Belize Day 8

We all got quite a surprise and a bit of a scare Wednesday night, as the rain became a torrential downpour, and was soon accompanied with a lot of thunder and lightning.  One particular boom shook our cabanas, and woke most of us up.  Luckily, as the workday began, it was no longer downpouring, yet it was still raining, and still very warm outside.  We spent most of our day shoveling and hauling wheelbarrow load after load of thick heavy mud to finish  back filling the foundation of the preschool.  Unfortunately, the rain was so crazy the night before, that it actually filled up the hole we had dug for the septic tank!  Despite these conditions, we chose to continue on with the project in good spirits, knowing we were doing the true work of the Lord, and doing this work out of love for the children of Unitedville, who will put the future preschool to great use.  Before long, we had the foundation leveled off, and the rebar set for the cement floor to be poured the following day.

Thursday night was a special one, as we had library time with the kids, and boys and girls clubs in the evening.  We spent time reading to the kids, and letting them read to us also, helping them along when they stumbled on a big word.  After reading, board games were brought out, since it was too wet to go crazy in the playground, which was too bad because I really enjoyed the ‘murder pole’ they had!  That thing is way too fun.  Regardless, we all had a blast playing games with the kids, and were also rather humbled, as they kicked our butts at Connect 4!

Boys club and girls club went fantastic! At girls club, Carolyn and Uzo shared about God our perfect Father. Many of these girls come from single parent homes, so it was a very relevant message for them. Following which they scrapbooked the photos we took last week at our ‘makeover night’. At boys club, Brad, Colin, and Andrew shared our of 1Corinthians on what it means to be a corageous and strong Christian man, during which they had a serious of relevant games/ challenges for them, including tug of war, kick the can, and taping all the boys together with duct tape.  All in all, it was a great time, and I am positive that the hearts of every child and teen was  touched in some way.

Today, we poured the pad, and cleaned everything up.  It is definitely a project worthy to be proud of. We all believe that the building of the foundation is symbolic of the Godly foundation that will be laid in the lives of the young children in the village who will benefit from this preschool.

This was a great experience for all of us to know what it is to live in love, and to view the wonderful examples of the missionaries we were serving with here in Belize who truly live this daily.  As this is the first mission trip for most of us, our eyes were opened to many different avenues in the mission field, from working with small children, to teens, and to construction.  This has left us to a point of discovery as to where God is calling each and every one of us.  Please pray that we do not lose this yearning to discover and obey the will of God, and to live day by day in love.

Well, our trip is nearly over, just one more day to go!

Andrew Wiley

Written by Natasha Bleile

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