This trip back to Belize was a very different mission experience for me. If you prayed for our trip - thank you so much! Now why was it different? For one thing, the leader, David Nichols, wouldn't give me any specific assignments other than an exploratory meeting with some government officials and leading a couple of Bible Studies. I discovered that I really like to have specific jobs to do and it made me a little anxious to not know exactly what I would do.
On previous mission trips I knew that I would be involved medically in some way...this was not a specified medical mission trip. So the Lord taught me a lot about listening and being available - here is what He did when I obeyed:
We began our trip in Belize City. The first night we met with a group of government officials, physicians and Rotarians. My task for this evening was to explore the possibility of providing prosthetics for Belizean kids. In my discussions that evening I was told that for the most part there are very few needs for prosthetics and for those who have this need there are already organizations in place to meet those needs. There is a prosthetician in the U.S. who has his heart burdened towards providing a prosthetic lab to Belize so I am still exploring this possibility but this evening the physicians did not seem to think this was important...so that was disappointing.
The next morning I once again turned the agenda over to God. His first appointment for me was with a woman who joined me for breakfast - her name is Josie and she was meeting with the team because they had helped provide funds for an upcoming knee surgery. I brought her some study materials because she teaches Bible Studies in Punta Gorda and I wanted to encourage her to use her recuperating time as a time for God to teach her. We hit it off immediately. She has such an engaging spirit and it was a lot of fun to experience the Lord encouraging her through our visit.
We then boarded our tiny plane and headed down the coast to Punta Gorda. One of the fun events on our multiple takeoffs and landings in various tiny towns was the door kept popping open at the back of the plane but thankfully fellow team member Barry Jones does not have "fear of flying" and he is one strong dude so he just grabbed a dangling piece of rubber and pulled the door in until we landed!
In Punta Gorda we walked around the small town and shopped for items that villagers in Crique Sarco had requested for their school. We also loaded up on supplies for a special BBQ we were going to do in the indian village.
Dr. Nichols and I met with a young man who had been in a terrible motorcycle accident. He had been the recipient of Tyler physicians who helped do reconstructive surgery on his face and head. We had brought a prosthetic scalp with us for this young man to use. We showed him how to attach it. I had a chance to encourage him when he showed disappointment at how the prosthetic looked. I think he thought it would look completely natural. My heart was wrenched as I could see his masculine struggle with wanting to look good and being grateful that at least this looked better but it still didn't look totally like his old scalp. I quietly affirmed his feelings and then encouraged him about his future and how the attaching of his prosthetic would soon feel very natural. I also tried to encourage him about exhibiting self-confidence knowing that people are far less likely to notice "differences" when a person is happy and confident in their abilities.
We then enjoyed a meal with Karol and Larry Smith who have been missionaries and lived in Belize for many years. They built and run the SeaFront Inn where we stayed. It was a great evening to catch up with them - since my last visit Carol and I have both become grandmas!!! They gave us a tour of their "green" home they built - totally self-sufficient! They do not pay one water or energy bill!
The next morning we boarded our next form of transportation - a boat! We traveled along the Bay of Honduras and up the river to the Mayan Indian village of Crique Sarco.
Dr. Nichols and his various mission teams have been visiting this village for over 30 years. It was wonderful to be back in the village but weird not to be setting up to do a medical clinic and even weirder not to see tons of Indians from various jungle villages waiting to be treated. We unpacked our stuff and then Jo Dobbs grabbed me and said "let's go hut to hut and make sure everyone knows they are invited to our bbq tonight!" I had never walked hut to hut. I have been in a few huts but never to every single hut! As we hiked along, kids joined us excitedly telling us whose home we were at and getting in the spirit of a party! We soon had quite a parade! And I learned a lot from Jo. She has spent the last few years building relationships with these people. Like me she doesn't come with a background in medicine so instead of focusing on physically healing she has invested in one on one relationships and it's producing results! Thanks for teaching me a really deep lesson Jo!
Meanwhile back in the village, David, Barry & Matt were lining up the women to wash the chickens and the men to begin grilling. We gave the village the large grill as a present. We had discovered from various conversations that one of the things most needed in this village was to get them to begin having a community spirit. We found that there is a lot of jealousy in the village - some of the Indians did not like it if one of them happened to own two huts - therefore the second hut had been burned! If they had two donkeys - they soon just had one. This spirit is so different from us. We usually are thrilled if our neighbor does well because we enjoy sharing in their blessings. In this village, if one did better it was a source of envy, jealousy and eventual discord. So it became our mission to try to see if we could influence them to have a different attitude.
As the villagers arrived they brought tortillas and beans to share and we had a fajita feast!
Afterwards, Barry hooked up his laptop with a projector and I showed "The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe" from the C.S. Lewis Chronicle of Narnia series. It was really fun because usually they are shown only children movies and the adults aren't that interested but this night all the adults stayed until the end of the movie even though their children were falling asleep all around them!
That night I was the last one to get to bed and across the path from our hut was a "bar" - yeah, things have changed since the Mennonites left! Anyway, because the Belizean Indepence Day was being celebrated - some guys were celebrating by playing the same Belizean Indepence song on a scratchy record over and over and singing along with it...then just when I thought they might stop and I could pass out - we heard gun shots! I dove off the top of the bunk I was on and we whispered to one another like kids at camp....praying and hoping that no shots would be accidentally fired in the vicinity of our hut! Two guys were drunk and saying some choice english words they had unfortunately learned (pretty sure not from the Mennonites or us!) - somebody found something to tie up the guy with the gun and he proceeded to sleep it off in some hut far away from us. Unlike in my younger years, I didn't try to get any photos of these activities!
The next morning, David Nichols and I team taught at church. Again, it was a lesson in waiting for the Lord to lead because David told me I might or might not teach....and he only had the scripture he was going to use. So I grabbed a visual illustration I had brought with me and my Bible and just waited to see what would happen. So fun to let God be in control! David felt led to speak to the village about loving their neighbor. He told them what God said about this in His word. As I sat there I thought how I too have heard this lesson and know what God wants me to do. I want to be obedient and love everyone but how do you love those who have hurt you or don't seem to deserve your love. Then David asked me to come up and say a few words.
I have never taught through a translator and thought it might be distracting but it went so well! I used black cherry koolaid, bleach and water to demonstrate visually how God provided Jesus as an answer for our sinful ways. I shared with them various experiences in my life that prevented me from loving those I knew God wanted me to love. I was amazed at how God brought various memories to my mind that the Indians could relate to even though we live in far different worlds. Then I shared that because I had Jesus as Lord of my life I was covered by His blood and when God looks at me He doesn't see my black sin but rather sees the blood of His Son, my savior and I am forgiven. In addition, I am given a power to love others with the love of Jesus - I don't depend on me to do this - I depend on Him! I could see them listening very intently and getting it! I saw them nodding and they prayed with me when I finished. I know God is at work in their hearts.
After church, Jo and I met with the women and David, Barry & Matt met with the men in separate places. I knew that the women were having trouble meeting together for Bible Studies. One of their biggest problems is they are jealous of the one chosen to be the leader - so they just don't come. I explained to them that not everyone can be a leader however I knew that God wanted them to study the Bible and I wanted to teach them a simple way where they could do this on their own and then if they wanted to get together as a group they could use the same method and take turns leading. I then taught them the three question method and we practiced as a group. It was so much fun to see them get it! To hear them read the Bible verse, explain where the verse took place and who was there etc, and then to tell me the lesson God was trying to teach in that particular verse - then the fun part - how they could apply this lesson to their own life! For the most part these are very uneducated women - I do not think they could all read - but what they all could do was apply it to their lives! Thanks Lord!!!!
It was a really hot day in the village - in case you can't tell from our photos - we were dripping. We then packed up and headed back down the river to Punta Gorda. As we rode down the river we shared how we could see that God had used those 30 years of medical missions for this specific time to have a different mission trip. The villagers had 30 years to build a trust with David and whatever team he brought. They knew they could trust our words of advice regarding how to deal with their troubles. They also gave this time and participated with us rather than just receiving money and medical care. It was a rich time to watch the village take on responsibilities to lead and grow.
Even thought it had been a really long day - David took me to one more meeting that night. I met with three women who teach Bible Studies in the Punta Gorda Methodist Church. I listened as they told me how difficult it is to draw women to study the Bible even though they have tried to have interesting topics like "How To Reduce Stress"...I told them that we struggle with this same problem in the U.S. I showed them how to teach the Bible with the three question method and then I gave each of them the BSF Mark Study and showed them how to use it. I tried to encourage them to just teach the word and let God show these women how to apply it to their lives - that the process of doing it yourself it sometimes the best way to study! We prayed together for God to build their attendance and for women to be encouraged to study. I have since received a very exciting email from these women that their Bible Studies are growing and men are also attending! They sound so happy and encouraged in the email and I am so grateful God gave me energy to meet with them and offer them some new material and new perspectives.
So thank you for your prayers and your love and support - we arrived home safe and healthy. And thank you Lord for not letting me plan and prepare my own agenda but to see you had already prepared me in advance to use that which You had previously taught me....nothing ever goes to waste in our experiences - God can use it all!
