From January 4-11, 2014, a team from 1st Presbyterian Church-Midland will be traveling to the Central American country of Belize, and working with The Word at Work ministry.
This will be an opportunity to reach out and share the gospel with the
people of Belize while working side-by-side with the local community and
The Word at Work staff on a much-needed construction project.
Church Service the First Day
This being my first mission trip, as I traveled in the van on the first day, Sunday, to meet with the church in El Progresso my stomach was in knots. You see, I don’t speak Spanish (besides counting to ten) and was wondering how I was going to communicate with most of the members of the church. Well, when our group arrived at the church we found all the members waiting outside. As we stepped out of the van the whole church came forward to greet us warmly. They were as excited about us being there as we were to visit. We went into the small wooden structure of their current church which was actually inside the new half-completed building. The church was full. Each of us from First Pres. sat in a different pew to visit with the people. I sat next to two little girls (ages 8 and 11) who did know English (the children learn it in school), and we tried to learn a little about each other before the service started.
The service was in Spanish but somehow I felt a part of it. As the congregation and Thelma, the soloist, sang my heart soared with them. When we all prayed out loud all at the same time I was taken by the beautiful simplicity. One of the things I noticed was the enormous faith they had in God. They trusted in Him to help in so many ways in their lives. One minister spoke on how he got bit by a poisonous snake and could not get to a doctor. So he prayed and was healed. Another minster told us they had been praying for a long time for someone to help them build their church, and our team was an answer to their prayers. The meeting ended with the all the children standing in front of the congregation singing a hymn. It was so cute. I think with it being a farming community there were more children than adults in the congregation.
Working with Carlos
I noticed one man cutting and bending wire (which ended up being used to hold the concrete forms to the walls). He was doing it by himself and kept having to drop the wire and pick it up off the ground after each cut. So I started helping him. We exchanged names. While neither knew much of the other's language, we found we could communicate and had a good time learning how much we were alike. He was a farmer, and I am a gardener. We talked about what each grew in our gardens. We also talked about our children and their ages. We both got a big surprise when I told him how much I enjoyed the service and loved hearing Thelma sing. That’s when he told me that Thelma was his wife!
The next day at lunch Carlos called me over to meet his wife and children. They had delivered the meal, and he wanted me to meet them. I felt honored. But it was funny; I had a much harder time talking with them. I guess it’s easier when you’re working and talking than it is to just start up a conversation.
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| The 2014 Belize Mission Team from 1st Presbyterian Church, Midland, Texas |
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