Quotable

Things are not going well for Charity the last 24 hours. Here are some things she has said ...

Charity : No. I am not changing our sheets. It's just Fanny poop.

Hudson : Look what you did!
Charity : No! Look what you did!

Charity : (to Grattan) It's just a bug. Eat it.

Please pray for her.

Gardening ... second time around

One of the things that Charity loves is to garden.

Last time around, she worked to improve the flower beds around our home (blog here, photo album here)

She was pleased to see the work God has done in her absence! We have similar hopes for what God will do with the seeds scattered this time!

VBS#3

VBS#2

Pictured here are some images from last weeks' VBS. Included are the craft made, snacks (goldfish, Swedish fish - our VBS theme is the Surf) eaten and a variety of races.

Today's installment is Why do I need Jesus?
Our reason today is that He died and lives again so that I can be a part of God's family.

Our verse is John 14:6 ... Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life".

Well, that was fun ...

Independence Day

Belize is a relatively young nation, gaining its independence from England only 30 years ago (more info here)

This event is commemorated by pageants, parades, dancing, etc.

Pictured is the local RC school's parade through Patchakan, and then the much larger parade in nearby Orange Walk. This second parade is called Mardi Gras, and it is a smaller version than what you might find/imagine in New Orleans or Mobile, AL - though without any beads and what that entails.

The fun part was our vehicle breaking down about 45 minutes from our house, after dark, on the main two-lane highway, with marshes and who know what else on either side, and pick-up trucks (driven by likely intoxicated drivers) with 6-8 people in the bed of the truck driving by at 45 mph. Our van contained my family and four other women.

We then had the pleasure of being towed by a pick-up truck :)

Parsonage

Parsonage

This post contains two prayer requests.

The first is that the local church needs a pastor. The local church in Patchakan has been without a pastor for as long as I know (>7 years).
The church is ruled by its session and sermons are delivered by a number of different men on a rotating schedule.
This is due to the fact that Presbyterians require theological education of its pastor. This is good because the presumed benefit is protection from error. One of the drawbacks to this demand, however, is a shortage of pastors - particularily in an under-educated population.

There is hope that a Mexican man may move here and become the pastor. In order for that to happen, the pictured parsonage needs to be renovated. So pray that the parsonage would get renovated, which would hopefully lead to a pastor coming to lead this church.

The second is that due to some of the issues outlined in books like this, the Belizean church is sometimes dependent on the U.S. church to fund/build its infrastructure. The local church is being asked to fund $1000 of the proposed renovations - which I am told is doable, though at the same time, no small sum.
This stipulation, I believe, is precedent-setting, and will hopefully lead to more self-direction by the church here.

So pray for the local church here. That they would seek God and desire for themselves an expansion of His church through their hands.

Lost tooth

I wish I had as good story as this Dad, but Bram was still pretty excited to lose this tooth - or at least he was a minute after this photo was taken :)

p.s. if the link doesn't work, go to youtube and look up "boy tooth rocket"!

The Bride of Christ

There have been, and currently are, many philosophies regarding the role medical missions should play in the expansion of The Kingdom of God.

The Bible describes the Church of God as the Bride of Christ (here). It could be reasoned that medical missions is not more than the Bridesmaid to the Bride. And if this is so, it is important to remember that medical missions exists to serve the Church, and not the other way around.

Oftentimes, medical missions has asked the church to serve it in the care of people, or more commonly, has divorced itself from the work of the church and gone about its business on its own. Using the bridesmaid analogy, it would be absurd to think of the bridesmaid to be about itself without caring for the bride - its sole purpose for being (W. Ted Kuhn).

We are excited to be here in Belize, serving the church in a small measure, preparing it for its union with Christ.