We all got safely back to the states last night. It's safe to say the group is exhausted!  All of us want to return next year to continue work with the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Center. Those kids have gotten a hold of our hearts... Thank you again to everyone that was praying for us! 

Today our group enjoyed a much needed day to unwind and recharge before heading back to the states tomorrow. We took a water taxi to Caye (pronounced 'key') Caulker to take in the island life side of Belize. The people are all so friendly... they had lots of craftspeople selling wares and some food vendors on the street.  Some of us went snorkeling on the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world.  We saw different types of coral and lots of fish!  It was yet another bonding experience for the group. Unfortunately 2 of our team (Sue Wolfangel & Dawn Pappe) were stung by either a Portugese Man O'War or powerful jellyfish and had to seek medical treatment at a government clinic on the island. Since it's run by the government the treatment was free (they just gave a tip). After some Benydryl, Vinegar & hot water compresses, cortisone and a injection of some painkiller they were on the road to recovery.  It's weird being out of the states on this independence day and interesting to be in a country that at one time was also under British rule.  We are all emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted and anxious to return home.  One member of our team called the time spent here doing God's work as "intense". BUT all of us would come back in a heartbeat to once again provide service, construction, education, love, supplies and whatever else the children and caregivers at the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Center need.  We pray that God watches over us as we travel home in the morning. Thank you all so much for your prayers, we felt God's presence this entire mission trip!

Pictures from the last day of work at DMCC.  Oscar & Marilyn from Bakadeer Inn who have taken such good care of us, the craft team (+Oscar) working on cutting out pigs, Nurse Sue with one of the care givers, construction crew finishing up putting on trusses so the roof can go up after we leave, debris getting removed, a puppet show, Kelly reading, teen program, craft project & Kelly's legs used as paper. The little kid you see sitting on the lumber is Eric who lives in the house next to DMCC- he came over every day to hang out with us and the kids at the center. We aren't allowed to post any pics of the kids at the center on the internet due to legal issues.

Last day at Dorothy Menzies Center

What a bittersweet day we had on Tuesday, our last day at the Dorothy Menzies Center.  The construction team made amazing progress on the shelter, which is approaching the final stages of completion. The local Rotary-funded construction crew will put the roof on the shelter after we leave.  We are looking forward to pictures of the finished product and are so very proud of our hard-working team!

The Healthy Habits team wrapped up their vision screenings and health education with the kids, and worked with the VBS and teen teams as we all spent one last day with the kids.  The walls of the activities room are covered with the week's crafts - cotton ball sheep, tissue paper fish and pigs in a basket.  We hope they will have as many precious memories for the kids as they do for us.

he animals of the day and the puppets made one final appearance at the party last night, when all 84 kids plus mission team members and caregivers got together for a party after supper!  The kids used their pig puppets and animal masks to entertain us with a puppet show complete with their favorite songs, and we all enjoyed one last opportunity to spend time together.  We all felt God's presence as we looked around the circle and saw the love and words of encouragement being shared among everyone.  The kids presented us with a handmade thank you card with all of their names on it that we will treasure always. The goodbyes were really hard -  the kids wrapped themselves around us and the tears were flowing. 

We are grateful for the opportunity to walk a small part of life's journey with these kids, and to share the love of God with them, and them with us.  We have planted many seeds for an ongoing partnership with the Dorothy Menzies Center, and have begun discussions for the future.  We want to thank each of you for your support, your prayers, and your love.

Construction Team

Healthy Habits Team, the family next door

Monday, July 2nd.

We had another wonderful day spent with the children at the Center.  VBS had a terrific time teaching about The Good Samaratin, while crafts enjoyed all of the artitistic abilities of the kids.  Healthy Habits had great team work and were able to teach the young children about hygiene, dental care and asthma.  The children were captivated by the videos and really worked hard on their coloring.  It is such a blessing to see these kids engaged in activities.  It will be very hard to leave them all later this week.

Pictures of zoo, basketball court built last mission trip, worship service @ Lords Bank with Jimmi and Sandra-lee, Tilapia farm, Mayan Temple, and some random shots. In case you are wondering why there aren't any pics of the children from the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Center, it's because we were told we are not allowed to take pictures of them. 

Sunday

Yesterday (Sunday) was quite a spirit filled day. We started off by traveling to Lord’s Bank Community Church to worship with Pastors Jimmi and Sandra-lee. There was lots of singing, tears and alleluias. As one of our mission team members commented after the service “That is a spirit filled church!”.  For those of you who haven’t seen or heard about Jimmi and Sandra-lee, they are our ongoing mission partners here in Belize and previous mission teams have worked many hours alongside of them building a basketball court, paving a sidewalk behind the church, as well as helping to build a playground and a fence and teaching preschool. Teacher Scott shared that 9 kids just graduated from the preschool last week.  Brice Ehmig who is making her 3^rd trip to Belize was especially excited to go see all the previous projects and how well they are holding up!  After we worshipped Jimmi and Sandra-lee took us on a tour of the Tilapia and hydroponics farm on the property (the church, farm & their house are all on the same plot of land).  The tilapia farm is amazing! Jimmi is so passionate about raising the fish, selling them to locals and to markets and also feeding his community.  Jimmi & Sandra-lee have now reached a point where they can comfortably provide for themselves, give back and are also teaching others how to start a farm and be self-sufficient. They were even on the local news recently and got lots of calls from people wondering how they could start their own tilapia farms.   After we left Lords Bank, the 25 members of our team had a few hours of group ‘down time’ to recharge our batteries.  Mark who runs Praying Pelicans Mission outreach took us to Altun Ha which are ancient Mayan Temples (not ruins!). Talk about a beautiful and holy place!  Some of the brave amongst us climbed to the top of Temple of the Sun God which was about 60 ft tall. The view from the top was spectacular. Our guide taught us about the ancient Mayans that were buried there (Shamans) and shared that in 1500 BC up to 5000 Mayans might be at the market on the grounds buying spices and other products from India.   After our few hours of downtime, it was back to the Bakadeer Inn for dinner, our daily devotions and planning for our last 2 days of work at the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Center.   

Saturday

Saturday:  Today we took 53 children from the DMCC to the Belize zoo!  We all piled into 2 school buses for the 45 minute ride.  Three of the caregivers (who the kids call 'officers') went with us and were an amazing help.  We each had 2 children we were responsible for and everyone had a great time. We saw jaguars, snakes, tapirs, crocodiles, exotic birds, an otter and some deer.  All the kids and adults had a lot of fun and the best part was we didn't lose any kids and no one got hurt!  After the zoo a group of about 15 of us walked about a mile or so from the hotel to downtown Belize City to do some shopping. We got some souvenirs for loved ones at one and a few treats for ourselves.  Pictures will be forthcoming- some of us are having trouble loading them.

Day 2 - Friday

Today was an excellent day for our whole team. The construction team is making amazing progress on the shed they are building. Today they had a few of the older kids working along side them, as well as some people who were vacationing in Cancun and just decided to come to Belize and help out. They all feel God's presence as their plan comes together.

Our Heathy Habits team had a very impressive talk with the caregivers about how to care for kids with diabetes, cerebral palsy (there is one child here with CP), asthma, and suggestions for dental care. The donated toothbrushes and toothpaste were much appreciated. While they were listening, the caregivers received manicures and massages. Too bad all adult learning isn't offered that way!

The VBS and Teen program teams did a phenomenal job today. The teams are learning to trust each other and make changes on the fly, so today went much better than yesterday. The kids enjoyed watching a puppet show, playing the parachute game, making wooly sheep crafts and searching for Wooly the lost sheep.

Our food has been fantastic. So much for losing a few pounds here. The heat and lack of AC is pretty overwhelming but Nurse Sue is keeping a close eye on everyone, and we're all watching each other too.

Bev, Pat and Cameron went to a Rotary meeting today, and the whole construction team has been invited to a Rotary dinner and awards ceremony tonight. The rest of us are hanging out at the hotel preparing ourselves mentally to take 53 kids to the zoo tomorrow! (thank heavens some of the 83 have other plans).

Thanks for all your love, prayers, emails and support!

Day #1 of working at the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Center was a long day!  Our team is amazing...The conditions at the DMCC are really really poor... children running around in a construction zone with no shoes, children clinging to us for love, no sheets on the beds, debris on the playing field. Some of the children appear to have mental impairments. However there are a few kids who shared exciting goals they have for their life- chef, military, soccer player, basketball player. Our hope is they don't lose sight of their goals and that God is watching over these children and will protect them.

WOW - we had an amazing and somewhat overwhelming first day.  The construction team worked long hours and got a lot of progress made on the shed.  We're all impressed.  They all just took off in the back of a pickup truck, driven by the construction manager, heading for the work site.  The rest of the team spent the day with the kids.  The conditions are really brutal at the child care center.  87 kids are crammed into a space meant for about 20, and the overworked and exhausted staff can barely get them all fed and bathed daily.  The kids crave love and are very receptive to our attention.  They have a hard time focusing on anything, and there are many emotional and behavioral issues.  We are so grateful for your prayers for them, and for all of us.  More soon!

We made safely to Belize!  Flights to Miami and then to Belize went very well... had a slight delay at customs, but one of our men on the ground Mark helped us through :)   Everyone at the Bakadeer Inn is being very accommodating and is quickly becoming family. Our tour of the Dorothy Menzies Child Care center took us a little off guard because the conditions are so poor. BUT the children made us feel like rock stars, immediately hanging onto and hugging us. One of our mottos will be "Blessed are the flexible for they will bend and not break".  Looking forward to starting our work tomorrow. Thanks for all the prayers, keep them coming!

We were so moved by the Missionary Commissioning at church yesterday.  It was an amazing feeling to know how many people will be praying for us this week. We are so grateful for everyone's love and support. Even Hurricane Debby couldn't dampen our spirits.  We pray that everyone is safe after a lot of local damage and scary moments. Thanks to Mary Ann Beall for her photographic talents - great team photo!

Thank you!

We are so grateful to everyone who supported us in our fund raisers.  We parked cars for the Mardi Gras parade, held a garage sale, sold shares of stock, and put on a Pasta Supper!  We couldn't be making this trip without you!