Summary of Ministry in Belize
Hey guys! I know that the unreliable wifi has made it difficult to get updates on ministry out to everybody, so if you aren’t my friend on Facebook you’ve likely missed out on much of what’s been going on during the first month and a half of this missionary journey.
So in Belize I was in Cayo District in the Los Flores neighborhood of Belmopan working out of Belize Basecamp. Miss Mona was our ministry host and helped get us connected with the ministry partners for the month. My team, Team Ahava, worked with several ministries last month, such as:
Hedges, a men’s halfway home. We cleaned the bathrooms and floors for them, and we also painted the interior rooms, bathrooms and began painting their exterior walls. We connected with the caretaker Marcus, a smart young kid who turned 19 two days before we met him. E sang him happy birthday and he cut some fresh coconuts for us to drink and snack on while we spoke to the owner of the property, a woman who gave her property to the care of Hedges because when she bought the property years ago she felt God gave it to her so he could use it.
Hope for Life, a ministry that helps equip pregnant women to healthily handle their pregnancies and care for their children during the first year. The ministry helps women get supplies to care for their kids, holds English and Spanish Bible studies, and offers a safe place of family and community for the women who often are alone. We cleaned chairs, dusted the building, swept and mopped and sanitized all the surfaces, scraped plaster off the floors in the new building that was still being remodeled and talked with the head of ministry, an American woman who had been in Belize for years doing this ministry and who had a huge heart for the women.
- . We cleaned and organized their library and all the books, painted a classroom, dug holes for the poles for their new trash cans, performed Bible story skits for the kids, painted their sidewalks and buildings with fun and encouraging messages and images, at the principles request, because they wanted to find ways to help the kids be excited to be at school. We built relationships with the principle and vice principle, prayed with a teacher, encouraged and loved on the kids with hugs and playing games, telling them Jesus loves them and even if they feel lonely that Jesus is always listening and loving them.
Belize Basecamp, our ministry hosts home that helps facilitate missions trips to the area and also holds VBS, Kingdom Kids and other events connected with the local church. We helped to tear down an old perimeter fence, dig up the dirt, level the ground, carry bricks for the men building the new cement barrier walls, mix concrete and get water for the guys doing the harder labor.
Freedom House, a men’s Christian based rehabilitation program to help men struggling with addiction or poor choices to have a second chance at life and invest into them with the love of God. We cooked and served them dinner one night and prepared a breakfast for them another day. We ate with them, heard their testimonies and fellowshipped with them. They had all come from very hard and dark places in life and we were in awe at how dramatically their lives differed now that they were just overflowing with Gods love! They had a contagious enthusiasm for Jesus love and forgiveness and many wanted to pursue a future in ministry.
Marla’s House, a home for endangered and abused girls. We got to play and talk with the girls at the house and just let them be kids and laugh with us. It was hard to imagine someone wanting to hurt those precious girls and even more so to imagine why someone would sexually abuse them and it was a hard encounter to process. But the girls were just kids at the end of the day and singing and playing with them made them so happy. We just told them how loved they were by Jesus and how beautiful they were.
We also had times of intercessory prayer for the people of Belize and our area, for the endangered women and children and prayed against the illegal sex trade in Belize. We made friends with several locals and honesty I really miss them so much already. We attended local churches, encouraged other believers and each other and ended up pouring a lot of love and ministering to our own team. The fellowship with believers we were able to have was beautiful and it was an encouraging first month of this 11 month journey. Thank you all so much for all your financial support, prayers and for investing in this work we get to do together; you and me! You sent me in your place so thank you for all you have done here! God bless you and please consider supporting me and helping me be fully funded to stay out here on the field being the hands and feet. The $13,000 deadline is less than two weeks away and I have only raised $9,600 so far. Please consider donating or sharing the need to help keep the journey going! <3
Love your sister in Christ, Brittany
