They're Back!

They have all safely landed in Houston and are busily getting their luggage and dealing with customs. Other than a few sunburns, everyone is in good health and high spirits.

At the Biltmore

Hi everyone! I hope all is well. We are here at the hotel. I have to make this short because they charge for use of the Internet. Last nights service went really really well. Souls were saved and the students were touched. Please ask them more about the service, you'll want to hear about it.

We went cave tubing today and it was amazing! Crystal clear water and big beautiful caves. Oh, so breathtaking. God continues to amaze me with His handiwork. After a week without TV or hot showers the kids are in their rooms enjoying a program or two and most of them have taken a shower. Although, we still might come home stinky 'cause we're all running out of clothes!

I thank everyone for their comments. They have made the kids laugh and feel very appreciated. Keep them coming! We love you all.

Oh and don't worry... while we are at Caye Caulker tomorrow on the white sand beach with a crystal-clear ocean before us, while waiting to go snorkeling and maybe sipping a cold coke... we'll be thinking about you all, at work or school. See ya soon!

Burrrrrrr it's cold in here

Hey everyone. One of the things that we have really had to adjust to are the cold showers. So cold you suck in your breath when it hits you. Although they can be refreshing, they can also be shocking.

Today the boys stayed and worked on the missionaries house while the girls went into the village. The girls ministered to the kids at school. We have been working with them on math and on reading. Tonight is our last night at the lodge and tomorrow is the last night in the village.

Please pray for the service tomorrow. It is at 7 PM (9PM your time). We hope that God will break the walls down in the village.

This might be the last time I have to write on the blog. I do not know what the computer situation will be like. I know I will not be able to blog tomorrow but I will try to blog on Friday and Saturday, if the hotel has a computer.

Thanks for ALL your prayers. By the way, I'm feeling much better. We love you all. Until Sunday!

Notes from us

We had a very nice and relaxing day. It started with a late breakfast (8 am) and then we did some chores round the base. Then the kids got to have a lot of free time. they are out right now fishing. I went with Vera into the village to pray with the women. If you would like to hear more about that experience just ask when i get home. You'll want to hear the story. Here are some notes that we have written to our family members. Enjoy!


Hey we are having a good time over here. I hope ya'll are having fun in school. Hey Josh, Ryan, Courtney, Mom and Dad. Love, Taylor

Mamma and Daddy, Jennifer and Jimmy, and Cody, I miss ya'll so much and I love you. Love, Bridget

Hey Mama, we are having a great time in Belize, everything is going great. I miss you and Pa, I love you! -Veronica

Hey Mom and Dad, I am having the time of my life! It's really cool. I love ya'll.
Love, David Jones

I hope all you guys that are sittin' in a class room are having fun. Hey momma and daddy, I love you. I'm having fun. Tell the rest of the family "hey" for me. -Love, Abbra

Hey mama, daddy, Bradley and Justin. We are having fun and it's beautiful here! I do miss you guys so much. I hope you're not worried. Love, Kristin

Dear Angela and family, We're having a great time. I miss everyone. I can't wait to tell you all about it. -Dale

Hey ya'll!
Mom, Dad, Christian, richie, and Chyanne. I miss ya'll a lot, but it's been fun, and hot! I love and miss you Emily please be there to pick me up. See ya'll when I get home. -John Major

Hey everybody!! Lots of stuff happened down here. In fact, so many things happened that I can't wait to tell everybody!! So I'll tell you lots of Koreans experience when I get home!
-David Hwang

Hey honey! I miss you. I wish you were here but I am having a great time and God is really doing amazing things. I love you do much. -Mel
Class of 2009 I do miss your smiling faces every morning. Know that I am thinking about you as I go throughout my. I love you all very much. See you on Tuesday. -Mamma B

Ok it's Melissa again. Just want to let you know that there is no sign of David Jones rash today. That's a praise. Please pray for me, I had a rough day because my stomach has been giving me problems. Thanks for the comments! Keep them coming and Keep Praying!

Who knew insect repellent could be a perfume?

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for your comments. Please leave one, it is really encouraging to us.

So many bugs and so little time to explain it all. Each morning and evening we have to cover ourselves with insect repellent, and I mean cover! These mosquito and deer flies really bite! Oh, and today I found a very small scorpion in my room. I had someone come and smash it with a shoe.

On to the good stuff. We ministered at the village school today. The kids are so precious and just want to be loved. We taught a bible lesson to the little ones, took a break for lunch (hot dogs and chips but I had hummus), then in the afternoon we helped with math and reading.

One thing we have learned here is that it takes a long time to get anywhere. It's about a 30 minute boat ride to the village and another 15 minute ride to the school. We have to go down this bumpy road filled with potholes and speed bumps (go figure).

Please pray for the village. Vera thinks that they are on the verge of a spiritual break through. They need a lot of prayer as there are many strongholds in thier lives.

Tonight we saw something beautiful, imagine this: Pitch black outside except for the light of the full moon shining on the Caribbean Sea. The palm trees waving in the breeze, it created a beautiful sight. Something that cameras can not capture. How can people say there is no God?

Note to David Jone's parents: He is doing well, no rash to be seen.

Note to ALL parents: The kids are doing great! Dale and I are so proud of them. They are all having a ton of fun. It is 8:19 (10:19 your time) and they are laughing it up playing cards and dominos). They miss you.

We love you all. KEEP PRAYING.

Go!

Well, we're here!!!! It's been a long day but it is finally coming to an end. We just finished a wonderful dinner of pasta, coleslaw (yup, they have it here!) and purple cool-aid.

When we arrived at the airport the group was taking it all in. The sights, sounds and smells were different. We went to the baggage claim area and waited for our luggage to arrive. And waited, and waited. Then the luggage belt stopped and no one had their luggage! The kids faces just fell and Dale and I tried to stay positive. To make a long story short we did end up with our luggage about 30 minutes later. It arrived on another flight. We turned to the kids and said "Our first lesson on being flexible."

Vera (one of the missionaries) picked us up in an old van and took us to lunch at a Chinese food restaurant. Everyone ordered fried chicken and fried rice. It was good.

The most exciting/interesting/tiresome/beautiful part of our day was when we had to take the boat to the village. It was a motor boat that sits 10 people comfortably. We had 12 and ALL of our luggage. Everyone stepped into the boat and shot nervous glances at each other. Even Dale and I. We rode through the canals of Belize for an hour and a half. On either side of the canals were trees it looked like a jungle. It was very fascinating. The canals kept going and going but then, there was a clearing. The canal led us to a beautiful lagoon. We were surrounded by blue green water, mountains, lush green trees and blue sky. Wow! Only a great and mighty God could have created such a sight. Then suddenly, SPLASH! Yup,the boat kicked up water for about another 45 minutes and Kristen, Veronica, Bridgett and I got soaked.

We arrived on the mission base and received our room assignments. The kids got changed right away and took a long swim in the Caribbean sea. Talk about nice. The water was so warm. The mission base and village is in the middle of nowhere like we expected but it is very well equipped. No one needs to worry because we are in great hands! The missionaries are wonderful. Everyone is doing very well. The kids attitudes are great! Please keep praying for us.

There has been a schedule change. We will be in the village tomorrow and on Tuesday we will stay on the mission base. The government decided to change the holiday. WE love you all and are thinking about you.

Safe and Sound

Since noone from the class has posted on the Blog yet, I'll assume that they weren't able to get access to an internet-enabled computer or they don't have power tonight (it can be spotty because it's solar). So, for anyone who's sitting on the edge of their seat, wanting to know if they arrived safely, I can put you out of your misery. I received a phone call from Melissa around noon today and she assured me that they had made it safely and everything was going smoothly so far. We talked for less than a minute because it's $3.25 a minute to make a cell phone call from Belize, but she sounded really upbeat and excited. If they aren't able to update tomorrow, I'll probably call for another minute or two so that I can post another update. :)