From the moment we pulled up to the main gate, I knew this place would have plenty of stories to tell. Once out of the car, we were greeted by the kind and caring smiles of Raela and Tony. The voices and laughter of children were in abundance.
Jervis and Melissa Fisher loaded up their car many years before and took a drive of faith with limited funds to start Laugh Out Loud Ministry in Jacintoville, Belize. What started in a small shed has turned into a beautiful facility with a vision to see children loved!
LOL Ministry is an international organization that exists to love and nurture orphans, neglected and disadvantaged children and young adults. Its focus is to bring restoration through God’s love, allowing children and youth to discover their potential, while equipping and releasing them into their divine destiny and future.
In Belize there are over one billion children living deprived of at least one of these 5 amenities: shelter, water, sanitation, food, or health care. 29,000 children, under the age of five, die everyday due to the lack of one of these amenities—One in five children in the developing world does not have access to safe water, and one in seven has no access whatsoever to essential health services. More than one in three children does not have adequate shelter, over 16 per cent of children under five lack adequate nutrition, and 13 per cent of all children have never been to school. LOL’s vision is to build orphanages, schools and after-school programs in which they can spend time with the children to discover the gifts that the Lord has created in them—to discover their potential, and to equip and release them to use their discovered gifts.
“Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in your book all the days of my life were written before they ever took shape.” – Psalm 139:16
The values of LOL include:
-Knowing and glorifying God
-Living in submission to God’s word
-Serving sacrificially
-Bring people of grace and integrity
-Loving and valuing people
-Reflecting the diversity of the body of Christ
-Interceding for the world
-Esteeming the Church
During our visit, we were able to interact with the on-site home school teacher and children playing on the beautiful playground, observe after-school tutoring of multiplication and division and the staff’s undivided attention of loving the 24 children that LOL houses. John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. LOL was FULL of love. The squeals and smiles of children were enough to fill your heart with an understanding that LOL was actively living out John 15:12. My teammate and I were able to experience this first hand, as we were invited to partake in a Belizean family style meal with the children and staff. We gathered in a circle, held hands to pray, and a few children shared the things they were thankful for during that day. The food line began with rice, pumpkin chicken, black beans, and plantains and we shared conversations and smiles with the kids sitting all around the long, rectangular picnic table.
If you would like to find out more information about Laugh Out Loud Ministry, you can visit their webpage at http://www.lolministry.com/
