Last day in Belize.

and yes, it is still hot, but hey- now we are used to it so we don't even notice!
Today was probably the most relaxed we have had all this time. We had the options, again, of staying at the hotel or going souvenir shopping or going to the construction site. Either one we chose, we got a lot of rest.

Towards the end of the night, after the church service and dinner at church (cooked and served by our rad new Belizean friends) some pranks between the teens went on and we had some good laughs, but we now have some major cleaning to do. The girls decided we were going to put well... femine hygene products all over the boys room, and in return they dumped water on us and threw our clothes all over our room.

Since it was the last night, Jared Callahan took some kids over to the feild by the beach to play some midnight soccer while a few of us stayed back here to relax (and as for me, write the blog and upload pictures)

All in all, this trip was one we will never ever forget, and as Marc Otto said "This trip was a taste of heaven."

Picture Party on July 19

We will have a picture party for all Belize team members and their families on Monday, July 19 at 7p at the home of the Kessler's.  Everyone who took pictures on the trip is encouraged to bring 10-20 of their favorite photos to share with everyone else.  Bring your pictures on a usb thumb drive, cd, or dvd.  We'll have a projector setup outside, so bring a camping/beach chair to sit on.

If you can bring a dessert to share, we'll have an informal dessert potluck.  

Our address is 3122 N. Evergreen Street near the intersection of Lytton and Rosecrans.

Last night of family groups

And instead of sticky and hot, its sticky and lightning-y and thunder-y.

Today was an amazing recovery from our bug bites and tired feet from climbing rocks.
The construction went great, we got the most important part acomplished which was putting up forms which includes carrying nearly 600 pounds of wicked heavy bulletwood across a slim scafold along with three other people, too.

No VBS today, though. We still had some neighborhood kids come around and actually help us with our construction which was rad cause they totally didn't have to! After the construction was over, our brilliant leaders gave us the choice to go the the beach or souvenier shopping (be expecting stuff, mom) or staying at the construction site with great endurance. We found a great shop that everyone loved omit the part about how small it was and how we tried to fit around 12 people in there, but nonetheless, there was tons of genuine Belizean trinkets. Most of the stores here are more like $1 Stores, with factory produced items and crammed with half-opened boxes and lots of junk.

After we all got home and showered and started to relax, you could find more intriguing conversations, people trying to figure out crazy riddles, ninjas playing intense games, and teaching new friends new games. It was so great to see a moment like that, where everyone was so beyond happy. One of the coolest parts of the night was a big lightning and thunder storm that past right over us, while fireflies buzzed around our trees.

After the solid moment of sprinkling rain, we went to listen to two guys who came on this trip and their stories. Royer and Brent are two guys who went through a very tough life involving drugs, violence, and finally rehab, where they found Christ and fell in love with the feeling of being a true Christian.

Then come after the devotional about lifting each other up, we broke into our family groups where we had a wicked awesome experience of praising each other. We had one person in our group sit in "the chair" where everyone else said exactly what they loved about that person, and I was in awe at how people felt about not only me, but how I came to realize all the things i love about everyone in return. Its such a rad feeling that you have a family of people who care enough to spend time to get to know you and actually love you when they don't have to.

Return Info

Sorry about the confusion over our return flight. Here is our arrival info:

Wednesday, July 7 Group 1: Return to San Diego (AA Flight 2194/533)
We arrive around 10:50pm. Go to www.aa.com for exact time.

Thanks!

VBS Poem

Sunday services at Corozal Church of the Nazarene were beautiful.  We went to both the am and pm services.  At the morning services the VBS kids had made thank you cards for the VBS workers.  They called everyone up by name and presented each person with a homemade card and a hug of gratitude.  It was very sweet.  One of the older kids, Amy, wrote a poem for us, and several of the kids read a verse to us in front of the congregation.  It was such an honor.  We wanted to share the poem with you:

Around the world there is many a need,
Churches to build, children to feed
Sometimes with their backs against the wall
God's people respond and heed God's call.

This team from California did exactly that
You energized themselves and gave all that you got
You felt the need and you are doing you part
Cause you love Jesus from the bottom of your heart.

You are this group from San Diego who heard about us
You excitedly met and found time to discuss
The vote was counted, there wasn't a NO
Corozal Nazarene was the place to go.

Though things seemed difficult yet there was no fear
You knew that God would answer each and every prayer
While information about Belize you eagerly sought
Funds were being raised and airfares were being bought.

You headed to Belize to arrive after noon
But this was not to be, at least not so soon
Tropical storm Alex announced, Here I roll
But let us remember that God was in control.

Dallas, Belize, Cancun, Dallas and Belize again
The storm was here with the wind and rain
Discouraged you were not, you never lost it
You trusted God. He wasn't surprised a bit.

Tired and famished after such a long flight
Yet upbeat and smiling and looking fine what night
You feasted on the food and we got our wish
We think you enjoyed our special local dish.

Then we saw you --here with a block, there with a tool
While we the children were in Vacation Bible School
We thank God for the teachers who taught us so well
As we always run home with good news to tell.

We tell of the songs and the stories we now know
And how Jesus died for us cause He loves us so
We have said yes to Jesus, he is now in our heart
Thanks to you the team, you've really done your part.

We just want to thank you for the kindness you've shown
The sacrifices you've made will never be fully known
We don't have much to give in return, for such a selfless love
But God has promised his blessings that he gives from above.

Arrival to San Diego

I understand that there has been some confusion on when we will be arriving back in San Diego.  We will be coming back on Wednesday night not Tuesday.  I think we land after 11pm on Wednesday night.  We have two more days of construction and frantic packing before we leave Belize.

Being eaten alive in hot and sticky weather

The past two "relax"days have seen more mosquitos then ever before. We took two days off this weekend to visit some Mayan Ruins and the Cerros beach, which had its upsides and downs, too.

The Mayan Ruins were super rad, they had the coolest views from the top and it took some serious climbing and walking to get there. Right when we got into the ruins area, we found some howler monkeys which are unexplainable. They sounded like scary mini gorillas ready for a war... you had to be there. One of the ruins we went to was the highest point in all of Northern Belize, it was wicked up there.

Today, we decided to go to Cerros Beach, which was probably the funniest sight you would ever see. We looked like the biggest tourists in Belize. Apparently Cerros Beach is mosquito heaven, but of course we didn't read that in the guide before hand. We were swatting all the mosquitos with our towels, and we were running around to escape them- there were so many!  We also didn't expect the ocean to be how it was, at about 5 feet in you would sink in gushy, gooey, sticky, slimy, squishy gray clay. It looked something like this: we would all be running into the water trying to throw our clothes off as fast as possible to get in the water to escape the mosquitos, and everyone starts screaming and yelling and making barfing noises when they hit the clay bottom. Hilarious.

The best part? When we got out the mosquitos flocked to us! We stuggled to get dressed as we slapped at every bug near us, as we ran towards the bus to leave as soon as possible.

Now that we are back and showered and clean, its a hilarious memory that puts us in a great mood to stay up and talk to each other as we sit out on our deck, on this perfect, breezy night.

Feeling Comfortable in Belize

Feeling Comfortable in Belize... where it is still wicked hot.

I think we all have adapted to the early mornings, late nights, lazy lunch breaks, and hard-working days, but we are all defiently ready to take a break this weekend.

If you're curious, our wekend will look a little like  this:
wake up, eat breakfast, leave for the river trip, get eaten alive by mosquitos, go back to the hotel, stay up late playing slapface and catch phrase, go to bed, wake up, eat breakfast, go to the ruins, probably get eaten by even more mosquitos, buy souveniers for all of you reading this, go back to the hotel, stay up a little bit, go to sleep, wake up and go back to work.

There you go, our future weekend in a nutshell.

VBS had some issues today involving some older kids bullying the youngsters, but thanks to Kenny Ortega and Marc Otto, it was safely averted. But on the good side, the kids had fun singing and making crafts and playing with our team, and also ended up helping us construction workers paint the schoolhouse! On that note, the construction workers finished painting all of the schoolhouse, and also are in the process of creating a cement walkway. Oh, and cement mixing? 10 bags of cement with ten loads of rocks and ten loads of sand and water. Not the most fun job you could get here.

As I lay here in one of the hammocks, (best part of the place) Im listening and watching all of our team around me and It's really amazing to feel how great of a vibe this trip brings. There are a cluster of kids and leaders playing catchphrase (loudly, I might add. But thats just Cata) I also can see a group of people going deeper into a previous devotional, I can hear some guys quitely playing a dice game, I can see some people relaxing and reading their books or journaling, and I can hear our new  friends speaking spanish and Its so peaceful with all of this commotion at the same time.

We have a nice breeze coming through, masking the heat, and everyones in a great mood.

Halfway home

We are still alive! (even though its still hot)

This trip has gone so well ever since we got here, We have had great food, great attitudes, great people, great conversations, and great fun.

Last night we couldn't get the blog up because we were running late with an all-teens meeting of the youth group, which included the teens eating dinner at a different time then the adults, and going to the hotel to have a rad conversation about our perspective with Jared and other leaders. It was a great time to talk about what we think has been awesome and not-so-awesome, not only on this trip, but the past with Jared, too.

The construction has been going brilliantly. We have gotten so much acomplished, and it's helped create alot
of bonds between people.

One of the things that Jared said last night was how we have about a 4-5 minute walk to the construction site and back everyday and that's a absolutley perfect time to talk to someone, find someone you haven't yet talked to or even met, or just find out more about that person you just wanna know a little bit better.
The pictures that we last posted are only few of many. We have cameras going non-stop here! Jeff and Marc have been using their wicked nice cameras as well as most of us who have digital cameras snapping pictures of the kids and us working hard.

The number of kids attending VBS has been increasing everyday, and our staff love it. Marc went to VBS yesterday and said a prayer to all of the kids telling them about accepting Jesus into their hearts, and when he asked who did, almost the whole room raised their hands. "It was really cute!" -Meghan Zander
Although we have to struggle to wake up at 4:30 am (San Diego time) every morning, and we have to work in unbearable heat, our team has been complaint-free end the kids and teens on our team have had such good attitudes with all of it, it's been surprising us all.

-Sophie Stephens, Team Blogger


P.S. we read the blog comments to the entire group last night and they were a huge hit.  Everyone is committed to reminding J.J. to drink lots of water.  :-)

Our Daily Schedule

Good Morning!  We have a few minutes before heading out for our day's work at the church and I thought I'd write a post with our daily schedule, so that those of you following along at home know what we are doing during the day:

For half of the group our day starts at 5:50am when we gather at the front of the hotel to walk together to a local restaurant for breakfast.  The other half does the same thing 30 min later.

After breakfast we walk back to the hotel to sleep some more, enjoy some quiet time, and/or get ready for the day and gather again at the gate at 7:50 to walk to the church.

At the church we break off into the VBS team and construction.  Job are explained and assigned for construction and the VBS workers start greeting many of the kids who arrive early, ready to have fun with the teens.  VBS runs from 9-11:30am, and then the girls (who are required to wear dresses for VBS) change into work clothes so they can join in construction for the afternoon.

We break for lunch around noon and take an hour break.  The local restaurant, Joe Milon, that serves us breakfast and lunch, brings our lunch to the worksite in to-go containers.  Yesterday Brian Ruark (I'm sorry that I'm not sure how to spell his last name!) and his wife joined our group from Honduras.  Brian told a wonderful testimony to our group while we ate about how the Lord's many provisions got him and his wife to Corozal.  They also brought a teacher and good friend from Cocal Gracias with him, along with his wife and baby boy....who has been a joy to all of us!

After lunch we all head back to the construction site.  Work ends around 4 and we go back to the hotel to put on swim suits and head down to the bay to cool off after a hard days work.

Then we go back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner at the restaurant, which is at 6 for half the group and 6:30 for the other.  After dinner we come back to the hotel for our devotional at 7:15, followed by family groups.  After that our day is done and many people head off to bed or quiet time while the teens and youth workers stay up laughing and playing cards.

God has been so good to us & it is a joy to see the relationships that are being formed!

Adapting to Belize... where its still very hot

This is from Tuesday.  I was finally able to connect again tonight.....


The sun came out today, creating a scorching atmosphere. Everyone still gave work their all, putting in every last drop of energy they had.

In VBS this morning/afternoon there were easily twice as many kids, which was alot harder for us because keeping them attentive during the 2 1/2 hours we have is pretty tough. Even though its tough running around with them playing games, all of us and the kids bond so well, and have so much fun together. The smiles they get on their faces makes me smile alone! It's amazing how God can give us the love to spread to these children, who need it more than we do.

Constuction was... well, hot. We had the sun beating down our backs while crouching down in trenches tieing wires to hold rebars together. I felt like God really used all of our hands to work extra hard this afternoon, I didn't get a chance to stop and slow down and see what was going on around me but now that i think back at it- He really was shining through us all.

PS- it's 8:50 pm and it is 90 degrees in our room (with three fans going on high)

-Sophie Stephens, Team Blogger

We're back online!

Sorry about the lapse in blog updates.  Our faithful bloggers wrote a great update last night and Marc posted some photos, but Ryan couldn't get it to send.  He tried several times last night and again this morning, with no luck.  We'll get that out to you as soon as possible.  Ryan and I (Wendy) were able to visit an internet cafe in Corozal to send out this latest post, while our group finishes up dinner and gets ready for Wednesday night church services.  The Corozal Church of the Nazarene is so excited that we are here, and the congregation is looking forward to meeting all of us tonight.  They have a sing-a-long planned and Marc will be giving the evening message.

As a mom, let me just start out by saying to all of the parents and grandparents who are reading this that YOUR KIDS ARE AMAZING!!!!!!  I'm tearing up just thinking about all of them.  Between the travel complications, the heat and humidity, breakfast times at 6am or 6:30am, hotel rooms without air conditioning and only cold water for showers, and the difficult work that needs to be done there are plenty of reasons for bad attitudes, but I can honestly say that I have not heard one complaint.  NOT ONE!  (I just wiped a tear, and Ryan is laughing at me. :-)  Anyways, they have all dug in to some challenging tasks that is glorifying the Lord, and blessing this local church.

Some of the construction work they are doing includes chipping hardened mortar off of the walls of a new sanctuary that is being built to serve as both a worship center and a hurricane shelter for the community.  That means lots of concrete work in extremely hot weather.  Other work for the sanctuary includes digging a sixteen inch deep footing, 100 feet across ground that resembles clay more than dirt.  They have also been cutting and laying re-bar and mixing concrete the old fashioned way, by hand with pick axes, shovels, and rakes.  We also did our first chain line today to move heavy cinder blocks.  Other work has included repairing the roof on another structure, and tomorrow we will be painting the outside of the school room.  It is so unbelievably hot that this outside work is accomplished through much team work.  A group of people will work for 10-15 minutes, while another group rest in the shade, drinking lots of water and then when Jared calls out "Switch!" there is an exchanging of tools while the other groups takes a needed opportunity to rest and rehydrate.  It is really something special to see work being accomplished by a system that causes us to be completely dependent on one another.

The VBS workers have been equally impressive.  We have approx 50 kids coming from the church and community, and they are an absolute joy.  The kids already have a great love for the teens helping out and it is so special to see the happiness on everyone's faces as the kids come into to great the VBS workers.  VBS starts out with some games outside, and then is followed by praise songs, with hand motions!, puppet shows, bible teaching, coloring, and a craft.  On a personal note, a highlight of this trip for me has been watching some of the teens lead worship for VBS.  It has made me feel this incredible connection to SDFC here in Corozal to see the teens singing praise songs and doing the hand motions to songs that they have learned in SDFC VBS Sports Camp or at children's church.  Many of you reading this have trained and discipled these teens by teaching them songs at SDFC that they are not here teaching kids in Corozal.  Truly Amazing!!

Other highlights of the day include a daily homemade snack that is brought to us by ladies of the church.  Today it was chips and cheese sauce and yesterday it was mini-meat pies.  The teens, and grown-ups too, love this daily treat.  We also enjoyed cooling off yesterday and today at the local bay.  Yesterday the teens had fun in the water launching each other into the air (they got our son Jordan a good 10 feet into the air, I think that was the record!) and today they had fun jumping off a pier.

Our evening activities include a large group devotional time, followed by time to journal, and ending with meeting together in family groups to talk more about how we see God at work through our project and in our own hearts and minds.

I would like to write more, but we are already late for church and need to go.  We'll do our best to post tomorrow.  Thanks for your comments and prayers.  They are making a difference!

Getting Started

and yes, its still hot.

Today was amazing, you could see God everywhere. From doing construction to VBS to just hanging around the hotel, the vibe was just great.

We have divised an eating plan for mornings and nights:

Blue and Red teams eat  the first breakfast, Yellow and Green teams eat second.

Blue and Green teams eat dinner first, with Yellow and Red teams to follow.

Most of our meals have come from a Belizean Restaurant called The Jo Melin, and its delicious food with great diversity- just like Belize.

There were lots of kids at VBS, and they were having such a great time playing games, doing crafts, singing and dancing, and watching the puppet shoes we put on. Despite the heat, all of us had a great time running around outside teaching the kids games and playing too. It was a terrific way to learn about the kids and bond with them. They must have had a good time because they all said that they were coming back tommorow and bringing friends!

The construction went really well too, we got all the walls of the church smoothed down, the tape peeled off the ceiling, the cement chisled off, the floors swept, and the walls plastered. We all worked extra hard, and we all sweat alot. At every break we could get, you could find everyone standing or sitting by the few fans we had available, or by the water machine cooling off.

In the end, we all realized that we just need to slow down and look at how incredible this trip has been, and will be. God shows up in the strangest of places, even when you're not looking for Him.

-Sophie Stephens, Team Blogger

Welcome to Belize!

We finally made it, and its hot.

If you haven't heard: the first group, who left Saturday, had to sit on a plane for around 12 hours up in the air. We flew from San Diego to Dallas without a problem, and took off from Dallas without a problem, too. Although when we tried to land in Belize, we experienced some turbulence that put us a little off course, where we ended up in Cancun. Our day ends with the first group having to fly back to Dallas, and having to stay at the Comfort Inn (where we got a lovely discount) and meeting up with the second group at the Dallas Airport.

Walking out of the plane in Belize was like walking into a sauna and even though it was a cooler day out for Belize, our team was sweating bullets.

We took a bus from Belize City to Corozal which was definitely the fun part of the day. Everyone was glued to the windows, searching the trees for birds and monkeys and other exotic creatures. Even though it was raining, all of us had our heads out the sides, enjoying every minute.

Both teams arrived at the  wonderful Maya World Guest House, where we dropped off our loads, and walked straight to the church service, followed by an authentic Belizean dinner. When we got back to the hotel, I'm sure everyone was excited to jump in the cold showers (I know I was) and rinse off. The night ends with tired faces, and anxious minds ready to get to work tomorrow.

-Sophie Stephens, Team Blogger

Try Again Tomorrow

Aside from the tour of the Caribbean Sea, things have gone very smooth today.  We are all settled in a hotel near the Dallas/Fort Worth airport for the night.  The McGinty's and Allen's are flying out tomorrow morning at 7am, while the rest of us are meeting up with the Sunday group and leaving at 12:30p CDT.  We should land in Belize at 2:30p and continue on from there.

And the Adventure Begins....

Just a brief note to let everyone know that we are safely sitting on the Cancun tarmac waiting to fly back to Dallas.  We attempted to land in Belize City, but our pilot wisely routed us to Cancun instead.  We will be in Dallas for the night and then wait and see what tomorrow holds.  More to come later....

Maya World Guest House (our hotel)

We'll be staying at the Maya World Guest House during our trip. There are no other guests in the hotel besides us.

16, 2nd Street North, Corozal Town, Corozal District, Belize, Central America
Phone Numbers: (501) 627-2511 and (501) 666-3577
http://www.aguallos.com/mayaworld/index.htm

Purified drinking water will be available in five gallon jugs for US$1.25.  The water supplier is about three blocks from the hotel.

The hotel also has a washer and dryer available.  Each load is US$2.50 for wash and US$2.50 for dry.  Laundry detergent is provided for free.

A police station, post office, fire department, market, supermarket, and restaurants are all within walking distance from the hotel.

Packing Party on June 24

Dont forget to join us in the Family Life Center on Thursday, June 24 at 7pm for our packing party.  Bring your duffel bags and we'll distribute supplies.  See you on Thursday!

Belize Updates

A couple of updates regarding our upcoming trip:

• We will hold a brief meeting in the Friendship Plaza this Sunday at 10a.
• We are going to lock in the final cost of trip at $1,550 each.  This will allow for unexpected emergencies and/or we'll leave a small gift with the church when we leave.
• If you signed up to bring tools or other supplies, will you please bring those to the packing party on Thursday, June 24.
• In addition to spending money, dont forget to bring money for food on travel days.  We should be in Corozal for dinner when we arrive and for breakfast on the day we leave.
• For VBS, if you are able to bring a box of crayons for crafting and a small stuffed animal(s) for prizes, it would be appreciated.  
• It is also recommended that you bring a water bottle to re-fill each day.
• I may be able to bring a laptop and data card with us to Belize.  If you are interested in being our daily blogging correspondent, please let me know.
• And if there are any emergencies back at home and you need to reach one of us in Belize, please contact Pastor Marc at 858-414-7198.  Please use sparingly, as the per minute rates are not cheap.

Notes from the June 13 Meeting

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us on Sunday for our Belize Missions meeting.  Here's the highlights from our meeting:

• Reminder to all teens and parents that we need to have your signed and notarized medical and travel authorization forms into the church office by June 18.
• If we do not have emergency contact information for you, please send that information to Ryan as soon as possible.
• Our final contribution amount per individual should be less than $1,550 each, but may not be completely settled until we are actually in Belize.  We are still using estimates for things like final construction costs, hotel, meals, and day trips.
• Ryan will be contacting each individual with their current contribution standing to make sure no monies have been missed.
• Insurance has been purchased for everyone through the Nazarene Work and Witness organization.  If you will be going on the side-trip afterwards, we are asking for an additional $10 per person to cover the three extra days in Belize
• A tentative trip and daily itinerary is available and posted on this blog.  Please be aware that dates and times are subject to change based on circumstances, i.e. weather.
• We will have a mandatory packing party on Thursday, June 24 at 7p in the Family Life Center to divide up supplies and equipment to take down with us.
• A suggested packing list has also been posted to this blog.  
• We are also suggesting that everyone bring $100 cash with them for spending money.
• Devotion journals are being made for each individual.  As part of this, we would like for everyone to take a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, fold it sideways like a booklet, and include several fun facts about yourself.  Please return these to Marc on this coming Sunday.  If you will not be in church on Sunday, can you please scan and email it back.
• Examples of games to play with children has also been posted to the blog.

Less than two weeks until we leave for Belize.  I cant wait.....

Belize Updates

A couple of notes on our rapidly approaching Belize trip:

• Our next Belize team meeting is June 13 after church services.
• If any teens or parents need a notary for the medical/international travel authorization form, there is one on the campus of PLNU.  Her name is Julie Alexander and she can be reached at 619-849-2459 or juliealexander@pointloma.edu.  Signatures are $10 each and she prefers appointments via email.
• If you still need to get vaccinations, here’s a list of travel clinics in San Diego County: http://sdiz.org/Community/Travel.html
• The recommended vaccinations are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Tetanus, and Measles/Mumps/Rubella.  And the recommended medications to bring with you to Belize Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and Chloroquine.
• We need everyone to be up to $1,500 by our next meeting.  We already paid American Airlines for our flights and need to send down a big chunk of money very soon to the church in Corozal to buy construction materials before we arrive.
• We also have a few people that have requested financial assistance for our trip.Please continue to spread the word within your community that we are still in need of tax-deductible contributions for our trip.
• I will be standing near the tables right outside the church doors before and after the service if anyone has any money to turn in.

Notes from May 16 Meeting

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us today at our Belize Missions meeting.  Here's the highlights from our meeting:

• Joyce will be calling American Airlines on Friday and making final seat assignments. 
• For seat reservations, we need date of birth and name on passport for everyone. If you have not given us this information, please do so ASAP.
• We are also purchasing t-shirts for all team members.  If you have not given us your t-shirt size, please do so ASAP.
• If you are not going on the side trip afterwards, then your travel dates are June 26 through July 7.  You will be leaving San Diego at 7:05am on the 26^th and returning at 10:55pm on the 7^th.
• If you are going on the side trip, then your travel dates are June 27 through July 10.  You will be leaving San Diego at 7:05am on the 27^th and returning at 10:55pm on the 10^th.
• All teens that will be traveling without their parents will need a notarized letter signed by both parents authorizing them to leave the country and to receive medical treatment, if necessary.  Marc will be contacting teens that need this letter.
• We need volunteers for VBS puppet coordination.  Please contact Ryan If interested.
• The second $500 was due on April 18.
• The third $500 is due by May 30.
• Each family group presented their research information: Marc (History), Jared and Sophie (Religion and Politics), Jeff and Becca (Culture).  Joyce’s group will present at the next meeting.
• Next meeting is June 13.

Notes from April 11 Meeting

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us at our last Belize Missions meeting. Here's the highlights from our meeting:

• We raised $400 at the coffeehouse fundraiser last Sunday evening. This fundraiser was to raise money for all the mission trips. Thank you to everyone who helped out at the event.
• Sarah walked through a training session on being a missionary and the myths of poverty.
• All airline seats and dates are now locked in with American Airlines. Any changes now could result in a financial penalty.
• For seat reservations, we need date of birth and name on passport for everyone. If you have not given us this information, please do so.
• Health and medical information on Belize was presented – sleeping nets were also recommended.
• Latest budget was also presented.
• The second $500 (now totaling $1000) is due by April 18.
• All remaining funds are due by May 23.
• Construction projects have been posted to the blog.
• Family groups were also announced – each group was assigned a homework assignment to research and present at the next Belize meeting: Marc (History), Joyce (Economy), Jared and Sophie (Religion and Politics), Jeff and Becca (Culture).
• Next meeting is TBD.

Construction Projects

There are several construction projects planned for our trip. In the order of priority:

1. Complete the construction of the church sanctuary - finish the roof, finish the plaster forms, finish the windows, run electrical, etc...

2. Make repairs to the school - repair the plaster walls and paint the buildings.

3. Demo the existing parsonage.  A new parsonage will be built in the future.

Coffeehouse Fundraiser on April 11

Do not miss the Coffeehouse fundraiser this Sunday night from 5p to 8p featuring live music, poetry, and art in the Ellipse Chapel. Coffee and desserts will be sold with all proceeds going to the mission teams. Several vendors will be onsite selling their wares and donating 25% of their proceeds to missions as well. Please feel free to invite your friends and family and have them join us.

We do need your help in making this coffeehouse happen. Please contact Lesley Yates (lesleykyates@gmail.com) and sign-up for a job:

- Set up at 4p – Need 4 people
- Childcare from 4:40p to 8:10p – Need 2 people minimum, more is better
- Desserts at 4:45p – Need many people to bring homemade or store bought desserts that can be easily cut in individual pieces
- Tear down at 8p – Need 3 people

Caye Caulkner Side Trip

We are currently looking at Caye Caulker for our side trip. There is a larger island, but it is more expensive and more of the night life/party culture.

Feel free to visit www.gocayecaulker.com for more information.

My personal recommendation is to stay in places with air conditioning.  It makes sleeping easier, even on the beach. I also looked for private and not shared bathrooms.... I looked over several..

The island has water taxi service (hopefully directly from Corozal), and airline service to Belize City (for departure). There are kayaks, bikes, restaurants, several rooms have microwaves and minifridges... prices from around $40/noc to $95/night

Ones I have looked at online that look pretty good are (not exhaustive list, but maybe I can save people a little time):

• Sea Dreams Hotel
• Ocean Pearl Royale (has no web page, but yes on AC, cheaper rooms: $40/noc)
• Blue Wave no website, but sounds decent, rooms from $15-75/noc
• Rainbow hotel - small Casita with a couple of bedrooms, good for 4 peopl3
• The Tropics Hotel - looks nice
• Casa Rosado cabins for $75/night
• Iguana Reef looks nice: more pricey at $135-$165/night
• Seawinds Beach - this one looks great, only 4 rooms $80/night
• Caye Caulker Plaza Hotel 32 rooms 70/noc,
• Seaside cabanas look pretty nice 16 rooms
• Seaside villas- 55/noc, look ok
• Amanda's place look nice
• Maxhapan cabanas cottages or 3 rooms, $59-$69/noc

Notes from Mar. 21 Meeting

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us yesterday.  Our next meeting will be April 11th following church service.

Highlights from our meeting:

• The next $500 deposit will be due on April 18.  This first $1000 covers construction costs, room and board, and the majority of the airfare.
• We need to provide American Airlines our seat count by next week.  If you have not told us already, please let us know if you will be going on the side trip following the mission trip.
• We reviewed a Cross-Cultural and Food Awareness guide.
• For the side trip, Caye Caulkner is a cheaper alternative to San Pedro, and looks to be about $500-$600 in costs.
• Family groups are being formed and will be announced during our next team meeting.
• General health and vaccinations will be presented at our next team meeting.

Fundraising Support

If you will be sending out a fundraising letter, please feel free to read through some helpful information from PLNU's LoveWorks program on how to write a fundraising letter. 

And please take special attention on how to contribute tax-deductible donation:

1. Have the donors send a personal check to your home address. Please have them make the check out to “San Diego First Church of the Nazarene” and write “Belize Missions” in the memo field.  Once you receive the check, please give it to Ryan.

Or....

2. Donors can donate online at www.churchonthepoint.com and click on Giving in the top right corner. Please enter “Belize Missions” in the “Other: Please specify purpose” field.  Please remind them to inform you of this contribution, including the day and time, so it can be recorded to your account.

Notes from Feb. 28 Meeting

Dates: June 26th to July 7 for the regular trip, or there is the option of a side trip that will be talked about in greater detail, returning July 10.

We are purchasing group airline tickets, we must know your planned return date ASAP.

All airline ticket names must match your passport, so please give us your complete name as listed on your passport when we need your name for ticketing

We will keep you updated on Airport/travel security procedures as we approach departure.

Where we are going: Corozal, Belize. The exchange $ is 2 of their dollars to one of ours. Language is English. Belize is on the eastern/southern portion of the Yucatan peninsula, bordered on the north by Mexico and the west and south by Guatemala

Weather: tropical, warm to hot and humid. The temperature is fairly constant all year, but there is a rainy and a dry season. We will be there during the rainy season. We will be staying at sea level, not far from the ocean, so we should get some breezes. Shorts are fine to work in, long pants and nice shirts for men, but neckties are not needed for men for church. Dresses or skirts for women. It is recommended to go lighter on jewelry as we are going to poor areas and do not want to attract too much attention or encourage thieves.

What do we need to do? There is no Visa needed for Belize, and no required shots or immunizations. What is recommended however, is current tetanus, hepatitis series, typhoid and malaria are options as well. We will be in what is considered a malaria zone and you will not be able to donate blood for one year after returning.The only required vaccination is Yellow Fever and that is only if you are arriving from Africa or South America

You need a passport, and the expiration date is best to be 6 months beyond your return date.

For the site: bring work jeans, shorts, T shirts, sturdy shoes with toes in them. Tennis shoes are ok, work boots are great but may be a little hot. Work gloves are a must, bring 1-2 pairs per person. We will keep you updated on what tools we may need to take as well as the work becomes more defined closer to departure date.

For casual times, jeans, shorts, modest shirts for women. There had been requests previously for no spaghetti strapped tops for women. Sleeveless has been ok.

Costs here are comparable to US travel, US dollars are accepted, though most use Belizian dollars. We usually recommend bringing your spending money in cash as the banks do not always accept/cash travelers checks and businesses are not set up (mostly) to accept them.

As in many places in Central America, it will not be safe to drink the water. There is bottled water readily available, but do not brush your teeth in the water either. It is wise to bring an extra toothbrush in case you forget and inadvertently contaminate one. Bathing in the water is fine if you do not get it in your mouth, avoiding eye contact is likely wise as well.

Belize is also home to the Maya people, still in existence today in 3 disinct tribes. We will plan to visit some of the Mayan ruins, some of the oldest civilizations in the Americas (dating to about 1200BC).

We will plan some team- centered sight seeing, but the side trip (optional) is separate in cost and planning.

We currently are planning to split our large group into family like groups that will consist of a cross section of ages. Work groups may be different than the “family” group.

Lodging is not entirely settled yet, as we review groupings, couples/singles, etc. Food will be cooked by a group who have run a restaurant and can handle a large group such as ours.

The work site is a large site with many buildings, and room for all of us to conduct focused work in different groups. At this time it looks like there will be a workgroup or 2 working on the church proper, finishing roofing, electrical, window and door work, plastering and painting. There is also a school and parsonage that may be involved in repairs/upgrades. Our vacation Bible School will be conducted at the school.

Belize Questionnaire

If you missed our meeting after church on Sunday, February 28, would you please complete this questionnaire to help us continue to plan the trip to Belize.

More Trip Information

We plan to have a Construction Team, VBS Team and team that wants to do both; please let us know you’re preferences.

Families will be able to stay together, as much as possible, in what’s offered for the accommodations. Please let us know your preferences for accommodations.

It can get hot during the day and so we’d ask that you be careful to bring a water bottle and drink frequently.

English is the primary language in Belize and because there are many factors in this trip that can allow for accommodations of people’s gifts, needs and abilities we are open to teens and possible older children attending on this trip. So please be aware that there might be greater diversity of ages and abilities in those attending this trip relative to other trips you may have been on. We’re pleased to offer a trip with the potential for side-by-side intergenerational and international ministry.

Again, teens and older children are welcome, please contact Marc Otto or Joyce McGinty for more information.

You are not required to attend the Lamani day trip or the trip to San Pedro following. Please let us know what you plan to attend so you can receive cost estimates.

The current estimated price of 1450 includes Lamani but nothing related to the side trip.

Costs to San Pedro from Corozal by boat are approximately 90 dollars RT. And airfare from Corozal to San Pedro returning later to Belize International Airport is approximately 140 dollars. This is in addition to the airfare to get to Belize. Roman’s Village is expensive and they are looking into better pricing for us at this time. Other locations will not being excluded from consideration, so feel free to offer more suggestions because the side trip is for your own personal health and benefit.

At this time we are unsure as to how we will purchase our airfare but are confident that we would like to leave from San Diego, not Los Angeles. The primary airlines to Belize City are Continental and American Airlines.

Trip Schedule

6/26 – Arrive in Belize and review the worksite

6/27 – Attend church onsite and then drive to Cerros (Mayan ruins beautifully located just 30 min from the church for site-seeing, cultural education and rest.)

6/28 to 7/2:
Work day: (5 days of consecutive work)
Construction: 7am – 11am, lunch and rest, 1pm – 5pm
VBS: 9am – 11am, lunch, 1:30pm to 3:30pm
NOTE: The lunchtime provide a break from hottest part of day and rest

7/3 - Trip to Lamani (full day) 26 mile boat trip up river and into a tropical rainforest to view the 2nd largest pre-classical Mayan ruins and 3rd largest archeological site in Belize.

7/4 – Attend church and rest

7/5 – Work Day: 7am – 11am, lunch, 1pm to 5pm (Construction only)

7/6 – ½ Work Day/finishing/cleaning by 11am and leave for airport or side-trip

7/7 – Arrive in San Diego or…

7/7 – (Optional) Side trip to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, BZ (Possibly Ramon’s Village)

7/11 – (Optional) Likely return from side trip

Belize Overview

Trip: Belize, Corozal (English speaking)
Dates: June 26 - July 6, 2010
Cost est: $1450 (TBD)
Work: Construction/finish-work and Vacation Bible School

Description: Our work and witness team(s) will lead both a Vacation Bible School (VBS) ministry which serves about about 100 kids from their community as well as participate in finishing the last 20’ x 40’ section of the roof on a church. Pastor Gualbert said that his construction superintendent would most likely be available to lead us all week. If the roof is completed before we arrive we plan on helping with finish work like drywall, electrical outlets and more.

Other Details:

• Our Goal would be to raise over $10,000 for this project; the minimum is $5,000
• 2 blocks from the church is a small house/hotel that can house approx 20-25 people for about 7 dollars per, person per night - it has a garden area and tree house and very hospitable Christian gentleman- it's safe and secure - in fact, the owner closed the hotel to only host his last W&W team.
• Both the Nazarene church-school and the hostel have showers and restrooms.
• A local church in the community will be cooking meals for us!!!
• The ocean is a few blocks from the church where people can go to cool off following a workday
• Temps would run about 80+ degrees and very humid in June - it would be just the beginning of hurricane season...making it safer than later in the summer.
• There is a Nazarene Spanish-speaking church that has a large 40-60 passenger bus that can pickup a team in Belize City and then drive the 74 miles to and from Corozal for only 400 dollars.
• The Nazarene church and country are primarily English speaking
• Our kitchen, sleeping arrangements, and work-site are all within a few blocks of each other