Return to main Journal page.

1/7/2001 –

This past three weeks has been a time of much reflection and prayer as God has led us out of Santa Cruz and to a new village to begin work in, San Jose. On Monday, December 18 we finished our evening Bible study in Santa Cruz and proceeded back to the bus. Patrick and I both immediately began to sense that the Lord was calling us to pack up and head out the next morning, and after discussing various unfolding circumstances in the village, this conviction only deepened. We put the matter to prayer with the whole group, realizing the potential danger of making hasty decisions, went to bed, and awoke with the same sense of urgency. So we left Santa Cruz on the 19^th, literally stepping out in faith. We had no clear direction for the future, only a leading in the present, but anticipated a couple weeks of rest while seeking God’s will. All the villages we visited on our trip to the Toledo District last year seem to have deep spiritual needs, so we began to pray that the Lord would direct our steps in wading through the many options before us.

Upon arriving in Punta Gorda, the largest town in Toledo (pop. 2500), we came to understand at least one reason we had arrived when we did. A friend that we had met a few months ago who lives and works in PG began to go through an incredibly rough period the day after our arrival. Because he was allowing us to park the bus in front of his office, the door opened for us to challenge and encourage him at a crucial decision making time in his life. We spent the rest of the week in PG enjoying the pleasures of having the bus plugged into electricity and reading alongside the Caribbean Sea.

During our time here in Belize we have been blessed by the friendship of a local missionary family from the mid-western US.  They live about halfway between many of the Mayan villages and PG.  Currently they are in the process of establishing a Bible/vocational school for younger men and women who don't have the means to further their education or who desire to learn a trade and/or the Bible. Besides the family of three, three other men from the US, ranging in age from 23 to 77, are involved in this work. They offered their compound for us to temporarily park the bus at and expressed their need for a few more men to help lay supports for the second story of a new concrete dormitory they were constructing. So on December 25 we drove the bus to their compound and spent the week assisting them in any way we could, enjoying a rich time of fellowship through their hospitality and kindness.

Patrick and I had a few villages in mind and continued discussing the possibilities of each one, desiring to go where God had already begun to prepare the way. One village that continued to resurface in our minds was one we had previously talked about working in upon first arriving in Belize back in October. This village, San Jose, is a village we visited last year upon an invitation to preach in one of the local churches. We left the village afterwards with a deep sense of the coldness of heart in many we had encountered, evidenced by a lack of hospitality and total apathy towards our availability to assist the church in any way we could. This drove both of us to seriously consider San Jose as a potential village to invest time into.

So we left the other missionaries' compound on New Year’s Day bound for San Jose. Though neither of us knew for certain that God would even want us there for more than a few days, we again stepped out in faith, feeling that the time to leave and prayerfully begin searching was at hand. We stayed for three days in the small village of Criqua Jute (Snail Creek), which is located on the road to San Jose. During this time we visited a friend named Patricio, made a few new friends, and looked over the village for possible work there in the future.

It was here that I met a young man, Clifton, who invited me to his house to have a Bible study with him. He listened the seemingly most intently of anyone I have encountered thus far in Toledo as I presented the gospel to him. Pray for him! The Spirit seems to be stirring in his heart, bringing conviction. But pray he will see the hope of a new life amid so much "religion" and forms of godliness "though denying its power thereof," resulting in professing Christians who lack the evidence of being made new creations in Christ. I hope to possibly continue this relationship by traveling to his house every few weeks, which is where the horses come in handy.

Moving back in time just a bit—before we left for Criqua Jute a new member joined our team.  Eddie is a young man who was studying Spanish in Guatemala, then came to Belize and has been here the last five months helping a local children's home. Patrick and I met him about a month ago and invited him to join us for a few weeks. He will be with us until January 17. We have been blessed by another cook in the kitchen, another hand with the chores, and another witness to the people here. His presence has edified the group fellowship and given us the opportunity to see what five people living on the bus is like—so far so good!

We proceeded to San Jose on Thursday the 4^th seeking confirmation from the Lord for an extended stay.  This we received in full. The alcalde (village leader) welcomed us and we parked the bus on a small hilltop in front of the community center and across the street from the school. But the most telling circumstances were still to come. While we were parking the bus, Patrick noticed a small group of school teachers watching us. He felt we should immediately introduce ourselves to them. After walking over to the school, we talked with the principal, offering to help out in the school in any way he could use us. The principal mentioned this to the teachers and the next morning a teacher of the five and six year-olds approached us at 10:00 AM, asking if we could teach from the Bible in his class at 11:00 AM. We joyfully accepted and Jack taught some songs after which I used the felt board (a cloth backdrop with felt Bible characters we use to teach children with) to tell the story of Creation. 

The teachers expressed their interest in us teaching Bible in all the classes, so after school on Friday Patrick and I met with all of them. As a result, we are now teaching nine different classes four days a week during the school's religion periods! The door was opened wide for us and we have stepped through. Our commitment is for a month, after which we will assess how things are going and talk further with the teachers about our continuity in this work. This is a tremendous opportunity since all of the children in San Jose attend this school. This will keep us busy during the week, but in our spare time we will be trying to build relationships with the many adults and teenagers in the village. We will be praying about the possibility of holding a weekly adult Bible study as our time here unfolds.

However, today we faced our first bit of opposition as the village chairman was trying to charge us a visitor’s fee for staying in San Jose. Fortunately, he did reluctantly let this go after we convinced him that our only desire is to help the village, sharing the Word of God, and that our stay here is not for our own financial gain and neither would we be a burden to anyone (save the burden of conviction concerning sin that hopefully will come to pass in many hearts).

San Jose is much bigger than Santa Cruz with a population of roughly 800. It lies in a valley among the foothills of the Maya Mountains about two miles north of Santa Cruz. Because of the close proximity and connection by an unfinished road, we can continue to nurture the friendships we built in Santa Cruz during the two months we lived there and even possibly hold a weekly Bible study there once again. Please pray for the people of San Jose. I can't help but think about the revivals that have ignited whole villages and towns as a result of the Spirit moving among the children and in turn bringing the adults to repentance.

Sorry for the poor quality, but this is one of the few pictures that we have of our first week in San Jose and of Eddie (top left).

1/9/2001 –

On Sunday I saddled up my painted horse, Barak, and made the two-mile trek to Santa Cruz. I wanted to let any know who were interested that we were now just over the hill in San Jose, as well as pay a visit to a few friends. I talked with Rehinaldo, a friend in Santa Cruz, and found out that his young daughter had been running a high fever since Thursday. I urged him to see a doctor in PG the next day and told him that Patrick would meet him in town since he too would be going to pick up a few supplies. However, because of circumstances out of our control, Patrick wasn't able to meet him.  So yesterday I went again to Santa Cruz to explain to Rehinaldo what had happened and to check on his daughter. He was able to get medicine for her in town and the doctor said the fever should subside. But pray for her—she's only one year and seven months old and conditions in the villages are often unsanitary, making it difficult for children, especially babies, to recover from sicknesses.

If I had arrived in Santa Cruz one minute later yesterday, I would have missed Rehinaldo. He was going to his farm and almost to the trailhead where he would turn off the main road when I met him. Because of this I feel it was of the Lord that I was able to spend a little time with him, if for no other reason than just a moment of mutual encouragement. I helped him load some corn on his horse at his field and then headed back to San Jose. Rehinaldo has a kind and tender heart. He seems to desire to follow God, but the state of the churches in his village and the lack of spiritual encouragement and discipleship I know leaves him confused and stagnant when it comes to walking in victory daily.

Today was our first full day of teaching at the school. We split up into two teams: Patrick, Michael, and Eddie in one, and Jack and I in the other. Both teams teach different classes at the same time twice a day. We are starting with creation and working our way through Genesis while incorporating new songs for the children to learn. The school atmosphere gives us the students' attention as well as the medium to reach all the children in the village. This opportunity is so much more than we had expected. Please pray that we will take full advantage of the doors God has opened before us, presenting truth to so many teachable minds and soft hearts.

One of the teachers, Felipe, invited the five of us to his house for dinner this evening. We enjoyed an authentically Belizean meal of beans, corn tortillas, and a local jungle plant called in Mayan, jippy joppa, boiled and mixed with scrambled eggs. Hopefully we will have the privilege of visiting many other homes over the next month.

2/4/2001 –

As of today we have been in San Jose for one month. The majority of our time has been spent in the local school teaching the religion period of each of the nine classes twice a week. We started with Creation and are now up to the first part of Abraham's life. Besides using the felt board with the younger children, we were able to dramatize the story of Cain and Abel (with Kia, our faithful dog, playing the role of Abel's sheep). Patrick has done a monologue, acting out the role of Noah for the older classes. Probably one of the greatest resulting joys thus far has been to hear on the distant hillsides or down in the valley by the creek, little children singing a medley of all the songs we have taught.

Working in the school has given us direct inroads to building relationships with the teachers. As a result we have had four of the men over to the bus for dinner at different times. We brought to Belize with us a few taped copies of the "Unshackled" radio program, which is a thirty-minute radio drama presenting testimonies of how Jesus has changed individual's lives. We have been listening to these after dinner with the teachers and the stories seem to have provoked much thought among at least two of the men, Felipe and Francisco.

All of the teachers are Roman Catholic. Christianity seems to simply be to them a system of morality rather than a daily relationship with the living God possible only through Messiah's life imparted to us through faith. Francisco and Felipe are brothers and have blessed us on a couple of occasions by having us over for lunch or dinner. Pray for all the teachers, who we also have opportunities of outreach to by teaching in their classes.

Two weeks ago Jack and Michael received their first Mayan house building experience as they assisted in the framing and roofing of Francisco's house. As a local put it, "When you're building a thatch house you don't use any kind of level or anything, just your imagination." Michael has taken up coaching and adding a bit of organization to the local youth soccer team. We have been invited to quite a few homes for meals, and yesterday we feasted on the local game meat, gibnut (a 25-30 pound jungle rodent). 

We have slowly been making acquaintances with the men of the village. One man, Justino, is now meeting with us once a week for a Bible study; he is eager to learn and seems to express a desire for truth. There is a local church group that meets and denies in their doctrine the Biblical teaching of the unique unity of the Godhead, claiming that Jesus is both the Father and Spirit, not a separate personality as the mediator between the Father and man. The pastor for this group was kicked in the face by his mule last Wednesday, which brought him to our bus for medicine. Through this incident we have gotten to know him and this has opened the door for both discussion and a friendship with him.

Michael felt that the Lord was calling him to be baptized as a step of obedience to proclaim publicly the new life God has brought him into over the past 3 years. He decided a few months ago that he wanted this done here in Belize. So earlier this afternoon, with a crowd of about 25 people, including a few friends who made the trek from Santa Cruz, Patrick baptized him in the creek down the hill from the bus. We then all went to the school for a lunch of rice, beans, and chicken. 

We plan to be in San Jose till at least the end of February when Michael and Jack will be returning to the US.

2/27/2001 –

Our second month in San Jose has drawn to a close. Our schedule in the school remained the same and most of our time in the classes was spent teaching on Abraham and then onto the life of Joseph. The bus being parked in the same place for two months has allowed us to establish somewhat of a daily routine and given us a feeling of being able to call San Jose home.

Michael and Jack are leaving for the U.S. tomorrow. Their four and a half months of assisting us have finished. This resulted in a busy week of both of them preparing to leave and us receiving invitations to friends' farms and houses. On Thursday we went with the San Jose student body walking over the mountains to Santa Cruz for a local primary school soccer tournament. The two villages we have worked in were squaring up for competition. This gave us an opportunity to pay a visit to a few friends in Santa Cruz. Jack and I went with a man named Gregorio (Felipe's brother) to his bean farm on Friday. We went right after a long rain and sloshed through about a mile and a half of mud to get there (a distance most Mayans walk daily to go to their farms). After digging for a few potatoes and gathering a sack of beans, we returned to the bus. Jack and Michael then hiked to Santa Cruz again to feast on freshly butchered pigskin (chicherron in Spanish/Maya) and tortillas with Marcos. They then said their last good-byes in Santa Cruz and headed back to San Jose.

We all got up early on Saturday morning to accompany the local Baptist pastor, Juvencio, and four of his sons to his cacao plantation. There is a tree here in Belize related to the palm called a cahoun tree. It is the leaves of this tree that Mayans thatch their roofs with. Juvencio took us to one and showed us how to chop it so as to get to the middle, called the heart, where all the shoots begin their growth. After removing the heart from two cahoun trees, we went back to his house where his wife chopped them and served them in a broth with chicken and tortillas. It had almost a sweet taste to it and is rather indescribable unless you have eaten jippy joppa, another local plant with a similar taste. 

On Saturday night the teachers from the school had a small reception for Jack and Michael, and then on Monday morning we ate breakfast at Felipe's. Patrick and I will be in Punta Gorda for the remainder of the week. We will then return to San Jose for another week to finish up teaching Genesis in a few of the classes and closing out our time there. Two months seems to be the ideal time to spend in a village to really get to know people, discern the general spiritual atmosphere and depth, and establish the inroads to build off of in the future. Patrick and I hope to briefly visit a couple more villages in the month we have left and continue in prayer about the directions we will go in upon our return to Belize.

 4/2/2001 –

Our last month in Belize has drawn to a close as we are now back in the US beginning preparations to return once again. After Jack and Michael left Belize at the end of February, Patrick and I spent the first week of March at a pastor's compound located outside of the villages. This is the same place we had stayed for a few days upon our arrival in Belize back in October (remember the rat poison?). We spent this time reading, relaxing, and catching up on letter writing. The next week we returned to San Jose for what ended up being a week and a half stay. 

We mainly spent our time there visiting all of the friends we had made and saying our good-byes.  We had the opportunity as well to watch the three-day building process of a local thatch house. Towards the beginning of the week we met two college students from the US who were doing a short-term study in San Jose. One, Lee, was a young man whom we discovered was Jewish and Patrick was able to share Messiah with him from that standpoint. Please pray for him; he was given a lot to think about and listened patiently as Patrick shared. The Lord is full of surprises (who would of thought of Jewish outreach in a Mayan village?) reminding us to "be ready in season and out of season."

Towards the end of the week a new missionary to Belize and his young son joined us in the village for three days. We were able to take them to a few local plantations and show them around the village. He is currently seeking the Lord for where he will specifically be ministering and his time in San Jose allowed him to experience a few days of village life.   

We left San Jose the next Monday and went to Santa Cruz, the first village we worked in. We spent two nights in Santa Cruz, said our goodbyes, and headed on our way. We were encouraged to find many people in both villages anticipating our return. We then spent the remaining five days at a local missionary compound packing and cleaning the bus, taking all the necessary steps to leave it dormant while we are here in the US.  

Looking back over the past five months we feel that all was accomplished that the Lord desired for us to do on this initial trip. We established contact with two villages, laid a foundation of relationships, and began to clear the land so that the seed of His Word might have good soil in which to take root. Only the Holy Spirit working in a person can truly change a heart and we can only be effective if we operate in submission to the Spirit's guidance. For this reason our biggest need is prayer, both for the people of Belize and for us to accomplish God's will for us in Belize.

7/30/2001 –

We have been back in Birmingham now for four months. Our aim was to use this time to gather supplies for longer term living in Belize and to begin the process of talking with interested individuals that might potentially come to do an internship or short-term trip with us in Belize. A big answered prayer has been the question of how we would return to Belize—air or land? In May we purchased an '83 Ford F-250 that we are planning to drive back down and carry our supplies in. The price of travel will be about the same as airfare, but the plus side is the amount of supplies driving will allow us to carry.

The Lord has also blessed us with a trailer (homemade - half of a Chevy van) that we'll be towing behind the truck. Not only will the trailer serve as storage space, but also as sleeping quarters as we have built bunk beds into it. Finishing work on the trailer and converting the truck to run off of propane will be our biggest projects until we leave. Our hope is to leave for Belize sometime in August, depending on our financial standing in accordance with God's desire for our return time.

Click here to read the 2002 entries.