Mayan Ruins and Burritos

Today we spent the morning teaching and on the work site - girls and guys respectively. We had delicious burritos for lunch, spiced up with some belizian hot sauce. After lunch we loaded up in the van and headed toward Cayo and San Ignacio to see Xunantunich - an ancient Mayan ruin. We climbed to the top and walked around. Played frisbee of course :) and took lots of pictures. After a few stops at gift shops we came back to the ministry site and changed for church. Step of Faith (Pastor Ron's church) meets every Sunday and Wednesday for service. The church is in the capital city - Belmopan. It takes about 45 min to get there and we pick up lots of people on the way (in the bus). The service was great; the worship was God centered and the message was about God's love (Crazy Love ch. 6).
We came home tonight and heard the wake going on for Mr. Steve Lopez - it was very difficult to hear, but hopeful at the same time because the Lopez family are Christians.
We played a game 'signs' and had quite a few laughs. Everyone's in bed, resting for another wonderful day full of God's love!
In Christ Alone,
Belize 2010

Flabergaster!

Day 3
Another wonderful day in a beautiful country! The boys went to the work site and put up the ceiling and wall boards. The girls stayed and taught. This afternoon we grabbed a bunch of inner tubes and went on the "lazy river" Belize style. After a few apprehensive jumpers (into the river - it was a 12 foot cliff...) we made our way down to the bridge doing our best to avoid the shallow spots and hitting the rocks. Then some of us jumped off the bridge into the river. We got cleaned up and then went to get ice cream in Spanish Lookout - AMAZING! This evening we did VBS for the kids - sang songs, did a skit (Lazarus and Jesus calming the storm), learned a verse in song (John 3:16), and made 'sponge boats' to represent how Jesus saves.
We're hanging out on the veranda tonight looking forward to another day!
Please pray for the Lopez family (neighbors of Pastor Ron and Ms. Linda). Mr. Lopez worked in a bank as a security guard and the bank he worked in was held up today. He was shot and killed. He is leaving behind his wife of two months and his unborn child. Please pray for God's strength and grace in the lives of the Lopez family.

In Christ,
ICO Belize 2010

School and Work

We had a great day today - The girls each had a class this morning for "Easter School" we tutored the kids in English and Math for two hours. The kids were great and we loved working with them.
The guys went to the worksite with Andrew and a few of the boys (James and Peter). They put up the cross beams for the ceiling. (We are working on the inside of Mr. Cruise's house - a previous team built the outside.)
The girls joined the boys this afternoon after we went to a taco stand and had panades, salbutes, and super tacos. (DELICIOUS!) We hammered in boards that will support the ceiling material (thin boards). The boys decided to make it into a competition and we tried hard to keep up but...they won. However, we sacrificed our bodies and came out with a few thumb bruises.
We had VBS tonight and taught the story of Moses parting the Red Sea. We made bracelets for craft and sang a lot of crazy songs :)
Tonight we hung out with Pastor Ron and Linda's boys Melvin and Juni and their friend Carl. They taught us some creole and sang some Christian rap for us.
Tomorrow should be the same schedule but we never know what new things will come up! Please continue to pray for focus on Christ and a reminder that we are doing all of this for His kingdom. Also please pray for Deshawn, Melvin and Junie's friend. His mother passed away in a car accident earlier this week and Deshawn fractured his femur. The wake (funeral) was tonight.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!
ICO Belize 2010

Arrival

We have arrived safely! It was a long night in the airport, but we made it! We are at the Ministry site and already had the privilege of providing a Mr. Cruise with a wheelchair - we will be doing work on his house this week. We are doing VBS TONIGHT for up to 100 kids - the team is excited but exhausted, pray for strength.

God is good - we are all save, all the bags made it, and we got through customs without much hassle.

ICO Belize 2010

Pittsburgh International

We've made it safely to Pgh :) Got a bite to eat and are waiting for our 5:30pm flight. We'll fly into Houston and hang out there for 14 hours! (We'll have fun, don't worry)

Emergency Contact

If there is an emergency while we are abroad and you (parent) needs to contact your student (ie there is a death in the family and the student needs to return home immediately) please call Dr. Lois Johnson (724.496.2441 or 724.458.2022) she will contact us

If there is an emergency in Belize, you will be contacted by a parent.

These are simply precautions (we have an emergency plan organized by GCC) and we hope to not have to use them.

Please continue to pray for our trip - we are all very excited to see what God has planned!!!

ICO Belize 2010

Flight Information

For parents who would like to know our flight information:



We will be flying with Continental Airlines
5:30pm 3/27 Pgh -> 7:42pm Houston: CO2061
9:00am 3/28 Houston -> 10:26am Belize: CO1627
11:15am 4/5 Belize -> 2:54pm Houston: CO1478
7:00pm Houston -> 10:55pm 4/5Pgh: CO1417

We are all very excited! :)

ICO Belize 2010

Anticipation

We are about two and half weeks from our trip! We leave on Saturday, March 27th and will return on Monday, April 5th.
We will be doing work projects, helping with and Easter School (tutoring in math and English), running a three day VBS, and helping with the Good Friday and Easter services at the Step of Faith Church in Belmopan. All of this is through Oasis Ministry. Pastor Ron and Linda Braaten are missionaries in the Cayo district of Belize in a town called Unitedville. To learn more about Oasis Ministry check out their website: http://oasisministrybelize.com/
We will update the post as frequently as we can while in Belize and look forward to telling you about all of the things that God is doing!

We appreciate your prayers!

ICO Belize 2010