Life Link

So, Monday arrived with a beautiful sunrise and everyone while extremely worn out was packed up and ready to go to the airport early! It was a sweet time of sharing the love and gospel of Jesus with so many In Belize, but we were all ready to get back to our own homes and families. :)

We had a great group of team members this year as always and I love seeing the body of Christ come together with everyone doing their part but with no part being more important than the other. 

Although, we still have seven sets of batteries that need to be shipped to the Hearts of Christ mission, over 60 wheelchairs were distributed along with countless rollators, walkers, crutches, canes, diapers, pads, Bibles, Gospel bracelets, food packets, faith-based kid items, candy and hygiene kits. So, God definitely made an impact in many people’s lives who live in Belize and I know from the thank yous and words of gratitude that hearts were touched as only He can do. We know that seeds were planted to expand God’s kingdom, and He worked in people’s lives doing things that only he knows need to be done.

Coming back to the United States is always a welcome for us but also a challenge coming from a simpler and slower paced word to the world of information overload and complexity. We like to call in First World reentry. Adjustments will come but the return to the sweetness of connecting with believer in a third world country will be welcome. :)

Sunday was a much slower paced day as we only had a few appointments in the morning, but we did spend quite a bit of time organizing all of the items that were going to be donated to a local non-profit hospital. I was amazed that we had so many items that hopefully they will be able to use as they have so little at the hospital and only a few clinics scattered throughout the country. 

Their education is very minimal, too and some of the items we have left in the past they weren’t even sure what they were. However, this year many of the items are basic mainstays for hospital facilities like oxygen concentrators, IV poles, standing tables, feeding tube supplies, tracheostomy supplies, etc that we hope they will be able to put them to good use quickly. 

After getting everything put away, we then went on a little outing to a local village to distribute more food packets, Gospel bracelet kits, Bibles, faith-based kid items, candy and hygiene kits. It is always extremely humbling to go into these places where some have electricity but most do not have water. However, there are many believers we meet along the way and the joy of the Lord is still overflowing from their lives. They even have such beautiful surroundings of God’s great outdoors that is an encouragement and there are many Christ honoring churches in the area that keep everyone moving forward in Christ. 

We always say there are first world problems and third world problems and while many times we look at third world problems as much more severe they are often much simpler and easier to navigate than the complicated problems we see in our culture and society of America today.

Now that everything from our two twenty-foot containers that came from Texas and Florida was sorted, organized, cleaned, repaired and ready to distribute, we started taking appointments at 9:00 a.m on Friday. People were at the gate before 7:00 a.m. ready to come into the Hearts of Christ mission facility but we still had a few things to get ready before opening the gate. 

Friday was a full day of seeing kids and adults with a variety of disabilities from amputations (diabetes is huge challenge in Belize so this is very common as they can diagnose but have no medicine for treatment), cerebral palsy, spina bifida, spinal cord injuries and other diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions. The health care in Belize is very minimal with only three small non-profit hospitals that are not very well equipped or educated so most people in Belize go to Guatemala for health care which is expensive and unobtainable for most.

In turn, our outreach is so valuable and needed to help them get the basics to make it through each day. Plus, we were blessed to be able to give out Bibles, hygiene kits, Gospel bracelet kits, faith-based kid items, candy and food packets to each family that came as well as pray with many!

By Saturday morning we had already given out most of our mobility items and much of our medical supplies, so we were really grasping to find items that were appropriate and adequate for everyone. However, God always supplied everything we needed even down to the last two appointments in which we basically had to fabricate two manual wheelchairs from the parts we had to meet their needs. Both were spinal cord injuries and what we had was not ideal, but they were thrilled to receive what we were able to give. 

I can still see the smile on the final gentleman we fitted who was a recently injured and had no wheelchair at all. His wife and family came carrying him in a pickup truck and out of the truck into a chair to sit in on the porch where we were distributing mobility items. In the end we were only able to put together a transport chair for him, but he and his wife were so thankful to have something in which she could push him around. They are on the top of our list for next year and excited about us coming back and us hopefully having something that will make his life even better.

With donations drying up here in the USA, we are looking a possibly having to purchase wheelchairs from other ministries who refurbish or fabricate basic model to have enough mobility items to distribute. So, please be in prayer for God to connect us to the right groups to make this happen. :)

Although we were all tired from the traveling excitement of Wednesday, everyone was up and ready to get going with our work on Thursday. 

We started the day like every day with breakfast and devotions and then went to work sorting, organizing, cleaning and repairing the items that had been shipped to the Hearts of Christ mission for us to distribute.

It is always one of the more difficult days as there’s so much manual labor involved and getting things done but our team of which I am one of the younger ones had the joy of the Lord strengthening us to get it all done.  There is just something about that wonderful older generation of Christians who have the mindset of working until the job is done and done well no matter how long or how tired you are.

It always amazes me how God works through the hearts and minds of his people to do such great things and while we were very tired and a bit sore at the end of the day, everything was ready for our appointments that started the next day. :-)

Our eighth annual mission trip and outreach to Belize began with quite a bit of excitement as everyone was set to leave early on Wednesday, February 19th and there was snow that was set to start falling early that morning in Tennessee. So, the four folks coming from Tennessee had to hop on their early flights which ended up being delayed and then rushed through the airport in Florida to make their connections going to Belize. However, God held the doors open and everyone was able to make it. Praise the Lord Jesus. :-) 

The rest of us coming from Florida had less fanfare but there were other delays so two of the four of us coming from the sunshine State also had to sprint to make the connecting flights. However, as always God was faithful and everyone made it on board. 

All in all, eight of us made it to Belize on our scheduled flights and were able to make it to the Hearts of Christ mission house on time to settle in, unpack, have our first team meeting together and even do our Blessing of the Hands commissioning service. The service was so meaningful and fruitful as it helped calm us all down from the fast paced day and recenter us on Christ and our mission for the trip.

Our one lone member coming from California had several delays and did not make it until about 7:00 p.m. that night. So, while we had just finished the Blessing of the Hands commissioning service all of the items were still in place and we washed and blessed his hands right after he arrived.

The timing was tight and there was lots of excitement but as always God came through and our entire team made it to the Hearts of Christ mission in Belize on Wednesday, February 19th so we could tuck into our mosquito nets and rest soundly for the tasks ahead. :-)