Day Six (Computer Lab Success)

Belize STM July 20th 2011
We started off the sixth day of our trip with fellowship in prayer and sharing with one another. After eating a delicious breakfast, we reconvened downstairs as a team, where Edwin led us in morning prayer. We split into small groups and shared our thoughts and burdens on our hearts. This was an opportunity for our team to really relate to one another and support each other as a body.
Once we arrived at the youth hostel, we immediately resumed our work on the computer lab and school house. We had one team in the computer lab finishing the dry-wall, and then sanding down the putty. In the school house, another group organized the materials and began to paint the benches. After a brisk lunch break, we began to layer on the second coat of putty. While waiting for it to dry, we swept up the school house floors. After hours of planning and preparation, and through the grace of God, we lifted off. We finally had internet! Praise the Lord! Once we celebrated with refreshing papaya and banana milkshakes, we began to wash the porch of the school house, in preparation for the paint job. Soon after, we packed up and headed to our special reward.
The bus ride to cave tubing was both long and mosquito infested. But it was worth it. After we had changed and received our equipment, we began our mile-long trek upstream. At first, the rocks underfoot distracted us from the miracles surrounding us. But once we slowly discovered the environment we were in, our minds immediately forgot the “rocky situation” and we marveled at the display of God’s power around us. The breathtakingly beautiful scenery around us left us in awe of the Lord’s omnipotence. Once we reached our starting point, we went into the water and linked up in groups. We floated through humongous caves one after another and were astonished at the naturally intricate mineral formations. A couple groups even enjoyed splashing one another as we raced down the “rapids” and “waterfalls”. There were some moments when the shallow water required us to take extra precaution. However, a few of us did not understand the concept of “BUTTS UP!” and paid for the lack of comprehension with bumps and bruises from the rocks. Again, this was quite a “rocky situation”. Once we finished our tour, we spent the remaining time in the river. Some attempted to catch fish, some swam, and others LEAPED off cliffs after a few encouraging chants (don’t worry, it wasn’t THAT high). After we had played and relaxed to our hearts’ content, we headed back towards the base. Once we changed, “deeted up”, ate a few snacks, and “deeted up” again, we were back on the road headed for the NIGHT ZOO.
A group of seven left to go to the Chinese church for a prayer meeting, including Jon who was busy downloading software for the computer lab. Meanwhile, we embarked on a long journey to the Belize Zoo. Upon arrival, we split into two groups of fourteen. Then each group explored the zoo in different directions. That night, both groups encountered many exotic and unique animals. On our tour, we were able to see jaguars, pumas, harpy eagles, pigs, rattle snakes, howler monkeys, and crocodiles. Some of us were even allowed to feed carrots to Belize’s national animal, the tapir. After our tour ended, several brave souls chose to carry a boa constrictor on their shoulders while barrages of photos were taken. On the way back to our bus, we witnessed clear skies with a myriad of stars painting pictures in the night sky. Some of us were even lucky enough to take beautiful pictures of the stars!
Then we traveled back to our hotel, where we immediately ate a 10pm dinner of delicious chicken burritos. Soon after, we held a short debrief of today’s events and posed questions about the rest of the trip. Right after the meeting ended, most of us scurried back to our room and prepared to sleep. But not Jon Hsu. Ironically, he was “intentionally” left behind at the Chinese church while downloading software. Fortunately for him, he found his way back home to us! Then we all drifted into a deep sleep after the long day we had.
We still have all 35.
Prayer Requests:
• Safe travel to the island
• Finishing computer lab
• Finish painting
• Successful VBS and block party
• To have quality bonding time with the youth
-Valentia Shen and Isabel Auyeung

UPDATE: Computer Lab wiring complete.

We have just made connection with the internet.

This blog is coming from the computer lab at the Youth Hostel in Belize.

There's a little more to do, still, but we are very happy to announce the first blog.

Belize STM team from LGCC

Day Five (More VBS and youth hostel)

STM 2011 7/19
Day Rundown:
1. Last day of VBS
2. Lunch! (On the bus... it was chaotic)
3. Worked on Computer lab
4. Worked some more on the lab
(Longer explanation of the day below)

Reflection:
Goodbyes are hard. And the older I get the more I realize they don’t get easier. (Wow… so dramatic)

Explanation: Today was the LAST DAY OF VBS!!! It’s sad because it’s only the second day. Yup. We had only two days with these kids D:
We were JUST starting to bond with these kids and now we have to leave. The day was speckled with abrupt and disappointed goodbyes. Few things are more depressing to me than an unresolved “goodbye”.
But it makes sense. Our main goal here isn’t to host VBS. Our mail vision for this mission trip was to bless the youth hostel by constructing a computer lab for them.
And the Belizean children have a Sunday school program on Saturday (that’s confusing) so they are still being nourished throughout the year.
They have God watching over them and holding their hand.
They have an almighty king who is more crazy about them than I could ever imagine.
They have a Father watching every breath that they take and every tear that they cry.
So I won’t be scared for them…. (but I will miss them).
Our job is to focus on what God wants us to do. Sometimes that means hosting VBS. Other times it means loving with our actions and giving hope to a hopeless community.
Today we loved/gave hope by pouring our sweat, blood, and MORE blood (stupid mosquitos…) into building a computer lab for the kids.
We installed insulation, dry wall, and even started to puddy the whole thing. (if you don’t know what this means don’t worry. I didn’t know what this meant 24 hours ago).

It took us pretty much the rest of the day to work on the house but the hours kind of flew by. Time flies when you have something worthy to work for.

And that’s pretty key I think. It’s so EASY for me to focus on the works and the fruits. It’s so easy for me to focus on the ministry and forget WHY I’m doing it!
I’m not building the lab for the wonderful, enjoyable experience of building a computer lab (woohoo….). And I’m not building it so that people can tell me how awesome and altruistic I am (but I wouldn’t complain if you did).
I’m doing this because I Love Jesus. And Jesus’s heart BREAKS for these people.
He sees them when they feel worthless. When they feel hopeless. When they feel ugly. When they feel broken. When they feel alone. He counts every tear they cry.
I bet He cries for them.
This thought put my heart in the right place.

So if you ever feel fatigued or stressed out by ministry, just take a breath. Remember why you’re doing what you are doing. And spend some time with God.
Let Him speak his words of truth over you and remind you who He is, who you are, and who you are in relationship to Him.
Take some time to sit at his feet like Mary, instead of running around all the time like Martha. (don’t worry, it’s okay if you rest sometimes…. The bible tells us to! :D)
I know it works for me! When I “make every effort” to enter into His rest, I know that it turns my labor into a labor of love.
Well anyway, pray for us as we finish up this computer lab. We’re also presently discussing whether or not we should return to the VBS church on Saturday so be praying about God’s guidance over that!
Thank you for your support! We Love you and we hope to see you soon!

David Ing

Craig Ing Day Four.

My second trip to Belize seems very different already here on the third day of our trip. We have done more and lives have changed for eternity. For instance, on the second day at the Youth Hostel worship I had the privilege of speaking. Just as we started the worship service God sent a cooling shower as a real blessing. We didn’t know what to expect from these teens who have led rough lives, but soon everyone was clapping and enjoying a lively chorus let by our worship team. I really sensed God’s presence and guiding as I began to speak. I didn’t bore them and they seemed interested (yay answered prayer!!!) We broke up into small groups for discussion and Pastor Poon and I led a former Catholic teen to faith in Christ. PTL!!! Many small groups reported lively discussion. These teens responded to the Word of God. Later I met an electrician named “Moses” who’s testimony could make a great movie. We also spent time reaching out to the poor in the center of Belize. We held a block party where I got to pray for many people while face painting. What a blast!!!

Today has been a lot of physical, and Spiritual, challenge. VBS began in earnest and FOUR people received the Lord to day. It seems like we’ve just began. Praise God!!!! Now please continue to pray for us since sense a real Spiritual battle. Heat, fatigue, bug bites and Belizian constant change of plans is taking its toll. We really need prayer cover NOW!!! Thanks for your prayers.


Prayer Requests:
1. 4 new believers, especially Nicole (who we have spent a lot of time with since she is traveling with our group); God surrounds them with people to help them grow (especially people from church who will reach out to them)
2. second day of VBS
3. youth hostel: finish computer lab; thankful for strong Christians working at the hostel who can guide and teach the youth there

Day Four (VBS and more youth hostel)

Today, we started our first day of VBS at the Chinese church. The children had a great time learning about Noah and his ark, the flood and God’s promise to Noah through the symbol of a rainbow. We also enjoyed worshiping God through songs and dance. It was great meeting many of the children we saw in previous years. Having taught the youngest class 2 years ago, we probably saw the most growth in the children we knew. Many of the children grew so much in the Lord, some of the children were crying for their moms 2 years ago, and now, have become mature, active participants in class. There was one boy, who refused to talk or to be separated from his older brother two years ago; today, he initiated discussions about Noah’s Ark with his friends and willingly offered his chair to a friend who wanted to sit. How he actively participated in all the VBS activities testifies to how much he has grown in the last two years. Another boy who would not stop running around the church building during class time 2 years ago, would now engage in intelligent discussions with his fellow peers and teachers. Thank you Lord for this opportunity to get to know these children and to have the opportunity to see how much they have grown in the Lord in the last two years.
-Virginia Wu (Chu)
The Chinese team has been working together with the English team in the last two days going to Pickstock, the youth hostel, and VBS. But tonight, we did something different from the English team. I did a nutrition talk at the Chinese church, about 20 people attended. The talk went OK. Thanks for your prayers. There will be another workshop tomorrow by Jon Mo about creation and evolution. Pastor Poon will lead a prayer meeting on Wednesday night. Please continue to pray for the progress for the computer lab. We will probably be painting the walls tomorrow. Hope you all are doing well back home.
Pauline Auyueng
Prayer Requests:
1. For the kids from the VBS because we won’t be having anymore interaction with them for another year.
2. So that the computer lab finishes on time.
3. That we can connect to youth hostel kids more.

Jackie Chu Post for Day Two and Three

7/16/2011

We visited the people at Pickstock. It is my first time mission and never been in here before. I didn’t know what I was going to see even though I heard from Pastor Brian that people are very poor there. It’s kind of mix feelings as the little kids can be very happy from just a little thing, like drawing with chalks on the ground, drawing on the construction papers with crayons, blowing bubbles. We did some origami, like airplanes and boats and they liked it.
Besides, I won’t forget the eye contacts I had with the kids. When I talked to them, I looked at their eyes; their eyes told me they appreciated our caring. One funny scenario was a little boy I think he is 5 and kept following John from Mandarin Congregation that he wanted to go to California. I asked him, “You need to ask your mom for yes or no.” He pointed to me that where his mom was, like if you want to ask, you can ask yourself and I am going to California anyway. He has his way no matter what you say. It’s sad though, even a 5 years old boy wants to leave his country.
When it was about time to say goodbye, a girl I didn’t have any interaction with her, she came to me and hugged me goodbye. I’d never forget what I experienced today.

Prayers request:
1. Please pray for their hearts to follow Jesus every day.
2. Pray for the kids to pray to God every day.
3. Pray for their parents to have guidance from God.

7/17/2011

We visited youth hostel today. It is another experience I never had before and it’s totally different from what I experienced yesterday. As you know it is a youth hostel, those are youth and they are not little kids. They have their own story and experience. I heard a girl who stays there not because of doing something illegal and got caught. Actually, she called the police to take her there as she got abused from her family member.
We started to set up the computer lab today. I don’t know much about setting up the networking. All I could do today was taking the junk out of the room and watch the youth playing volley ball. Ethan (my son) told me that he made a friend there. He went to bathroom and there was no water from the sink, his friend from youth hostel got a cup with water for him to wash his hands. It’s very nice. I asked Ethan if he likes Belize or not and he answered me yes. It is because of the weather. He likes hot weather but not staying at the youth hostel.

Prayers requests:
1. Pray for the youth to follow and talk to God.
2. Pray for the work of setting up the computer lab successfully.
3. Pray for the youth to be motivated to learn more skills to prepare for the future once they can be out of the hostel.
4. Pray for the youth that they can see hope and future thru God.


More Coming, please bear with us as these are hard to get out due to internet connectivity.

Day Three (Youth Hostel)

Everything turned out differently than what I had expected. Late in the morning, we had church at the youth hostel. Arriving there, the youth were all leaning against the porches waiting for us. To my surprise, they weren’t nearly as scary as I imagined them to be. During worship, most of the youth were engrossed in the new songs we taught them. Uncle Craig’s message felt really powerful toward everyone and most of the youth were really attentive. In the middle of his talk, his tooth fell out LOOOOL, but it didn’t stop him from delivering such a magnificent message. After, we broke up into six groups and had ice breaking games followed up with discussion. The ice breakers were successful, as everyone was able to learn each other’s names, which smoothly transitioned into the discussion. The youth were actually a lot more into the gospel and seeking God than I had thought. Apparently, every Monday and Friday, some of the youth gather together to do devotions or Bible study, very similar to what we do at youth group. All of them even had a dream of what they wanted to become in the future. As the discussion progressed, they started to open up and shared deep stories, as well as asking us interesting questions themselves. Lunch was PB&J sandwiches and other food which I don’t remember, because I tend to only remember what I eat. Shortly after lunch, we picked up volleyball games with the youth while other people began working on digging trenches for the computer lab. I felt that I should start helping them, and stop being “lazy” and playing volleyball with the youth, so I also whipped out a shovel to dig. Digging the long ditch connecting the houses was really tiring but felt really rewarding. Someone found a tarantula in one of the houses and it was SO SCARY because it was hairy and was crawling on the wall. Despite my trepidations for spiders, I still kept on digging. The ditch was impressive.

-Kevin Mo
Yesterday, we were told that we were going to play with little kids from the slums, armed with sidewalk chalk, crayons, construction paper, face paint, and sports. The fun and friendly connotation of that task definitely contrasted from today’s seemingly daunting task: to visit the youth hostel, full of native teenagers convicted of both petty and heavy crimes, and hold a Sunday worship service there.
David Ing asked Isabel and me to sing for the worship session, and I stood slightly nervously in front of a crowded room of intimidating faces, some uninviting, and others simply confused and unsure. We found out that we wouldn’t have a projector, so would be singing in front of a room that didn’t know the lyrics to sing along with us. Last minute, we changed our first song from “Lord I Lift Your Name on High,” to “Everyday,” so that we could incorporate dance moves to make it a more interactive and exciting experience. At first, the youth didn’t really imitate our dance moves, but eventually a few caught on and others followed. It ended up becoming a really loud room of jumping, dancing youth, even though they didn’t know the lyrics. Around the time when we started singing “Amazing Grace,” a small sprinkle of rain came down outside, almost like a little shower of blessing, as Uncle Craig put it in his message. While he spoke, the normally stuffy room was cooled by frequent breezes and gusts of wind, enough to blow the curtains up and around. It was kind of a beautiful moment, as quite a few youth really paid attention with eye contact and signs of interest, instead of slouching and looking bored as a few others did.
My discussion group had 4 team members and only 3 hostel members, but we had a great time. We played a name game by throwing “Iggy the Iguana,” a small stuffed toy, to each other, which resulted in a lot of laughter over mistakes and stray iguanas. Leona was significantly more talkative than Erica, but they both wanted to leave the hostel and go home. I think it’s a connection to the outside world they truly desire, so hopefully this computer lab will be a real blessing to them. Olive, a counselor, shared that two of her children were killed in the same accident five years ago. Olive already believed in Jesus and in living a godly life. Leona and Erica seemed to know a lot, but seemed more hesitant to profess any faith they might have. Please pray for the youth at the hostel, that they would truly live out the lives that they have constantly been told to live, and that they would become comfortable enough with us to open up.
So far I had been lucky to get only one mosquito bite, but I neglected to use mosquito spray and got six itchy, red mosquito bites. Fortunately, Mrs. Poon gave me some itch cream from Hong Kong which worked to finally bring the irritating swelling down. Please pray for all of us with skin sensitivities to sunburn, bug bites, and heat rash, as discomfort can be a frustrating, unceasing distraction from our work here in Belize.
We are starting to be able to count how long we’ve been working but the contrast of our new tan lines – whether from our tank tops, t-shirts, sunglasses, watches, shorts, or shoes. The truest and best encouragement comes from each other, as I can see the unity grow among our team. When tonight’s dinner was spicy fried chicken and soda, both of which I cannot handle, we swapped food and shared some vegetables. We help each other apply sunblock, share body wash, and swat flies and fan each other with our now-wrinkled devotion packets  And I know if we can bond this much within our team within two days, we should be able to bond just as much with the people of Belize in these ten days.
-Emily Cheng

Prayer Requests:
1. That VBS goes well
2. That Computer Lab finishes.
3. That we have an opportunity to connect to the youth hostel kids.
4. Pauline’s workshop on nutrition.