Yeah man!

We are already coming to the end of our time in the beautiful country of Belize.  The vegetation, scenery, people and food are all lush and we will be sad to leave.  Belize really is quite a contrast to Mexico and I had not expected this former British colony (celebrating 30 years independence this year) to be so Caribbean in culture and have such a laid back approach to life!

We have stayed in both the towns of Corozal and Dangriga and have been made to feel so welcome.  We felt that we were to search out God’s ‘diamonds’ and while we were in Corozal, guys on our team came across Godfrey who had decided to give up drink and drugs two days previous.  Godfrey said that he had been praying for people to help him stay sober and so was very excited to meet us.  He has been with the team for 5 days now (we asked him to join us for our journey in Belize as part of his discipleship) and has been a real blessing (our cars are very clean – Godfrey said he wanted to stay busy!) as well as very helpful in terms of understanding  the local culture.

We are currently in the process of trying to link Godfrey up with locals who can continue to walk the journey with him when the team leaves Belize (please pray about this).  Those of us with professional backgrounds in nursing and social work have been able to put our skills to the test in helping to care for Godfrey (mine involved lots of questions and observations!)  It was therefore a massive privilege yesterday when Godfrey asked to be baptised in the sea as a sign that he was leaving his old life behind and now wants to follow Jesus clean and sober.  Kevin and Lisa, a couple travelling through Belize and staying in the same place as us also came to watch as they had never seen a baptism before and were curious.  The presence of so many ‘gringos’ in one place certainly draws attention!

We’ve also visited a local community hospital and the housebound elderly to pray and offer some friendly company.  It sure made me very grateful for the NHS and social care!  We’ve also run an event in the park in Dangriga with the Mayor’s permission.

Our work in Belize has certainly been more ‘laid back’ than in Mexico as we have not had any definite contacts.  This has certainly been a challenge for me at times as I like to be busy but I’m learning a lot about myself, God and others in the process…which I guess is all part of the experience.  Maybe you won’t recognise me when I return!  Next stop: Guatemala!

Miss you and God bless you Lizx