Having to leave Belize was hard. But I am by no means leaving empty. The people are too amazing to let that happen. There are so many words of wisdom I will carry with me to the other countries and beyond.
(Also see the end note for a full picture of the ministry we assisted with!)
“Use your head not only for gel and grease” – Pastor Jerome
It’s easy to draw a crowd when you are giving something away, but when you are asking them to give something, it’s much harder. – Stephen
“It’s okay, we can borrow Jesus.” (Turning the van around in another church’s yard). – Jermaine
“Here (in Independence, Belize) you only die from sickness, sugar, cancer and old age!” – Timothy
“When the war is won I will praise you” – Hillsong “Even When it Hurts”
It doesn’t specify victory. Only the end of the war. Even when I’m on the losing side, I’ll praise you. – Personal Revelation
“God is not a video game. You cannot max Him out, reach the highest level, nor can you predict Him.” – Pastor Fredrico Lord
“Sometimes you have to speak the truth until you believe it. I listened to the song ‘I will trust You’ many times a day.” – Dianna
“To carry out God’s plan, it requires strategic partnering with significant people.” – Kingdom Networking Sermon
“Think beyond your eyes, beyond your thoughts to the meaning behind it. When you look at the net, tell me what you see.” – LJ Rodriguez
The different people groups in Belize are Creole, Mestizo, Mayas (of which there are four groups: Mopan, Yucatán, Ketchi, Mayan), East Indian, Garinagu, and Mennonite. – General knowledge from Jermaine and Dianna
If Jesus had been with the disciples in the boat when the storm happened, they wouldn’t have been scared. He had calmed the wind and the waves before. But Jesus had stayed behind and they were scared. He chose to walk on water to get to the other side. — When we see Jesus with us physically, it doesn’t give Him the opportunity to surprise us with a new thing. When He comes in that new way it’s an invitation to join Him in it. – blended revelation from Stephen’s sermon.
“In Genesis there was an attack on men (think about Moses’s birth story, all the Hebrew male babies were killed because they were viewed as a threat). In the New Testament there was an attack on men (Herod killing the Hebrew boys when he heard Jesus was born). Now there is an attack on men!” – revival sermon
“When we compromise our integrity, we allow the enemy to buy our voice.” – Pastor Fredrico Lord
So many good nuggets! I was so blessed to be a part of the Independence Church of the Nazarene!
We painted the preschool, inside, outside and the new addition, we fellowshipped with the congregation almost every night and on Sundays, we have our testimonies and shared Jesus for a few days at the local high school (12 classes in 2 days!), we taught Sunday school at a Mayan village, lounged on the beach in Placencia, ate the most amazing Ice-cream ever from Tutti-Frutti, hung out a a local cafe, fell in love with cheesecake ice cream made by Mennonites, learned to cook and eat chicken gizzard, neck, tail, backbone, and cartilage, learned how to make fry jack, journey cakes and powder buns, fasted with the church for revival, gave our testimonies in front of the congregation, I sang with the praise and worship team during their harvest thanksgiving which is a beautiful time of coming back to God and giving Him the first fruits, had a sleepover with all the girls, got interviewed for the Facebook page, learned creole, got loved on by the special people in the congregation, prayed for healings and saw the miracle happen, participated in a skit for the youth, went night fishing, teased LJ, spent time being creative and girly with Diana and Mireya, had random worship jam sessions with people, saw Mayan ruins, sang reggae worship songs, and throughly enjoyed every minute I spent with the Belizeans. They are so joyful, so positive, not afraid to get loud and dance, and I will miss them with all my heart till I come back to claim it!
All my love and more,
Sarah Ann
