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Get news and updates sent to your cell phone via text message.| Belize Update - June 20 |
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| Written by Tim Schmoyer | |
| Saturday, 21 June 2008 | |
 Belize Update - June 20 As usual, plans changed again today. We thought we could finally start construction on the camp building this morning, but a couple complications with the brick delivery schedule set it back yet another day. Grrr! Fortunately we found out in time to quickly make other arrangements for our time today, which really turned out to be exactly what God wanted.We spent a little over an hour at the church running through our puppet shows, dramas and skits one final time before heading to the nursing home to spend time with the elderly people there. It was really a great time! The girls painted many of the ladies' fingernails and toenails just as an excuse to serve them, make them feel special, and especially to provide human touch. The kids are coming home with a lot of great stories from here. Personally, I had a great conversation with a blind gentleman named Lincoln. It turns out he's already a believer and clearly understood the gospel. He said, "I can't wait until we get to talk again in heaven when I can actually see your face." All the kids connected very well with most of the elderly people there who often go for extended periods of time without any physical affection or a meaningful conversation. From there we drove to an orphanage in another town about an hour away while eating lunch on the bus. As soon as we arrived, the children came streaming out of the barb-wire fence and just started hugging us. There was no shyness, no name introductions or anything -- just a huge craving to be held, which we did for a while. A bit later we played games with them in a little field next to the orphanage, did a couple skits and did two puppet shows. Then Carrie came out in a decked-out clown costume to hand out stickers and make balloon animals. She was definitely the highlight for all the children! I got to talk with an 8 year-old boy named Ashley for a bit. Christmas is his favorite time of year because that's the only time people come to play with him. Late afternoon we went to the local marketplace in that same town and setup to do some skits and dramas right in the middle of it all. Carrie came out in her clown suit with balloon animals again to attract a crowd, which worked perfectly. Then all the other kids performed a couple "ice breaker" skits for the audience that had formed. The people loved it! After the main drama called "The Woman," Kevin shared the gospel with everyone and then sent us out to talk and pray with the people. Almost everyone eagerly took a copy of the Gospel of John we handed out, but more imporantly, several people also prayed with some of our teenagers accept Christ! It was really a powerful experience for all of us. After dinner back at our hotel, we went back to the church to post VBS flyers around the nearby stores, bus stops, parks and other public places. We're looking forward to that starting on Sunday! The morale of the group is very positive right now. It hasn't been without it's litte struggles the past couple days, but most of the homesickness seems to have disappeared. Even the teens who are usually pretty quiet are opening up, talking and laughing with everyone, which is great to see! Everyone is drinking plenty of water, covering themselves in layers of bug spray and sunblock multiple times a day, and everyone is working well together as a group. Despite less than ideal conditions, no one is complaining either. They're all doing a great job! Communication seems to be our biggest issue right now -- getting all the kids to hear where they're supposed to be and when; and then actually getting them to show up on time. In a group this size with plans that seem to change every couple hours, it's easy to understand why this is the case, but it still makes for late starts and a sense of confusion sometimes. Assuming there's not a thunderstorm tomorrow morning, we should FINALLY be able to start working on the camp building. We're all excited to kick into "manual labor" gear and see the walls go up on this building. Danny Britten, our construction leader from New Jersey (a friend Kevin's and the brother of a guy I know) arrived today to lead the project. Drinking a LOT of water will be crucial tomorrow because there is no shade out there at all -- nothing but direct sunlight all morning long working hard in the heat. So far I'm the only one with a bit of a sunburn, but after tomorrow others may join me! Sorry, I'm back on dial-up again, so it's impractical to post pictures from today. Plus, it would take a LONG time to upload them all. Since they pay for the Internet connection by the minute, I'll get them up later if I can find something faster. |
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