Belize is HOT, BEAUTIFUL AND God's work is so evident here. We arrived Thursday night and had the pleasure of eating with the Presbyterian Church in Corozal with the Christ Presbyterian Team from Nashville that has been here for a week. They had a VBS awards program and it was so sweet to see the children getting rewards. Mostly, it was so sweet to sit back and witness the relationships that have been created bonding two very different lifestyles. To sit and watch a 15 year old boy from Tennessee laughing and talking with a 15 year old boy in Corozal is a small glimpse of Heaven. The unity between the two was so priceless. I knew while watching from a distance that one boy lives in a nice home in Tennessee and the other boy lives in a third world country in a humble home with some of the most poverty stricken villages in the world. What a beautiful image to see as we start our journey in Belize.

After being here only 24 hours, our team members quickly realize why it is so easy to form lasting friendships. The people here are so joyful and accepting. As we think that we are here to help and serve, we are reminded that God has us here for a very different reason: to grow spiritually ourselves. Our team of 12 will be staying with the Butlers in Patchakon. The Butlers are a family (Susie & Dan & Pete is the awesome son) that help run a medical clinic and a fish farm that serves as a rehab facility. They offer healing in both of these locations in two very different ways and always put Christ as the focal point.

Our team will be serving the clinic with some needs, working on a house that a local widow is making into a women's shelter, running a 3 day vbs in the village starting Sunday, hosting a soccer tournament and assisting with the fish farm one afternoon. While we have a full week planned out, we are also learning to be flexible! The Belizean time frame is a little different than our time frame back home. We brought painting supplies for the women's shelter and learned today that what they really need is the wood floors to be stained. So, we are humbly reminded that we are here to serve whatever they need. We are humbly reminded by God that as we look in the eyes of those we are called to serve that we are looking in the eyes of Jesus.

Today we saw the heart of Jesus in Helen Lacey. She is so loving and kind and so respected here by everyone. We took her to lunch in Corozal and when we left the cafe, a young man asked her about purchasing cleaning supplies for the clinic. Susie and Helen explained to the young man that they were not buying supplies at this time for the clinic and after talking to him and realizing that it was his only means of income, both ladies purchased some supplies. Both ladies were reaching out and feeding the hungry, offering hope and being Jesus in the skin.

We are honored and humbled to be a part of something much bigger than us. We have already been humbled walking around the village and talking to people in their humble homes. We were humbled talking with Ms. Helen Lacey, a missionary that has lived here 40 years. God used her to start the medical clinic and several schools in the area. To be part of something that God is directing is an experience that we'll never forget. We are already comfortable (despite the heat and no air conditioning) and laughing and having a GREAT time! Our team is excited to see what God does with us here in Belize this week!