip last year. It will be a nice treat and a great way to end the day!