When I look back on one of the most impactful times in my spiritual life, it was with a group of friends, college grads and our pastor. It all centered around hanging out at our pastor’s house once a week to watch a tv series. We’d all pile into his living room, on the couches and floor, and watch the show together. Then one night when the show ended he said, “Hey guys, let’s spend some time praying, let’s listen to the Holy Spirit.” Week after week we did. We were growing and being discipled, learning so much more about who God was, what it meant to have an intimate relationship with Him, to trust Him, and to hear His voice. My prayer life grew, God filled us with his His Holy Spirit, and His presence was more real than I had ever known. It changed my walk with Him.
It takes time to grow deep relationships and discipleship moments like those. As we began here two years ago and didn’t know anyone, moments and relationships like those were something my heart longed and hope for more than anything else. It’s so strange to think that quarantine, separation, and a country-wide complete lockdown would be what brought us closer together as a church family and would begin to forge those relationships here. We had been doing discipleship classes since we started, but it was hard to break in and really get to know people and see their hearts. We would sit in a classroom at church, and God was teaching them in those moments, but we knew there were still more.
Then the world changed, just like everywhere else, and we started having to meet over zoom instead of face-to-face. Here life stopped, the whole country was literally quarantined, except to get groceries and essential things like medical care. I don’t know if it was something about all of us being in this together, or maybe the vulnerability of sitting in front of your computer camera and overcoming the fear of accidently starting to talk at the same time as someone else and getting all flustered, but we really started to get to know each other. As we shared a lesson, watched a video together, or dug into a certain Bible verse, everyone started to open their hearts, and share from the depths of their personal walk with God. Together we began discussing God’s word, finding truth and learning what it means to be a Christ follower.
For two months quarantine was lifted and we were able to meet in our house for a while. As this group of people sat in our house I realized how the Holy Spirit had brought a depth and intimacy to our meetings that remind me so much of that time back in California with my pastor. It is beautiful to see members of our church growing deeper in their faith and how evident their excitement is about the process. We’re back on Zoom for a while now with the current regulations, but God is continuing to do a beautiful thing in the lives of those that are present. We know that gathered with us, whether it’s in our house or over zoom, there are future pastors, church leaders, missionaries, and ones that will take the messages of God’s love and hope to this community, and we wait expectantly on what God will continue to do.
Would you like to help us financially to be able to continue in the ministry we are doing here in Belize? This past year has been difficult as we had been planning on being in the US for the month of June for fundraising. With the airport closed completely for the past 6 months we were unable to do so and our budget has been affected greatly. If you would like to help us finish this year well by partnering with us through financial support click here or feel free to contact us directly!
Want to see more pictures of life and ministry from the last few months? Click here!