"Miss! Miss! Hey, Miss!"

What up America!

First of all, sorry about the whole “we didn’t blog yesterday” thing. We just didn’t because we’re kind of slack. Anyway…here we go.

Alright. So yesterday, which was Monday, we returned to St. Mary’s for another work day.  We split into groups with some people painting chalk boards, some working on outdoor and playground equipment, and others finishing up painting in the main room.  The theme of the work day was “oil-based paint.”  As Jill says, “You can’t live with it, and you can’t wipe it off.” Initially, no one realized that paint thinner and other such chemicals would be required to remove the substance from our flesh, so we were colorful little messes who ended up bathing in all sorts of harmful solvents. Whatever the case, the finished result—scripture on walls, murals, and all sorts of games like Four Square, Hopscotch, and Tic Tac Toe—was well worth it. 

After a long of day of work, we rewarded ourselves with family dinner at a local restaurant called Celebrity.  The food was great, but the best part of the meal was sitting as one huge group.  Our table of nineteen overwhelmed almost half the restaurant. That was awesome to see.

And now on to today! Cue the children!

Since yesterday was a national holiday here in Belize, today was our first day working with the kids in the schools.  Because our team is so large this year, we were able to work with two primary schools: St. Mary’s and St. John’s.  A group of ten remained at St. Mary’s passing out letters from children in American schools for Dr. Meg’s literacy project.  In these letters, American children shared what they had learned with their Belizean pen pals, and then the children at St. Mary’s wrote responses.  It was really cool to see the connection created between the children from these two starkly different countries.  

Meanwhile, at St. John’s, seven from our team volunteered to go into uncharted territory and get to know the school, faculty, and students for the first time.  The result couldn’t have been better.  Mrs. Griffin, the principal, welcomed us with a smile and opened her school to us completely, and within the first fifteen minutes, the children captured our hearts (and our laps).  We each attended a different class where some members of the St. John’s team were able to teach lessons to their students.  By lunch time,  the kids at St. John’s knew most of us by name, and if not, they were more than happy to address us as “Miss” or “Sir.”

 By the day’s end, our hearts had each expanded hundreds of times to allow room for all the children we had grown to love at both schools.  It took no time at all for the kids to embrace us, showing unconditional affection and adoration.  You really have no choice but to love them back.  It’s entirely eye-opening to see how much love these kids—and the faculty members, hotel staff, and people of Belize for that matter—show to us without expecting anything in return. 

God is showing up in big ways here in Belize, and we pray that He continues to work in our lives and in the lives of all the people we encounter.  We ask that you continue to pray with us.