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.