Good Friday

Good Friday is a MAJOR holiday here. All the stores are closed, except for a few Chinese shops. No store is allowed to sell alcohol...all day. The streets are almost empty. People seem to stay inside and rest until 4:30. At that time they come out, dressed in funeral clothes and walk the procession with the Catholic Church. There were over 2000 (maybe even 3000) people walking the 2.5 miles of city roads.

In the front of the precession is a priest and some altar boys. Behind them are the adult actors who are portraying Jesus, Roman guards, Mary and the disciples.

The rest is two columns of families... the lines of people went on for several blocks. I wish the picture could show all of the people. They initially walked as if they were in a funeral procession... talking minimally and looking very somber. Some of the women were saying the prayers that were being read by the leaders. If I managed to walk with these women it was a deeply spiritual procession. In other places there were families with young children and people who were talking.

The procession stops at 15 different platforms set up in peoples front yards. Teenage actors stand frozen in the scene that was just acted out in the street by the adult actors. At the same time 4 or 5 women read something into a microphone. I couldn't hear what they said... later someone told me it was prayers they were reading. I'm kind of glad I could not hear the readings. This area is very "Mary" adoring and it would have disrupted my sense of the moment. Silence was nice, even preferable. I could pray and just listen to the quiet.

Tomorrow at our Deaf Church we will see the end of the Jesus movie and sing Easter songs. I'm looking forward to leaving Good Friday behind and moving on to triumph and victory. Praise the Lord that he overcame the evil and oppression with passion and patience. That he was true to his word and rose on the third day. Praise God that he was obedient even in the face of the cross.

I wish you all Easter joy.

Nancy

Remembering

Last Sunday the theme was "Remembering". We remembered that Jesus told us to remember his sacrifice for us by sharing the wine and the bread. We remembered our past and confessed our sins. We also remembered that we are servants to each other...
and washed each others feet.

Please continue to pray for Jesus' Deaf Church. That we will grow in grace, obedience and faith.

The Annual "Fun Run"

Yes! Those are Virginia Tech T-shirts! We have a school T-shirt/logo, but many of the children can't afford them. Virginia Tech donated several boxes of "old" shirts with 2007 and 2008 dates on them. Now we all can wear something that matches. It's great for field trips and PE.

This is the second year that a Colorado based agency called One World Running has donated thousands of shoes to Belize. They donate through the Special Olympics (among other places). Each major city in Belize holds a "fun run" for special children and anyone else who wants to participate. At the end of the race the children get new tennis shoes. This year I was put in charge of organizing it. Lots of people helped. The school kitchen people cooked up 300 powder buns and bagged 300 bags of water to be passed out. A man from the community donated 300 bags of ideal (something similar to Koolaid). Our district representative (Johnny Briceno) gave a pep talk, the Mayor said some words of encouragement, our school priest led a prayer, and the deaf children signed the national anthem. The race was about half mile. We wanted it to be short so it would be accessible to all of the 42 diasbled children in our school. The weatherman forcasted rain, but the rain held off. It was a great day.




Gloria Lehman asked for a photo of me and some students. This is the afterschool gang. They hang around for about an hour. There actually are a couple of disciplined stoic looking photos, but I like this one better.

Walking the Way of Jesus

We no longer have a "Girl's Night" Bible study on Friday nights. The "girls" are now moms. We had a ratio of about 2 children to each adult. It was hard to Bible study...or do anything except watch the children. I tried hiring a babysitter. The hiring was easy...but the children wanted their moms. Here in Belize children get used to being with their mothers, by their mother's side almost all the time until they are about 4 and sometimes even later. So taking them from their mothers to play with a babysitter was traumatic. Hmmm. I think the "Girl's Night" needs to be a "Moms Morning Out" with a different focus, maybe something to do with ideas for playing with your child, or teaching your child about God. I'm not sure when this will happen.

At the same time that Girl's Night hit the babysitter snafu, Edgar was asking to be baptized. I met with him on Friday nights for about two months before his baptism this past December. Alejandro also asked for baptsim so we baptised them both at the same time. On the day of his baptism Edgar said, "Even though I'm baptized can I still come to Friday Night Bible study? I told him, "Sure!" So, since December 8, Edgar and Alejandro have been Bible studying with me on Friday Nights. We invited others to come. Sometimes someone else will drop in...but mostly it is just Edgar, Alejandro, and me.

The rear window of my van is some evidence of their transformation. A few days ago I was in Trial Farm Village visiting with Kristel's mother and I parked my van on the street. I came out of the house to see it covered with words. "Love Jesus, God. Go to church. Read the Bible. Want to do good." That's not the typical graffitti that my car collects when it is parked on the street. I drove on a bit farther in the village to Alejandro's house, and there in the front yard, looking quite proud of themselves were Alejandro and Edgar...They wanted to make sure I had seen their artwork.

BUT the nature of learning how to walk the way of Jesus is not straight...

One of the mothers asked me why I kept them til 9:30 on Friday night. I told her no, no, I sent them home at 8:30. Evidently on their bike trip home they had stopped to buy beer. They're not drinkers...just teenagers experimenting. BUT, sigh, immediately after Bible study? ARGH! That was disappointing to discover!

During the last week of this school term Manuel asked to not have to prepare a Bible story to teach so he could put more energy into his studies. (He got a 94% on his Techincal Drawing exam... came into my classroom with a long drawn out face... and said I was going to be disappointed....then dropped the graded exam in front of me... HA! A 94? Wonderful!)

Edgar said he wanted to try teaching a story on Sunday morning. He said he knew the Noah story and could teach that one. So I let him. It turned out to be a great opportunity for him to show some maturity. It also led to a good power point sermon about obeying God no matter what. No matter what other people think. No matter if it sounds crazy. No matter if you don't think you can finance the idea. Obey. Period.

Our Trip to Lamanai

Baron Bliss Day (March 9) is a holiday that celebrates the "Heroes and Benefactors of Belize". Sulmi had been itching to go to Lamanai. Neither she nor Kristel had ever seen it. I opted to take the boat instead of driving because I wanted the girls to get to see all the flora and fauna along the way. We saw lots of birds, bats, iguana, turtles, monkeys and crocodiles.



This angry crocodile is alive. He jumped in the water soon after Sulmi snapped the shot.





The boat pulled over to a spot where these spider monkeys frequent. Someone from another boat had some bananas. The monkey jumped right into their boat to grab the bananas. After he ate it, he jumped into our boat looking for more. There was another monkey who kept his distance and swung in the branches of the nearby trees. It was cool to see them so close up. Sulmi and Kristel reached out to pet the monkey as he wandered around our boat. I didn't.




We opted not to go on the tour since we couldn't hear what the guide said. Instead we spent a lot of time at the "High Temple". The girls made it to the top in about half of the time it took me. It was fun!

Here is a pic of the girls at the top.

This is all three of us at the end while we waited for the guide to return with the tour group.

God's Abundant Grace

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

It's been a while since I blogged, not because things were going poorly, but because I am so immersed in the day to day aspects of my life here, that I have not thought to take many pictures or sit down and describe what is happening. As I reflect on the past two months I am thankful for the peace that hovers in my class and at the church. I am thankful for God's grace and faithfulness to every part of my life here in Belize. My sisters and I read a Seeking Him by Nancy DeMoss together. She says that God's grace is that "amazing, extravagant provision for our every need." Some people comment about my work here in Belize saying, "This woman is all alone." I am never alone. Not only has God surrounded me with wonderful Belizean friends and children, He is never far. His hand is always there, almost in a motherly nature, taking care of everything we need.

Brrrrrr! It's cold here at night. Well, it's not as cold as it is in the states and we don't have snow (smile), but we also do not have heat. At night the temperature plummets to somewhere between 61 and 66 degrees. After a cold shower, that temperature feels chilly. Sulmi and Kristel like to cuddle up on the couch with blankets. Both blankets were given to us, free. God's grace again.

Sulmi's reign as our school queen ended last Friday. She passed her crown and pink cape to the new queen. The other people standing with them are the "also rans". Sulmi enjoyed being the queen and getting her hair styled and dressing up in pretty clothes. She likes to feel pretty, but was embarrassed by all of the attention her classmates gave her. I'm glad she had the chance to experience this boost to her self-esteem.

Both Sulmi and Kristel are 100% teens. I have to make an appointment to use the bathroom sink. On Fridays they can wear something other than their uniforms. Thursday night they both pick out their clothes, trying on different tops to match different pants or skirts. They often try on three or four things before they decide what they will wear. Then having decided, on Friday morning they may change and pick something else. (Hooray for uniforms...They sure make getting up and getting dressed much easier the rest of the week.) We are usually done with breakfast about 7:30. They will spend the next 30 minutes in the bathroom giving each other advice about how to comb their hair. It's fun to see them take care of themselves. I remember that stage when I was a teen trying to select clothes and changing my mind three, four and five times.

School is great! These are pictures from our Valentine Party. During the week each child made 12 Valentines, one for each person in the class plus Angelica and me. They could decorate it anyway they wanted but the inside had to have at least one compliment. On Friday the children took turns passing out their Valentines one at a time to their friends and reading the compliment. In this picture Rayan is reading his valentine to Hipolito. His smile reflects not so much what the compliment said, but how proud or impressed he is with the younger student's writing and reading. Hipolito is always kind and gracious to the younger children trying to encourage them and build them up.

This is Elizanie showing off two of her Valentines.

Church is going well. Every Tuesday Manuel comes to my school and asks, "What story do you want to teach next Sunday?" We talk about some ideas and I tell him to pray about it. He comes back on Wednesdays with a verse or a story. Then we look for pictures to help him tell the Bible story in a more interesting way so that everyone will understand. He practices and then on Sunday he tells the Bible lesson during church. All of the children look up to him. He is increasing in confidence and growing in his ability to use space and facial expression.

The thing that amazes me the most is recently he has been adding an interpretation. He'll explain what the story means. I don't usually go over that with him, because that is what I do in the "sermon" with a power point. Yet, God's spirit fills him and he says things that are so right on and so direct to what the passage is communicating. I asked him how he learned this, and he says he watches the video and tries to match it to the easy to read Bible and God helps him understand.

I used to wonder how he as a semi-illiterate young man could pastor our church, not really being able to read the Bible. I shared this with Galen Groff. His reply was, "God's spirit helps illiterate men and women read the Bible all the time." God is enabling Manuel. It's amazing to me.

This is Mario. He is holding the first driver's license ever awarded to a Deaf person in Orange Walk. Many prayed that he would get a license, and God blessed him. On the driver's license application in OW is a place where a doctor must sign saying the person has good hearing and good vision. This signature had been the roadblock for Mario and others for years. It looked like a deaf person would never be able to get a license in OW. But many of you prayed... and your prayers after a year or two were finally answered. The man at the transportation department waived the need to have the hearing test. Amazing. This all happened about a year ago.

Shortly thereafter, Mario left the church. I wish that he could have seen God's grace in his life... how he is the only deaf boy in his class with a real job (We prayed! He prayed, God answered his prayer.) Now he has a license which is also a gift from God, but he doesn't realize the grace that has been extended to him. He stayed away because he cannot pretend to be a Christian on Sunday morning and go out carousing Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. I am thankful that he knows there is a contradiction with that lifestyle.

Last Sunday he came to church. He said he wants to try and change his life around. By Grace I was teaching on temptation (How Jesus was tempted in the desert and how we can learn to resist temptation following Jesus' example.) Pray that the Holy Spirit leads and guides Mario. Pray that he can resist the temptations all around him.

Merry Christmas from Belize!

Sulmi with her brother and sisters in front of the neighbor's "Christmas Tree".

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

Thank you for praying for us and following this blog this year. One friend said, "You sure have had a lot of drama this year." I think that the drama is part of being in the middle of what God is doing. Sometimes there are astounding transformations in people's lives that are so rewarding. I just spent an hour praying and reading the Bible with Edgar. Yesterday he sent me a letter: "Please, can you and I study the Bible? I want to follow Jesus. Please can we meet today?"

I asked Manuel if he would lead worship while I am in the states for Christmas and minor surgery on my finger. He jumped at the chance. (YES!) I reminded him I would not be here to drive, so everyone would have to get to church themselves. He's already planning what he wants to preach on. He's telling everyone to come to church on the 27th. He is so excited. He is so "called". I praise God because a year ago he had turned his back on the church. Now he is letting the Holy Spirit lead him to do God's will. It's one of God's transformations.

Finances? I don't know how God does it, but I am just so thankful how blessed I am, from people who send Dr. Wonder Workshop videos, books for school and church, a computer for me, a projector for the church, money for the school to build a bathroom, Christmas gifts for the children, a HUGE box of seasonal crafts, Crystal Light, and money to support transportation needs...

All these blessings and answers to prayer remind me daily that God is working here in Belize. There is drama, and attacks from dogs, mean people and other diversions, but God answers that with blessings and support and change and your encouragement. So I think of all of you this Christmas and thank you for being part of God's plan and work here in Belize.

Our theme this advent has been "O, Come let Us Adore Him". I pray, as I write, that you will encounter the Christ child, and living Jesus with unbridled adoration, just like the wisemen, angels, Mary, Joseph and all of the shepherds who ran to find him, then knelt to worship him.

With love,

Nancy

This is the Day That the Lord Has Made!

On Sunday Alejandro and Edgar were baptized. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. We chose to worship at the pool At St. Lucia's Hotel instead of in the church so that we would not need to drive somewhere in the middle of the service. Galen and Phyllis Groff came from Guatemala to join our group of 18 deaf people, some small hearing children and the mother of one of the boys. The worship began as we always do with prayer and members each leading a song. I taught about why baptism is necssary. I wanted the boys and the church members to have a handle on the concept so they could be confident, and be able to give an answer to anyone who asked, "Why do you get baptized?" Manuel taught the story of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. Then the two boys, Edgar and Alejandro came forward and each made a confession. They were honest and sincere. We then proceeded to the pool. We baptized each boy individually. They knelt and I asked them questions of faith: Do you believe in God the father who created the world? Do you believe in Jesus, his son, who died on the cross to reconcile you to God? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit of God that comes into your heart at baptism and gives you power to resist temptation and do God's work? Do you want to join the church and help the church do the work of the Kingdom? Do you want to grow in faith and knowledge of Jesus through prayer and Bible study? They answered the questions with yes and a smile... and then I baptized them. I kind of expected the heavens to open up and for God to say something wise to all of us. It was a moving moment for me. We closed by welcoming our two new brothers into the congregation and sharing hugs and blessings. Everyone stayed for a fellowship meal of rice and beans and chicken.

It was also Edgar's birthday. He turned 16...so we had a cake and sang to him.

Edgar walked home saying, "Will we continue to meet on Friday's for Bible study?" He enjoyed the two months of Friday night Bible studies that we had in preparation for his baptism. I am asking God to guide me with what to do with Friday nights. There are several ideas I am tossing around and am not sure which way to go. God will make it clear.

The Friday Night "Girl's Night" Bible study became a mothers with children Bible study and we often had more children than women. It was hard to concentrate and made me think that these mothers need to get together. Maybe the focus should, be something to do with healthy mothering...games to play with your child, how to make playdoh, how to get your child to go to sleep at night, how to discipline your child, how does a deaf mother "read" to their child? how and when do you teach your child about Jesus? Yet the best time for "Mother's Night Out" might be during the day...maybe in the mornings or afternoons when I have school. Transportation is difficult at night but most could walk or ride the bus during the day. Hmmmm. Where is the best place for this idea? (probably at the church). How do we organize it? Who leads? Do we have food? Do we need childcare or is the focus including the children? How long should it be?

For a while I have also had the inkling that we should do a Believer's Bible study...this would be a continuation of the study that Edgar and I did... it would probably be held during the week right after school (4- 5 PM?) because the boys live far away and I dont want them traveling in the dark. Yet, I wonder if they would be too tired from school to launch into this. I wonder also how often an after school teachers' meeting woud conflict with this time. Should it be Believer's only... a small group... a committed cell group, or should it be more open to anyone who wants to come?

If anyone feels called to take a leap of faith and bring their ASL signing skills to Belize, I think there are a number of different kinds of groups like this that God would help you lead (smile).