Day 6: Saturday - Workday (part 2)

We rolled into the Belmopan Baptist High School around 8:30 this morning.  Melanie and Lydia went to Marla's to finish the mural; the rest of the group was ready to tackle painting the school.  Hannah and Matt worked out a plan to to divide the job into rollers and trim painters.  Half started on the second floor, the other half on the bottom floor.  In a couple hours the ceiling of the porch had been rolled and most of the trim around the windows was done.  After a water break, the rollers got the walls done and the trim painters finished the high areas.  After lunch, the lower part of the walls was painted brown and the brown trim around the doors was completed.  We were helped by Jose, Manuel and Enrique - students at the high school - as well as Pastor Norman Willacy, principal of the school and the school caretaker.  With all that help we not only got all the front exterior done, but also the two ends of the building too.  All that by 2:00 this afternoon.  Prayers for good weather were answered; we had sunny skies, a breeze ,and were shaded by the porches we were under.

After a group shot in front of the school, we decided we could all go to Spanish Lookout for ice cream.  Western Dairy is sort of the Jack Frost of Belize (don't worry Jim, yours is still the best!)  Spanish Lookout is a Mennonite community in this district of Belize, with large farms and pastures.  It is very un-Belizean because the Mennonites have preserved their culture and traditions.  We were back at the BTC by 4:00 ready for showers and down time until dinner.

A few photos:

 Belmopan High School before

 Aaron painting the ceiling

 Finished!

Group photo - can you tell what color we painted?

We will be worshipping tomorrow with our brothers and sisters at Belmopan Baptist Church, as you will be at home as well.  We will worship together in spirit and truth. Tell our church family that we are well, putting our all into the mission, and growing spiritually.  We do miss our families and covet your prayers of support.

After church we are eating a bag lunch on the road on the way to the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich.  It will be another adventure for the youth - they can explore the ancient temples and buildings at the site.  We will end the day with a traditional Belizean dinner at Clarissa Falls Resort and Restaurant and devotions when we return.  

Day 6: Saturday - Workday

I think everyone was ready for a good night's sleep after our adventure yesterday.  We  will be up and going this morning to Belmopan Baptist High School.  Our plan is to paint the front of the two-story main building.  Each floor has a balcony, so only step ladders will be needed.  Since we have painted so much, specialties have emerged.  Some are good with rollers, others doing trim painting; some are can easily work from a ladder, others like to keep their feet on the ground. The mural that will be finished today is a testament to the artistic abilities that some have.  Our devotions have touched on this theme as well.  We all have gifts.  Time and experience teaches us what these gifts are, and a mission trip such as this one gives us an opportunity to use those gifts.  Our gifts are not limited to jobs like painting.  Our youth have shown the gift of love and compassion through interaction with the children at the two homes.  Several have played here at the camp with Jane's daughter Hannah.

Another area where giftedness shows is how the youth relate to one another.  On the work site they help one another; holding a ladder, a can of paint, handing a brush or roller, any number of ways.  At the camp, they spend down time talking in a large group or exploring the grounds.  The gift of unity has  been evident all week.

Finally, there is the gift of leadership.  A successful mission trip comes from advance planning.  Matt has planned an excellent mission trip.  Untold details have been worked out and taken care of. He prepared a wonderful devotion booklet and keeps the youth informed on what is coming next and what they need for that event.  Scott knows so many people here that any question is usually answered with a phone call to the right person. Steve Little has taken care of logistics and keeping us fed.  He picks up Jane and Laticia in the mornings between 5:30 and 6:00, takes them shopping (in Belize shopping is an hours-long process), gets them back to the BTC in the afternoon to cook dinner, and takes them home between 7:30 and 8:00 at night.  Melanie Orange has been our official doctor (only minor things so far) and is directing the work on the mural at Marla's.  Hanna Hagaman and Dan Smith have organized the painting at Marla's; and Patrick Ellis and Steve Pierce organized the work at the King's home.  The chaperones also have their families who are responsible for leading nightly devotions and kitchen duty after each meal.

Breakfast is cooking, the youth are stirring, and we will be off to the worksite soon.  Prayers for safety, good weather, and God's good grace today.

Maybe a couple pictures of earlier work will upload this morning.

Taner is one of our steady hands for detail work

Filipe and Grace beginning the mural at Marla's

Erika doing trim work at Marla's

Day 5: Friday - ATM Cave

To answer your questions:
1. Yes, we went into the ATM Cave.
2. Yes, we came out of the ATM Cave.
3. Yes, the same number that went in came out!

The cave adventure was one that most will not forget.  Here is a sampling of words heard after the trip:
Awesome!
Indescribable!
One of the greatest experiences in my life.
A once in a lifetime trip.
Epic!

We rode for almost an hour over a bumpy gravel road to the parking area.  We were given helmets to carry along with our water and lunch.  We hiked through the rain forest for 45 minutes to the area at the mouth of the cave.  Along the way we had to wade across Roaring Creek 3 times.  Once at the cave we were given lights to put on our helmets and left our lunches and water behind.  The entrance to the cave   has a deep pool of water formed by the stream that flows through the cave.  After swimming 20 feet to a rock ledge we began to walk up the stream further into the cave.  Our lamps on our helmets were the only light we had.  The stream depth varied from ankle deep to chest high.  Some places the cave was wide, others you had to squeeze between rocks.  In several places the water was rushing over boulders in the stream bed.  After 30 minutes of walking upstream we climbed above the stream and took off our water shoes to explore the Mayan artifacts.

The Mayans used the cave between AD 250 - 900, venturing farther in as time passed.  It was a ceremonial cave used for religious rites that eventually included human sacrifice.  Since everything taken into the cave was consecrated, nothing was removed; so the cave is littered with pottery of all sizes.  All them were purposely broken or had a hole put in them as a part of ceremonial rites.  At some points in the cave skulls and other bones are visible.  At the end of the cave, in a niche that is reached by a ladder, is the complete skeletal remains of the "the Crystal Maiden" - probably a 14 year old girl.

In addition to the artifacts, the cave has stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and other geologic formations. All together you have a cave trip, and archaeological site, and the adventure of climbing up a stream in the cave.  It was a trip to remember.

Unfortunately, cameras have been prohibited from the cave, so no one was able to take any pictures.  Matt and I have pictures from January, and we will include them on the CD that is compiled after the trip.

One last note.  Some of the girls were in a quiet part of the cave with their guide when they began to sing "Amazing Grace."  Their voices echoed through the cave as they sang.  All those choir practices and performing has influenced our youth.  They are a blessing!

Dinner is in an hour or so - stew beef with vegetables and rice, followed by devotions and a good night's rest after our adventures.  Tomorrow is another workday; painting again at Belmopan Baptist High School.  Pray for good weather.

Day 5: Friday - Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave

After 3 days of hard work that has exceeded expectations, we are taking a break today to experience some ancient culture.  The Actun Tunichil Muknal or ATM Cave is a cave used by the Mayans for ceremonies between 600 and 900 AD. (These dates are based on my memory from January, so they may be off some.)  The unique aspect of the cave is that one must wade and swim short distances through water in the cave to reach the relics at the upper end.  This is the part of the cave that was used for ceremonial rites by the Mayans.  Our guide will interpret the relics left behind and explain the Mayan culture.  We will continue our look at ancient Mayan culture Sunday afternoon with a trip to Xunantunich, Mayan ruins near the Guatemala border.  


Here are a couple pictures if I can upload them:


Sorry, but 15 minutes and the first picture didn't even halfway load. I guess they will have to wait.
Finally, one picture of Marla's House of Hope in its new tropical colors.

And one more:

The Girls room at Marla's in pink and purple.

Painting at the Kings Children's Home

Our devotion theme last night was on unity, and our youth have certainly displayed unity throughout this mission trip.  With working at two sites and inside/outside teams at each site, they maintained a sense of mission.  Even though we work in different places and use our different gifts, it is all for the same purpose.  Before and after dinner, the youth gather on the porch outside the rooms to talk and enjoy each other's company.  It is a true fellowship.


Prayers for safety today as we travel, hike, and explore.  Thank you for your comments; and a "shout out" to Cy and Ellen Miller for sending the individual cards to each team member.  We are encouraged and humbled to be lifted up in thoughts and prayers.


We will let you know when we return form the ATM cave.  

Day 4: Thursday – Workday (Part 2)

Marla’s House of Hope is freshly painted inside and out.  The mural is nearing completion.   The King’s Children’s Home has a fresh coat of paint on its exterior.  Two homes for children are a little nicer than they were.  The children can take a little more pride in where they live because of the labor of our youth.  In speaking with several of the children at both homes, they said they liked the new colors on the walls, and we know they enjoyed the company of our youth.

When we have been painting, the children always want to help.  They will freely pick up any brush or roller that is laid down.  Letting them help allows them to take part in fixing up their home.  It also takes patience and more patience.  Sometimes it creates more work, depending on how skilled or old they are.  We often found ourselves repainting the sections that children had painted.  

We ended our day a little early today, so one van went to the Village of Armenia to see our friend Ramon.  He is 80 years old, and we have known him for many years.  One of our construction teams built a small house for him several years ago, and he is always seen by our medical teams in January.  Ramon only speaks Spanish, so we relied on Eric Burton to translate for us.  Another van took care of business by getting more supplies for the mural and for the next work project on Saturday.

I asked the youth if they wanted to add to the blog.  Laydon Hutchins was the first to volunteer:

So far the trip has been an incredible and eye opening experience filled with excitement and lots of big hearts seeing the children. It was so incredible seeing the work we had accomplished and how the children offered to help and paint right beside us just touched my heart. I can’t wait to see the rest.

--Laydon Hutchins

Mornings are better for posting pictures, so I will try tomorrow.

Day 4: Thursday - Workday

It has been getting light a little after 5:00 AM and by 6:00 the sun is peeking through the morning haze.  Today will be hot and humid, pray the rain holds off so we can finish outside painting projects at both children's homes.

Matt has prepared a devotion booklet for everyone with evening group devotions and an individual morning devotional.  Devotions each night are family-led, so the youth lead through prayer, sharing about the day, and dreading the day's selected scripture.  Matt then has a short devotional based on the Scripture, relating it to our experience here in Belize.  We break into our families for discussion questions, the return to the whole group for final discussion.  Matt is doing an excellent job in both organizing everything, but also seeing to the spiritual growth on this trip.  Later in the week we will be using Philippians chapters 1 - 4 in our devotions.

Jane and Laticia are keeping us well nourished.  Breakfasts are usually bacon and eggs with toast or cinnamon buns and fresh fruit.  Dinners have been fried chicken, spaghetti, and last night stew chicken with rice and beans.  Everyone is eating well.

Thanks for you words of encouragement and prayers.  A few pictures from yesterday at KCH:

Part of boys dorm room before  painting

The same part of the room after painting.  Some of the boys cleaned the room before moving the beds back in place.

Holly painting with a smile. 

Adam on the high ladder painting the kitchen at KCH

Teamwork - holding the ladder for Adam (nice shoes, Adam).  

Day 3 - Wednesday Workday (part 2)

A sunny and hot day in Belize today.  Our team separated into two groups today; the larger group returned to Marla's House of Hope while the smaller group went to the King's Children's Home.  Both groups painted at the homes.  At Marla's the work shifted to painting the exterior.  The building is two tone blue with lots of exterior wall space and a porch with a concrete lattice rail that was tedious to paint.  The mural group painted outside in the morning and then on the mural in the afternoon.  By the end of the day most of the house had been painted.  Some touch-up and trim painting needs to be finished tomorrow, and an interior hallway needs a second coat.

At the King's Children's Home two dormitory rooms were painted first.  Six of our youth tackled the task of moving bunks and painting in a girl's dorm room and a boy's dorm room.  The boys room contained 10 bunks and only one or two other pieces of furniture.  That is 20 boys in a narrow room with bunks lined end-to-end on both sides of the room.  A coat of paint was on the girl's room and part of the boy's room by lunch.  After lunch six new youth came to the KCH to finish the boy's room, second coat the girl's room and paint in the kitchen.

It is amazing to see how well everyone is working together.  The painting at the KCH is a challenge with dozens of children wanting to help and wanting attention.  The rooms are cramped and hot.  Yet, the inside painting was completed.  At Marla's the main areas of the outside are freshly painted and the children also pitched in.  This may have been the most demanding day on the youth physically and emotionally, as the reality of life at an orphanage began to sink in.  Despite some difficult conditions our youth were both compassionate and industrious.

We look forward to a restful night and a full day of work tomorrow.  We will divide again to complete painting projects at both children's homes.

Prayers for our own families and our church family back home.  More tomorrow.

Day3: Wednesday - Workday

How many tarantulas did we see?  Well, quite a few.  He-man the camp caretaker took us around the grounds last night.  At first we saw a few small ones - if any tarantula is really small!  Then he found some larger ones.  They live in holes in the ground and are coaxed our with a stick or metal rod.  He-man got them out, and then anyone who wanted to hold one could.  A lot of the youth held one or more.  Lots of pictures were taken, so you will see the evidence when we get home.

Breakfast is in an hour and then it is off to the work sites.

Here are a couple pictures:
One of one of the scripture verses Grace lettered.

And one tarantula picture. Yes, that is Rachel and her friend!

Day 2: Tuesday - Workday (part 2)

We rolled out of the Baptist Training Center at 8:00 AM to travel to Marla's House of Hope. Just out of the BTC we met our third van being delivered to replace the one that overheated yesterday.  Soon we were all on our way for our first day of work.  Marla's House of Hope is an orphanage that houses around 20 young people - mostly girls - who have been victims of abuse.  They were mainly elementary and middle school age.  We found that several of the rooms had been painted recently, and the rain was threatening so starting on the outside walls was not an option.  The paint we thought would be on-site was not, so we worked with the house mother in selecting paint colors for a girl's dorm room and a living room and hallway.  In the U.S., a trip in and out of Lowe,s for paint is pretty quick.  In Belize, a trip to Builders Hardware is another story.  Being waited on, checked out, and then paying at a separate window all takes time.  Even so, by mid-morning our youth were painting walls inside.  You should know that EVERYONE worked very hard today and the results are readily visible.   A team working with Melanie Orange has started a mural and several worked on lettering Bible verses over the doorways throughout the house.

After lunch the clouds began to give way to sun, which means that we will be painting the exterior of the building over the next couple days.  Late afternoon found us washing down the outside walls readying them for paint.  We also have a small group who will be painting a couple dorm rooms at the Kings Children's Home in Belmopan.  Our youth are working so well we felt they could spread their work to another place.

We returned to the BTC a little before 5:00.  Some local ladies had jewelry and baskets spread out at the entrance to the BTC, so some shopping was done.  A warm or cool shower, depending on the status of the water heating units felt good after a long hot day.  Our dinner of spaghetti, salad and cake disappeared from plates rather quickly!

Devotions are at 8:00 tonight followed by a tarantula hunt on the BTC grounds led by He-man, the camp caretaker.  Not to worry, these are tame tarantulas, and He-man knows the grounds very well.

God has been good to us on this first day of work.  A slow start turned into a day of great progress.  Fresh paint livens up a room, and we hope will brighten the lives of the girls who sleep in the dorm room at Marla's.  The weather seems to be changing from clouds and rain to sunshine - thanks for the prayers for good weather.  The youth have been dedicated workers and have also been very supportive of one another.  We anticipate a good night's rest and a fulfilling day of work tomorrow.

Your comments have been shared with the group, thanks for them.  Uploading pictures from this end is difficult; Internet speed is slow.  I will try tomorrow morning to post one or two.

Day 2: Tuesday - Work Day

It is early yet, so only a few of us are stirring, but "official" 6"30 AM wake-up is minutes away.  Jane and Laticia are preparing breakfast.  All of us have some morning quiet time for devotions before or after breakfast.  We prepare to leave for Marla's House of Hope at 8:00 this morning.

Please be in prayer for us as we begin our work today.  We will be preparing to paint inside and out (if the rain hold off for outside) and meeting the children.

A word about the weather - there has been a lot of rain over the past week, so there is standing water along the roads.  We hope will have brought some Carolina sunshine and blue skies with us!  More on our day later.

New picture added to the post below - check it out.

Day 1: Arrival in Belize

FBC Marion Youth on Arrival at the Baptist Training Center

We had a smooth flight and arrival in Belize today.  We cleared immigration and customs, than loaded our luggage and ourselves in vans and headed west from Belize City toward Belmopan.  Only a couple miles from the airport one of the vans overheated, so we reloaded luggage and passengers into the other  vans and made our way to Cheers Restaurant for lunch.  From the water along the sides of the road, it was evident that a lot of rain has fallen over the past week.  After leaving Cheers we drove the rest of the way to Camelote and the Baptist Training Center.  Once there we settled into our rooms and had a chance to relax before dinner.  It rained hard during the afternoon.

Jane and Laticia prepared dinner - fried chicken, mashed potatoes, beans, and watermelon - the first of many good meals we will eat this week.  After dinner devotions and then an early bedtime due to a long day of travel.

Everyone is well and we are looking ahead to a good night's rest and a full day of work tomorrow.  You are in our prayers, and we rest knowing we are in your prayers.