Executive Director
Apr 9
Greetings. We arise this morning to the sound of two massive rain storms, the smell of fresh coffee (Mr. Bonk - Yay!) and the beginnings of a French toast morning.
Yesterday was a long day for all. Construction started early with finishing off the prior days work, cribbing for a concrete deck and laying of rebar. The contractor from Belize, at 5 in the afternoon, was informed that he had to have all the rebar done before today's pour. This would have taken him until 2 or 3 in the AM. Our whole team, without being asked, worked until it was done at 8 PM and just blew the work away. Great JOB ! You have some amazing boys !
Leadership team went back to the orphanage yesterday with all of the gifts and cash that had been so generously donated. The whole team arrived just after 9 and set up for the day. We were blessed with an awesome experience...A few of the girls came upon a boy, laying by the roadside, who simply asked for some help. He had bad legs and feet and trouble walking. Turns out he was in an accident and had his legs messed up. The girls came back to base and got some of us to follow. We picked up the boy and took him to the park nearby. Our language barrier was in play as he spoke Creole and we only spoke English. They do not mesh. In any event, he let us know, through our 8 year old interpreter, that he wanted some water, a bandage and for us to pray for him.
We peeled back his blood soaked sock to reveal a massive open wound. I can share with you that my first impression as I tried to work with a wet wipe and a band-aid was not a pleasant one. As we wiped away some of the old blood, I noticed some movement in the wound. It became quite clear that we were not able to help much further. We applied the bandage and led in a moment of prayer before departing. This was not an easy task for some of the girls who wanted to stay behind and help him more.
When we all gathered again at base camp YWAM, we piled into our happy white bus and headed off to Mennonite Country! We got to DW Ice Cream in Spanish Lookout and treated the crew to two scoops of anything. A few of us dove into the air conditioned shop and grabbed as much cold milk (whole milk - chocolate and strawberry) as we could handle. It was a treat after a long week of hard work. (We do not have any milk at base camp). After ice cream, we went to the Mennonite store and instantly became the topic of conversation. Traditional meets modern, individuality meets conformity.
A good experience all around and a cultural awakening for some of our crew as well.
Dinner came and went quickly - spaghetti and meat sauce never tasted so sweet.
Devotions were opened with incredible participation and encouragement in our singing, hand movements and message. You can almost tell the turning point in the actions of the students and their perception of what has actually changed within them.
We wish you all a great day as the sun is now superheating the rain and steam burns off the jungle floor.
We are off to the local Christian school for leadership and then the pouring of concrete and painting the final coats on the renos at base camp.
Scott