Day 9 - At church and lots of pictures

At Evangel Church on Sunday am, Pastor Benny spoke about the accomplishments of this team. The entire team got up and did 2 of the VBS songs in front of the church:

We also have a large number of pictures taken. You can see them at this link (each day has its own folder). Great to see in even greater detail what God accomplished in a week's time!

Day 8 - Travel back home...Changed!

On this morning at Caye Caulker, we are packing to return back to the U.S. Breakfast was fry jacks, bacon and eggs...definitely stuffing some fry jacks in our bags. We took the shuttle back to the mainland and said good bye to our Thirst staff to head to the airport.

Once there we were able to get through customs, eat lunch and souvenir shop one last time (John Lowden, don't buy that 100th wood carving!!) while waiting for our plane at 2 PM.

We took off in good order and made it to Atlanta by 7 PM. Again, got through customs in short order and made it to connecting flight at 10 PM (Atlanta time). We were back in great state of Alabama at 10 PM (Birmingham) We had several Evangel folks meet us with trucks and bus to take us back to church...and then home to our loved ones.

God was so very good to all of us on the trip and we cannot wait to see what happens for Belize 2017.  Maybe this will be the year that YOU can go!

Mark 16:15

And he said to them "Go into the world and preach to all creation"

P. S.  We will have another post up a little later next week with links to well over 1000 pictures taken during the trip. They will be put in folders by day and viewable by all. Wait for it!

Day 7 - Caye Caulker and Reflection

It was a very early start for us...leaving at 4:30 AM to catch the water taxi in Belize City to go to Caye Caulker. (Unfortunately, we had to leave Nathan Brasher, Christi Brasher and Michael Allen in Belize City as Nathan has been suffering from a fungal infection...they went to hospital. He returned to island Friday night, but still is in some pain. Please pray for him!)

After a 45 minute water taxi ride, we arrived at Caye Caulker. The hotel we are staying has a pool...refreshing!

We had quesadillas and cokes for lunch out by the pool. Snorkeling at 1 PM. Very beautiful sights under the water...look out for the fire coral! Also got to swim with some sharks and stingrays...no one lost any limbs :-)

We returned and got cleaned up for dinner. Dinner was very good and we spent the rest of the evening sharing God's goodness on the trip:

* 3 Schools visited

* 4 VBS sessions

* 6 additional church events

* Several hundred kids/parents at all above events

* Around 15 people came to Christ....and countless seeds planted. To God be the Glory!

We also thanked our precious Thirst staff: Glory, Lola, and Pastor P who drove, directed and cared us for this trip.

2 Timothy 4:2 

Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Day 6 - Day 4 Redux/Last Day at Corozal

Today after a great pancake breakfast, we headed for puppet show at Corozal Nazarene School. Once at the school, we visited with many of the students prior to the assembly. We did songs to get the kids excited, then we launched into a puppet show. Amelia again spoke about the bracelets we handed the kids and the biblical meaning behind each color. We had an excited reception by the kids and were able to play games with them afterwards.

We arrived at the church after that. Again the kids came outside to play during school break, we joined in to play some soccer, football and frisbees. Lunch was held at Pastor Emilio's house, then we took a short trip back to the hotel for quick rest/shower before last day of VBS.

We returned to setup for VBS. Kids came in for more puppets, crafts, singing, playing sports.  Michael Allen shared about the fruit of the spirit: Faithfulness. The field outside the church was filled with kids running, laughing and having a good time! 

We had another good meal at Pastor Emilio's house for dinner...got some cake We finished the day at a closing ceremony at the church. Much hugs (and tears) occurred here. We also had a number of people give their lives to Christ as a result of the work this week...AWESOME! Tomorrow we head to Caye Caulker for a day of relaxation and reflection on what God has accomplished here this week!

Matthew 10:27

"What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”

Day 5 - Deep into the Heart of the Jungle & Women's Ministry

Today we had an early start (on the bus before 6:30 AM) to go on Lamanai excursion to seen some Maya ruins. We took a 2 hour bus ride (breakfast on the bus) and a 45 minute boat ride to the ruins. We got to see a spider monkey VERY up close (feeding it) and saw many other types of birds and lizards along the way.

The group was able to visit and climb several of the towers. The largest is over 100 feet above the ground…thankfully they had built an stairway around the back for easier climbs. Our guide even pulled out a 5 foot boa constrictor for pictures and screams. We also heard a howler monkey which sounded just like Chewbacca! Lunch was fried chicken and cokes…YUM!

We had to hurry back to get in for VBS.  Once again we close to 100 people join along for songs, message by Hal Bishop on Love, Patience and Self Control, and crafts. Lots of fun outside with balls and Frisbees going everywhere…and especially hat keep-away from the adults.

For dinner, we had hamburgers and fries….REALLY! The women went back to the church for a women’s ministry time to the local community. They had 10 women come as the ladies shared. The men helped with the setup for this eventand we finished the day with devotional. Very long day, but well worth the effort!

God is so good to us…we cannot believe we only have 1 more school visit/VBS day left??

Acts 5:20

Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life