Belize 2023 - Wednesday, July 26 2023

We had another great day today! The day had a very interesting start - we found a frog and a scorpion in the girl's room! We then, headed to Sandhill Baptist to have Johnny cakes and cheesy eggs for breakfast. After breakfast we took pictures in front of Sandhill Baptist and loaded the bus to go see Mayan Temples.

When we got to the Mayan Temples we were greeted by our tour guide, Mary Ann. She loved to make jokes about us which made the whole experience very enjoyable! We learned about each temple, and had the opportunity to climb and take pictures on many of the temples! Once the tour was over we visited local shops, then got back onto the bus to go back to Sandhill Baptist for lunch.

We saw the very beautiful rainforest of Belize on the bus ride back. It almost felt like we had entered into a post card! Once we got back to the church we had spaghetti for lunch, which was amazing as always! After lunch the construction crew got to deliver food for the first time, while everyone else set up for the last day of VBS.

Today everyone who had not delivered food yet because they were working construction got to deliver food. We all came back very shaken up by all the poverty we saw because this was our first up-close view of it. However, we all enjoyed the conversations and were inspired by how these people can keep their faith through all the trials.

We had a great last day of VBS! It was sad to have to say goodbye to all the kids but I think the kids were even more sad than us. Many kids asked if we were coming back next year and one even said he wished VBS would last a thousand days. Once again the opener was a skit by Bob (Elizabeth) and Larry (Jacob), music led by Amanda, Elizabeth, Jacob, and Tristan, and a memory verse led by Allie and Gideon. After the big opening it was time to do the games, story, and craft rotations.

Logan planned another awesome day of games! All the games centered around water balloons, and some of the kids had fun throwing the water balloons at Logan!

Today's story was about Jesus' death and resurrection. We taught the kids that this is the greatest story that ever happened because it gives us hope that death is not the end of the story. Once again the puppets were a huge hit! 

Once again, Jenna did an amazing job with crafts! The craft was salvation bracelets which had colored beads that represent each part of the story of our salvation. Everyone loved their bracelets!

While VBS was happening many people continued to work on the construction project. We started to add risers to the project to support the awnings.

We closed again with a skit by Bob (Elizabeth) and Larry (Jacob), music led by Amanda, Elizabeth, Jacob, and Tristan, and the memory verse led by Allie and Gideon. It was so sad to see the kids leave for the last time, but we were proud of ourselves because we knew we had made a difference.

After we cleaned up from VBS we had empanadas for dinner. After dinner Will gathered all of us outside to surprise us with a water balloon fight using the leftover water balloons. Once we got all cleaned up from the water balloons, the local church gave us a special service to thank us for the work we had done. It was so humbling to see how big of a difference our small actions made! We were so thankful for everyone who we met at Sandhill Baptist over the week! After the celebration we went back to Sandhill Protestant to do our evening meeting, take showers, and get everything packed up. 

50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Come back tomorrow to read about our adventures on Thursday, July 27 2023