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

Mexico: Last Stop

    Greetings from Mexico!

Our last official stop in Mexico was in and around Oaxaca in the south of Mexico.  We split into two teams and my team spent time in two Maixteco villages in the mountains encouraging two small local churches.  One church had 5 families and for years they have been shunned by their local community for following Jesus so I felt very humbled to be able to spend time with them, sharing with them and helping teach their children English.

It was amazing to see a lady who was blind in one eye be completely able to see and a man who had been deaf in one ear be able to hear as we prayed for them!  The joy on their faces was so humbling and exciting.  We also had a few hours in Oaxaca city which was beautiful and I very much enjoyed a delicacy of Oaxaca- hot chocolate!

On the road leaving Oaxaca state, one of our vehicles’ transmission went at a petrol station (thankfully not on the road) and also thankfully there was a local mechanic who said he could fix it over the weekend and even allowed us to park our pop up trailers next to his garage!  There are definitely angels watching over us!  However as we were up in the mountains and some of us had been so cold previous nights (yes really!), about half of us stayed in a cheap hotel (about £6 a night!).  It was SO nice to have a proper bed for a couple of nights, be warm, eat chocolate, drink wine and watch some girly films (rather like my Friday nights used to be after a long week at work!).  Thank you to friends and family who made my hotel stay possible. 

The long drive to Belize continues…….

Its a dog eat dog world.....

Had a brilliant weekend in Mexico city (once we found our initial camp ground very late at night!).  Had our day off sightseeing so I got to check out the Metropolitan Cathedral and the park which were ornate and relaxing.  I always love being able to visit the capital city of any country you go to – it helps you understand a people and its country so much more.

 Then the next day we visited two rubbish dumps outside the centre where families live and try and make ends meet.  The second dump in particular smelled pretty bad and we literally saw dogs eating other dead dogs for food.  It really was a dog eat dog world.

My heart broke when I saw one family of three young children literally picking their way through the rubbish to see what they could ‘recycle’.  It felt like a very small thing to be able to play with them, give them food and pray for them but we are encouraged that the church will continue this work and build on it as this was their first visit.  My prayer for this family was simply that the parents would get a new job away from the dump as the little girl was clearly unwell.  I was trying hard not to come up with a strategic 10 point plan which would lift all the people living and working there out of poverty…Mexico City is the first place we’ve visited which I could live in.  Don’t worry, I didn’t and the journey has continued!

Since then we’ve visited and worked in three other towns/villages near Veracruz on the east of Mexico and have been blessed by the church we’ve partnered with.  They fed us so well and understandably made sure that we worked hard! 

We have just had a weekend off in a little town called Chachacalas on the Gulf Coast so I’ve been swimming in the sea and visiting a local pyramid relic.  This has also involved the local pigs coming to visit whilst I was on the toilet (they are my favourite animals!) and the local young people having a rave through the night where we are staying!

To be honest I could have kept going without a break for a lot longer but maybe that’s because I’m used to a slightly busier pace of life than some of my team mates!  I’m sure its good for me to rest though but I’m definitely ready to go again.  Will update again soon.  Thanks for reading and God bless you all lots x

Vital sleeping statistics (I will have to sleep in a tent at some point I know!)

Bed (of various descriptions):  10 nights

Trailer tent:  19 nights            Concrete floor: 5 nights                 Tent: 0 nights (hurrah!)

Mexico Part Two

This last week has been a very special week!  My team has had the huge privilege of going up into the mountains (along a very very long incredibly bumpy road) to work amongst the Cora people, who are descendants from the Aztecs.  We drove for hours and hours to the village of El Congrejo in the state of Nayarit, working alongside long term missionaries Jay and Faith from the States as well as Mexican church leaders.  About 40 families live in this small community along with lots of dogs, cows and other creatures!

I had the immense privilege of being able to visit families in their own homes (social work prepares you well for this!), pray for them and invite them to the activities which we helped organise.  We ran an event for the children (they really liked musical chairs!) but were quite reserved when acting out the Bible stories (nobody wanted to play a bad guy!).  The Mexican team then distributed food and clothing for the families as there has been little rain (so very little crops harvested) and its about to get very cold in the mountains (the Cora people wear the donated clothes under their indigenous clothes).  It was great to see many Cora people wanting prayer and to learn more about the Christian faith during our time with them.

On the way back to base camp (where I gained the most ridiculous number of mosquito bites and the rooster started crowing at 3am!!) we met the Catholic priest who is now in his 80s who has devoted over 40 years of his life to bringing hope and education to the mountain communities.  Under his leadership, children now have the opportunity to study from primary to university level.  We decided that he was a male version of Mother Teresa and you could just see the wisdom shine through him!

The last couple of days have been spent in Guadalaraja in the state of Jalisco, working with Fuega Mexico.  As well as being able to share at various church services, I was given the opportunity to help teach English..putting my TESOL qualification to good use!  We’ve all had some down time too so I’ve been able to use the internet and visit Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest natural lake.

Soon we’ll be off to Mexico City which sounds pretty big….!

Funny moments:

-          Hearing Rick Astley play in a Mexican bar (I only had a lemonade honest!)

-          A sign for no parking which read: Estacionarse

-          Being escorted by the police to one of our destinations (I think they probably wanted us off the road after we nearly caused an accident with our fleet of vehicles!)

More difficult times:

-          Learning that my friend Ian is sadly no longer with us – I’m dedicating this post in his memory

-          Missing friends in the UK

Sleeping statistics (since we started):

Bed (that fits various descriptions including potato sacks!):  10 nights

Trailer tent:  8 nights               Concrete floor: 3 nights                 Tent: 0 nights (hurrah!)

Love and miss you all and thanks for reading! 

update on journey so far!

Well I’ve been on the road for a fortnight and it feels like a lot longer, in a good way!  The first week was spent in the States helping prepare for the trip and driving from Oregon in the North to Arizona in the South, via Redding and Los Angeles in California, collecting team mates along the way!

We’ve been in Mexico for a week now and have visited three places - a small town (Pescquina), a city (in Cinola) and a coastal resort (including a work camp).  In Cinola state and Pescquina we worked in partnership with local churches and in Pescquina we got to visit people in their own homes and do some childrens work.

Highlights so far have been:

-          Seeing the sights of LA and the road trip in the States

-          Driven both the camper van (in States) and the big car towing the tent trailer (in Mexico! – slightly scary both for me and my passengers!!)

-          Seeing the children responding to the Bible stories and being keen to act out the story of the good Samaritan (the boys in Pescquina particularly enjoyed the part where the guy gets beaten up!)

-          Meeting people from the Tricqui (hope that is spelt correctly) tribe and seeing their faces light up when the audio Bible was played to them in their own language

-          Seeing young people help lead the church in Pescquina

-          Visiting a work camp on the coast (where agricultural workers and their families live – up to 6000 people on a base where each family has one room and an outside cooking area.  These camps are known for high rates of violence and alcohol use).  I enjoyed spending time with mother Olivia and her two children Montserrat (aged 5) and Jesus (aged 2) as well as telling the story of Jesus calming the storm with Spanish translation to a group of children!

-          Getting to swim in 2 pools – hurrah!

‘Pause’ points (both sad and funny):

-          Seeing a mother and her children stay for ages after a church service in Pescquina so they could share in the meal.  All four children, including the toddler ate 3 platefuls of food as they were so hungry.  Thankfully we were able to send them home with extra food too.

-          My skirt being pulled down by children when they were trying to get the stickers I was giving out (praise God for leggings underneath!)

-          My team mates from the States finding my accent and use of the English language amusing

-          Observing the living conditions at the work camp

Vital sleeping statistics (if you’re interested!):

Bed: 8 nights      Trailer tent: 5 nights        Floor: 1 night      Tent: 0 nights (hurrah!)

Next stop: to the Mexican mountains (ie the tent will now come in useful)!

on the road Stateside!

Hi friends!

Had an amazing time here in the USA and on a road trip down to Arizona from Oregon in the North, having helped prepare the vehicles and got supplies in.  We should be in Mexico by Tuesday 13th September!  Been hanging out with some amazing friends and visited some welcoming churches who have prayed for and encouraged us...and I got to check out Hollywood in Los Angeles today...that was a lovely extra surprise!

The team is almost complete and we are international with New Zealand, South Africa, UK and America all featured!

Please pray for safe travels and as we cross into Mexico on Tuesday.  Love you miss you all x

Flying Stateside ready for the adventure!

Hello friends

Well I'm off today, flying to the States to join the team before we head to the Mexican border on about the 13th September.  We'll be travelling round Central and South America working with existing Christian charities and projects like Youth With a Mission, sharing our Christian faith and demonstrating God's love in practical ways.  There'll be two teams, one doing work in the more rural areas and the other in the bigger towns and cities.  Hopefully I'll get to do a mixture of both!

Thanks so much for your support, prayers and friendship!

The tentative itinerary is as follows:

·        Mexico - September  
Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras -October
Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama - November
Colombia and Ecuador - December
Peru and Bolivia – January  
Chile - February
Argentina, Uraguay and Paraguay – February and March
Brazil - April and May
French Guiana, Suriname, Guiana Venezuela - June
Carribean islands-Bahamas – July and August

WiWill update as and when I can!  Love you all lots Lizx