With Love, Belize

I got home from my Belize mission/service trip this past Sunday at about 3:30 AM. This trip was more than I ever expected. I got on the departing plane with absolutely no nerves... just excitement. I felt so prepared for this trip. From the time we landed to the time we took off a week later,  everyone we met was kind and patient. No one likes being asked a million questions. One lady said she didn't mind, because "how else can you learn?"

The pastor and his family that lived behind the church we did construction in were so gracious and humble. They go without everyday, but they are so joyful that they have a place to worship and a roof over their head. They are wonderful witnesses. In the church we did all kinds of sanding, painting, staining, some did sawing and roof work, too. Now I want to buy an old house and "flip" it. HAHA

The school we worked in was so special. All of the children are starving for attention. Many of them have lost parents and some live with aunts and uncles so they are able to attend the school. Almost every one of those children were well behaved. This may sound a little cheesy, but they were just beautiful children. I will never forget the sound of the little voices saying, "Miss! Miss!" and all of the big smiling faces.

Room assignments were picked perfectly. I loved my roommates. I hit it off really quickly with one of them. She is a wonderful Christian woman and I'm really glad I got to meet her. I saw her yesterday and it was nice to talk to her... even though it was only for 10 minutes! I hope we can have more chats soon :-)

The only downside of the trip was that my suitcase was lost for 5 days. The airline had absolutely no clue where it was. One was delivered to me, but it wasn't my suitcase. It had been mislabeled and was a guy named Patrick from Illinois. They later found it in the Dominican Republic. My suitcase has now been there and I haven't! When I received it almost all of my "unmentionables," as my grandmother would say, were stolen. I know, I am convinced this stuff only happens to me. LOL. The flight back to home was even more interesting. That is a whole other story!

I have so many wonderful things that I want to say about this trip, but I don't have the time to write it all out in one post. I feel like I can't even express how special it was to me. Over the next few weeks I may have a focus picture and talk about some of my experiences in Belize.

Prayer request: the son of the pastor that we worked with, Jeremiah, is in the hospital with a terrible infection. They aren't really sure what is wrong with him, but it does not sound good. He is only 6 years old.  Please pray that the doctors are led to the problem and that Jeremiah will heal.