Take Time to Help the Less Fortunate in Belize

 

My family and I recently returned from a mission trip to the country of Belize. My daughter’s school has a mission’s club to which she belongs and it was a wish of hers that our entire family be part this experience. This was the third time she has made the trip to Belize, twice with her school and once on a medical missions trip with our church. I have never felt the calling for missions but after attending several of the planning meetings and at her and her classmate’s urging, my wife and I felt God wanted us to make the trip.

Belize is located in Central American just below Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico side. It is a beautiful country, but there is poverty; which we saw soon after leaving the airport in Belize City. The weather in October is typically hot and humid not unlike what we encounter during late summer in Alabama. My daughter’s school has partnered with a school in Belize called Saint Augustine. This school is located in the village of Middlesex, and our partnership is designed to help fill the needs of that school which educates children from the age of 5 to 13. The children at the school were very warm and friendly the first day we arrived. As soon as I got off the old school bus we were traveling in, we were surrounded by a small group of children. They were excited about our group being there and hugged each one of us.

The students and teachers on this trip were tasked with helping the great teachers at this school teach class, play with the kids, and just love on them. The teachers we met were dedicated and clearly enjoyed their job. While the teachers, mothers, and students worked with the school children, the older men on the trip were tasked to build a playground from the lumber purchased by donations. We worked for 4 days in the heat and humidity and as we approached the end of our last day, I was concerned that we would not be able to finish the project. In reflecting back on the final hours, it has become clear to me that God  slowed time down to give us the ability to finish. As the next thing I remember is looking up to see a large group of kids playing, laughing, swinging, and sliding on the playground that we had just finished.

I want to thank my law partners and each of our Bond and Botes' offices for their support both in prayer and financially. I also want to thank Kidz Konnect 4 Jesus in Belize and Evangel Classical Christian School for making this trip a reality and for blessing my family.