Doing Ministry Togerther

 

 

 

 

I was looking for a way to include the Davis children in the ministry of Jesus Deaf Church. Some wonderful people donated money for dental health kits.  When I bought the materials I thought, "Yes!  This will be fun!  We will put it together as an assembly line."

So we did.  Selah was the first person who put the name sticker on the bags and told Zephaniah and Zion what to put in.  (Each bag differed according to how many people in the family would get toothbrushes.) Ni and Zion put in the number of toothbrushes and toothpastes that Selah read to them.  Abigail tied the bags with a ribbon and put the finished bag in the box.  Whoo hoo!

 

 

 

 

 

Great teamwork!  After we were done, we prayed for the people who would receive the toothbrushes.

 

Dear God, thank you for children who want to minister to other people.  Bless them.   Amen.

Happy 34th Birthday Belize!

Belize celebrates it's peaceful independence from England on September 21.  The celebration includes two distinctly different parades. I'm going to show you pictures from both parades.

The Friday before the 21st is the School Rally.  Every school in Orange Walk lines the streets in school uniform.  Some have bands, others have floats, and some have dancers in pretty costumes.  Each school marches in a very orderly fashion, wanting to show pride in their school and country.  The children who are too young to walk the parade route are lined up on the sides of the street.

 Here is St. Peter's lined up in front of the Town Hall for the opening ceremony.

Nathanael interpreted the ceremony.  This is the invocation.

We are waiting for the parade to start. This is the class in which I interpret/tutor for Morine.  Morine and her sister Adrienne are in the same class. They are hugging in the photo.  I asked the children to wave their flags for the pic.  Aren't they cute kids?  I love this class!  I've been with them three years, since they were in preschool. 

 Watching Chapel Primary School march with their banner.

 Here we come!  This is Jaheed  and another standard 6 student carrying our school banner.

Our float shows children dressed in cultural clothing.

Whooohooo!  We all waved our flags and made noise when St. Peter's marched by.

 Some dancers from another school.

These are the dancers from Bishop Martin High School, Sulmi's school.

The parade on September 21 is called a Carnival.  Many of the costumes resemble Mardi Gras parades in Jamaica and Trinidad.

Every year there is a float with Jamaican steel drums.

It was fun to watch the parade with the Davis family. Nathanael interpreted the speeches and then we had arranged to meet on the steps of Luigi's.  When I walked up, I was surprised to see Maggie and her whole family there.  What great luck! Maybe some of you remember Jessica.  This is a picture of her and her husband, Darwin, and their two children.

 

More dancers.. I like the little ones.

Yes, this guy really has a snake on his shoulders.  

 This is my friend, Libertad Cal, from Yo Creek who taught Sulmi and her classmates how to do Mestizo dancing. In the parade she was doing a ceremonial Maya fire thing while some men demonstrate Maya football in the middle of the parade.  Very cool.

We had 18 hours of drizzling rain overnight and through the morning, but graciously God held the rain clouds for the 3 hour parade. Thank you Father for preserving Belize, carrying it through the first 34 years of independence,  Guide the people to pick honest leaders and then give them wisdom to make choices that benefit everyone. Amen.

Welcome Wayne!

Wayne was born on Friday, September 11.  He weighed in at 7 pounds of cuteness.  Selena says she is glad the waiting and delivery are over (!).  Welcome to you, Wayne.  May God bless you with health, peace and joy.


Bertha is lying with her mother for the photo.

In the picture to the right, the two youngest peep out the window. Aren't they adorable.  It amazes me, really, having so little, no toilet or sink, no fridge or stove, not much variety or substance at meals, sharing one room and only two beds with the whole family (5 children and parents), that these two youngest are always smiling. Such happy children.  I pray they grow up to know their savior.

Thank You God for Sending Workers! The harvest is great.

Clockwise: Spring, Nathanael, Selah, Abigail, Zephaniah, Zion

The men in our church have been needing a male leader. I've prayed.  You've prayed.  God answered our prayers by sending the Davis family.  Nathanael arrived in August to lead a 5 day back-to-school workshop for the Ministry of Ed.  He taught sign language to teachers who will have a Deaf or special needs student in their classroom.

Spring and the children arrived August 17.  They are adjusting well to the many differences between Belize and the US.  The biggest adjustment being the heat.  But they are getting used to it and finding ways to anchor papers while they sit in front of fans.

Nathanael's call is to reach out to Deaf men in Orange Walk and the surrounding area...befriending them and leading them to depend on the Lord, Jesus, follow Him, and share the miracles of faith with others. To this end Nathanael is meeting with the three Deaf 20-something men who have been attending our church, one who is part of the JW and making contacts with others. Presently he is trying to meet them 1:1 during their lunch break from work. Please pray that the Spirit blesses this ministry and touches the hearts of Deaf men in Orange Walk.

In the end of August we took a trip to Crooked Tree.  It's a lovely lagoon that is a birder's paradise.  Although it is "rainy season", we have had very little rain.  The lagoon has shrunk and the edges are mud instead of grass. The mud aggressively swallowed their shoes, but it was fun to step in the gooey muck and then dip in the water.

Above is our Deaf Church last Sunday.  

(We're missing Martha, Selena's family, Kristel and Jaheed).

"The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers to harvest the field. " Luke 10:2

Thank you, Lord, for sending help with this abundant harvest.