Hey all! We are all excited to be settled Belize after a long time of traveling. The team flew in yesterday and were welcomed to Belize by the intense heat and humidity! We loaded up the bus, and headed to a restaurant called Cheers to have our first Belizean meal- massive chicken burritos, chips and salsa, and ice cold lime juice. It was simply delicious. Some of us even walked around and enjoyed taking in the beautiful sights of Belize. We soon jumped on the bus again and started our trip to Sitee River. Our bus driver, Denfield, drove us through the many hills of the Belizean countryside and we were able to see some spectacular sights!! After a total of 3 hours on the bus, we made it to Sittee River- our ministry site for this week.

We settled into our home for the week, the Methodist School, and were welcomed by the ladies who will be cooking for us- Ms. Morna and Helen. Everyone was hot, tired, and hot. So we quickly had team meeting, then we got ready for a much needed night of sleep.

This morning we awoke to the sights of Sittee River. We ate a delicious breakfast of eggs, ham, fry jacks, fresh bananas, watermelon and amazing orange juice. Then we set off to our construction sites. This week we will be doing painting projects for four families in the community, as well as painting an emblem on the Methodist church. It was hot and sweaty, but we all drank plenty of water and were blessed with having ice! We the were thrilled by having a delicious Belizean meal of stewed chicken, rice and beans, and coleslaw.

We just finished our first day of Vacation Bible School. When we arrived at the church a few people went to go invite kids to come to VBS. While we waited for kids to arrive, we were able to relax and enjoy sugarcane, mangoes, oranges and other fruits thanks to Dan and Caleb with their extreme pocket knifes!

Despite not being use to the humidity, we have had a great opportunity so far to immerse ourselves in the culture. We are so excited to see how the Lord will work this week through VBS, service projects, and church serivces! Thanks for all the prayers!

Hello All! So far we are having a great time in Belize! We woke up early and ate breakfast, then off to the construction sites we went. There were three sites to work on. Mostly we are painting and cleaning up the houses to make it more appealing and comfortable. Then we did VBS! I cannot describe how cute and friendly these children are. Sherry taught a wonderful lesson on John 3:16 and it seemed to go very well. A big hit for VBS was playing soccer frisbee, and basketball. It's hard to think this was only our first full day! It is so exciting here and Christ is definitely present in this country. Pray for the families and children we meet this week. Blessings to all and hello Compee's! Love, Courtney

Today we are up and at it again after another Belizian breakfast. We did VBS this morning, and had about 30 kids again today! Opal led the day and had help from Sarah, Courtney, Kathy and Bernie as they sang fun songs with the kids. Abbie and others also performed a skit about the parable of the lost sheep.

After VBS, we ate lunch and set off to work on the construction again. The group has been working hard and we have made great progress on the houses. Later tonight we will be leading a men's and woman's Bible Study at the church. We are excited to see what the Lord continues to do through the group.

Eating snacks hard core!

Another day has come and gone! The group is starting to adjust to the humidity of Sittee River. Yesterday after VBS, we returned to the school and dispersed to our construction sites. One group finished painting the inside of one of the houses, and the rest of the groups are almost done as well! Everyone has been working amazingly hard, and it has been such a blessing to all the ladies whose houses we have painted!

After construction we hung out around the school and played football (soccer), volleyball, and frisbee with many kids who had accumulated there. It was an awesome way to minister, as the group related to people of all ages through sports. We then ate dinner and had a meeting to recap the night, and then we were off to sleep!

This morning we were able to sleep in!!! However, some of the group woke up early to go running which resulted in them sweating profusely for two hours afterward! We had a great breakfast of eggs, bacon and many fresh fruits, as well as some delicious johnny cakes. After breakfast we drove over to the church where we led Sunday school for some of the kids. At eleven we started the Sunday church service as Justin, Courtney, Claudia, Sarah and Dan led us in worship. Sarah, Jared and Courtney all gave their testimonies, and John preached an amazing sermon on Mark 10 and the significance of Jesus calling the little children to himself. We were blessed at the end of the service when the ladies of the church led us in some enthusiastic Belizean church songs!

After church we were blessed with a delicious lunch which included ICECREAM! It was a great refresher! Then we were off to another day of VBS. The guys shared an incredible rap about the parable of the prodigal son, and Bernie, Justin, Morgan, Caleb and Jake demonstrated their amazing acting skills as they reenacted the same story. We had about 35 kids show up to VBS today, and the group has been forming some solid relationships with the kids here. It has truly been amazing seeing the Lord working through every single person in the group!

Some of the guys playing around outside!

Teaching the children about Jesus!

Being the hands and feet of Jesus!