Today it finally home that I am actually on a real short-term missions with 30+ members of my church (LGCC) and not just going on a retreat with them in some tropical conference center. N or is this similar to volunteering for some random NGO on the Caribbean.
It started with my daily devotions from yesterday which asked us to reflect on why God chose us for this trip….I suddenly realized that I didn’t know why God chose me for this trip. I only knew why I wanted to go on this missions trip to understand what does short-term missions feel like as a family…to my daughter on her first missions experience and to help her understand what a rarefied and privileged world we live in…in the San Francisco Peninsula area. How to remind ourselves to be grateful to God for all we have and to see the needs of people in spiritual and physical needs in Belize. I hadn’t spent enough time in prayer and contemplations before hand to understand to why God chosen me for this trip
I ‘m starting to understand in the course of devotion and today’s events that God wants to show me what He can do with us as a team of his believers and as individuals stretching beyond our usual comfort zones, circle of friends at church and in sharing the gospel in certain customary ways.
At the youth hostel, I was surprised at the friendliness of the youth and the acceptance by the hostel staff…after all this was a first visit by many of us here. I was still preoccupied with the logistics of digging 75 feet of trench to lay network cable connecting the classroom to the internet. I was more worried that our team wouldn’t have the strength and stamina to complete the trench in 1 afternoon…until I saw how big the basketball court that had been built by last year’s team…how far they had to carry their concrete and how many rocks they had to dig out before they could have a flat surface on which to lay the rebar and pour the concrete. This was a big reminder of how powerfully God had used last years team which had less than half the number of members as this year’s team. It is also last years Belize STM team that had built a good foundation for us to work on in terms of relating to the youth and the staff. If I pay attention and watch to see what God wants to show me and let me know where I fit in…rather than identifying for myself where my role should be in the ministry of this team.
Then at Pickstock, the slum area of Belize city where David brings us put on a block party, I find myself utterly unprepared. There’s no food (which totally violates my preconceived notion of a block party)…some of our team members bring suitcases full of toys and art & craft supplies; others bring a basketball, football and soccer ball. The whole event seems really ad hoc and unstructured…plus the people in the neighborhood seem to be watchful and maybe a bit suspicious…but soon as we gather in the front of the Pickstock church…we are surrounded by toddlers and small children who want to see what we’ve brought and whether they can play with them or take them to keep…then as we walk over to the basket ball court…older children and teens gather and are eager to shoot hoops and pass the ball back and forth with some of our teammates. But having problems with my left foot and never having played team sports regularly…I conclude that this is not how I’m going to reach out to any of the kids.
I wonder how the rest of the team will find ways to relate to the kids…I guess that we could just plant ourselves next to a kid and insistently tell them about the wordless book or gospel bracelet…unless they ran away. Pretty soon though I see a colored paper, crayons, face paints and hair clips and ornaments coming out of the suitcases we brought. I think, hmmm, I’ll help with face painting…but the kids I paint all look on with envy on Craig’s kids…they ask me to paint a star or a flower just like their friend’s or a maybe a dragon. A dragon?! What was I thinking of when I volunteered for this activity? I can barely do a decent snail, forget about a dragon…plus I’m about as fast as a snail in my painting…I’m too intent on drawing on their arms and faces to simultaneously chatter with them about their knowledge of God and his salvation plan for them. But having to clean my brush at the local water faucet I get a chance to talk to some of the kids filling up their families water bottles…to ask if they know about God…some of them tell me they go to church…that other church groups have come before to play with them. I don’t get to talk about the wordless book or bracelet…but I’m determined to pray for each kid I talk to whether they come for face painting or I meet them at the water faucet. And next time I look up; every single member of our team is really involved with this block party…whether playing ball, face painting, getting their hair done, giving piggy bag rides, teaching different origami patterns, drawing with crayons. They may be sitting down, standing up, running around but absolutely everyone is interacting with at least 1 or more kids…no one is uncertainly clustering with other team members….off by themselves. It’s amazing…everyone has jumped in and we finally have become a team…something that I doubted could happen quickly just last week at our last planning/training meeting. God is truly doing something amazing and awesome…and if I had anymore doubts…a kid who was disappointed in my artwork on his right arm the first time round…graciously extends his left arm and says to me “now you can do another star on this side.”
-Patti Lowe
Prayer Requests:
1. That the Youth Hostel kids get to know God better and the Sunday Service Tomorrow.
2. That the construction of the computer lab goes well.
3. That the VBS preparation goes smoothly and that the kids will be motivated and get to see God.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Day One of 2011
And once again, the airport challenged us. As we arrived at the airport, we found out that the front desk had already opened up and we were already late. At 4 A.M in the morning, we were late, who would’ve thought. After minutes of confusion and several different instructions we finally had a front clerk dedicated to helping us and slowly we were helped and one by one, we proceeded to the security check point. However by the time the last three members of our team proceeded, we found out that the plane was already boarded and waiting for the last of its passengers. Us. Surprise, surprise. However the airport curse was not finished with us yet. When we arrived at Dallas, we found out that we would be landing at 11:55 and our plane was boarding at 11:50, that and we were in different terminals--different terminals in the Dallas Airport. However, as usual, God was on our side and He had answered our prayers because once we arrived at the gate, we were relieved to find that the flight was delayed, which gave us all enough time to get food and eat. We all successfully made it to the plane and then to Belize. That was when we realized that God has answered our prayers for the first time on this trip. After checking into our rooms and settling in, we all gathered for first team meeting in Belize. David Craver gave us a short testimony and an overview of the next ten days. Then we enjoyed dinner made by Stephanie and made a quick run to Brodie’s. Once coming back to the hotel, we enjoyed each other’s company during games and worship. After this not-as-eventful first day as last year, but still unique in its own stressful way, we have conquered our first day of the Belize STM and still look forward to the opportunities and events God has placed ahead of us. We thank God for His guidance over our trip.
35 on the trip. 35 alive.
Prayer Requests:
• VBS-
o Preparation
o Successful
• Computer Lab-
o Preparation
o Building
35 on the trip. 35 alive.
Prayer Requests:
• VBS-
o Preparation
o Successful
• Computer Lab-
o Preparation
o Building
Monday, July 26, 2010
Last Day of Belize
As I’m sitting on the plane right now, I can’t help but reminisce about the last week while being in Belize. This year our team has seen so many exciting events unfold in front of us. During the team’s last meeting we went over what we learned in Belize, and I was surprised to hear from my roommates what they have learned this week. I learned that Belizeans are a group of people who needs to be prayed for throughout the year, because without prayer they will not have salvation. During Pastor Brian’s sermon this morning, he said something that made his sermon not only to apply to potential missionaries, missionaries, upcoming STM members, and even the Belizeans. His sermon was based from Exodus 3:11, 4:1, 10. He based his sermon on the 3 F fears, The Fear of Failure, the Fear of Foolishness, and the Fear of Fatigue. For the fear of failure he said that the fear of Moses could have prevented him from freeing his people in Egypt. Similar to us, if we have the fear of failing to do the Lord’s work, then we will not be able to free God’s people from Satan’s grasp. Moses was also afraid of the Fear of Foolishness, he was afraid that if would embarrass himself, but we need to remember that if this embarrassment conquers our lives, then we will never go out of our personal bubble to minister to God’s lost sheep. Just imagine if Peter didn’t feel embarrassed that he knew Jesus, then maybe those people around that fire would have known about the miracle that is God. The third fear is the fear of Fatigue. Personally this fear conquers me every time I go out into the mission field. This fear will always prevent anybody who wants to do God’s work but feels incapable of doing it. But if you don’t try then nothing will happen. My encouragement would be to remember that every time we try to minister to someone that is a mustard seed being planted into someone’s life. Just like someone this week tried to convince a Jehovah’s Witness that God is the true way, but didn’t go to well, we need to remember that in his case we put the shovel into the ground. Similarly to the Belizeans and the Chinese we may have planted mustard seeds in the ground, but the work of God may develop through other missionaries that will continue to go. With all these events we have experienced it would seem to be almost like the work we have done is so small that we may not have impacted to community too much, but short term missions trip are known to not only develop the places that we go to, but ourselves as well. I can say with confidence that I am proud of our younger members, who has grown in faith just by participating in our ministry to the Belizeans. So I challenge the members of our church who has one of those Fears, to pray, and take the next step to be fishers of men, and fulfill the Great Commission.
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16 ESV
Thank You all for the support you have given us before, during, and after our trip. On behalf of the entire team I would like to say you are all awesome people. If you would like to hear more about our trip, then I would like to invite you to our sharing meeting that would be announced later.
Prayer Items:
• That we continue to pray for Belize so that they may know God
• Pray for the basketball court so that it may encourage teamwork among the youth hostel kids
• For the Chinese church so they would continue to grow and continue to love God
• For Stephanie (our chef) so her upcoming marriage would be a happy one.
Thanks,
Jonathan Hsu
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16 ESV
Thank You all for the support you have given us before, during, and after our trip. On behalf of the entire team I would like to say you are all awesome people. If you would like to hear more about our trip, then I would like to invite you to our sharing meeting that would be announced later.
Prayer Items:
• That we continue to pray for Belize so that they may know God
• Pray for the basketball court so that it may encourage teamwork among the youth hostel kids
• For the Chinese church so they would continue to grow and continue to love God
• For Stephanie (our chef) so her upcoming marriage would be a happy one.
Thanks,
Jonathan Hsu
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Day Nine
7/25/10 – Saturday
So today I woke up thirty minutes late for breakfast- as usual. After breakfast, the mission team drove to the orphanage for the second time this week. I didn’t really want to go since I saw myself as not being able to relate to kids well. I never knew what to say, how to act, or how to relate to them. After arriving, I went on to make a sophisticated balloon hat, retrieve two basketballs out of a tree, and wander around feeling hopeless. I ended up sitting on the playground praying desperately to God. I felt useless, asking for the reason I was on the mission trip if I was so incapable. I asked God to show me a sign: to send a child at the orphanage to where I was sitting. Soon after, Ellie and Jessica came over to me after playing on the swings. More followed until I had four kids sitting around me, marveling at my hat and pretending to shave my head. I still don’t really know how to interact with kids, but I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:10. Even though I am weak, God will use me to show the world his power.
After a peanut butter and jelly lunch, the team headed off to the youth hostel to celebrate the completion of the basketball court. Though the court was still quite dusty and slippery, it was quite an improvement from the youth hostel’s first court. It was a lot of fun playing basketball against the youth from the youth hostel. There’s nothing like playing a competitive game with people that you’ve invested time, sweat, and energy with on a project. It was awesome seeing more barriers break down and the smiles plastered on sweaty faces as the day came to an end.
On our way back from the youth hostel, the bus broke down about five minutes away from the hotel. Everyone grabbed their bags and began walking. Thankfully, the bus was repaired about ten minutes later. Praise the Lord!
Interesting story: Today as the team walked to the Best Western, we saw a crab walking across the road. It was quite a sight. The entire group watched in apprehension as three cars drove over it. Miraculously, the crab emerged, safe and alive as Edwin continued to usher the crab safely to the other side. An hour later, as we headed back to Siesta Inn, we saw the corpse of the crab, its bodily fluids splashed on the road. Its head lay a couple feet away. How sad. Anyways I have really enjoyed this mission trip. 29 still alive. 0 dead.
So today I woke up thirty minutes late for breakfast- as usual. After breakfast, the mission team drove to the orphanage for the second time this week. I didn’t really want to go since I saw myself as not being able to relate to kids well. I never knew what to say, how to act, or how to relate to them. After arriving, I went on to make a sophisticated balloon hat, retrieve two basketballs out of a tree, and wander around feeling hopeless. I ended up sitting on the playground praying desperately to God. I felt useless, asking for the reason I was on the mission trip if I was so incapable. I asked God to show me a sign: to send a child at the orphanage to where I was sitting. Soon after, Ellie and Jessica came over to me after playing on the swings. More followed until I had four kids sitting around me, marveling at my hat and pretending to shave my head. I still don’t really know how to interact with kids, but I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:10. Even though I am weak, God will use me to show the world his power.
After a peanut butter and jelly lunch, the team headed off to the youth hostel to celebrate the completion of the basketball court. Though the court was still quite dusty and slippery, it was quite an improvement from the youth hostel’s first court. It was a lot of fun playing basketball against the youth from the youth hostel. There’s nothing like playing a competitive game with people that you’ve invested time, sweat, and energy with on a project. It was awesome seeing more barriers break down and the smiles plastered on sweaty faces as the day came to an end.
On our way back from the youth hostel, the bus broke down about five minutes away from the hotel. Everyone grabbed their bags and began walking. Thankfully, the bus was repaired about ten minutes later. Praise the Lord!
Interesting story: Today as the team walked to the Best Western, we saw a crab walking across the road. It was quite a sight. The entire group watched in apprehension as three cars drove over it. Miraculously, the crab emerged, safe and alive as Edwin continued to usher the crab safely to the other side. An hour later, as we headed back to Siesta Inn, we saw the corpse of the crab, its bodily fluids splashed on the road. Its head lay a couple feet away. How sad. Anyways I have really enjoyed this mission trip. 29 still alive. 0 dead.
Day Eight
Exploring the Beauty of God’s Creation
Today was a well-deserved day of rest for our bone-weary team. Most of the team spent the morning together on a snorkeling trip set up by Commissioned International. It was a good reminder that Belize is more than the prisons and orphanages that we’ve been visiting. It’s also home to the second-largest barrier reef in the world and, for a couple of hours, we got to see the beauty of God’s underwater creation.
This was my second time snorkeling the reef and each time I am overwhelmed by the diversity and beauty of life under the sea. We swam with sea turtles, giant black groupers, sting rays and schools of colorful fish. We went out in groups with a guide who took us above the coral reef and then to the drop off where groups of large fish and massive spotted eagle rays swam right by us. For me, I love floating above the reef and watching one small patch of coral. If I wait long enough in that one place and allow my eyes to adjust, more and more fish, large and small will appear. It’s as if I have a bird’s eye view of their life. And as I watch them, I just stand in awe of the power of our Creator God to design such a beautiful world.
After we toured the reef, the guides took us to a place called Shark Ray Alley. They threw a bunch of fish into the water and, within seconds, our boat was surrounded by dozens of sharks. Really cool! The guides kept telling us to jump in but only Edwin was willing to do it. Then the guide started throwing fish at Edwin and the sharks and other fish were all around him. When we all saw he was still alive, we jumped in after him.
Now we’re back to Belize City and ready for our last day of ministry. Tomorrow we’ll return to the orphanage that we visited last Wednesday. Then we’ll go for a final trip to the Youth Hostel to throw a party for the kids and celebrate the completion of the basketball court. It should be a fun and rewarding day.
Pastor Brian
Today was a well-deserved day of rest for our bone-weary team. Most of the team spent the morning together on a snorkeling trip set up by Commissioned International. It was a good reminder that Belize is more than the prisons and orphanages that we’ve been visiting. It’s also home to the second-largest barrier reef in the world and, for a couple of hours, we got to see the beauty of God’s underwater creation.
This was my second time snorkeling the reef and each time I am overwhelmed by the diversity and beauty of life under the sea. We swam with sea turtles, giant black groupers, sting rays and schools of colorful fish. We went out in groups with a guide who took us above the coral reef and then to the drop off where groups of large fish and massive spotted eagle rays swam right by us. For me, I love floating above the reef and watching one small patch of coral. If I wait long enough in that one place and allow my eyes to adjust, more and more fish, large and small will appear. It’s as if I have a bird’s eye view of their life. And as I watch them, I just stand in awe of the power of our Creator God to design such a beautiful world.
After we toured the reef, the guides took us to a place called Shark Ray Alley. They threw a bunch of fish into the water and, within seconds, our boat was surrounded by dozens of sharks. Really cool! The guides kept telling us to jump in but only Edwin was willing to do it. Then the guide started throwing fish at Edwin and the sharks and other fish were all around him. When we all saw he was still alive, we jumped in after him.
Now we’re back to Belize City and ready for our last day of ministry. Tomorrow we’ll return to the orphanage that we visited last Wednesday. Then we’ll go for a final trip to the Youth Hostel to throw a party for the kids and celebrate the completion of the basketball court. It should be a fun and rewarding day.
Pastor Brian
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Day Seven
We set out early this morning to catch a boat to San Pedro. Even though we were worried about sea sickness, we made it to the island with minimal discomfort. When we first arrived, we checked into our hotel rooms, ate PB&J sandwiches, and then explored the town for a real lunch. After our appetites were satisfied, we prepared for a block party at the playground and basketball court.
While I was painting an endless number of fingernails, I finally mustered up the courage to start asking the girls about God. To my surprise, most of them already knew about God and didn’t really mind talking about Him. I only encountered one little girl who didn’t have a relationship with God. Her name was Damaris. She listened intently as I shared the gospel with her. She felt that the only way to heaven was if she did good things and if she didn’t she would go to hell. She thought that Jesus would be waiting at the door to heaven and would tell her if she was good enough or bad. This didn’t really surprise me, and I explained that because of Jesus’s death, we can go to heaven just by receiving him as our lord and savior and our salvation isn’t dependent on ourselves. I struggled a little bit with the use of Christian jargon and tried to simplify the gospel. I wasn’t really sure if she understood anything that I said…but I knew that the Holy Spirit was working. So I asked her if she wanted to accept Christ and if she would repeat after me as I prayed. AND SHE SAID YES!! Woooow, mind blown! I never thought that just talking to someone for about 10 minutes about God actually worked! But with God, all things are possible! As I led her through prayer, I felt a lot of pressure to say the right thing. I remember when I first accepted Christ, my prayer was important to me and I didn’t want to mess it up for this little girl. While praying, another girl that I was talking to earlier interrupted and asked me for my email address. What did I do? I gave it to her. -_- I regret doing that and feel like I could have handled that situation a little better, but I praise God that he gave me the opportunity to talk with that girl.
After 2 hours at the block party, we went directly to dinner at Playa Chel . Surprisingly, the owner of that restaurant had heard about us building a basketball court at the youth hostel! News traveled about us from Belize City all the way to San Pedro! I guess we had more of an impact on Belize than we thought. After we finished dinner, we went to eat key lime pie for dessert (yum). Then we returned to the hotel and turned in early for the long day ahead of us.
-Isabel Auyeung
While I was painting an endless number of fingernails, I finally mustered up the courage to start asking the girls about God. To my surprise, most of them already knew about God and didn’t really mind talking about Him. I only encountered one little girl who didn’t have a relationship with God. Her name was Damaris. She listened intently as I shared the gospel with her. She felt that the only way to heaven was if she did good things and if she didn’t she would go to hell. She thought that Jesus would be waiting at the door to heaven and would tell her if she was good enough or bad. This didn’t really surprise me, and I explained that because of Jesus’s death, we can go to heaven just by receiving him as our lord and savior and our salvation isn’t dependent on ourselves. I struggled a little bit with the use of Christian jargon and tried to simplify the gospel. I wasn’t really sure if she understood anything that I said…but I knew that the Holy Spirit was working. So I asked her if she wanted to accept Christ and if she would repeat after me as I prayed. AND SHE SAID YES!! Woooow, mind blown! I never thought that just talking to someone for about 10 minutes about God actually worked! But with God, all things are possible! As I led her through prayer, I felt a lot of pressure to say the right thing. I remember when I first accepted Christ, my prayer was important to me and I didn’t want to mess it up for this little girl. While praying, another girl that I was talking to earlier interrupted and asked me for my email address. What did I do? I gave it to her. -_- I regret doing that and feel like I could have handled that situation a little better, but I praise God that he gave me the opportunity to talk with that girl.
After 2 hours at the block party, we went directly to dinner at Playa Chel . Surprisingly, the owner of that restaurant had heard about us building a basketball court at the youth hostel! News traveled about us from Belize City all the way to San Pedro! I guess we had more of an impact on Belize than we thought. After we finished dinner, we went to eat key lime pie for dessert (yum). Then we returned to the hotel and turned in early for the long day ahead of us.
-Isabel Auyeung
Day Six
(Sorry this was late, I was sick and wasn't able to post at all- Jon Hsu)
Hello faithful readers and welcome to the day 6 blog post! Even though all of us were still a little tired from finishing the basketball court yesterday, we were all really excited for today’s schedule. Our plan was to first put on a block party at Pickstock, a downtown slum in Belize in the morning and then do VBS for the kids at Liberty Orphanage.
Before we went to Pickstock, the team was warned about how dangerous and run-down the area was, but when we got there it didn’t seem too bad. We decided to run the block party at an apartment complex that David Craver, the missionary we partnered with, previously did ministry at. Immediately when we arrived all the kids came flooding out of the doorways and after 5 minutes, the whole block was covered with kids of all ages playing with us. We played basketball, soccer, Frisbee, and football with the boys, while the girls made crafts, blew bubbles, and got their nails and faces painted. It was such a beautiful sight seeing everyone having a blast with the kids and really bonding with them. Even from the first couple minutes of playing with the kids, it was obvious that they relished the attention and the chance to play with some new toys and friends. It was so encouraging to see each of our team members playing with a group of kids and just loving on them. Some of us also got the chance to pull some kids aside and have one-on-one conversations about the gospel and pray for them, but since many of them were very young we’re not sure how much they understood. For example, after sharing we would ask the kids to repeat or summarize what they just heard and sometimes they had a hard time doing so. Please pray that the seeds were planted today would bear fruit and that the kids would come to know Christ. We also had a water balloon fight, which lasted about 3 minutes as all the kids threw all their balloons at once. It was pretty awesome to see 30 kids throwing water balloons right and left at each other! I’ve never heard so much laughing and screaming in my life before!
We ended our time there by passing out gifts to each of the kids, which was the most chaotic experience ever! I was asked to hand out the gifts, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Once the kids caught on that I was passing out toys, all of them started surrounding me and begging for one. They were grabbing at the bag, tugging at my shirt, shouting in my face—basically doing anything to get my attention. These kids owned nothing and even a small toy was something to cherish. It was so humbling to see their intense desperation for just a simple toy that was worth no more than a few dollars. As I was thinking about this experience later that night, God revealed to me that for all these kids, their desperation for these toys reflected their spiritual condition as well: they were absolutely spiritually empty-handed, and needed God much more than they needed those toys. It was such a sad fact to realize, but at the same time that was the exact reason why we were there: to share with them that Christ had come to die to fill all their needs, from physical to spiritual.
After lunch we moved to the orphanage where we put on a short skit for the kids about the story of Noah and how it shows that following God’s plan is always the best—especially his plan of salvation. Once that was done, we made crafts with the kids and played sports with them as well for the rest of the afternoon. We also had a chance to share with many of the kids there about the gospel so please pray for those seeds that were planted as well. At the end we asked the orphanage director how we could pray for her and she said that things were very financially difficlut for them and that they had to cut back staff in order to make ends meet. Please pray that they would receive the funding they need so that they can love on these kids as they deserve.
-Jon Chen
So in summary here are our Prayer Requests:
1. Please God to water the gospel seeds that were planted today in the kids that heard the gospel. Please ask the Lord to open the hearts of these children that they may truly believe.
2. Please pray for the orphanage that they may receive the funding they need to run the place.
3. Since we are in the last half of our trip now, please pray that the lord would give us energy to finish the trip strong and continue to capitalize on opportunities to share with the Beliazians!
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and see you guys in a few days!
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