After a long day of travel, we have arrived safe and sound in Belize. As soon as we arrived, we settled into our hotel and then went to a children's home in Belize City. It was great to play with them and get to know them as they will be with us for VBS all week. In the evening, we had pizza and got to meet the other team who is with us for the week.

Sunday morning we had worship at Galilee Baptist Church. It was awesome to experience worship with the Belizean church members. Father Frank from the NY group (Happy Birthday!) shared an inspirational message about Jesus, the Bread of Life. We had a traditional lunch of stewed chicken, rice and beans and fresh fruit. Delicious!

Mike is sharing the message for church tonight. We are excited for our week of ministry as we get to know the community in Belize City.

This afternoon we shared life stories with the other team members and got a chance to practice our testimony. It was great to get to know everyone and encourage each other.

Today we had many people share testimonies in church--what a great way to step out! Sarah Jayne, Sandy and Angie all got up front and shared from the heart.

Mike talked about his life and brought about stories of how he (and Samson and Peter) were loved and used by God, even though they made some big mistakes. One man from the church made the decision to serve God with his life for the first time tonight! It was beautiful to pray for him and see him take that step in faith. This week is off to a marvelous start! Thank you so much for your prayers.

Breakfast began at 8am with eggs and fruit and off we went to begin our first day of Vacation Bible School at Galilee Baptist. As we pulled in on the bright yellow bus, we were greeted with thirty smiling faces anxious and ready to learn and sing about God. We started VBS with songs pertaining to Moses and his sister Miriam. Miriam was the main focus of today’s VBS because the craft the children did was make a tambourine like Miriam had. This little symbolism allowed the children to travel back in time to the Bible days and sing to the Lord like Miriam did. Nathan, Amanda, Jacqueline, David V., and Muriel lead the children in these songs. While crafts were going on, a group of children were also playing “drip drip drop” outside. It seems that Jacob may have had a little too much fun with the water (maybe that is because we were playing in very hot, humid weather!). After a full morning of VBS, we enjoyed a deliciously healthy lunch and tried to rest before we began our busy afternoon ministries!

In the afternoon, we got going with sports ministry. About 30 kids from the neighborhood joined us for soccer (aka football here) and our group showed off our skills juggling. The children loved it! It was great to begin some new friendships there.

The NY team inspired us all--working hard up on the scaffolding or cutting, bending and tying rebar. We are preparing the way to pour cement in the columns of the Sunday School/multipurpose building next to the church. It's a great cause too--we can see the need for more room in church. The ladies blew all of us away with their strength! The heat was intense today and we are glad to be going to the hotel for some air conditioning tonight. Everyone is keeping up great attitudes and excited for the week here.

We woke to the sound of pouring rain and loaded the bus with excitement and anticipation for what the day would hold. We were determined to have VBS rain or shine, but hoped it would not stop the children from coming…it didn’t! As clockwork, children were once again awaiting our arrival. VBS was a blast and over 90 children participated. Although we had to do VBS inside, the children were very excited to make beaded bracelets and necklaces. After crafts and singing bible songs, we had a limbo contest, where there were no losers! After a packed morning, we closed VBS with a round of the song “Father I adore you.” All 90 children had there hands folded in front of them as everyone’s voices united to sound like little angels praising their King.

In the afternoon, we joined the community children for basketball and fun in the sun. Warren shared his life story with the students during a juice break and talked about what Jesus means to him.

Meanwhile, construction was rolling! As more braces were put in place, the building is coming closer to being ready for the big cement truck on Thursday. We kept pushing until late in the afternoon.

Tonight at the Youth Rally/Hot Dog Party people packed into the church! After the youth group members shared some songs, our group hosted a human scavenger hunt and Jacob played “The Rag Man” in a powerful skit. It was great to see more relationships forming among us.

After a great morning of VBS, we switched things up a bit and toured the Mayan ruins site, Altun Ha. It was very insightful to the history and culture of these ancient people.

In the evening, Nathan shared his testimony--which happened to go right with the message. Pastor Ruperto spoke about the power of God's Word and we spent time in prayer for the community there in Belize City and for our communities back home.

VBS wrapped up with making God's Eyes, and a 3-legged race. It was tough to say goodbye to the children we have come to love so much. It's been so great to encourage them all as they play, sing, pray, dance and learn about God. So many hugs! We will carry their love with us home.

All hands were on deck! Sports ministry was going full force in the park. It was great to connect with the children and community youth as we prepared to leave.

The NY team was holding a blood-pressure screening at the supermarket next door. They tested over 100 people!

Many people were also working on the construction project (even in the morning!) to make sure all was ready for the cement truck to come in the afternoon. We were breaking bricks, patching wooden moldings, you name it! We finished just in time as the truck got set up in the yard.

It was a beautiful week of partnership. Team Alberta and Team New York came together and were a huge blessing to Galilee Baptist in Belize City. There are so many things we will remember from this trip. God is so good!