VCURamFan
07-18-2009, 07:50 AM
Hey everyone.
As many of you already know, I am departing at 4am EST for a mission trip to Belize, Central America. There are 16 of us going on this team (6 leaders, 10 high schoolers) and we're all really excited about this opportunity. We will be working on Cornerstone Presbyterian High School (http://www.presbyterianschoolsbelize.com/cornerstone.html)in the Corozal District, very near to Cristo Rey village. In the afternoons, we will be traveling into the village itself to lead a Vacation Bible School with the children. After a week, the majority of the team (11 members) will be returning to the United States, but 5 of us (Dad, Aaron, Alex, Andrew & myself), have been blessed with the opportunity to stay for a second week. Here's what a basic schedule will look like:
Weekly:
Sat 7/18
16 member team travels to Belize
Sun 7/19
Worship
VBS prep
Mon 7/20
Construction
VBS
Tues 7/21
Construction
VBS
Wed 7/22
Construction
VBS
Thurs 7/23
Construction
VBSConstruction
Fri 7/24
Fun Day (Banana Bank Lodge)
Sat 7/25
11 team members travel home to Richmond, VA
5 team members return "home" to Corozal
Sun 7/26
Worship
Mon 7/27
Construction
Tues 7/28
Construction
Wed 7/29
Construction
Thurs 7/30
Construction
Fri 7/31
Construction/possible Fun Day (Lamanai)
Sat 8/01
Final 5 team members return home to Richmond, VA
Construction day:
5:30am - Wake up & have private worship
7am - Breakfast
8am - Leave for worksite
8:30am - Begin work
12pm - Lunch
2pm - Leave worksite for VBS
3pm - VBS
5pm - Leave for dinner
6pm - Dinner
8pm - Leave for "home"
10pm - BedThis year we will be doing a lot of carpentry (install doors/windows) & painting (walls/ceilings) in the 1st floor of the 3rd building so that it will be usable this coming school year. One of our team members is an RN, and so will be spending her days working at the Presbyterian Medical Clininc (http://www.missionaryclinicbelize.org/) in Patchacan. In VBS, we will explaining to the kids the correlation between Moses & Jesus (King killed baby boys, family fled to Egypt, returned to save people, etc.).
Also, we'll be getting to have a bit of a minor vacation on Friday, when we'll travel to the Banana Bank Lodge (http://www.bananabank.com/index.html) where we'll go horseback riding & then do some swimming.
I tell you all of this not as idle chit-chat, but because I come humbly seeking your prayers. There are a ton of things, but I'll try to give a brief list that will still manage to be comprehensive. We'll see how well I manage:
Travel
Taking 11 high schoolers over seas is practically begging Murphy to start throwing monkey wrenches around. Please pray that the kids would not wander off.
Even though they're safer than cars, planes are still known to crash on occasion. Please pray this won't happen to us.
We're taking a lot of important items with us, from food to tools to medicine. Please pray that none of our luggage gets lost, damaged or stolen.
Health
Montezuma is still acting like a vindictive lover and people sometimes get absent-minded about not drinking the water. Please pray that no one would have to deal with intestinal problems (especially my roommate!)
Ironically enough, we need to be consuming copious amounts of water. Being right on the equator with little-to-know shade means we'll dehydrate extremely fast. Please pray that everyone will be re-hydrating on a constant basis and proactive basis to forestall any dangers.
The heat down there can catch up to you faster than you expect. Please pray that everyone will be wise and take breaks whenever needed.
Americans + foreign land + construction = disaster. Please pray that no one will be injured while working.
Americans + foreign land + free time = disaster. Please pray that no one will be injured while playing.
Construction
Carpentry means nails & hammers in the hands of non-skilled workers. Please pray that we'd be careful.
Carpentry means power tools in the hands of non-skilled workers. Please pray that we'd be careful..
As Americans we need to be goal oriented & want to find the fatest, most efficient method of getting everything done yesterday. Please pray that we'd be humble enough to listen to the Belizeans & do things their way.
VBS
Last year I was blessed to have a kid (Brandon) come up & ask me to pray with him that Christ would be his Savior. Please pray that the Lord would be working in the kids' hearts to soften them to His Word.
A ton of these kids go home to parents who can't read or write & pass on the lessons we taught them to their families. Please pray that the Lord would be working in the parents' hearts to soften them to His Word.
Team
We are 16 people from 4 different churches. Please pray that we'd be able to unite in Christ & not end up split off in factions.
Leadership
My dad, especially, is carrying a ton of weight right now. He's the team leader & he won't even tell us about 3/4s of the responsibilities he's got. Please pray that he'd have the strength & energy to juggle everything, as well as the wisdom to know when to hand off some taks to the rest of us.
Also, my dad hurt his knee about 2 weeks ago. He's been walking on it fine for awhile, but I don't think it's quite 100% yet. Please pray that he'd be willing to let the young guys (me included) do the heavy lifting for him so he doesn't re-agrivate it.Thank you guys so much. If at all possible, i will try to log on & update this thread whenever I can. If you're interested in being kept in the loop, please PM me your e-mail address & I'll have my dad put you on the Support E-mail List, to which he'll be sending near-daily reports.
Also, I took the time to complie a GoogleMap of the major landmarks of our trip. Check it out here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&cd=2&geocode=FeD7FwEdd6O5-g&split=0&msa=0&msid=117575784269253411780.00046ef4d3aab337519ae&ll=18.062312,-88.409729&spn=1.227257,1.766052&t=h&z=9
I love you all & can't wait to get back in a coupla weeks!!:happydancing:
As many of you already know, I am departing at 4am EST for a mission trip to Belize, Central America. There are 16 of us going on this team (6 leaders, 10 high schoolers) and we're all really excited about this opportunity. We will be working on Cornerstone Presbyterian High School (http://www.presbyterianschoolsbelize.com/cornerstone.html)in the Corozal District, very near to Cristo Rey village. In the afternoons, we will be traveling into the village itself to lead a Vacation Bible School with the children. After a week, the majority of the team (11 members) will be returning to the United States, but 5 of us (Dad, Aaron, Alex, Andrew & myself), have been blessed with the opportunity to stay for a second week. Here's what a basic schedule will look like:
Weekly:
Sat 7/18
16 member team travels to Belize
Sun 7/19
Worship
VBS prep
Mon 7/20
Construction
VBS
Tues 7/21
Construction
VBS
Wed 7/22
Construction
VBS
Thurs 7/23
Construction
VBSConstruction
Fri 7/24
Fun Day (Banana Bank Lodge)
Sat 7/25
11 team members travel home to Richmond, VA
5 team members return "home" to Corozal
Sun 7/26
Worship
Mon 7/27
Construction
Tues 7/28
Construction
Wed 7/29
Construction
Thurs 7/30
Construction
Fri 7/31
Construction/possible Fun Day (Lamanai)
Sat 8/01
Final 5 team members return home to Richmond, VA
Construction day:
5:30am - Wake up & have private worship
7am - Breakfast
8am - Leave for worksite
8:30am - Begin work
12pm - Lunch
2pm - Leave worksite for VBS
3pm - VBS
5pm - Leave for dinner
6pm - Dinner
8pm - Leave for "home"
10pm - BedThis year we will be doing a lot of carpentry (install doors/windows) & painting (walls/ceilings) in the 1st floor of the 3rd building so that it will be usable this coming school year. One of our team members is an RN, and so will be spending her days working at the Presbyterian Medical Clininc (http://www.missionaryclinicbelize.org/) in Patchacan. In VBS, we will explaining to the kids the correlation between Moses & Jesus (King killed baby boys, family fled to Egypt, returned to save people, etc.).
Also, we'll be getting to have a bit of a minor vacation on Friday, when we'll travel to the Banana Bank Lodge (http://www.bananabank.com/index.html) where we'll go horseback riding & then do some swimming.
I tell you all of this not as idle chit-chat, but because I come humbly seeking your prayers. There are a ton of things, but I'll try to give a brief list that will still manage to be comprehensive. We'll see how well I manage:
Travel
Taking 11 high schoolers over seas is practically begging Murphy to start throwing monkey wrenches around. Please pray that the kids would not wander off.
Even though they're safer than cars, planes are still known to crash on occasion. Please pray this won't happen to us.
We're taking a lot of important items with us, from food to tools to medicine. Please pray that none of our luggage gets lost, damaged or stolen.
Health
Montezuma is still acting like a vindictive lover and people sometimes get absent-minded about not drinking the water. Please pray that no one would have to deal with intestinal problems (especially my roommate!)
Ironically enough, we need to be consuming copious amounts of water. Being right on the equator with little-to-know shade means we'll dehydrate extremely fast. Please pray that everyone will be re-hydrating on a constant basis and proactive basis to forestall any dangers.
The heat down there can catch up to you faster than you expect. Please pray that everyone will be wise and take breaks whenever needed.
Americans + foreign land + construction = disaster. Please pray that no one will be injured while working.
Americans + foreign land + free time = disaster. Please pray that no one will be injured while playing.
Construction
Carpentry means nails & hammers in the hands of non-skilled workers. Please pray that we'd be careful.
Carpentry means power tools in the hands of non-skilled workers. Please pray that we'd be careful..
As Americans we need to be goal oriented & want to find the fatest, most efficient method of getting everything done yesterday. Please pray that we'd be humble enough to listen to the Belizeans & do things their way.
VBS
Last year I was blessed to have a kid (Brandon) come up & ask me to pray with him that Christ would be his Savior. Please pray that the Lord would be working in the kids' hearts to soften them to His Word.
A ton of these kids go home to parents who can't read or write & pass on the lessons we taught them to their families. Please pray that the Lord would be working in the parents' hearts to soften them to His Word.
Team
We are 16 people from 4 different churches. Please pray that we'd be able to unite in Christ & not end up split off in factions.
Leadership
My dad, especially, is carrying a ton of weight right now. He's the team leader & he won't even tell us about 3/4s of the responsibilities he's got. Please pray that he'd have the strength & energy to juggle everything, as well as the wisdom to know when to hand off some taks to the rest of us.
Also, my dad hurt his knee about 2 weeks ago. He's been walking on it fine for awhile, but I don't think it's quite 100% yet. Please pray that he'd be willing to let the young guys (me included) do the heavy lifting for him so he doesn't re-agrivate it.Thank you guys so much. If at all possible, i will try to log on & update this thread whenever I can. If you're interested in being kept in the loop, please PM me your e-mail address & I'll have my dad put you on the Support E-mail List, to which he'll be sending near-daily reports.
Also, I took the time to complie a GoogleMap of the major landmarks of our trip. Check it out here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&cd=2&geocode=FeD7FwEdd6O5-g&split=0&msa=0&msid=117575784269253411780.00046ef4d3aab337519ae&ll=18.062312,-88.409729&spn=1.227257,1.766052&t=h&z=9
I love you all & can't wait to get back in a coupla weeks!!:happydancing: