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1/14/2005 – First the horse and buggy, then the hand crank washing machine. Before you know it, you’re living an 1800’s lifestyle with no electricity or running water. It starts with those few visits to the local Mennonite community. Their way of life is so appealing that one struggles to once again turn on a laptop and type such a convenient email update. So went our four day vacation during the school break to Pine Hill, a low-German speaking, old-fashioned Mennonite settlement. Yes, it’s where we originally got the buggy over a year ago. The “washing machine” we brought back with us this time, however, is making life easier. Before, washing was done with the scrub board, a bar of soap, and a bucket. Now it’s done with a device that only requires working the crank (and then hanging the clothes, of course). We joked with the man who made it that our visits to his community are actually making us more modern. And as for electricity and water, we don’t have that in San Jose anyhow. But there is talk of the village water system getting repaired after a year and a half dry spell. Our trip to Pine Hill offered us a much needed change of pace that we took advantage of during the students’ two week break. It’s an 8 hour trip by buggy (27 miles). Two days were spent mainly in travel, taking in the scenes along the roads through the Maya Mountains down into the rolling hills and scattered flatlands that become more common closer to the sea. We’ve been aware since first arriving in Belize four years ago that the country has a large Mennonite population. Those from Pine Hill are easy to identify when we see them in town – straw hats and suspenders. Our first real inroad to the community was through getting an individual there to build the buggy for us. This has led to more trips over the year to get the horses reshod. Mennonites have a rich history of faith, emerging from a movement during the Protestant Reformation that was neither Protestant nor Catholic. The movement simply sought to pattern their lives as closely to Scripture as possible. Modern day Baptists trace their roots to this same belief as a foundational principle. Today there are many different sects of Mennonites, with Pine Hill being on the extreme side of anti-modernism. As a result, the community lives a very isolated life. The attempts of people to escape the corruption of the world by fleeing their surroundings are played out in many different ways all around us. But as in Pine Hill’s case, building a self-sustaining community is the most obvious. The truth is Believers are called to be in the world but not of it. It’s not our physical location that matters, but whether or not the Holy Spirit resides within. He is the barrier between light and darkness. A Believer’s light can shine in the darkest of places. Not surprisingly, we have found many of the people at Pine Hill to have bought into a system of religious guidelines for salvation: don’t live a modern life, try your best, work hard, and God will accept your efforts. This is not the Gospel of salvation. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. All are in need of God’s gift of forgiveness offered through His Son. Only faith, to the disdain of one’s own best efforts, is acceptable to God. We see the community as another area of outreach. Already we have made a number of friends there. Some people, I’m sure, are suspicious of our intentions, but most that we have met are open to our visits. We aren’t seeking to change the way they live, in many ways it is appealing. Up until the 20th century, everyone lived that way. We do, however, long for people there to take hold of the Gospel and its transforming power, and then be willing to do their part in spreading it. Please pray for the 22 or so families that live in Pine Hill. We on average are able to visit every two months. Getting around to San Jose, the students have entered their third eight-week grading period. Half of our first year teaching high school has moved by very quickly. The school continues to prove to be one of the most effective ways to reach youth here. It is a privilege to have four full days a week with six young men. They give us their attention and we have a daily responsibility to offer them truth and equip them for life ahead. Continue to pray for us to make the most of the time we have with students. Some of you have wondered about our Sunday Bible School with the children. It is still a weekly occurrence. We started in Genesis during the summer and are now up to 2 Samuel in our second time through the Bible. Our average number is around 70 a week. The Friday night youth Bible study has been moved to Sunday evenings. It has grown to include a few adults who are consistent attendees. We pray that you all are enjoying a refreshing New Year. Thank you for your prayers and for those of you who let us know how we can be in prayer for you. Keep in touch! We love snail-mail and email.
5/04/2005 – Greetings from San Jose! Yes, we are still here. A longer time than we like has slipped by since our last email update. The school year is winding down as we enter our last grading period next week. San Jose has been in a dry spell for the past two months. This is a common yearly occurrence that will last until June when the rains return. So as the creeks get drier, villagers are making long treks to find available bathing spots. After almost two years of a defunct water system, word around town says the rig is returning to dig a new well. We’ll see. Until then, it’s buggy trips to the hand pump. This has become so habitual that water from a spicket would throw our schedule for a loop. But we wouldn’t complain. Dry season brings the scorpions out en masse. As fast as we kill them, Bauchi (Bow-chee) the cat gobbles them up. It’s a good system. The weather does affect the availability of grass for the horses. They tend to eat it faster than it grows back. So we have been getting a couple of student volunteers after school and making weekly trips outside of the village to cut grass. After piling it into the buggy, we dump it in the backyard—a haystack that lasts five or six days. One of the first horses we bought in Belize almost five years ago, Barak, recently became a mother. Who knows how many foals she had before we owned her, as she is an older horse. Barak tends to keep a plump belly, so for the longest time we went back and forth on the validity of her pregnancy. Our Mennonite friends in Pine Hill felt she was expecting, however. Sure enough, one early morning in March (2 AM) a friend came running up our hill to bring the news. Barak was tied in his yard that night. The colt had stood up, walked around a bit, and then stumbled into a nearby creek. Our friend and his brother pulled him out. This wasn’t an easy feat since the newborn weighed at least 50 pounds. The baby was fine, just wet and confused. Today he is energy-filled and still a bit skittish. His favorite pastime is to chase our dog Kano around the yard. Kano, an Australian Cattle-dog, feels like he is doing his job when the chase turns and he gets to practice his inbred herding instincts. The brakes on the buggy had been giving us problems since the beginning of the year. Because of all the hills around San Jose, brakes are crucial. After numerous trips to different mechanics, Patrick finally had to take the buggy all the way into Punta Gorda, a 30-mile trip. This has been a journey we’ve wanted to make. The brake situation gave us a reason to do so. In the future it could prove feasible to make an overnight trip into town with the buggy to give us extra time there, or for ministry purposes. We now know it is a trip that can be done in about seven hours. This includes a two hour rest stop for the horses. Since we have about a month of dry weather left, there are a number of villages we want to visit in the buggy that will entail at least one 4 to 5 day trip. The purpose of this trip will be to make outreach contacts through showing Bible movies and distributing correspondence literature. Please pray during May for the success of this potential trip or trips. Many of you have followed our ministry here since our arrival. You know of how we ran into opposition when building our house in 2002 from some who didn’t desire us in the village. Up until now we still receive swells of this sentiment. Last year it had to do with starting the school. Usually we get wind of what’s being said and do nothing more than commit the matter to the Lord. In time it passes. One of the saddening aspects of opposition when it comes is sometimes who it comes from—people with which we felt a good relationship existed. Occasionally, the accusations are ridiculous. We’ve been called immoral, child kidnappers, thieves, land grabbers, and even fleeing murderers hiding out in San Jose. None of this is surprising in light of John 3:19: “…Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light.” It is a fact of sharing the Gospel, no matter where one may be, that opposing forces will arise. Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. He is ultimately behind any attack. We share this now because of a recent problem that a neighbor brought to the village leaders. It was then relayed at a village meeting. The issue in and of itself was small and should have simply been a matter of the neighbor coming to us. However, brought up at a village meeting, the matter seems to have gotten blown out of proportion and given people ammunition who are already looking for something to fire at us. Please pray that any problems we have been perceived to cause will be resolved, and that we will have wisdom and gentleness on our part in responding. More importantly, pray that those here who are fleeing from the Light will realize the darkness they are living in. We mailed out a newsletter in February. This is something we try to do quarterly. If you aren’t on our mailing list and would like to be, drop us an email with your address. We hope this finds each of you full of the joy of the Lord. Don’t hesitate to let us know how we can be in prayer for you.
6/05/2005 – June is here, but not the familiar June rains. The farmers in the village are hoping for a shower soon since the recently planted corn is just beginning to sprout. It is enough to have to battle the birds that also must eat. They find the hillside corn fields easy targets. But the unrelenting sun adds a dynamic wholly out of man’s control. We just finished Children’s Bible School and the lesson was on Jesus' parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23). The sun withered the sprouting seed sown on rocky soil. It had no root. When difficult times and persecution arise because of the Word, Jesus explains, the man who receives God’s Word with joy but has no root will not stand. Colossians 2:6-7 gives deeper insight. God roots believers in Messiah. Then we are responsible to daily “walk” in faith on that basis. Without the root, the walk is impossible. Troubles and persecution are the test as to if that root exists. Trials are God’s way to spiritual maturity (James 1:2-3). We addressed in an update a few weeks back some minor hurdles we encountered from local accusations. We were visited by the village leaders eventually and the matter seems to have been resolved. Thank you for your prayers. We don’t enjoy sharing more negative news, however, we do feel obligated to share with you the reality of what we experience at times—both the desirable and undesirable. It doesn’t matter if you are on the mission field as we are, or serving the Lord in whatever setting he has placed you in. We all face trials we would rather not. As friends who pray for us, support us and are interested in our ministry, we owe it to you to honestly convey our life as we live it. It is the well-placed minor tones that accentuate the majors, and surely we have a God who makes no mistakes in what He allows to cross our paths. Since the first months of school, we have had incidences of stealing: small bags of coffee here, granola bars there; candles, batteries—anything that could easily be concealed. We never caught anyone, but tried to stress to the students how unfair it is for us to offer them a free education and then be taken advantage of. And to the best of our knowledge not everyone was involved either. Recently we had an item stolen that was a step up in value. The story unfolded as we began questioning students individually. Three students had worked together in taking the item, and partaking of it (it was edible). In the process of questioning them, the students weaved a web of lies to cover their tracks and we discovered widespread cheating that had also been taking place. When the long afternoon of “interrogation” was over, every student had been caught in at least one: lying, cheating, or stealing. We were at a loss as to what to do. We decided upon a school-wide parent’s conference in which all the students would confess their offenses. We could think of no other way to get the student’s attention. Then each received detention hours depending on the extent of their involvement. We went into the parent’s conference with no idea of what to expect. Culturally, we didn’t know how the parents would respond to us having their children stand publicly and confess. We didn’t know if they might even pull their children out of school, or the students themselves throw the towel in. We prayerfully held the meeting two weeks ago. The Lord seems to want us to continue what we’ve started, since many of the parents expressed their appreciation for what we did after the meeting. No students quit, but there hung in the air a somber attitude at school the week after. We don’t know at this point if everyone will choose to return next school year. Please join us in prayer that none of the student’s will allow themselves to grow bitter over the situation. We also have approached three new boys about attending next year and would ask you to pray that each will be able to. What was most discouraging to us about the matter was that we have now spent almost a whole school year teaching these guys, attempting to earn their respect, and presenting Biblical truth. We were blindsided in the sense that none took a solid stand against sin—deciding for right and rejecting the wrong. So I hearken back to Jesus' parable. Sometimes God’s Word falls on hardened hearts and it is snatched away before even settling into the ground. At other times the young shoot appears promising, but underneath has no root. This crucial root is only available when a person receives the Word and the new life that comes with it. Surely God’s Word does not return void and we know our time has not been wasted, yet the hearer must “have ears to hear”. We can give an education. We can give friendship. We can give our time. But we can’t give salvation. All we can do is offer it to be received or rejected. Our earnest desire is that all of our students will prove to have fertile hearts, producing fruit thirty, sixty, and one hundredfold because of the life that flows from the root that is Jesus. But lectures, detention, pleading, or any other human method can’t transform a heart. Only God can do that for those who are willing to be transformed. It is times like this that we are acutely reminded that nothing can substitute the new birth. Whether it is having adult Bible studies, Children’s Bible School, or a Christian high school, our responsibility lies in “proclaiming the whole counsel of God”. The responsibility of the hearers is to decide how they will respond. The gift of salvation itself is from God. We have two weeks of school left and then a two month break. We’re looking forward to resting and utilizing the horses and buggy as we will have more free time. We also have Vacation Bible School team from Birmingham coming down in August for a week. We pray this update finds each of you full of the peace of the Lord in whatever trials you might currently find yourselves. Knowing how some of our Christian brothers and sisters in other parts of the world are suffering daily, intense persecution, and even imprisonment for their faith, our own bumps in the road pale in comparison. Nevertheless, God has placed us each in our own sphere of circumstances and seeks to glorify Himself through how we choose to react to what’s before us. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials…” (James 1:2). Thank you for those of you who sent us your mailing addresses. We will add you to our newsletter list.
6/25/2005 – We finished up our first year of school last Thursday. In reflection, it seems a blur of lesson preparations and focused, consistent effort. Perhaps we grew more, and learned more, than the students. During our first three years in San Jose we had the opportunity to involve ourselves with different areas of ministry and the time to explore where and in whom it seemed God was at work. The Lord used these experiences to shape our vision for the need of a Christian high school in San Jose. We went from a much wider sphere of outreach to a daily ministry to five. Of course children’s Bible school still continues and the buggy travel ministry is developing, but for the most part God narrowed our outreach. In many ways the school is ideal. When we originally came to Belize we sensed very strongly the need for discipleship among the Maya villages. An unbalanced emphasis on evangelism lacking follow up, and easy commitment “Christianity” over the previous two decades left the area with skeletons of church buildings void of life. We felt, and still feel that we were called to Belize during this season of our lives for individuals rather than the masses. The school undertaking has confirmed this. We are occasionally asked by people who are not too familiar with our ministry how many “converts” we’ve made in Belize. How blessed is the man who can boast in the Lord that he has been highly effective in reaching many with the Gospel. Yet, sometimes faithful labor produces a small yield. It is all dependent upon the Lord and the ministry he has called each of us to. It has been well said that every Believer will give an account at the final judgment for what he did with what he had. We are each responsible for the people around us, according to our ability. This is the message of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14 - 30). He who received more was no better than he who received less. The king gave them responsibilities according to their ability. The king expected them to labor with what they had. The wicked servant was condemned not because of only receiving one talent, but because he did nothing with it. We find ourselves remembering this principle often. Of course we desire to be a part of a spiritual awakening that would sweep this district. Every Believer has a burning passion for the expansion of God’s Kingdom. But somebody must go to seek the few lost sheep. God values the individual while we as Christians so often evaluate our spiritual worth by the tangible results. How many came to Bible study? How many checked the “sinner’s prayer” box? How emotionally appealing was our program? Jesus ministered to the crowds and at times directly spelled out the motives behind their response: “You seek Me… because you ate of the loaves and where filled” (John 6:26). It took the master disciple-maker three years to shape 12 men who still didn’t understand until after the fact why He went to the cross. “Discipleship” has become an oft-used word in evangelical circles today. The concept is easy—spend time with people. However, the process is not easy or effortless. How does all this relate to our first year of school? It is the justification—the driving force—that caused us to redirect our ministry primarily to five guys. We pray all of them embrace truth and fight earnestly for it. But, we will be at peace if the school never opens again (though hope that it does and are planning for it to), knowing that we used these past 10 months with the students to the best of our ability. That doesn’t mean we didn’t make mistakes, or always offer an exemplarily demonstration of the fruits of the Spirit, or not that we don’t see many areas that need improvement. We do, though, thank God for His grace and strength that sustained us through unchartered territory and for your prayers to this end. The close of school meant the beginning of cleaning. During the school year it was a matter of cleaning a little here and a little there, making a pile out of the way until we had time to really straighten up. These minor incidences turned into major projects over time. The classroom stayed neat, but the kitchen and loft in the thatch house finally demanded our attention. So this week has been Spring cleaning, except we don’t have the season called “Spring” here and it’s rained for the past three days. We have been busy, but a change of the busyness was welcome. Yesterday saw a visit from a missionary family who live 12 miles away. Twelve miles in the bush means they live an hour away. This is the family who allows us to park the buggy at their house when we travel to town and also helps us out by keeping a couple of our horses in their pasture at times. Their fellowship is always refreshing. We killed a chicken, had a large, varied lunch, and played a board game to pass the drizzly afternoon. The newest member of our livestock is a 50 pound female sheep. We aren’t getting too attached as she is destined for the grill at some point, but we do hope to have a baby or two to continue her line. Included are a few pictures of the sheep and the colt who is now four months. Don’t worry, we aren’t planning on eating the latter. You will also see some pics of grass we gathered in the buggy to feed the horses and the new five-star chicken coop. If you send us mail, you’ll see the postmaster who handles it (hint, hint). We pray you all have a restful weekend and a week that produces eternal results.
7/20/2005 – I (Jeff) made it back to San Jose in true Belizean style. It is evident that we are in the midst of the rainy season. I made my flights from Birmingham to Belize International with no problems, but Hurricane Emily’s approach had redirected many local flights south. So I waited in Belize City until the last evening flight to Punta Gorda, arriving around 6 PM. I was expecting to meet Patrick as I stepped off the puddle jumper, but instead received a slightly ambiguous message about “flooding”, and that Patrick couldn’t make it. No problem—I stayed the night in town. The next morning I made my way by bus and pickup halfway to the village, stopping at a missionary family’s house (the same family who keeps some of our horses). I figured Patrick would eventually show up one way or the other and late in the afternoon he did. All of the recent rains had caused the many creeks and rivers around San Jose to flood, making it impossible to leave by buggy, truck, or bus. Patrick was trapped until Sunday afternoon when one of the village buses had gone the back way out, repairing a washed out bridge to do so. This was the bus we took back to the village in the evening. On our way home, maybe just because the trip wouldn’t be complete without it, all the men got off the bus and threw some more rocks on what used to be the previously mentioned bridge. It only took me about 36 hours to get from Birmingham to San Jose. It was a nice reminder that jungle time is its own and doesn’t care if I’m in a hurry. Despite all of the rain we have had, Hurricane Emily ended up hitting much further north on the Yucatan. The Lord allowed me to accomplish many things during my short three week visit. It was truly a blessing to visit with many of you and to be encouraged by how God is at work in your lives. We are now in the process of gearing up for a VBS team that will be arriving from Birmingham on July 29. We do ask for you prayers for this time, that the Lord will prepare those coming and that the people of San Jose will be prepared to be ministered to. Between running the Dayspring “Ranch”, Patrick was kept quite busy during my absence with frequent visitors. School is out and the missionaries’ house is the place to be. They have Legos, storybooks, and a porch swing. Patrick also started Mailbox Club back up. This is a Bible correspondence course with lessons for all ages. We’ve done it in the past and had much interest. Now, without officially announcing it, we already have 64 enrolled in just three weeks. When the children finish, they make their way to our house and drop their lesson into the mail slot by the door. Then they’re back the next day with, “Have you graded my Mailbox Club?,” eager for the next one. We hope this finds you in the peace of the Lord.
7/29/2005 – We wanted to drop a quick line to request prayer for the upcoming week. We have a 16 member team arriving today from Birmingham. They will be in San Jose until next Friday. As we’ve done for the last two years, the team will assist us with a Vacation Bible School. The theme this year is “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7). Pray for the team as they adjust to the village and for us all as we work together in ministering to the children through puppet shows, skits, crafts, and games. Also, the women coming down on the team will hold Bible Study each afternoon during the week for the women of the village. This is our mission’s yearly opportunity to minister exclusively to the women and allow for the team members to spend one-on-one time with them. Last year we had a miraculous dry spell for the week of VBS. Please pray this year we will also experience a respite in the midst of a very wet season. The mud produced by 100+ pairs of little feet is a force to be reckoned with. Thank you!
8/20/2005 – Reflections on the VBS Team It has been two weeks since the 16 member team from Birmingham departed Belize. Sorry for the delay in writing about the time they shared with us. Our days have been quite busy since they left. With the team’s assistance, we pulled off what would have been very difficult without them—our third annual summer VBS for the children of San Jose. This year we broke our previously held record by having 240 children attending by the end of the week. It is always a joy to see the group of people God “throws” together and how everyone finds their role on the team and adds richness and strength to our ministry in San Jose. This year we had a family unit (husband, wife and three children), two moms, three grad students, five college students, and a graphic designer. Our jam-packed days ended with everyone sitting around in a circle after supper attempting to hammer out the puppet shows and skits for the next day. This usually entailed not a small amount of ad libbing and laughter as the puppets often couldn’t control their comments and everyone got a chance to hone their acting skills. In all seriousness, the two of us were blessed to have the lives of others directly woven into our work for a week. Teams bring freshness to the ministry and physical encouragement to us. It was exciting to see two people return for their third time, and two others for their second. We know that each person who came did so with much prayer behind them. This was evident in the fact that we had no major sicknesses, no unforeseen hurdles to surmount, and no episodes of personal conflicts. There are also several noteworthy answers to specific prayers to relate. The team brought down 39 Bibles to give to the women of the village who attended the afternoon women’s Bible study. These were to be given out on the last day of four. The study grew in numbers each day. By the last day over 40 women were present. The decision was made to give only one Bible to mother/daughter units. Then one lady turned her Bible down because she already had one. It ended up that exactly 39 Bibles were needed to cover everyone. Who knew? Of course the only One who could. July had been the rainiest one in five years. By the fourth week, we already had over 30 inches. As stated in our pre-team update, the holding off of further rain was a pertinent prayer request. Thank you for praying. Except for a few minor nighttime showers, the sky was shut up for the week. It wasn’t until we were eating lunch after our last VBS session that the weather broke and we had a real San Jose downpour. This rain carried on through the night. We had made it through the week, but now the team had to make it out of the village the next morning. An all night rain like the one we had usually means a few flooded bridges. Sure enough, as the bus headed out at 6 AM on Saturday, the first three bridges were covered, though not enough to hinder our journey. However, the fourth bridge was the concern as it becomes impassable after hard rains. Miraculously, it was dry! The team couldn’t know how truly amazing this was. But the look that passed between us and the bus drivers conveyed the wonderment of answered prayer. As a follow up for the week, please pray that the seeds sown in the hearts of the children will sprout and bear in the Lord’s time; and that we will have wisdom in watering them. Also, keep in prayer the women of San Jose. They eagerly attend Bible study whenever it’s available to them exclusively, much more so than we’ve ever witnessed the men here do. Unfortunately, it is only when we have women come down on teams that these times just for them occur. Pray that the 39 Bibles will be hungrily read and that spiritual transformation within the women and children will impact the apathy of the men. Our “Vacation” to the Mennonite Community Since school for us starts back in two weeks, we loaded up the buggy and headed off to visit our friends in Pine Hill. Usually our trips there are just overnight ones to get the horses shoed, but this time we were able to spend two nights in the land where wagons fill the road and wind mills pump the water. The husband and wife Peace Corps volunteers who also live in San Jose were able to join us on our journey. It was a blessing to have them along, as they have become good friends of ours over the past year. It rained alot, and then it rained some more. This, along with the fact that watermelon season is winding down (a major source of income for the community), meant that all nine of the children were home most of the day at the household where we usually stay. So we spent a restful time with the whole family, as well as visiting with other friends. Though we do have good relationships with some, many in Pine Hill still look upon us with a leery eye. This is no surprise since the community is ultra-reclusive and skeptical of any outsiders. As we’ve shared before, though our trips there are nice breaks for us, we ultimately see the outreach potential that exists as our greatest reason for visiting often. Over the past two years the Lord has given us a rare opportunity to develop relationships with a number of individuals. Had we not gotten a buggy from the community, this probably would not have happened. Our frequent trips have given us deeper insight into the spiritual needs. It is easy to set up a religious ideal—no electricity, identical dress, no cars, physical separation from the “world”—and completely miss that at its heart, Christianity is about the flow of spiritual life in Messiah and not simply method. The other extreme to this, however, emphasizes a standard-less religion where feeling is mistaken for the Holy Spirit’s leading. But Jesus maintained a perfect balance as He trod through the world. He didn’t negate standards and absolutes, but He was always quick to point out the empty shell of method that lacked heart or life. It is not the way of life in Pine Hill that needs changing. Perhaps in many ways they have maintained a simplicity that is hard to hold on to in a 21st century world. But sin and the pursuit of fleshly interests are present in any setting and must be dealt with through the cross. We think a community like Pine Hill could be a powerful witness if they not only lived simply and close to the land as they do (and as many people in the depths of their heart desire to get back to), but also had an evangelistic zeal because the Gospel had made new their hearts. We will be in touch concerning the upcoming school year. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts on our behalf.
9/09/2005 – Our first week of school is over. We went into this year wondering how exactly teaching two grades at one time would work out in reality. But making it through our first year led us to feel like we were ready to give it a go. Thankfully the week went well as we either taught classes simultaneously or divided the room up and each took a grade. The students handled it surprisingly well, as we weren’t sure how distracted they would get in the process. The fresh start was exciting for us and we are looking forward to trying to make this year interesting for the students after having had last year to get an idea how they process what we’re teaching and to explore various ways to present information. We would like to ask that you join us in prayer for each of our students. It is our desire to create an atmosphere where they receive both Biblical truth and an education with a Scriptural foundation, but prayer is imperative for head knowledge to become spiritually concrete in the heart. Perhaps you could add one student a day to your prayer list and cycle through them all in a week. Or, you could pray for all of them one day a week. We do covet your prayers in whatever form they might take, and ask that you would also lift us up as teachers, as we daily need the wisdom and discernment to know best how to connect to the guys. We occasionally are asked how one can be involved with the school. There are a few different ways that we can elaborate on specifically if you drop us an email. Our prayers are with all of you who have been either directly or indirectly affected by Katrina. It has been difficult to get timely news on the situation over the past week and a half, but it sounds like a tremendous disaster, but a situation in which we nevertheless pray, God will receive glory through. Thank you and we will be in touch.
9/27/2005 – Following right on the heels of our first month of school, we are designating next week as “Science Week”. We will be blessed to have a physics professor from Samford University in Birmingham join us for the week. Perry Tompkins is graciously giving of his time to come to San Jose and offer our eight students a week full of science lessons, experiments and new experiences. In the process we as teachers are looking forward to learning a few things as well. For one of the days we are also planning to take our first field trip of the year to Lubantuun, a large local Maya ruin, for a day of classes where we hope to incorporate a hands-on history lesson. Please pray for Perry’s safe travels and easy acclamation to the village. We also would ask that you pray that the students will comprehend what will be presented to them as Perry attempts to teach in a culturally-relevant and applicable manner. We constantly find ourselves rewording our ideas so as to connect with the mindset and thought processes we have discovered the students to hold. It is a challenge indeed. All five of the students who finished last school year returned. The first day we took them aside and stressed our expectations that they would “step up” and fulfill the role of “responsible 10th graders” who have a year under their belt. In light of some of the discipline problems we encountered last year, it has been a question as to what a two and a half month break would do to mature these incoming sophomores. So far they have proved themselves capable of wearing the new cap. It seems that the natural tendency for the elders to take the lead has caused the five to stay on task in class, do their homework, and look with shaking heads upon those new ones who are so slow when it comes to changing classes (of course forgetting where they themselves were even at the end of school last year). For us, to see these small changes that have taken place in them has been encouraging. In writing this, however, the three 9th graders are doing well themselves. Just having three of them makes it easy for us to occasionally have small group sessions instead of the typical classroom routine, and they have each demonstrated willing attitudes. Last year, being our first, was experimental in so many ways: teaching high school for the first time, teaching this culture in an academic setting (as opposed to primarily Bible study settings in the past), and, redirecting our ministry to focus in large upon a small group of young men. But the training it gave us as teachers, along with now handling two grades, has already given this year a different feel—a feel which has appeared to motivate the students. One specific prayer request concerns a new student, Lawrence. His father visited us drunk last night for an unscheduled “parent-teacher conference”. Or, he decided to take it upon himself to come talk with us and vent his frustrations while inebriated. In general we politely ask drunk people that want to talk with us to come back when they’re sober. But because of this matter concerning his son and our student, we listened for a few moments. Without going into details, his father threatened to remove Lawrence from school for reasons that weren’t entirely clear. Knowing that we would make no headway under the circumstances, we bid him farewell and ask him to come back another time, which he refused to agree to do. We could do nothing but go to prayer about the situation. As an answer to these prayers, Lawrence did return to school this morning and we were able to talk with him and let him know we were in support of him continuing in school. The reality is that many children here find themselves in similar situations, where the father is often spending the family’s money at the local bar. Couple this with the opinion of some of these same fathers that education isn’t worth any extra effort or money they may have to contribute towards it, and you have a situation where many boys and girls leave high school after only a year or two. We aren’t sure if we’ll hear any more about this particular episode, but nevertheless, Lawrence will certainly have to deal with his father for the remainder of the school year. Please pray that Lawrence will find refuge in Jesus during difficult times and that we will have wisdom in further dealing with what ever might come up. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful …” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4
10/11/2005 – The week of non-stop science has come to an end. Perry Tompkins, the visiting professor from Samford University who was responsible for all we accomplished, flew back to Birmingham on Sunday. “Dr. Perry”, as the students called him, took us through a whirlwind course in basic physics. He introduced himself as a person who gets to play for a living. I’m not sure if I would consider college-level physics playtime, but our students sure seemed fooled into learning. The first day they learned about measuring time, running outside every top of the hour to trace the new shadow on their make-shift sundials. Tuesday was Archimedes’ Principle (“sinking and floating” in common language). The guys got competitive shaping clay boats to see whose could hold the most marbles without sinking. Electrical circuits were introduced on Wednesday, a very practical subject in a village where many families wire up radios and light bulbs to car batteries. On Thursday we took a break from the classroom and headed to Lubaantum, a local Maya ruin. This sight is believed to have been more of a market place than a worship center during the Classic Period of the Maya Empire (800-900 BC). It gave us the opportunity to teach history and spiritual truths. As we impressed upon the students, there is no doubt their ancestors made great strides in many facets of society when Europe was still stumbling through the Dark Ages. Yet as they listened to us on the ancient steps of an old ball court, remains of temples loomed in the background reminding us all of the strong place religion held in everyday life, evident even in this center for trade and recreation. Unfortunately, fervent devotion can be terribly misdirected. An altar at Lubaantum was excavated and found to be full of animal bones and shells, sacrifices to one or more of the many deities worshiped at the site. History shows that human sacrifices also took place across the Empire. No matter how grand a people becomes, they can remain captive to the fear and darkness woven into the very fabric of a culture permeated with gods who are never appeased and have no power to wash away sin. No one knows why the Maya Empire fell, never to rise again to its former glory. We may never have an answer for this. Yet as we told the students, the very ruins are a reminder to us who possess the knowledge of the light found in the Gospel to carry its message far and wide. Many to this day still live in that same thick darkness. The sun never came out bright enough for the students to get a good shadow to use their physics from the week to measure the heights of the pyramids. But, besides the history lesson, they did get a little biology during our trek, and practiced art techniques by sketching different sites around the ruins. On Dr. Perry’s last school day in San Jose he stepped up the electricity study by introducing parallel circuits. The students were then able to offer hands-on assistance by installing a LED lighting system and solar panel in the loft of the thatch house. Besides teaching almost 7 hours a day, Perry pumped water in the afternoon and helped to move horses in the morning and evening. We were tremendously blessed to have him join us. His passion for glorifying God through teaching physics (after all, physics, simply put, is the study of how God’s creation works) inspired the students in a way we could not. After a week like that, we’re struggling to keep the students interested in “regular” classes! Thank you for your prayers during the week. Also, for those of you who’ve been praying for Lawrence, he is still attending school. Pray for his continued perseverance in spite of future obstacles he may face.
10/20/2005 – Just wanted to drop a quick line and send an attachment with pictures from “Science Week”. We also want to direct your attention to a website that Dr. Tompkins put together with more pictures, info and his perspective of his time in San Jose. http://physics.samford.edu/tompkins/belize.htm It’s hard to believe that on Monday we’ll be entering the last week of our first 8-week grading period. On one hand it seems we as teachers have come quite a ways since those first few days last year when we were probably more nervous than the students. God’s grace has proven sufficient time and time again (2 Cor. 9:8). We learned a lot and hopefully didn’t make too many mistakes in the process. On the other hand, I have to remind myself how far the students have come. And, how we’ve been able to tweak for the new guys things we could have done better with last year. Please pray for us all as we wrap up this first grading period, especially that God’s Word will work powerfully and effectively in the students’ lives. In Him,
11/24/2005 – Well, you’ve heard “If the creek don’t rise…” When we came to the center of San Antonio Village this morning we found that the government road workers had just taken up the top of the bridge. The foreman said that they would have it back on in forty-minutes—Belize time translation: “sometime today.” All we could really do was to wait. The turkey stuck his head out of the bag and gave a sigh of relief. Jeff took the free time to put a few new nails in a horse shoe that was loose, and I walked up to inspect the bridge works. The Belizeans of course do not celebrate Thanksgiving, so we had planned on spending the day with some missionary friends who live about half-way to Punta Gorda from San Jose. We park our buggy and horses at their house on our weekly trips into town. After a two hour wait the bridge was repaired and we were back on the road. The turkey got scared watching the road whip by as the horses took great strides to make up for the lost time. He pulled his head back into the bag, maybe wishing that it would all go away. We made it in time for lunch, but who would want a live turkey to sit on the table? So began our first round of eating for today, going the route of eating the deserts first: fruit salad, pumpkin pie, cookies, and ice-cream. Then after a brief intermission the turkey’s big moment came. He is right now in the oven. Note—the cook time for him won’t be as long since he is already thawed out. Which speaking of being thawed out, we have been having some great weather here this past week with the lows getting down to the upper-mid fifties. We pray that you have a great Thanksgiving weekend!
12/20/2005 – Our much anticipated December break is upon us, as we’re sure it is for all of you as well. Granted, we did spend our first three school-free days cleaning the inside of the bus, which was no small chore and still not completely finished. Belizean dust and mold creeps into the most out of the reach places, especially in an old school bus where every available crevice is utilized. But despite being busy, the busyness has been of a different sort and that in of itself is a welcome change. In this regard, it’s a time of year in which I’m sure many of you can relate. The big news for us (those of you who have joined us in San Jose will feel the excitement) is that after two years of buggy trips to the hand pump, the village water system is once again functioning! We’re still walking around in a sort of stupor, letting the water run when we shower, using the hose pipe, and sometimes simply turning on the main faucet just to make sure it isn’t all a dream. In all seriousness, it’s been an immense blessing, allowing us to have more “down” time after school. The horses haven’t minded the respite either. We optimistically look forward to many days (months, years?!) of running water. We realistically are just thankful for each day the system operates. Our last couple weeks of school we brought the 9th and 10th graders together for science and began an in depth study of the human body. The guys paired off and pieced together nearly life-sized paper skeletons on poster board and began the process of learning the bones. In Dayspring Mission Academy Gross Anatomy 101 we’re working backwards. Instead of taking the cadaver apart, the students will layer by layer piece it together. We’re also going to try and integrate a little practical first aid training along the way. At least then when someone gashes themselves with a machete, the students can identify the exposed muscle before they tape it up. Something we would ask your prayers for as school starts back up January 2 is our weekly chapel service with the students. We began this year having an hour long Tuesday service from 10:30-11:30 am. Besides our daily devotional time and Bible classes, we wanted to also offer the guys a much less school-oriented structure while spending meaningful time with them spiritually. Usually we sing a few songs of worship and then deliver a message from Scripture. Because of not knowing exactly where each of the students are at in their personal understanding of salvation, the messages up to this point have all focused upon simple presentations of the Gospel. Patrick has shared a number of stories from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs to emphasize the high cost of following Jesus, namely, a life wholly consecrated to His will. We live in a time period and hemisphere where it is quite easy to be a Christian. But it is many times the testing of our faith that proves whether or not our faith is real. San Jose has been lulled into lethargy as concerns the things of God. Somewhere along the line of evangelical presentations, Jesus has been demoted to a name to trivially profess instead of the Lord of the universe who demands we offer ourselves living sacrifices as He Himself sacrificed His life for us. Anything less on our part is a failure to acknowledge His salvation. All this to say, please pray that the eyes of our students’ hearts may be opened to God’s call upon their lives through our chapel services together. Attached are a few pictures. One is of the latest new arrival we were privileged to be asked to name. “Caleb Levi” follows in behind others we’ve given names to over the years: Hannah, Abigail, Zechariah, Josiah Obadiah, and Asa James. There is also a picture of Wheeler, Wycliffe, and the colt, Hus, in a newly fenced in pasture. The missionaries who graciously allow us to leave the horses at their house when we go into town in the buggy have now completed three pastures on their property. This helps us out, as well as some of their neighbors who keep horses at their place. It is also a very efficient way for them to keep their grass trimmed. Do know that you all are in our thoughts and prayers. Please let us know if there are ways we can be specifically be praying for you. Talk to you soon! In His service, Patrick & Jeff |
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