Breakdowns Lead to Detours which Lead to Great Sunsets

Hello,
   We are currently flying along the coast of Mexico on our way to Toronto.  Our flight left on time and we all look forward to having dinner at the Toronto Airport.  The students did a good job packing and cleaning and we had an hour to say goodbye to all of our new found friends at the YWAM. We were off the base and headed back to Belize City by 9:15am.   I had to do some shrewd negotiating to get our second bag free at checkin but I won this small victory.

Yesterday was another fun-filled day with an abundance of stories.  It seems like every bump we hit providentially provides new blessings.  This has been one of the many themes of this trip.  At 7:15 am yesterday with left the camp by bus to head to Belize City for our snorkel/beach day.  The plan was to arrive at the launching spot at 9:00am.  About 20 minutes into our journey our bus overheated. We pulled over to add water, but it overheated again within 10 minutes. Jeff Vermette made an admirable effort trying to repair it with a Belizean machete.  Some kids needed to use the washroom to we made it to the restaurant we went to on the first day, Cheers. Here we had some glass bottle sodas and literally chilled.. From here, we waited for Santi to find a new bus and get us back on track. Most ministries in Belize provide unlimited support to each other so another bus was acquired, and 1.5 hours later, we were back on the road.  We arrived at the boat dock almost two hours late. Thankfully the crew was willing to allow us to stay out at sea later.  Because we were out at sea later, we were blessed with the nicest sunset I have ever seen on the way home.  Every person on the trip marvelled at the sunset as we cruised the Caribbean Sea back to Belize City.  The bus breakdown led to a fantastic sunset.  Remember this message when something happens that sends you for a detour.  Maybe detours are just providence that something unexpectedly awesome will happen.

Once we arrived in Belize City, our beach day was as great as ever.  With a smaller group, we were put on a smaller boat that enabled us to take in the sites well.  Within 45 minutes, we were snorkelling at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve.  Our group snorkelled right off of the second largest reef in the world and enjoyed the nemos, dories, eels, and saw a fish from every color of the rainbow.  Every time I snorkel, I see a new kind of fish.  My own highlight was a grumpy odd-shaped fish that just stared at me for as long as I stared at him.

We then cruised over to Shark Ray Alley.  Mark and I marvelled about the amount of nurse sharks and rays that enfolded us this time.  It was more than ever.  Most of our students braved the four foot water and experienced rays and sharks rubbing against their legs and going between their legs.  The screams of terror quickly turned into screams of joy (I think).    As an added bonus, a large barracuda came to join our party.  He gave a few members of our group a quick scan, but decided we weren't a balanced or blessed meal and kept his (or her) distance.

After our snorkelling adventures, we headed over to Cay Caulker.  We docked at the Split, an area that divided Cay Caulker during Hurricane Hattie.  Students were able to find a lunch spot and enjoy this small Island for 2.5 hours.

On our first trip, six years ago, we were also on a small boat and the crew was able to take us to a place called "Miami Beach".  This beach is actually out in the middle of the Caribbean.  It is a white sandbar, free of any rocks, and is consistently about three feet underwater. It is the size of two football fields.  The crew was willing to take us back to this Eden and we spent about 30 minutes splashing around the 90 degree water.   This may be my favourite spot in the world.  I dream of lawn chairs and hot dogs on the grill as I awkwardly dive into the water.

The sunset guided us back to Belize City.  We cleaned up and went to an authentic Belizean restaurant in the heart of Belize City.  Old Belize, where we usually attend, was destroyed from the Hurricane Earl last Summer.  The new restaurant was right in the core of downtown.  It was a new experience to see Belize in this way.  Students ate traditional meals.  I had a Chirmole Soup.  Many of our students chose to order the barracuda while others feasted on snapper, rice and beans, lamb stew, and ceviche. Near the end of the dinner the students discovered that they could turn the restaurant into a dance floor.  Unfortunately, we chose not to spend the night dancing in Belize City and we returned to base at about 10:00pm.

Students were tired. Devotions occurred in the rooms.  In the guys room, every student took a moment to pray amongst the group.  In both rooms, the students chose to tithe the remaining Belize money they had and Josh B. presented it to Santi and Lilli as a blessing to YWAM.  I am proud of our students for choosing to do this. I am proud of our students in 1000 different ways.  This has been a special trip and I am prayerful that the abundance of providence and the experiences of Belize and the Belizeans will enable all of our students to reach their God-given potential.

Last night, Mark and I reminisced about all of the great chaperones that have come with us to Belize.  Much like them, our current group of chaperones has been fantastic to work with and fantastic for our students.  It is a transformational trip for them as well.  So many great memories.   Santi and lilli have said over and over that there is something special about the groups from Unity.  Our chaperones play a big role in making this happen:)

This is my 6th trip to Belize.  The friendly nature of Belizeans has enabled me to develop so many positive relationships with the people in Belize.  It feels like I have friends everywhere.  On this trip, I loved my time with the four middle school boys that are living at the base because they don't have a healthy home life.  Reed, Tractor, Devan, and Zyland were such great kids to spend a week with.  It was hard saying goodbye.  Our current grade seven class would love these boys.

I will send a quick note on the Unity facebook page just before we take off from Toronto.

Thank you so so so much for all of your prayers.  They are so felt by all of us.

It is unbelizable how many things just happen to work out when in Belize.  #PTL

Independence Day

Today was our final service day in Belize. Mark and I decided to try a new activity, a trip to  South of Belize near the town of Placencia.  The YWAM director Santi and his wife Lilli have friends that own beach front property in the town of Independence.  We awoke at 5:30am (some perhaps at 5:59am) and headed out for Independence shortly after 6:00am.  It is a 3-hour journey to this southern coastal region.  It was a beautiful drive. The first 1.5 hours was spent traversing a mountain pass that included a view of the “Sleeping Giant”, a mountain peak that resembles Te Fiti in the Disney classic Moana.  It was also a journey through the jungle.  After a stop for drinks and snacks near Dangringa, the final 1.5 hours was a straight flat stretch that took us due South and followed the coast (I think, we didn’t actually see the coast, but it seemed close).

Once we arrived in Independence, we were able to spend two hours at the private beach that our new found friends own.  I would recommend to all readers that you should try to find new found friends with beach front property in the Caribbean.  The beach house and beach are on a lagoon across an inlet from Placencia.  The owners also allowed us to use their fiberglass canoes.  The beach was beautiful, the water was warm (it looked more like a lake), and we had a relaxing couple of hours enjoying Caribbean life.  To commit to being fully cliché, Charmaine even had a coconut fall on her head.  #classiccharmaine

Around 1:00pm, we packed up and stopped by a grocery store for snacks before preparing our hot dog feast and kids crafts at Independence Primary School.  We found out that Cashews are very expensive in Belize. 

This day was so unknown.  The students prayed last night about it being an impactful day.  As a Christian School, our goal is to come to Belize and support other schools. We expected today to me messy, but it ended up exceeded our expectations 20-fold.

At 2:00pm, the Hot Dog Feast and Craft Time started.  We went in blind and it turned out to be beyond awesome.  We plowed through 400 hot dogs and played with the kids for nearly three hours.  Kids face painted, blew bubbles, put on tattoos (I am hoping and assuming fake ones), played volleyball, colored, and played soccer.  All parties involved had such an enjoyable time.  The pictures are worth 100,000 synonyms for joyJ  The students are now challenged to bring some of this fun back to our own elementary school.

We prayed for a impactful day and it was certainly an impactful day.  The school was a public school and they asked us to add Bible Studies for their children on our next trip. #amazing

When I arrived at the school, I had several students run up and give me hugs, making comments such as, “pastor you have returned”.  It dawned on me that I must look a bit like a pastor that had spent time at the school.   To add to this, the children almost always added, “pastor you are back, and you are bigger” or “pastor you have returned, but you have grown”.  I am assuming there is a mini-me with a 6-pack roaming Belize pastoring to schools.  I don’t hope to meet him one dayJ  This story did remind me to sign up for another half marathon to look more like this mythical pastor.

During devotions, the kids spoke about service and also about the Belizean people.  The students admire the Belizean’s friendliness, faith, kindness, and their carefree pace in life.  People are exceptionally friendly in Belize.  Belizean kids love people and love playing in abundance. Adults say hello each time you walk by them.  In general, time is not as significant as it is to us.   Students were also challenged to not just demonstrate their faith more in words, but also in actions, primarily in relationship and being inclusive. Our conversations during devotion time often run an hour and this is cutting the conversation off.

The students noted that the pace also does not include a lot of screen time.  While many Belizeans have phones, they are typically not smart phones.  We have not seen any young adult or child playing on a phone our entire time here.  We have also only seen one tv and it was showing America’s funniest home videos.  During each trip, at night, our students play cards, chat about the day, and play Belize ball.  Nobody is near a phone.  The fellowship is fantastic.  Once we enter a restaurant on Wi-Fi, we all certainly binge on DATA, but these moments are few and far between.  Cell phones are not all bad, and it is important to discern how to use them well.  However, technology has shifted how we spend time in community.  Community exists online and community is much larger on line, possibly too large.  With this said, there is something special (almost magical) about sitting and playing cards in a covered area in Belize, conversing and laughing with the sound of howler monkeys, parrots, and a trillion bugs harmonizing in the background.  There is something nice about not being locked into six different devices while watching the NBA game, completely ignoring the people beside us that are also locked into six different devices watching the newest Netflix Original.  I will read this in a week on one of my six devicesL  Recognizing the value of being in what unfortunately is now called “old-fashioned community” can feel very “hezellich”.

Tomorrow is our final full day in Belize.  Time flies.  We head out at 7:15am for our beach day at Shark Ray Alley and Cay Caulker.  I likely won’t post tomorrow night.

Kids are eagerly awaiting embarrassing messages, please do send them my way.

Pastor Frankie, Mayan Site, and a Time to Reflect

It is about 10:10 and we are all getting ready or in bed as we are waking up at 5:30am tomorrow to travel to Placencia for our service opportunity.  This is a new trip for us and Josh L. prayed tonight that it will go well and that we can transform while being transformed.

We had a great sabbath.  Although breakfast was not scheduled until 8:30am, six boys voluntarily got up at 6:00am to put a couple of hours into bridge construction and ditch digging.  I love that children are willing to get up two hours before they need to solely to dig some ditches.  Southern Drip may need to sponsor our next trip (product placement).

It was a hot day.  After breakfast we cleaned up (well I must say) and walked to Living Waters Fellowship.  We arrived early and were able to catch the last half of the young adults Sunday School. The focus for the youth was on "Building a Legacy and Planting a Seed in Their Own Lives".  Pastor Frankie spoke about not having a good father but the need for Belize to have good fathers in the future and that Jesus is a pathway to helping make that happen.  With only 20% of Belizean children knowing who their father is, this is an important message.  He also talked about not storing treasures for heaven. Pastor Frankie has a tremendous gift of using story, energy, laughter, and intensity all in one.  His messages always resonate so well with our students.

The main service started at 10:30.  After some singing we were able to hear a message on being relentless in our faith.  Pastor Frankie challenged us to be relentless rebuilders and to have what he calls sticktuitiveness.  His message focused on Nehemiah 4 (rebuilding of the wall) and Pastor Frankie spoke about the "3 Weapons to Opposition (mockery, threat, fear) and then the "3 Responses to Opposition" (prayer, working hard, and being alert).  Pastor Frankie is literally one of the most entertaining people I know.  We could have listened to him all day.  The man has a gift that can only be found on a dirt road in the countryside of Belize.

The church service lasted 2.5 hours so we quickly grabbed bag lunches back at the camp and then we headed out to the Mayan site.  The drive went well and the students took the small ferry across the river and hiked up to the site. Because it was so hot, the students found the hike to the site quite taxing.  At the site, the students were blown away from the Mayan architecture.  Our students sweat, climbed, took photos, sweat, found monkeys, learned about Mayan culture, sweat, laughed, and certainly accumulated a lot of sweat.  We also added the "I" to our UNITY at the ruins (copyright to Theo VanderKooi).

Back at the bottom, near the ferry is a road of vendors that sell Belizean items (if a Rastafarian coffee mug with Jamaican colors that says Belize on it is Belizean).  It is always joyful to watch the students barter.  They go in with so much confidence and often leave realizing they actually paid more than the asking price.  Some students act like they are negotiating at the Yalta Conference (reference for Ms. Huzing) and almost argue the asking price in a non-passive anger.  It is cute.  Johnathan Zandberg brought the most delight to our crew of quasi-hagglers.  He had a hassle free no-nonsense approach to demanding a certain price that appeared to work about 2% of the time:)

After our negotiating and the aquistition of a small countries armoury of machetes (likely made in China), we headed out to Hodes for dinner. Hodes is a fantastic restaurant in San Ignacio.  It is well worth the visit if you are every in the area, and I am not just saying this because they give Mark and I free ice cream for bringing groups in:)

We drove home in the dark.  I drove while both Marks were on the lookout for hidden speed bumps.  Last trip we missed a speed bump in the dark and I am fairly certain that Braeden Collie went so high in the air that he hit is head on the roof of the bus.  Although we couldn't figure out if the high beams were brighter than the regular beams (they were both ultra low beams), the drive was speed bump at 80kms free:)  Our students sang worship songs for much of the ride home.

We arrived back at camp and Team Rauwerda led a powerful devotions on "worship" in Belize.  Not just the amazing charismatic church service we experienced, but how peoples faith is noticeable in so many parts of Belize.  The devotions took a turn and all 26 students dove into a conversation on how they can bring this visible faith back with them to Canada.  They began brainstorming ways to shift the culture of our high school to increase faith formation and to be more open about demonstrating and sharing our faith as well as seeing the power of prayer in every aspect of their lives.  It was an exceptionally mature conversation for a group of 16 - 19 year olds.  It was fun to hear them talk about liturgy in chapels, testimonies in chapels, leading by example, and how to prayerfully and respectfully have accountability that they will come back to Canada with an increased passion for faith formation. These students are blowing us away with their ideas and hearts.  Each and every one of them.  You have a lot to be proud of moms and dads.  Please do pray for your children as their hearts are admirable and their task is huge.

MC

Tubes, Zips, Tarantulas, and Fires

Instead of writing late last night, I am up early this morning writing in my Wi-Fi field. Above me, two green parrots are screaming at the top of their lungs. It is the first time I have seen parrots in Belize. It is hard to tell who is winning the one hour long argument between these two parrots as they are not speaking english like the parrots I have met in Canada.  Santi from the base says that they are speaking in tongues. Before 7:00am, five of our students and two chaperones are also up, doing some bonus work on repairing the bridge.

Today was a day to play and experience creation in new ways.  We were able to have breakfast at 8:00am and we then departed for our Cave Tubing/Zip-lining adventure just before 9:00.  In typically Belize fashion, I was informed at 8:45am that we were going to try a new company for the adventure and they were expecting us there at 9:30am.  My only problem was that I was driving and it was a 1 hour and 15-minute drive.  We did end up being 30 minutes late, but in classic Belize fashion, this is also never a problem. 

Having done the trip numerous times, Mark Huberts and I are able to prepare the kids and chaperones well for the adventures each day.  Small curveballs such as changing venues can throw everyone for a bit of a loop.  However, the new company was very organized, the cave system was longer, lunch was fantastic (jerk chicken and rice and beans), and the zip lining launched from higher points than our previous venue.  We certainly have a new company to work with.  As a footnote, we were able to negotiate the cost per child at only 7% of the cost that the cruise ships pay. Just give me a shout if you cruise through Belize and I am certain I can get you in for freeJ

Our students loved the adventures.  Aside from our Belizean YWAM friend L.J., nobody showed any fear.  The scenery was amazing.  Even walking to the river and first zip, we passed Hibiscus trees that are 40 feet tall, mahogany tress, a toddler aged tarantula, and a dense jungle.

On the way home, we saw a large amount of smoke in the distance.  As we drove along the hummingbird highway, we narrowed the gap on this smoke.  At the bottom of a hill, we looked up and felt that the fire was right on the highway. Cars, busses, and unidentifiable types of vehicles were still moving in both directions so we pushed forward.  As we went up the hill, we closed all of our windows.  At the top of the hill, we entered smoke as dense as smoked pea soup.  We were able to see large flames along the highway through the dense smoke.  The bus pushed through and we were able to re-open the windows about 500 meters later.  It was not a dangerous experience, but it was unique.  I did picture a Globe and Mail news headline that read, “bus driven by Unity Christian principal drives 26 students into fire in Belize”.  Because Belize is essentially free of seasons, they name their seasons, hurricane season and burning season. We are clearly in burning season, there have been small brush fires along the roads in many places.  These fires don’t appear to be of major concern to the locals.

When we got back to camp, the students were eager to keep connecting.  A handful of students hung out at camp to spend time with the kids from the camp.  Jeff Vermette did some more work on the bridge. The rest of our students went down the road from camp to play basketball and volleyball with our Belizean friends.  Our student team defeated the Belizean/Canadian adult team 66-65 on a bank shot at the buzzer by Dylan Both.  It was so much fun doing something that we love while serving.  We did spend time talking about using our gifts, talents, and passions as a vessel to connect and serve.  The soccer ministry at the YWAM base is a fantastic example of this.

Tonight was bonfire night.  The flames were massive and it took about an hour before they were low enough to fry up some dogs.  We sat around the flames with the YWAM staff and family and enjoyed good conversation. One group of students had a long discussion about the need to transfer their faith that they demonstrate in Belize to the halls of Unity Christian School.  During devotions they spoke to this and all students felt convicted to be more open to sharing and praising when we are back on our home soil.  Pray for our students as they take on this massive yet awesome challenge.

Our students enjoyed hot dogs, chips and queso, marshmallows, and Sundays that were prepared by some of the high school boys at YWAM that want to go on their own missions trip to Argentina.  Nearly every one of our students bought the Sundays with all proceeds going to the trip. Many of our students gave more money that the Sundays cost.  I thought it was awesome that our students were giving in the same way people gave to them to go on the trip.

After a small tarantula hunt that uncovered a behemoth tarantula (legend has it that it was the size of breadbox), we entered our devotional time, led by Coral’s group.  Our grade 5 friends Zyaland, Tractor, and Reed were noble tarantula hunters (this would be a great reality show).  During devotions, the girls focused on Galatians and encouraged people to share new things they have learned about their peers on the trip.  Every student was given multiple affirmations by multiple people around the circle.  A lot of the affirmations centered around the demonstration of faith.  It was a powerful hour of sharing.   The girls opened with 2 songs.  In the closing prayer, the theme of the trip has been to hold hands in a circle to pray together.  The girls followed last night’s group and did just this.  For the kids and for me, this is also a vulnerable way of praying.  It is becoming normal for all of us.  After prayer, the devotions were over, but the entire group asked if they could sing more.  We stood, we clapped, and we sang Blessed be Your Name.  We sung loud.  This is atypical for any high school group I have worked with.  Zyland joined us as well. It was fantastic.

Santi, our friend and director at the base commented that he is amazed at how Unity consistently brings amazing teams down to Belize.  He said that every one of our groups has connected, worked, rejoiced, and praised more than most groups.  He said he can tell that something is special at Unity.  To any alumni reading this, thank you, your stamp on Belize is still visibleJ

Today we enjoy the Sabbath with a morning of enjoying parrots and sleeping tarantulas. We will dress up and head to Living Waters Church at 10:00am. After this, we will quickly load up in the bus and drive to San Ignacio to visit the Mayan Site (Mayan Ruins is no longer the proper term), and have dinner at Hodies in San Ignacio. 

Please do keep sending us your messagesJ