We traveled to the US in May for Foursquare connection. It was the first time we have attended and it was life to our souls to step away for a moment and connect with Foursquare family. The kids may have loved it more than we did and are constantly saying things like “remember when we were in Nashville and we got to go with the kids and….” God spoke to us as well, ministering greatly to our spirits through the whole experience. We also had a wonderful time of vacation in Wisconsin with family making lots of memories to hang onto from our time there.
We wanted to share our story of some of the greatest physical transformation that has happened at the church over the past year. The church building that we have been entrusted with has a large classroom along one side. We tried having service in it at the beginning to keep it more intimate and tighter knit, but it was just too hot in there. Hot, humid, and damp. The walls were covered in mildew, it was full of lizards and spiders, the paint on the ceiling was hanging down in gigantic bubbles that would fall on our heads, and the rain water would absorb and seep through the ceiling constantly.
The first few months it was storage, but then in November two mission teams gave us some help to get out of the rut of what that room was and got it headed in the right direction of what it could be. It began with lots of people, scrapers and bleach to strip down all the dirt and then painting it over to make it new. Later some friends put the most amazing sealer on the roof that also reflects the sun to keep it at least 10 degrees cooler inside. Others helped us make diy sound boards so that sound could actually make it into people’s ears instead of bouncing back and forth between the walls in painful noise, and little by little, from the generosity of all of you as well as members of the church, we added chairs, shelves and tables, a lego table AND THEN THE DAY ARRIVED WHEN WE WERE ABLE TO GET AIR CONDITIONING INSTALLED!
God is doing amazing things in the lives of the people who come into the church here. Deep emotional healing in a family that lost their son shortly after we arrived, physical healing, spiritual growth as we see God allowing us to teach and build a strong foundation of faith and biblical belief in the members of the church, and new people that show up and are constantly saying that they feel like God was drawing them in.
Selfishly getting a/c might have been the greatest moment of my life here in Belize, but it is truly amazing what the implications of the whole transformation of this room really mean. It has been our children’s ministry room for a while and with the sound boards it was incredible how much more the kids can actually hear the lesson and that the truth about Jesus could actually make it into their sweet little ear. Even though a/c might seem like a “luxury” or something so superficial, it literally wakes the kids up. The heat and humidity here are intense, stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced in my life and when the kids would sit down in the classroom they were lethargic and it was hard for them to pay attention and process Bible verses, songs or the story they were hearing because of the heat. Now they are so much more alert and responsive, and not only with them, but with the week night discipleship classes, youth group and other meetings, the difference with the a/c is like night and day.
We are praising God in a big way for allowing us to make steps forward and creating an atmosphere where ministry is happening. We are blessed to have new comforts of a/c and a comfortable classroom which translates to people hearing God’s word, to little kids getting to learn who Jesus is, of adults building a foundation of truth in their life that never existed before and so much more. They might be physical changes that were made, but God is using them for his glory and to bless people’s lives, and we know that the physical change is a true reflection of the internal change happening in so many of the people here.
We cannot wait to see what God continues to do, as we have seen the church transform from 1 family when we got here to about 15 families represented now, we hope to start working towards the day that a/c is installed in the main sanctuary, to see people turning their lives over to Christ, believers being prepared for ministry to go out and love their fellow Belizeans, and to see God’s kindom manifest in this place. What a journey to be a part of!
If you would like to help in this journey you can use the following link to connect to our giving page. Click here to give!