Project Serve Belize

Day One

2012-02-16T19:15:00.002-08:00

It's only our first day, and I already don't know how to explain everything that's happened and all that we've learned. I'll try and start from the beginning....

Our day in California was fantastic. The spent the afternoon at the beach, and were blessed to join in with the Cornerstone Church family for youth and worship that evening. Cornerstone Church is a really amazing community. They welcomed us with open arms, and the team was able to make instant connections and friendships with the youth there. (And yes, in honour of Valentines Day we played the dating game again. Sam Boctor was chosen as the bachelor. It was an epic situation.) We had a great time or worship at youth, and the youth group prayed over us in preparation for our trip. After a very short sleep at the church, we headed to Belize early the next morning.

We've been in Belize for a day and a half now, and we already feel changed. We feel like we've been here forever. We feel like we're at home. We feel so at peace and comfortable that it feels like we must have been here a thousand times before. But we also feel like everything we see and experience is brand new. Coming to Belize is such an incredible experience. I've lead this trip so many times, and I am continually amazed at all God has to teach us in this place. We have spent one full day here. Just one. And we could come home tomorrow as changed and inspired people. Today we spent a full day at the work site. I rarely see a group of teenagers who feel so much JOY while working. They were so happy that they even surprised themselves. In our debrief tonight we talked a lot about how surprising it is to feel so much peace and joy while working so hard. One of my favourite moments today is when we got onto our bus at the end of the day, and Nathan declared to the group "that was so much FUN". It was hard work, but we felt blessed to do it. We started building the house, as well as did some painting, digging (and I assure you that digging in Belize is NO joke!), and cleaned up the base. We were so proud of the kids. They worked so hard, and had awesome attitudes. They talked about how they faced some moments of frustration and fatigue, and pushed through them knowing that God has called them to this work and it's important.

We went from work to the Children's Home for the first time. There is truly nothing on earth that I love more than bringing people to that home and watching them fall in love with the kids. It's the same routine every time. We show up and the kids feel a little shy, and our team feels a little nervous. It takes about 8 min. for all of that to go away. In no time at all I see our team playing tag, giving piggy back rides, giving hugs. It is a place that humbles us, and provides so much joy. Those kids are incredible, and even just meeting them requires us to change what we thought we knew. Those kids live humble lives, but are incredibly joyful. They give and show love in remarkable ways. They are so thankful for all that they have. We're so excited to have more time with them. What a gift.

Some praise and prayer:

-Scott is feeling so much better today! His cold is basically gone. Thanks for praying for him.

-The stomach issues are also almost gone. Everyone has been feeling great today.

-Pray for continued strength for us as we work. This work is hard, but we want to keep up a good pace and complete our projects. We'll be finishing the floor of the house tomorrow.

-Pray that we can continue to process everything that we're learning. It's a lot to take in, and we don't want to miss anything.

-Pray for safety at the work site.

Some observations from the team about Belize:

-it smells amazing

-it is much "junglier" then we originally thought

-we are sweating more then we ever have

-working hard is very very fun

-pop tastes better out of glass bottles

-the world just got a whole lot bigger, and our understanding of God and how huge He is and how much He loves us is blowing our minds!

Thanks for reading and praying. We can honestly feel your prayers in an almost tangible way. It feels like you guys are here with us. Blessings to all of you. Feel free to comment, and we'll pass your well wishes onto the kids.

Signing off from the jungle....

Kristin and the team

We're in Belize!!!

2012-02-15T16:57:00.002-08:00

We made it to Belize! All of our flights were perfectly on time, and we made it here right on schedule. We're TIRED but happy!!! It's hard to believe that we only left yesterday.....It seems like a lot has happened already. We had a great time at our stop in Fountain Valley. To our friends at Cornerstone Church.... THANK YOU for your generosity and hospitality. You know how to make us feel so welcomed and loved. You guys rock!!

To everyone else... Thanks for all your prayers. We can feel them.Stay tuned tomorrow for a detailed update of our first two days. All we're doing tonight is having a shower and heading to bed. Can't wait to fill you in on our adventurers.

Some prayer requests for tonight:

-Scott has a head cold, and hasn't been feeling that great. He's showing some improvement tonight... But prayer for complete and quick healing would be great!

-a couple of the girls are dealing with some stomach issues. Pray that everyone can wake up tomorrow feeling great.

-we're starting our work project tomorrow... Pray that we'll have hearts to serve and a willingness to work hard.

Thanks so much for all of your support and prayers. Until tomorrow!

Kristin for the team

Project Serve Eve!

2012-02-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well, this is it. In less than 24 hours we'll board our first plane and start this amazing adventure. We met together as a team yesterday to sort through all of our donations, and the excitement level is definitely at an all time high! I wanted to write a post this morning to say THANK YOU to any and all of you who generously bought and donated stuff for us to take to our friends in Belize. We ended up filling over 20 HUGE duffel bags, and we were so excited to think about blessing the people of Belize with some much needed supplies. We'll take lots of pictures, so you can see where this stuff is going.

For anyone who's interested, our flight leaves tomorrow morning (Tuesday, Feb. 14th) at 7:00am. We're having a prayer of dedication at about 5:30am, and would love to see lots of you there (I know... it's EARLY...sorry!)

Some prayer requests are:
-safe travels tomorrow and Wednesday. We're taking many different flights to get down to Belize. Pray that everything runs smoothly, and that we don't run into any delays or complications. We're scheduled to arrive in Belize on Wednesday afternoon.
-pray for the health and safety of our team.
-pray that our hearts could be truly open to whatever God has for us on this trip. We are all ready to serve with everything we've got!

Stay tuned to this blog for regular updates while we're in Belize. It's a great way for us to share our adventure with friends and family. We're all in this together!

God bless,
Kristin Clark
co-director of Project Serve Belize

The Return of the Blog

2012-02-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

Hello friends of PS Belize. We are exactly ONE WEEK away from our departure. We are so excited to bring this team of amazing young leaders to serve in Belize. Please stay tuned as the official blog rolls along.

Peace...

Corwin and the PS Belize Leadership Team

WE'RE COMING HOME!

2011-02-28T11:53:00.000-08:00

We're in Calgary! We, just arrived and we're eating lunch. It feels good (kind of) to be back on Canadian soil. We've had an amazing weekend of debrief. It's a little hard to sum up, but it was powerful. Omar and Alyssa did an amazing job of helping us process or thoughts and feelings and lead us through some great discussion. We worshiped together, and had a chance to relax. It was much needed, and good to have some time right in the middle of Belize and home. We ended our weekend by a mini awards ceremony last night (it was Oscar night, after all!) and we shared took turns sharing words of encouragement and affirmation for each team member. Omar and Alyssa ended by praying a prayer of commissioning over us, sending us home with purpose and vision. I believe it was just what we needed as a team, and helped us feel more ready to come home.
Some of us are feeling very excited to get home, some are sad and nervous. We've talked about how all of those emotions are ok, and everyone is allowed to process through this experience however they need to. It's always a little scary to come home and answer the inevitable question of "how was your trip?". That question requires a very loaded answer, and it's hard to know where to start. Some of us feel very ready to talk and share our experience, some of us feel a lack of words. We ask that you be patient with us, knowing that our hearts are both hurting and overflowing. There are many many stories to tell. Stories that are worth hearing. But it may take some of us a few days to be able to tell these stories in the way that they deserve to be told. We are changed, and have seen things and loved people in brand new ways. We are overwhelming grateful that we have a community to come home to that loves and cares for us, and who want to share this with us. Thanks in advance for caring and loving us through this. We'll be ok.

Our flight arrives today at 5:25pm on Air Canada flight 8590. We would love to see you, and give you a hug. And we would love if it wasn't so cold outside!

Thanks for reading and praying for us. We appreciate your support now more than ever. See you soon!!!

Project Serve Belize 2011

Dedications and Goodbyes.

2011-02-26T16:49:00.001-08:00

Well, we are in LA. We've said our goodbyes and left the country that we love. Yesterday was a long but beautiful day, and we are blessed. We decided that we wanted to have a time of dedication and prayer at the George house to bring some closure to our work project, and bless the George family one more time. We gathered there yesterday at 10:00am to take a team picture and spend some time worshiping together before we left. Our time of dedication was some of the most powerful and significant moments of our entire trip. We gathered together to hear some words of encouragement and thanks from John, and then sang Blessed Be Your Name as an act of worship and dedication of the new house. God's presence was so rich under that new roof that it brought most of us to tears. We stood there in a circle singing together about the many blessings of God, and the reality of those words suddenly became crystal clear to us. A song that we have sang a thousand times before took on new meaning as we gained closure on this massive work project. We have all left a piece of our hearts at that house, and it has motivated us to work harder then some of us ever have before. We felt God in new ways, and learned how to serve Him with everything we had. It was awesome to reflect on all of that as a team as we filled that room with praise. Blessed be His name. We ended the dedication by presenting the George family with an offering that we took up as a team, and were happy to continue to bless their ministry. We are changed because of our time spent with them. Thank you George family, from the bottom of our hearts. We love you!

We left one emotional situation and headed straight into another one as we headed to the Children's Home to say our final good byes. It was hard to leave for the last time, but I sensed a feeling of peace as we drove away. We know that these kids were placed in our life for a reason. We may not be able to see them again soon, but we won't forget the lessons that they have taught us in the short time that we have known them.

We went straight from the tough good byes to the airport, and arrived late last night in LA. We have begun our debrief weekend, and so far it's going very well. The weekend is being lead by Omar and Alyssa Myrie, who have just wrapped up 10 years of service with YWAM Belize. They are the perfect couple to lead us through our thoughts and guide us in the right direction to come home feeling ready. The team is having some time off right now, but we'll be meeting for our second session tonight. It's strange to not be in Belize, but it's good to still be together. Be praying for us this weekend, that we can process through what we have learned and how our lives need to be different. I know that this weekend will be very important for us as a team, and I'm grateful for the time together.

Thanks for your prayers and your support. They mean a ton to us, and we need them. We're doing well and having a good time.

Some fun facts about our trip:
-Devon was constantly mistaken for Justin Bieber in Belize. We were able to convince a lot of people that he was JB's brother.
-everyone held a tarantula.
-the girls triumphantly killed a cockroach that was the size of a small turtle.
-Nick is awesome at leading the Boogaloo.
-we love Pineapple Fanta
-we swam with sting rays.
- we worked really hard, and are now SO tired.
- we love Belize!!!!!

God bless you guys!! I'll post again this weekend sometime. With much love from LA.

Kristin and the team

What a difference a day makes...

2011-02-26T15:37:00.000-08:00

We left the work site on Tuesday with a bit of discouragement in our hearts. Coming to terms with the fact that we have to leave, and that we're leaving not fully accomplishing what we came here to do. So on Wednesday morning we made a team decision to split up again and send some people back to the house to accomplish as much as they could on the house. The rest of the team stayed back to prepare for Wednesday's kids club that afternoon. The half of the team that went back to the work site came back for lunch with so much joy and excitement. They were able to accomplish a lot in the few hours that they were there, and were most excited about being able to put up some zinc on the very front of the house. We had completed the side and back of the house, but wanted to be able to see the effort of our labors as soon as we drove up. Our spirits were high, and I think we collectively felt better about our contribution to this project. Once again we were so proud of the team for wanting to work until the very last minute. It was nearly impossible to drag them off of the roof, they were so fiercely determined. It was so easy to see that this wasn't just a work project to them, but a personal gift from us to the George family. We have fallen in love with this family, and have learned countless lessons from the way that they have served us and the people in Belize. They are selfless and generous and patient, and it was an honor for us to be able to contribute to making their new home a reality. The team truly grasped the reality of their situation, and fully understood that we had a role to play in blessing this family in a big way. It was an honor for us, and it motivated us to work harder then we ever have before.
On Wednesday afternoon we headed out to Unitedville to lead an after school kids club, and we had a really great time. There were at least 90 kids there of all ages, and the team did a great job at taking over and leading the whole thing. Mitch led some kids songs, and Kali, Lindsey, and Celine did an amazing job of sharing from their hearts about lessons that they've been learning lately. After the club we went to San Ignacio to a fantastic restaurant located right in the middle of an orange orchard. It was a perfect ending to a great day. I know that the kids are feeling like they've given they're all here. We came here to Serve, and that's what we've done. It's an awesome feeling.

We Are a Family

2011-02-23T07:15:00.000-08:00

Wow, today was another rich full day!! It's amazing the amount of things we can fit into one day. Tuesday brought us a lot more moments of pure joy and contentment. Some frustration, and emotion. This team is amazing. I wish that I could come up with the words to describe the way that they are working together. Or the stamina that they have to keep working, even in the extreme heat. Wow. I am so blown away, and honored to be a part of this team. I am so proud of them, and you have reason to be proud of them to. They are truly soaking up every second of this experience, and waking up every day ready to give all that they have.
Today was an interesting day at the work site. We have been praying for hot dry weather this week so we could finish, and God did not disappoint. This morning we headed to work knowing that we had to work very hard and efficiently to be able to achieve our goal. Everyone had a look of fierce determination in their eyes and jumped right into work when we arrived. There were some moments of frustration for the team on the roof as they had to re do a couple of things that they had done on Monday. It must be very hard to sit up there in the heat and try and pull out the nails that took hours to put in the day before. There was reason for discouragement, but the team was able to look past that and redo the sections quite quickly. The toughest part of the day came at about 5:00 when Corwin gathered the team together and explained that even though we have worked as hard as possible, and given everything we have to this project, we are not going to be able to finish it. I know that this was a reality that most of us had floating around in the back of our minds, but no one was willing to speak it out. We were hopeful and determined, but had to face the fact yesterday that we have run into a lot of weather problems and other issues, and to spite our best efforts we will not be the ones to put that last nail into the roof and be able to call it ours. Right now the roof is about three quarters completed. We know that John will be able to assemble a crew and finish it up quickly, but coming to terms with the fact that it won't be us was very hard for some. Some of the team had a lot of peace knowing that we have provided the funding and man power to get this roof so close to completion. We have reason to rejoice in that, and be proud of what we were able to accomplish. Others on the team were faced with a lot of disappointment and frustration at the end of the day, maybe feeling like we have failed to complete what we came here to do. It wasn't an easy thing to let go, and there were a few tears shed at the end of the day. All of these emotions are ok, and we were able to talk through them during our team debrief last night. Corwin made a lot of good points, talking about how there is a season for everything. And even though we will not be the ones who get to put in the last nail doesn't make light of all that we have done. We talked about how maybe God is trying to teach us a really important lesson here. That we have to be ok with the role that we have played. That maybe we need to rest in the peace of knowing that we have served Him harder then we ever have before, and that can be enough for us. I think that we were able to end our night knowing that we have given it our all, and that because of our willingness to serve our God the George family will soon have a roof on our house. And that is success.

We headed back to the Children's Home again for a quick visit (once we could drag everyone away from the work site). We experienced more emotion as we left there. Today is the day that it has become very real to us that we have to leave this place. We have such mixed feelings, both that we have been here forever and that our time has gone far too quickly. We have a hard time remembering our lives before Belize, and before we met these kids. They seem like a permanent fixture in our lives, and leaving them tonight made it all seem very real. Our time here is coming to a close, and we will have to say goodbye. It's not easy, but I know we can do it. I know that our lives are richer because of the people we have met here, and I know that our memories of this experience will find their place in our Canadian lives.

After our team debrief last night we surprised the team with video messages from their loved ones, and letters from home. I heard comments that it was a perfect time to be reminded of what we have waiting for us at home. It's so important to remember all that we have been blessed with, and all the love that we will have waiting for us at the airport. The team was really emotional as they saw your faces, and read your words. But there was a lot of joy in the tears. Thanks so much for everyone who took the time to write a letter, they were very well received and needed yesterday.

We are a family, plain and simple. And we are humbled and thankful for the chance to see what we have seen. Thank you for the role you have played in this.

Prayer Requests for the Day
-Kristen is feeling much better! She returned to the work site today.
-Pray for us as we begin to process through leaving on Friday
-Be praying for our debrief weekend in California. We are really thankful for the opportunity to take some time to think and talk through our time in Belize.
-continued prayer for the George family. We love them!!
-on a personal note, I received 2 separate emails from dear friends back home who have just found out that they have a parent diagnosed with cancer. Pray for God's grace and healing in those situations.

Blessings to all of you... thanks for reading!

Kristin for the team.

Monday

2011-02-23T06:36:00.001-08:00

Today was another big day at the work site. We are really starting to realize just how big this task is. We have definitely taken on a lot, and we are going to work like crazy to try and get it done. The energy at the work site seems to come in waves. It's a really interesting dynamic as we watch the team continue to push themselves to try and accomplish our goals. There are many moments of joy and laughter, and also moments of frustration and fatigue. But I have been so impressed with the way the team has handled all of these different emotions. If someone is feeling down or discouraged, there is someone else there ready to help them keep going. If the team is hitting a wall and doesn't know if they can keep going, there is always someone with a word or a prayer to help keeps spirits up. Many times during the day I see groups of 2 or 3 who have stepped aside to pray together for the team when they see the need. And by the end of the day everyone seems able to see God in all of it. We know for a fact that we are serving with every single fiber of our being. There is nothing more that we could be doing, and we are doing all of this to serve God. This team is working SO hard. I am so incredibly proud of them every day. They have stepped up to the plate with everything that they have, and it's truly incredible to watch. This work is very very hard. At any given time we have about 8 people on the roof, and the rest digging trenches. These are both very demanding and draining jobs, but the team has tackled them with an incredible amount of determination. We had originally planned to finish work at about 4 today, but we could not drag the team away. Even after many long and very sweaty hours on the roof, we couldn't get them down and we didn't leave until almost 6. I am inspired by their work ethic.
After work we went to a nearby coffee shop to enjoy a Cholis, my favorite Belizian treat (it's like an Ice Cap mixed with ice cream... delicious!). And for supper we had a picnic at the park before we headed over to the Children's Home for a little visit. We didn't arrive at the home until about 7, and I know a lot of the team was feeling so tired and wondering if they had any energy left to give to the kids. But there's just something about the Children's Home. The kids there are so full of joy and love, that just walking in the door brings a renewed sense of energy. We sat in for their family devotion time, which is always fun. We sang songs, and listened in awe as the kids recited Scripture by memory. They prayed for us, and we prayed for them and there was still some time left to play for a while! It's always so hard to sum up what it's like to know these kids. They are so unlike any other kids I have ever met, and spending even an hour with them is a life changing experience. The team has also been trying to process how it's possible to love someone so much that you don't even really know. It's a new experience for a lot of us, and one that is hard to wrap our heads around. But we know that we love it, and that it's good, and that it's God. There were a few tears shed when we left on Monday night. Every visit with the kids, however short it is, is so full of sweetness but also sadness in knowing that we have to say good bye. It's never an easy thing, and I know it'll be tough for this team on Friday.

Some prayer requests for today
-Kristen isn't feeling great, she has an upset tummy and low energy. She took the day off from the work site and we are nursing her back to perfect health.
-continued safety at the work site
-clarity for the team as they continue to process everything that we're experiencing, and how it has changed them
-the strength to say good bye on Friday
-the George family. The team has fallen in love with them (John, Patti, Evangeline and Naomi). Pray that God will bless them richly in ALL that they are doing to minister to the people of Belize. They are a truly incredible family.

Blessings and Thanks from the team...

Old Posts

2011-02-22T04:49:00.000-08:00

Hey guys... Our internet has been unreliable so I'm just now posting from a few days ago. Hopefully by the end of the day the blog will be all caught up. Happy reading!

The Weekend

2011-02-22T04:39:00.000-08:00

We took a little break from our building project to do some kids ministry on the weekend. It was a nice change of pace, but still just as much work. On Saturday we got up bright and early and split the team into 2 groups. 10 people went with John to finish up the work that we couldn't finish on Friday afternoon. We want to be able to start on Monday right where we should be, so it was important to try and squeeze in a few extra hours on the weekend. The weather was a little better on Saturday morning, so the team of ten worked very hard for a couple of hours and were able to catch us up to where we need to start on Monday. We were really thankful for their willingness to push through and get us to where we need to be. It started raining towards the end of their work time, which meant a few more miserable and wet moments at the work site for them. And to top it off they went from the house to the neighbourhood where we threw the festival to hand out flyers and invite the local kids to come and join in the fun after lunch. They were real troopers, toughing it out in the rain and getting some important jobs done for all of us. The rest of the team stayed back at the base and worked really hard to get all of our kids ministry ready. We had a team in the kitchen baking a ton of cupcakes, a team sorting through all of our awesome donations to put together some gift bags for the kids, and a team who organized and packed a bag for each kids ministry day. After that was all done, I asked the group to plan out the program for the festival that afternoon. I just gave them a brief overview of what I thought we should accomplish, and I was so impressed to see them jump right in and take leadership of the entire afternoon. We wanted to share some songs, a skit, and some testimonies and they diligently worked together and brainstormed the best possible way to fit in everything that we wanted to. I sat back and watched them pick songs (and even write a song for the occasion!), and map out who was going to share that day and what each person should focus on in their talk. It was incredible to see new leadership skills emerging throughout the group. Once the team from the work site got back we ate a quick lunch and headed to the YWAM Dance Studio to get the festivities under way. Our festival was a great success. We didn't really know what to expect, the weather wasn't great and we didn't know if any kids would actually show up. But we pulled up in our bus and were really excited to see a big group of kids waiting to see what we had planned. We had different stations set up with balloon animals, face painting, crafts, and sports. Once all the kids moved through each station we moved inside for our program. The team did awesome, and a special shout out goes to Ben, Shaunee, Kristen and Nick for sharing a piece of their story with the kids. They did an awesome job. After our festival we headed to the Art Box to buy some souvenirs and then went out for some pizza. In the evening we were honoured to be invited to attend a youth rally in a nearby village. John George was hosting the night, and there were a couple hundred Belizian teenagers who showed up to worship together. It was such a fantastic time! The night consisted of an amazingly powerful worship set, followed by a few different Christian rap artists and a speaker. Our team was front and centre dancing and jumping with the rest of the youth, and many of them were very moved during the time of worship. God's presence was very real, and the passion of the young people was really contagious. We were surrounded by high school students who were crying out to God for their friends, family, and country. A few of my girls were prayed for by some youth who were surrounding them, and made comments afterwards that they felt God more in those moments then they ever have before. It was an awesome night, and it was really fun to see our good friend John bring leadership and energy to the stage.
Sunday was a day that many of us have been looking forward to for months. We've been calling it Sunday Funday, and it definitely did not disappoint! We hosted all of the kids from the King's Children's Home over to our YWAM base for games, fun, and food all day. It was such a fun day. Wow. We played until we almost dropped, and served all of the kids an amazing home cooked fried chicken lunch followed by banana splits. The kids had an amazing time, and our kids worked so hard to keep them entertained and fed. I was really proud of the team, for their perseverance and hard work to make sure that these new little friends of ours had the best day possible. It was very hot, and we were very tired but the team stayed strong and worked hard right until the end. The kids left at about 3:00, and the team took a much needed nap before church.
Church was really great too. I think that the team really didn't know what to expect, but they were excited for the experience. We were given part of the service so Mitch, Naomi, Kali, and Celine got up and lead some worship songs and Kenzie, Kendra, Mike and Austin got up and shared their story. They all did an amazing job. I've been approached by many people from the church who have made comments about the beautiful singing, or the heartfelt messages. I know it's not always easy to get up and speak in front of people. especially here. But our volunteers did a fantastic and I know they all feel blessed for being willing to get up and share.
Sunday was another long day, and once e were back home we went to bed as early as possible. It's definitely not hard to enforce an early bed time on Project Serve.

Some Prayer Reuqests for the Day:
-We've had our first 2 little bouts with sickness today. Anna and Kristen both have unsettled stomachs. And although it seems quite manageable, it would be better to get rid of it. Pray that they can feel better and keep working hard alongside the team.
-Pray for strength and safety at the work site.
-Pray for dry weather for the rest of the week. We have a lot we need to get done!!
-Pray for continued team unity and bonding. I can't really believe how well everyone is getting along and helping out each other.

Blessings and Thanks to all of you!!
Kristin

Rained Out

2011-02-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

It's a little bit ironic that during my last post I was talking all about how fun the work site has been, and how well it was all going. By the time I finished that post and drove back to the work site I was greeted by 22 soaking wet team members who had just worked through the first of many heavy downpours of the day. The first of these downpours was fun and refreshing. Full of singing and laughing and high spirits. By the time the skies opened up for the fifth and sixth time it started lose its charm. The work site is all dirt, which quickly turned into ALL mud and the working conditions became challenging. One of our jobs is to dig several trenches for the septic system (the trenches are each about a foot deep). The ground here is very challenging to dig on a hot dry day, so once it started raining it became nearly impossible. The work on the roof was also impossible to do in the rain for safety reasons, so we had a lot of (very soggy) pauses in our work. The team was discouraged because we had such a successful first day, and arrived on day 2 so ready to work hard. It was really tough to have to sit back and wait for clearer skies. We took a lunch break during the worst part of the storm, hoping that it would pass and we could get back to work in the afternoon. Sadly the rain never let up, and we had to return to the work site after lunch and pack up all of our tools and head home for the day. It was a a bit of a low moment. We wanted to do more, and we were worried about falling behind. Back at the base we took some much needed showers to try and deal with all the mud, and by the evening the weather cleared up and we had a bonfire with all of our YWAM friends and our little soccer buddies. After the fire we had a fantastic team worship and debrief time. We were surrounded by the jungle, and found it easy to feel God's presence and reflect on the lessons He had for us during the day. Some of our team talked about how even though our plans didn't pan out the way we wanted them to, we still had a successful day. We worked together as a team. We kept good attitudes, even when it was hard. We served God and each other with everything we had. And all in all, that equals success. We didn't accomplish what we wanted, but John assured us that we will still be able to finish the roof project. And our set back only made us more determined to work even harder on Monday. We can do this! Thanks so much for your prayers.

Day Two and All is Well

2011-02-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I'm back online!! Sorry for the lack of posts during our first couple of days. The internet at the base was down, but we're back up and running.

I'll start by saying that we are having an AMAZING time. Wow. It's impossible to believe that we've only been here for a couple of days. We have been so busy, and already feel like we've accomplished a lot. It seems like our never ending plane rides were weeks ago.

Our first afternoon here consisted of a soccer game with some local kids (the Canadians got schooled, 9-3... and the opposing team was full of 10 year olds). We had supper and most of us were in bed by about 7:30 or 8:00 that night. We needed some serious sleep, and the jungle did not disappoint. We were lulled to sleep by many new sounds, and woke up at 6:00am really ready to tackle the day.

We started our work project yesterday morning, and it is SO FUN! In our team debrief time last night a lot of the team shared that they were worried that there wasn't going to be enough work for all of us to stay busy at the same time. Our worries quickly faded when we arrived at the George house and were able to take in the reality of the job set before us. Wow, there's a lot to do. But we're so ready to tackle it, and the work is really fun. At any given time there were about 5 people up on the roof hammering and drilling (sorry... I don't have any technical terms. Something about trusses? Or cross beams?). The rest of the team was kept busy by digging some trenches for the septic system. Digging may not sound like a tough job, but in Belize it's a whole different story. The earth here is incredibly wet, and even the surface ground is very solid clay. It makes digging really tough and time consuming, but the team made a conscious decision to tackle this job with awesome attitudes and they were laughing and joking almost the whole time. It was so much fun. It was a hot afternoon, but I was so proud of the team for their hard work ethic and amazing attitudes. They honestly were amazing, and I think they even surprised themselves with how much joy they had. Today we are back at the work site finishing up the job from yesterday and starting to lay the zinc (the metal roofing). The team was so excited to get back there today and are all working really hard. You have reason to be proud of them!!

After work yesterday we went to the Children's Home for the first time. WOW. Was it ever a blast. We only stayed for about an hour, but our lives are already changed even in such a short time. It took a grand total of about 30 seconds for the team and the kids to bond. By the time I got inside and set my bag down, the team all had kids in their arms and were laughing and running around. We can't really say enough about our time there. It was perfect, and full of joy. Those kids are amazing, and have a way of reaching out and loving people that we have never ever experienced before. It was such a joy for me to be able to share these special kids with the team. There were a few tears when we left (from our team, not the kids). We were a little overwhelmed with how fast we were able to fall in love, and how hard we already know it will be to say good bye to them.

We finished our day with supper at the Yim Saan (burgers and fries), and headed back to the base for a really great team debrief. Everyone had a lot to say about the things that they've already learned, and how their expectations are lining up with their new reality. It was an amazing day, and we are so thankful.

Today we are at the work site all day, and then back at the base for a bon fire tonight. The local soccer team will be back again tonight and we've heard they'd like a re match with the girls on our team. Should be fun!!

I wish I had the proper words to say thank you to all of you who have supported us in so many ways. It took hundreds of people to make this trip possible for us, and that is a gift that we will be grateful for for the rest of our lives.

THANK YOU, and God bless. I'll leave you with a few prayer requests for the day:

-safety at the work site. Always a good thing!
-continued joy as we work today. It is a hot day, and we'll need lots of stamina to make it through and finish strong.
-we haven't had any problems with sickness, but like I said... today is hot. I am applying sun screen and filling water bottles about every half an hour. But I know prayers can go a long way in keeping us well!

God bless...

Kristin for the team

They have ARRIVED!

2011-02-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Imagine my surprise to be sitting looking out at the latest SK snowstorm this afternoon only to have the phone ring and hear my sister's voice on the line from Belize!

Two important things:

1) The team has arrived safely at the base in Belize

2) It is not snowing there :)

Kristin reports that the team is doing very well. They are tired of course, and are taking some time to unpack, settle in and NAP! The internet is down at the base this afternoon, which is why you are hearing this news from me.

Kristin will return to her blogging duties once the internet is back up and running and I know we all look forward to hearing more about their amazing journey.

Tracie

Are we there yet?

2011-02-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone! I'm sitting in the Houston airport watching a beautiful sunrise, surrounded by many groggy teenagers who are napping on the floor. We have had a great trip so far, and as we sit at a gate that finally says BELIZE we are VERY excited to arrive in our final destination in only a few hours. We are really tired, it has been one very long and continuous day since you saw us off at the Saskatoon airport. But as the team is stirring from their airport sleep their excitement is evident and it's starting to dawn on all of us that all of our hard work, planning, dreaming, and praying is about to become our reality. We will be in the jungle by lunch time today!

We had a really fantastic time in California yesterday. We landed in LA at about 10:30 am and were picked up by our awesome friends from Cornerstone Church. Over the past few years our Saskatoon community has developed a really unique and fantastic connection with the Cornerstone community in Fountain Valley. We have partnered together in ministry on many occasions, and were once again so blessed by them as they hosted us for the whole day yesterday. It's not easy to transport 23 people and about 2300 pounds of luggage around, so we send out a big THANKS to Gary Garcia and the Cornerstone team for your willingness to serve and bless us yesterday. By the time we dropped of our luggage at the church we were more than ready for a good meal and some relaxation, so we headed to Ruby's Diner at Huntington Beach for a feast of burgers and milkshakes. We spent the afternoon at the beach doing some sight seeing and shopping, and headed back to Cornerstone at supper time to help get ready for their youth night. We spent the evening experiencing a typical youth night at Cornerstone, which consisted of skate boarding, meeting new friends, a youth worship service, and some fantastic chicken tacos! I think that our team was very moved by the worship and speaker at youth church last night. God was very present as we worshiped together with our Californian friends. And we were so blessed by the message from a guest speaker that was all about the importance of missions, and how young people can go out into the world and let their light shine. The night ended with an invitation for our team to come up to the front as the youth leadership team laid hands on us and prayed a blessing over our trip and mission to Belize. It was so amazing to feel like such a significant part of the Cornerstone family, and to feel sent out not only from our friends and family back home but also now our new friends in California. Once we got the church cleaned up after youth we made a quick stop and In-N-Out Burger (a quintessential California experience) and it was back to the airport.

By the time we gathered at our gate last night to board our red eye flight we were TIRED. Most of us had been up for 23 hours and counting, and our journey through airports felt a little never ending. But our flight to Houston was quick and painless, and now here we sit waiting to board our last flight both tired and thankful that our dream is about to come true.

I'm proud of the team, they're all doing great. They are serving and encouraging one another, and are being real troopers on very little sleep.

We land in Belize before noon today, and will spend the rest of the day resting and relaxing at the YWAM base. We are looking forward to the heat, the jungle, and the showers. I will update again this afternoon just to let all of you know that we have arrived safe and sound. Until then, check out the Photos section for some pics from yesterday.

Any comments that you leave will be read out to the team at some point, so feel free to check in. Be proud of these kids, they are doing great!

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers... we can feel them in a very real way.

Blessings....

Kristin and the team

And so it begins...

2011-02-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone... my name is Kristin Clark and I am a co-leader on the 2011 Project Serve Belize team. I am honored to take on the awesome responsibility of blogging about our amazing adventure in Belize this year. If you have found your way here you probably know someone on our team, and have witnessed their growing excitement as our departure date quickly approaches!

My mind and my heart have been very reflective today as I look back on the incredible journey that our team has already experienced through all of the training and fundraising that we have done in preparation for our departure on Tuesday. Project Serve 2011 has been in our hearts for many months already, and it is hard to believe that it is (finally) only a few hours away. We began this journey way back in September with monthly training meetings and team building times. We ended the training process this afternoon with one final team meeting to sort all kinds of amazing gifts for our friends in Belize, and spend some time sharing and praying together. As I sat and prayed with the students I couldn't help but marvel at the faithfulness of God in all of the ways that He has made Himself known in and amongst our team. We have already spent time laughing together, crying together, sharing our doubts and fears, expressing our overwhelming excitement. We have had moments of doubt that God may not help us to find the funds that we need to go on this trip, only to be surprised and deeply humbled by the response of our friends, family, and communities ... willing to provide more than enough for us to leave our mark on the country of Belize. We have done all we can to prepare for this grand adventure, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that tonight we are very excited, a little nervous, curious, humbled, expectant, and grateful to have been given this opportunity. Please stay tuned to this blog to read about our experiences stay up to date and ongoing prayer requests. We want this blog to be a window into everything that we're learning and doing, and a place for you to leave your greetings and encouragement by posting a comment.
For anyone who is interested our team is leaving this Tuesday, February 15th at 6:45am. We are having a group prayer time in the airport at 5:45am, and would love to see you there and be able to say goodbye in person. If you are unable to make it to the airport (and trust me, we understand. It's gonna be early!) please feel free to keep checking the blog and leave a comment or two for the team.

Prayer Requests:
-pray for rest and peace in the hearts and minds of our team. We are SO excited, but still have one more day to focus on school, work, and packing.
-pray for safe travels as we depart on Tuesday.
-pray for open hearts, that we would all be ready to love and serve the people of Belize with everything we have.

I'll be updating again as we travel, but until then thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and continued support!

Kristin and the team.

Safe Travels

2010-02-20T08:51:00.001-08:00

Good morning everyone.

I'm writing from our hotel in LA. We've made it here safe and sound, and we're flying out later this afternoon and spending the night in Calgary. Our travel has been great so far. We're still all getting along really well, and enjoying eachother's company...which is a blessing.
We have mixed emotions about coming home. As we're getting closer, it's getting more exciting to see all of you and get some much needed hugs. But we feel pretty heart broken to not be in Belize. Saying goodbye yesterday was really tough for a lot of us. We had such an amazing trip, and made friends that feel like family. It was hard to let them go.
Tonight we're staying at a church in Calgary, and will be having a big debriefing meeting to try and process coming home. It's hard for us to answer the question "how was your trip?"... because our trip was all encompasing and totally life changing. It's very hard to sum up, and we'll be working on coming up with the right words. Be patient with us, and gentle with our hearts. They're very tender this morning.
We love you guys, and would love to see you at the airport. We get in at 11:15am tomorrow morning (on West Jet). Hope to see you there!
Be praying for us today:
-for safe travels to Calgary
-for clear minds to process through why God brought us to Belize, and what He wants us to bring back home with us
-that we can continue to love each other and serve each other as a team today
-for Carlie, she has a bit of a head cold, which makes flying a little uncomfortable (I'm happy to report that all of the other minor health problems are cleared up!)

We'll see you soon!!

Kristin

Goodbye

2010-02-19T06:25:00.000-08:00

It's Friday morning already? How is that possible?

The kids are in the dorm packing up, while I have the somewhat impossible job of trying to sum up the last couple of days.

On Wednesday afternoon we drove out to a small community called Unitedville about 45 min. from here to run a kids club. There is a Canadian family who has relocated to Belize to run a children's ministry, and we took over their Wednesday after school programing. We had SUCH a great time. There were about 80 kids there, and it seemed as if we had known them for a long time. We made friends in only a couple of hours, and felt sad to say goodbye. There are some amazing kids in that community, and we would have loved the opportunity to get to know them more. We lead a game, a craft, a skit, some teaching, and some songs. Kaitlyn and Jenna K. did a great job of sharing what they've been learning lately about God. It was a highlight for some of our team, and we are excited to continue a partnership with this amazing ministry.

After kids club we headed into San Ignacio for team supper. We went to an amazing restaurant right in the middle of of an orange orchard. It was a really joyful evening. We had a lot of fun together. We found a jukebox which spurred an impromptu dance party.

Yesterday some of us woke up with a pit in our stomach, knowing that it would be our last day at the Children's Home. The team finished up at the work site (with some more painting), and we headed into town after school to start the goodbyes. It's hard to explain why we feel so close to these kids. It may seem illogical to some of you, or even some of us, because we've only known them for 10 days. I can't really explain it myself. I don't know why knowing these kids even for a short time is so life changing. But it is. They are amazing, and joyful, and God filled. They know how to love, and how to receive love. They give GREAT hugs. We spent only a couple of hours there yesterday, and tried to take in every minute. We gave as many hugs as we could, and spun kids around until we couldn't walk straight. We took countless pictures, and had to answer the heart breaking question of "will you come back?". It seems very unatural to be leaving them here today. But we are so thankful to know them.

Last night was jam packed with a lot of great stuff. We had a bonfire at the base with all of our YWAM friends, and then headed into town to Perk Up (a local coffee shop) for open mic night. A huge highlight was having our very own Gillian Walker sing 2 songs for the crowd. We were SO proud! She was amazing! When we got home we had a powerful team debrief focused on our good friends Omar and Alyssa. They have been overseeing our team this week, and have become incredible friends to us. They are an amazing young couple with an unmistakable servant attitude and heart for God. They have taught us a lot this week, both through their actions and words. They have made YWAM feel like home to us, and we wanted to say thank you. We gathered around them to offer our encouragement and prayers. We each shared with them the ways that God has used them in our lives this week, and laid hands on them and prayed for their ministry at YWAM. We also know that they have to raise support to live here, which has been very tough for them, so we took a love offering as a team and were able to give them a gift to help them out in the coming months. I was really proud of them team. It was important for them to give back, and they gave with such joy and excitement. We just felt like we didn't need anything else, and wanted to pour back into 2 people who are making such a huge impact in this country that we love.

We love Belize. We LOVE it. We are leaving a piece of our hearts here today. We will never forget the time we spent here. We will try so hard today to take in every last sound and smell as we spend one last morning in the jungle. We have learned a lot about ourselves, and about God, and about each other. You have reason to be proud of these kids. I don't know why I get to be the one to walk through these experiences with the team, but I consider it such a gift.

We're leaving today with mixed emotions. We're so sad to go. We're not ready. But at the same time, we're excited to see how God might be ready to use as at home. Today is the end of our experience here, but maybe the beginning of a whole new world of possibilities.

We get home on Sunday morning at 11:15am (on Westjet from Calgary). We would love to see you at the airport. Don't be surprised if we look pretty tired, or feel pretty sad. We'll be experiencing a lot of culture shock in coming home. We'll want to tell you all about it, but may not be able to find the words.

We love you... and can't thank you enough for the love and support that got us here. We will NEVER forget it.

We love you all.

Project Serve 2010

It's hard to find words....

2010-02-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

It's been a while since I've updated, I'm sure some of you have been checking back often. Sorry for the lack of info, we've been really busy this week.

Where to start...

On Monday we went back to the work site for a full day. We were finally able to start priming, which was our goal for last week. The air has been too wet here, so we had to wait until this week to start. The team worked really hard, and were able to get several rooms completed. The work site is a fun place. It's a few miles out of town, right in the jungle. There's some land cleared, and a volunteer house that's almost finished. It will eventually become home for the kids that we have grown to love so much. It's going to be an amazing place, with a nice big house to hold all the kids. We have spent a lot of time at their current house, and we know without a doubt that these kids need more SPACE. The current Children's Home is so small, the idea of these kids being able to run and play is so great! The volunteer housing is almost done, and the Children's Home itself will hopefully be done by next Christmas. What a blessing that will be!

After a long day of work, the team cleaned up and headed to the Children's Home to spend some time with the kids. Things have definitely changed since our first visit there. When we first arrived last week everyone was a little nervous to meet each other. The kids there were fascinated by us, but a little shy. Our team was very excited to finally meet these kids, but a little nervous. But pulling up on Monday felt like we were going home and hanging out with our family. As soon as we stepped out of the van, the kids were calling out to us and running towards us to get a hug. I sat and watched as Josiah took off in a sprint towards Hannah, who is now one of his all time favorite people. And as Jenna commented to me that she feels like she has made 30 new best friends. There is so much love in that home. More then we know how to process. It's everywhere, and in everyone. These kids have brought out emotion in us that we didn't know that we had. They have taught us things about God, and about ourselves. About family, about being generous, and about taking care of each other. They are AMAZING. They have changed my life, and there's nothing I love more then sitting and watching them change the lives of the people around me. They are so accepting, kind, independent, smart, protective. They are so many things that I wish I could be. Their faces are forever imprinted on our hearts. I don't think any of us could ever forget what it's like to know them and love them. I wish everyone could. Monday was extra special because our team bought the whole house fried chicken for supper. I placed 60 orders at a local restaurant, and took Marlon (my special helper) with me to pick it up. It's so fun to share that treat with them. The older kids went to church, and we stayed at home with the "babies" to have evening devotions. It was really fun to sing songs and pray together with the 12 littlest kids. It's humbling to watch them worship God, and recite scripture better then we can. So much to learn from those little guys. We go back for the last time on Thursday. It's going to be very hard to say good bye. Several of us have cried every time that we leave. We don't know how to say good bye to these kids. It seems like the most unnatural thing we could do. They feel like family to us, and saying good bye to family doesn't feel right.

When we got home on Monday night we opened the letters from home. It was VERY powerful to be reminded of the strong community that we have back home. Spending so much time with kids who are being raised without their parents has made us very thankful for the family and community that we have at home. Thanks so much for your words of encouragement. They were appreciated more than you could ever know. It was a really emotional (and happy) evening.

Yesterday we took a day off and went to the Cayes to snorkel. It was VERY fun. The weather so far hasn't been really hot, but we had a perfect day in the sun yesterday. We explored an awesome little island, we swam with sting rays (and touched them... and sometimes held them), we saw so many fish and coral. It was so fun!!! And unlike anything the team had seen before. It was a truly awesome adventure.

This morning we went to the Nazarene school to lead chapel. The team did so well! We just lead one chapel for the older kids, and they were really excited to meet us. We taught some songs, played games, and Kali and Kaitlanne did an incredible job of sharing. It was really fun to observe a different kind of school system.

This afternoon we're going to Spanish Lookout (a nearby Mennonite community) for some ice cream, and then heading into the jungle to help some friends of mine run their kids club. I've never helped with their ministry before, and we don't really know what to expect. There should be about 80 kids there... should be fun!

Some prayer requests for the day:
-when we were at the school today, one of the teachers collapsed and was sent to the hospital. The teachers were quite upset, and don't know what might be wrong. Her name is Mrs. Cooper, and we assured them we would be praying for her today.
-Gillian felt sick to her stomach this morning at chapel. She's feeling much better already, but pray for her continued health.
-Laurelle is dealing with some kind of allergic reaction. She's had a rash on her arms and legs for a few days, and we took her to the doctor on Monday to get some medicine. Her rash is much better already, but pray that it can be healed completely.
-pray for our friends Omar and Alyssa. They have spent every minute with our team, and have become dear friends. Pray that God would bless them in their ministry at YWAM, and help provide the financial support that they desperately need.
-pray for us tomorrow as we say good bye at the Children's Home. I think it might be the hardest good bye a team has ever had. It's hard to process, and hard to imagine.
-Pray that we can be a blessing at the kids club this afternoon.
-Pray that we will leave Belize with no regrets. Our time is short, and we want to take in every last minute.

Thanks for reading, and praying. Thanks for your encouraging comments. I read them to the team every night... so keep them coming!

I'll update again before we leave Belize. Until then...

God bless you ALL.

Kristin and the team

We just might be Belizian

2010-02-14T14:08:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon all!

It's 4:00, and we just got home from church. We've had a really fun weekend. Yesterday was meant to be a work project day at the YWAM base, but we completed most of our jobs the other day so instead we played football and relaxed in the sun. It was a perfect day in Belize yesterday. Not too hot, but nice and sunny. We have gotten to know some of the DTS students that are living at the base right now, so it was nice to spend some time with them. In the afternoon we headed out for some souvenir shopping, which was actually really fun. We went to the market, and then stopped by to check on the progress on the house that the Project Serve team started last year. Taylor and I were the only ones that worked on that house last year, and we were encouraged to see that it's almost done. It looks great! We then stopped by a local coffee shop to buy some "cholis", which is an indescribable iced coffee drink. It was a huge hit! We then went to the Art Box, which is the biggest souvenir store in Belmopan, and bought some goodies to bring home. We went out for pizza, and came home to finish preparations for Sunday School this morning. All in all, it was a really fun day. We spent some fun time together as a team, and got to explore Belize a bit.

This morning we went to Step of Faith church in Belmopan to lead Sunday school. This was our first experience with kids, other than at the Children's Home. It went really well. We had a group of about 45 kids that we were in charge of for about an hour and a half. The team did really well, and had a lot of much needed energy to keep up with the kids. We sand some songs, made a craft, and performed a skit (which was FUNNY). Our topic was God's love, for Valentines Day, and I think the local kids really enjoyed having us. We got a lot of hugs as it ended.

After church we had a really incredible opportunity to split up and join some local families in their homes for lunch. It was so great to be able to get to know some amazing Belizian families, and share a meal with them. Many of these families are very poor, but very very generous. They were honored to have us over, and were willing to give us anything they had. The house that Carlie and I were at was 3 miles straight into the jungle on a farm. The family of 10 lives is a one room house with no running water and no electricity. They cooked our meal over a fire in the back yard, and gave us a tour of their incredible jungle land. It was an experience unlike any I've ever had before. The family was so nice and inviting, and Carlie and I received letters from the little girls saying that they loved us and considered us 2 of their best friends. It was very endearing and a very humbling experience. This family had never had company to their house before, and they were quite nervous that we were going to be disappointed. I kept assuring them that they have a beautiful family and a beautiful home, and that we were so happy to join them for a few hours. It was another reminder that the people of Belize are so generous, even when they may not have much to give. Whatever they have they are willing to give, which has been a huge lesson to all of us.

Tonight we are going to church in Roaring Creek with the DTS team, and tomorrow we're back at the work site and then the Children's Home to buy friend chicken for the whole house!!

Some prayer requests are:
-a good rest tonight. Many of us were restless last night, and didn't have a good sleep. We're feeling weary today and need to get some sleep tonight.
-continued health and safety. Everyone is still feeling good. Our biggest issue has been heat rash for a few of the team, but even that has been very controllable. The weather hasn't been too hot, which helps a lot.
-that we can truly take in our surroundings, and understand the sacrifices that had to be made by the families that hosted us this morning just to feed us a beautiful meal. Pray for a blessing on those families for being some accommodating and generous.
-it's already occurring to us that we have to leave this place on Friday, which has been hard to think about. Pray that we can truly live in each moment that we have here. We want to take it all in, and leave Belize with no regrets.

We love you all! Wish you were here with us.

God bless,

Kristin and the team

We love Belize

2010-02-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

We feel like we've been here for a long time. Not because it feels like it's been forever since we've seen you, but because we've met people who we now that can't imagine not knowing. It seems like we've always known Belize, like these people have always been in our hearts.

We went to the Children's Home for the first time yesterday. Wow. It was incredible. I feel like every time I bring a team there, it gets more intense. The kids are more excited to see who I've brought, the team is more aware of who it is they're meeting. Within 15 minutes it seemed as if we were all old friends. Like we couldn't imagine that we had ever not known them. It was an emotional experience for some of the team. The kids at the Children's Home have become well known in our Saskatoon community. They are so well loved by the Project Serve alumni, that even just seeing them and meeting face to face was enough to bring some of this team to tears. It was a truly magical afternoon, filled with much running and playing (and spinning... so much spinning). We loved it so much, that we're going back today after work (and as many times as possible while we're here).

Some highlights from yesterday were:
-sanding the walls at the work site, not with sand paper... but with rocks.
-watching Matt as he couldn't refuse Nathan's requests to spin him around. Over...and over...and over.
-seeing how happy Ashton was to see Taylor
-listening to Jesse's story of meeting Elona, who is an older teenager at the home. She has some disabilities, and was telling Jesse that she felt discouraged and is constantly picked on. Jesse told her that she was beautiful, which brought such a sincere smile to her face.
-watching JR charm the ladies with his smooth moves and moon walk
-taking Ezekial around to meet all of the team, as he tries to memorize all of their names
-listening to Hannah and Kali talk about how they've never felt their heart so full of love before
-getting rid of the hundreds of fire ants who conveniently made their way into the girls dorm (and Katelyn's suitcase) last night.

Some prayer requests:
-everyone's health has been great. continued prayer that no one gets sick. today will be a long day at the work site, and the sun has just come out. pray that everyone can stay strong.
-pray that we can begin to understand why God has brought us here. We want to be faithful to our calling here, and bring a piece of Belize back home with us. Pray that we can all fully process what it is we're learning, and why it is we're here.
-pray that we can serve God, and the people of Belize with EVERYTHING we have today and this week. These people are dear to us. We love them.
-continued prayer for Alex, our beautiful team mate who is back home. Pray that she can feel a part of us, even from so far away. We love you, Alex!!

With very full hearts,
Kristin and the team

Off to work we go

2010-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

Good morning!
I am writing with much more clarity of mind this morning, after a solid 11 hours of sleep last night. We all needed a good sleep, and Belize was even more charming as we woke up this morning fully rested.

Yesterday was full of more exploring then napping. The team was just too excited to rest, so we sat in hammocks, played carpet pool (a classic YWAM Belize game), drank some pineapple fanta, and spent some time with the DTS students who are living here at the base. It was a lovely afternoon, and everyone is falling quickly and deeply in love with the jungle! One highlight of the afternoon was when Jenna J. , Kaitlanne, and Laurelle joined into the friendly game of soccer (football) with some of the guys at the base, and ended up SCHOOLING them. Everyone here is very good at football, and they were not expecting much from these girls, but boy were they wrong! The YWAM guys were very surprised, and VERY impressed with their skills!

This morning there was a change of plans. We were meant to be at the work site all day, but it is too wet. We need to put the first coat of primer on the volunteer house, and it needs to be as dry as possible. It's a little wet here this morning, so we had to hold off. We're doing some work projects around the base, and then heading to the work site this afternoon. We'll work there for a few hours and then go to the Children's Home to see the kids!! We are VERY excited about that. (like really... SO so excited!).

Feel free to comment on the blog... it's good to know that you're out there! I'll pass all of your comments on to the team.

Thanks for reading!

Kristin

WE'RE HERE!!!!

2010-02-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

We're in Belize! We finally made it, after one long day that never seemed to end.

We are loving Belize. We have experienced our:

first pineapple Fanta

a bus ride through the beautiful jungle scape

a fantastic lunch of spaghetti and home made buns

everyone meeting my Belizian family

drinking out of a coconut

unpacking in our charming jungle dorms

SHOWERS!

and now... time for a nap.

Today will be full of relaxing and exploring.

Stay tuned!

God bless you from the whole team. We wish you could be here to take it all in with us.

Kristin

Did we only leave yesterday?

2010-02-10T04:09:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Texas! Right now I'm sitting at our final gate, surrounded by sleeping bodies as we wait for our final flight! It's almost impossible to believe that we only left yesterday morning. We've done so much already... and we're not even in Belize yet. Here's a recap!

We landed in Calgary and had to clear customs, after we waited for 2 HOURS for our bags. We were tired and hungry, and collecting our bags and clearing customs took a long time...but was easy and uneventful. Before we knew it, we were landing at LAX for a day of fun and adventure. Our hopes of a day in "sunny" LA were dashed, as we flew into a huge rain storm. The weather in Orange County yesterday was terrible. It was pouring rain (I mean POURING). But like the true and tough Canadians were are, we headed to the beach! We had the place to ourselves, and had lunch with the leadership team from Cornerstone Church out on the peer at Huntington Beach. Cornerstone church is a community that YFC has been connected to for a few years, and we have seen several youth from our community complete their year long internship program. Right now there are three of our youth who are interning, and it was such a blessing to spend a day with them and experience their ministry at Cornerstone. After some lunch (and some serious power shopping from the girls), we went back to the church to join the Waveuth community for their weekly youth program. We made some instant friends, helped out where we could, and worshiped together with their amazing youth band (with Mitch leading us in a Kadesh camp song... felt just like home!). God's presence was real, and we were blessed. We were included in their family with open arms, and were truly thankful for their generosity and hospitality. At the end of the youth service, our team was asked to come up to the front as the youth group laid hands and prayed for our team. It was powerful, and humbling. Waveuth, thank you so much for your passion, vision, and kind and generous hearts. Spending an evening with you was the perfect way for our adventure to begin.

Some highlights from yesterday (today? what day is it.... )
-singing happy birthday to Gillian several times
-watching as Kali became an instant star as she helped to promote the new series at Waveuth. They're spending a month talking about dating and relationships, so Kali became the "mysterious Canadian girl" and the star of the Dating Game. She had 3 "bachelors" and asked them many questions, which segwayed into the message for the night. Let me assure you, she ROCKED it (and she chose bachelor number one).
-watching Marshall, Mitch, and Anthony as they lead their Cali youth group. We were so proud, these young men are doing an incredible job.
-being made fun of for saying such things as "supper, and couch" and for taking our shoes off at the door
-cheesecake at Gary's (the youth pastor) with the leaders after youth
-feeling like a part of a family and community after only a few short hours
-spending the day with our dear Jenna Funk, who is also spending a year in LA completing an internship at the Dream Center. We're proud of you too, Jenna!

Some prayer requests:
-safety in our final flight
-that the short naps that we're taking could miraculously feel like a full night's sleep (hasn't worked so far... but it never hurts to ask!)
-that we can be ready to land in Belize in a few hours with full hearts ready to serve God with everything we've got
-for our dear Alex, who is a part of our team but found out last Friday that she couldn't join us in Belize due to some health issues. She is a part of our Belize family, but is far from us right now. Pray for peace and grace for her as she tries to process all the emotion that comes with losing this trip. We LOVE you Alex. You are here in our hearts, and we are thinking of you always. Stay strong, girl. We're so proud of you.

I will update later this afternoon to let you know that we're arrived safe and sound. We land in Belize at lunch time (Belize is on the same time as home), and we'll head to the base for an afternoon of relaxing, exploring, and napping.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support. We can feel your encouragement and prayers from here. My heart is full of joy and anticipation as I imagine landing in Belize in a few hours, and sitting back and watching as every tree, speed bump, school bus, and pop in a glass bottle becomes the coolest thing that the team has ever seen! Taking teenagers to Belize is FUN. I am blessed.

Please feel free to leave comments, I will make sure the team gets them.

Signing off until Belize...

Kristin, for the (sleepy) team.

The Eve of Great Adventure

2010-02-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

Well... this is it! We're leaving in 13 hours. We have been talking about going to Belize for a VERY long time. And now it's time for the going. We are as ready as we can be. The expectations are high, and the team is excited. We're ready for whatever God has in store for us, and we hope that involves a lot of hard work, hugging kids, learning, laughing, tears, and joy.

Please be praying for us as we leave tomorrow. For safe travels and blessed conversations. Be praying also for our dear friend and team mate Alex, who just found out on Friday that she can't join us in Belize due to heath issues. She has trained and prepared with us all year, and now has to make the ultimate sacrifice of letting go of this trip. Pray for strength, wisdom, and peace for her as she tries to make sense of this turn of events. Pray also for our team, as we have to leave her here tomorrow. She is a part of our family, and leaving her behind just won't feel right.

Please check this blog often to join in our adventure, and join our hearts in prayer. I will be updating from Belize as soon as we arrive there on Wednesday afternoon.

We will be having a group prayer time at the airport tomorrow morning (Tues.) at 5:45 (yep, that's early!). We'd love to see lots of friendly faces as we leave, so feel free to join us!

Until then,
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose.

Kristin