Day 5

Hello from Belize! We have completed yet another day in this beautiful place and are not wanting it to end. This morning we headed to the village again to help out at the school and work on the house project. We were greeted with smiling faces and an unreal joy that would sustain us throughout the day!

Throughout this week we have been met with some really special God stories that we wanted to share with you all. It has been so sweet to see where and how the Lord has placed each of us specifically to be apart of His work and story here.

One of the coolest stories of this trip would have to be with our friend Lila the first night after church. Lila has been suffering from kidney failure and is in need of a transplant, but with the lack of resources in the village as well as financial difficulties, this need has not been met. Tuesday morning we were woken by the incredible news that The Word at Work had a group here from Mississippi who last minute had someone drop out and a Nephrologist took her place. A Nephrologist is a kidney doctor for those of you who don’t know, which has God’s name written all over it. Lila was sent to get blood work and to meet with this doctor on Wednesday and they are starting to make a plan for what is next. God has the coolest timing and sweetest purpose here!

Another story would have to be the opportunity that Chrissie, Nicole, Katie, and I (Paige) got to go to a lady named Susanna’s house in the village yesterday. Susanna is the spirituality teacher at the school and is a missionary from the U.S.! Her and her husband came to Belize back in 2000 and Susanna has been here ever since. Susanna lost her husband 6 years ago and to hear her talk about her story and the way she has been faithful to the Lord even through a hardship like losing someone you deeply love was incredible. One of the coolest things about her story was when she recited scripture from  Hebrews which talked about retreating to old ways/ trying to live in two lives. She was strongly convicted about this in her own life having to do with how she would visit the U.S. for months at a time and enjoy the comforting, luxurious life, forgetting about her friends in El Progresso, then returning to the village and acting like it had never happened. She was convicted in that the money she was spending on plane tickets and trips to the U.S. could have been spent pouring into kids in the village and proclaiming the word of the Lord. The 4 of us couldn’t help but just sit there in awe of her faithfulness, and willingness to give up the comfortable.

I could sit here and go on and on about the million stories that have happened, I mean seriously God has met us at every square inch of this place. Each member of our team is leaving this place changed and better off after meeting and doing life with our faithful friends in El Progresso. This team has been truly incredible, God crafted it so perfectly.

We are excited for another day, and sadly the last day in the village tomorrow! We cannot believe it is already coming to an end. We will be working at the school for the last time tomorrow and finishing up the house! We then will hang out in the village for a special event the church is putting on where they are bringing in an evangelist from Houston. We are so happy for the extra time we are going to get to spend in the village tomorrow, as the goodbyes will be extra hard! Prayers for continuance of the Lord’s plan to be done, and for growth in these relationships planted this week. We are so blessed and thankful by the joy and fullness our friends here have filled us with!

In Him,

Paige and The Team