Leaving Our Hearts in Succotz

Today was our last full day in Succotz. Although the rain changed our plans, we still had a great day. 

While we had plans to go to Xunantunich (the Mayan ruins in Succotz) this morning, the rain kept us from going. Therefore, we enjoyed a relaxing morning playing cards, games, and starting our packing for Caye Caulker. Then, we headed to Benny's Kitchen for lunch. When we finished, we walked down to the markets for some last minute souvenir shopping when we received a great surprise: Xunantunich was open!! We hurried back to camp, changed into tennis shoes, grabbed our cameras and headed out for the adventure!

We took the ferry over to the ruins and then were able to hike to the very top. I even got to reel us back across the river when we came back; it was awesome! Seeing this incredible holy ground where the Mayans sacrificed so many people was so overwhelming. Although it was foggy and rainy, we were able to see a breathtaking view from the top. To see such a big world, standing from the top of the ruins, knowing we are so small compared to God's world is an indescribable feeling. We all left soaking wet and incredibly blessed by the afternoon we were able to experience. 

When we returned, we had our final dinner at the campground. We were blessed by the presence of Aby and Amalia (our cooks) at the dinner table as we enjoyed chicken, watermelon and delicious rolls covered in jelly. 

We then moved onto seminar and devotions.

Here are devotions from Christy:

When I heard we had to lead a devotion during our time here in Belize I was very excited to hear what everyone had to say and the growth that would occur. It then hit me that I too was one of the people that had to create and lead a devotion. For those of you who don't know me, I am an early childhood education major (along with intervention specialist), but as my majors imply I enjoy teaching young children... Not my peers. So this soon became a stress for me. As I talked with leaders from the school professors on the trip, double digit hours of praying, and reading three different Bible translations of the scripture, God laid my devotion on my heart that was pretty obvious; however, I was still super nervous. 

For my devotion I was led to the verse Mark 5:16 which encourages us to let our light shine before others so that they may see God through us. After reading this verse and explaining how it applied to us and our time over he past 17 days I asked that everyone would get out of their seats and "mingle." Each student was asked to find at least six people and tell them how they saw Christ in them throughout the time we have spent here. This was in the schools, around the campground, and anytime you saw them showing the love of Christ through their actions. I asked that they would just take a moment to not only pour out their "cups" onto each other but also to allow theirs to be filled by each other. It was so encouraging to see everyone pulling each other aside and laughing, crying, and hugging out things that just made our last night wonderful. After about 2 hours the last few people filed out, and I could feel a peace of God's work in our group over the past 17 days and tonight in the love we all shared with each other. God is good, all the time. 

Love,

Christy

Overall, today has been an incredible blessing. Knowing that our journey here in Succotz is coming to an end is a sad realization, but knowing that God placed each of us here for a specific purpose is an amazing realization. Although we head out tomorrow for Caye Caulker, I know part of each of our hearts will always remain in Succotz. I for one will always be incredibly thankful for my time here.