One down! Two to go!

Can you believe we've been on this journey for a full week? We've learned so much about flexibility, the necessity to let your expectations go, the necessity to allow others to help you get through the struggles and the joy of living in community. Who knew one could learn so much in just one short week?

Felicia is going to tell us about her day:

This morning was just like any other morning except I had the pre-teaching jitters. This was going to be my first time ever teaching in a different country to students who speak both English and Spanish. However, I knew that confidence is key so I walked to school and into the classroom with confidence. When I saw all 21 of my students' smiling faces my jitters went away. I successfully taught a lesson about irregular verbs. I left the classroom today feeling great and more confident about my teaching than ever before and that is all thanks to these amazing kids. The students in my class have impacted my life more than I ever thought they would. I am now realizing how hard it will be to tell my class goodbye next Friday. I am sure there will be many tears. But on a more positive note, I have successfully learned all 21 of my students' names. SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!! I know that I will never forget them either, especially because I wrote them all down in my journal :) Overall, this day and experience has been amazing and life changing. I can't believe my life has been impacted so much in just one week in this amazingly different culture. I cannot wait to see what the next two weeks have in store for me and the rest of the group.

With Love,

Felicia

P.S. I love you mom! Enjoy your coffee this morning :)

Here are the devotions from Jackie:

There have been highs and lows so far on this trip. Sometimes your hands are in the air, waving like you just don't care, and other times you have a death grip on the bar. Regardless, this community of teachers that we are currently living in will be there to catch one another and raise them up - In the tradition of the master teacher himself.

Stellarly,

Jackie

In one week, our lives have been molded, shaped and transformed in a very tangible way. One week down, two weeks to go! 

And, to answer the question you are all dying to know, we all are freezing as the temperature dropped to a frigid 70 degrees this evening. Life is hard. (;

Terrific Tuesday!

Today has been a beautiful, hot day in the classrooms. Many of us enjoyed being in front of our classes for the first time actually getting an opportunity to teach our students. Of course, we also enjoyed playing games after school; Tiffany, Brody, and I played an intense game of "fútbol" with the students while others played on the basketball court and others on the swing. However, despite the differences each of our days brought, we were all able to bring conversation to the dinner table, work tables while doing homework and lesson planning, and devotional time.

Here's what Taylor had to say about his day:

What a day it has been! After getting over the awkward first day on Friday and a very successful name game yesterday, today was just the beginning of the journey I am embarking on. I personally think it's so cool when the class addresses us as a solo "mister" or "miss" (meaning nothing after mister or miss). So, needless to say, I am all smiles when they say mister to me. Anyway, that was far from the highlight of the day. Today, three of us had a possible life-changing experience with students today. Cassidy and I both got to work with students that have severe disabilities. Side note: they don't have Intervention Specialists (IS) here in Belize, so what we did with them today has been the extent of attention and help they have received in a long time. Both of us worked with students that are 11 or 12 years of age and can't spell - not even sight words like of, the, was, or it. We would ask them a letter like t and they would say w or ask them to spell 'it' and they would just stare at their paper. Since both of us are studying to be an IS someday, it broke our hearts. Cass left crying and my heart just sank to my stomach. We are doing exactly what God has called us to do, and we are both going to be working one-on-one with these students the rest of our time here. In addition, Elizabeth was able to help a girl that speaks almost no English with a story book. The girl knows her sight words and was sounding them out, but couldn't read the whole story. She sat down with her, helped in the process, and the girl finished the story and was able to read a whole book. It's times like these with these three students that we realize why we are here. God calls us to help the least of these. I mean yes we are in a third-world country, but I take that as helping those that can't help themselves. We are going to have a lasting impact on these three individuals, as well as the whole classroom in this process. I really want to say so much more, but words in a blog can't fully describe what we have felt since we have entered this beautiful country of Belize. God's grace, love, provision, and mercy are keeping us going, and we are beyond thankful for that. Well, I need to get back to lesson planning! I teach my first actual lesson tomorrow, so say a prayer for my colleagues and me as we start teaching this week. To God be the Glory, forever and ever. Amen! God Bless!!

Here's what Emily had for devotions this evening:

Every time we sit around our family table (2 large tables we've mushed together to form a huge table with 2 long benches down the side - our very own education meeting spot), my heart is overwhelmed by how blessed I am to be able to sit with true friends - sharing our thoughts, concerns, stories, fears and prayers. Tonight we talked about how God embraces our weaknesses to heighten our strengths. After sharing my classes' scripture lesson from the day (Jesus healing the man with leprosy), I read 2 Corrinthians 12. Paul describes one of the most difficult things for us to grasp and believe about the life of faith: God purposefully blesses us with weaknesses for the sake of our joy and uses our weakness to highlight our strengths. Through sharing my own struggles in my placement over the past 3 days, I proposed the question....Are you content with the weakness you live with? Your limitations, illnesses, disabilities, circumstances, and insecurities.......Most times we seek affirmation from others, but yet we forget it's not our human achievements that show Christ - but rather out human helplessness. Paul was ashamed of his weakness but he let God embrace his weaknesses in order to let God use him. Our father used his "weakness" in tremendous strength and will use weakness in maximum extent. Our family ended the night with sharing our classroom highlights from the day and embracing in fellowship.

Love,

Emily

I think it's more than evident that we have started to leave part of our hearts within different aspects of the culture, people, and experience in Belize. I'm confident that not a single one of us will leave unchanged. 

 

The Long-Awaited Monday Post!

All of us were very anxious to get back into the schools to see the students and work with our cooperating teachers today. 

Jackie is going to tell us about her day at the high school:

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of my day is that Belizean high school students aren't that different from state side kids. Too cool for school, and all that jazz. Not that it stopped me from imparting giant parts of wisdom upon them my second day in. Eye of the tiger, ladies and gentlemen. Eye of the tiger. I taught two lessons to what would equate to a 11th grade class. There are 3 different languages represented in the class, which has given me what I can only describe as the most in depth and rich teaching experience that I have had yet in the field. For that I am extremely thankful, just as I know all of my counterparts feel the same way. On a personal note, I miss you Joe, Jeffery, and Madsion. Stay out of trouble ;) 

All my love,

Jackie

This evening's devotions were done by Tori and McKenzie. Here's what they had to say:

Since being in Belize, we have learned a lot about people. Not only are we learning about the Belizeans  and the similarities and differences that exist between us, but we are also learning about each other. We recongnized that when we came here we had expectations of what it would be like to be in a foreign country and live with 19 other people. These expectations often projected themselves as preconceived stereotypes.

Tori and I both shared our personal expectations of being "gringos" in a culture that we knew little about. We then opened it up for everyone else to share the expectations we each had in coming here and see if they had been proven true. 

The answers blew me away. In the six days we have been here, our expectations and stereotypes had been challenged and ultimately changed. Some of us expected primitive conditions of chalkboards and limited materials in our classroom, but we have been pleasantly surprised by the whiteboards and resources available. Some of us expected the students to speak more English in the classrooms, but we have valued the opportunity to review our multiple years of high school language education...as well as the giggles when we try to speak Spanish with an obvious accent. Some of us expected to be treated as superior or inferior educators, but have been welcomed into the classroom as equals. 

Some of us expected the showers to be colder...actually, no...those are living up to expectations. As well as the bug population. We recently vacated our second turanchula from the girls dorm. Living the life.

We then shared Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may know God's will, His pleasing and perfect will."

This verse took on a new meaning as we had experienced a "renewal" of our perspective. It was a great reminder that we should not project our stereotypes on others, but rather, we should see others as God intended.

We then posed the question: what stereotypes have you lived under and what is something that we may not know about you? I know that I have personally been blessed by the vulnerability, encouragement, and love that our little family has developed in such a short time. We laughed and cried and spent time in prayer. 

Much love,

McKenzie and Tori

We are gearing up for a big day tomorrow as many of us will be teaching our first lessons in our perspective classrooms. Definitely say an extra prayer for us as we begin adapting and teaching in a culture so very different and so very similar to our own. 

Oops!

So, here's the deal: apparently we lose internet when they shut it off at the school here on the campground. Therefore, we were unable to post last night. Being so proud of our blog (which we really are), and knowing that there are lots of moms out there keeping tabs on their children through the blog (we all love our moms!), we did write a post so that I could post it once I got to school this morning, but I deleted it accidentally. I'll take the blame!

Therefore, this post is just to say: we're still here! Hopefully the school keeps the internet on this evening for us! The next postings will be for yesterday and today!

We hope you check back with us to see how our days have gone. We have all been so excited to see the number of views on our posts increase daily. As of yesterday at 3:00 PM, we were at almost 1,300! We feel as if we've gone viral - and that's only half kidding!

What can we say, we like to keep the anticipation high! Stay tuned!

Sunday in Succotz

Today we had our first taste of what it means to worship in Belize. I think we all agree that it was an experience we will treasure in our hearts long after we leave Belize. 

Jenny is going to debrief about the day:

Today we experienced our first church service here in Succotz, and it has by far been the highlight of the trip for me. In the midst of worshipping among other Christians I found myself overcome with emotion. It literally brought me to tears. There's something so sweet about worshipping God beside people who aren't even speaking the same language. It is one of those indescribable moments that I will remember long after our trip is through. My words will never adaquetly describe the awesome feeling when the crowd joined voices to sing a chorus of How Great Is Our God. As the words of the chorus ran through my head it struck me that the words are OUR God, not MY God, YOUR God, but OUR God. The God we serve is not simply the God of the States, but He is the God of the universe. It's those moments of quiet revelation spent with the creator that I treasure. God loves all people, and this means I am called to this also. Our God is so big. He is not stopped by borders or language barriers, and I am thankful for this. 

Here in Belize we are learning that we are more alike than different. The people of Belize have been so warm and welcoming. We had the opportunity to go back to the village market today to interact with the natives and pick up some cool souvenirs to take back home. You should totally be excited...I mean it, they're awesome! :) 

After the ridiculously bumpy trek back up the hill we had dinner... Belizean style!! We feasted on traditional beans and rice with chicken today. We definitely aren't going hungry here! To make the day even sweeter the group surprised me with a belated birthday cake!! They'll never understand how much that touched me and how truly thankful I am for this community. I cannot end this blog without thanking each and every one of you for your prayers and support. We are having a blast here, and we look forward to seeing all of you back in the states. :) 

Peace,

      Jenny

P.S. I have to give a quick shout out to my incredible family. I love you all!!! :)

Here are the devotions from Tiffany:

This evening we all got together for devotions. It's always a favorite time of mine because I feel so blessed to hear the love each and every one of us has for Christ. I used this opportunity to talk about AUTHENTIC worship. In the book, Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren, it talks about this very thing. The book says, "The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love for God." I opened up with the question, "what does worship mean to you?" Many people offered up their opinions of what worship meant to them. Some people said they felt they worshipped God through music, while others said they worshipped God by watching the sunset. It was great to hear a variety of answers because authentically worshipping God is going to be different for everyone. I made the connection that we are all here to teach and, because of that, we ALL have the opportunity to authentically worship God through teaching. I challenged each person to think of multiple ways to genuinely and personally worship God authentically. To close things off, I switched gears a bit. I wanted everyone to get a chance to hear the growth our group has had already. We were all sitting in a circle, so I told everyone that they were supposed to say something they have learned about or from the person to their right. It was a truly humbling experience to hear the love and care these amazing people have shown each other. There were tears of joy and lots of laughter as people shared their thoughts about one another. To end this off, I just want to say it's been such a blessing to be a part of a group that is trusting, supportive, and vulnerable during devotional time. It truly strengthens us so much and makes for a great time together. 

As you can probably tell today was a pretty relaxing day. I do think, however, that we will treasure the quiet moments we had together with the group just spending time with each other and enjoying the company. We are all growing to become a family - an awkwardly close, ridiculously conversationed (if that's a word; if not, I'm coining it!), hilariously funny family. 

A Walk in Succotz

Today was our first "adventure" in Belize, as 18 of us ventured through Succotz exploring and learning!

Elizabeth is going to debrief about the day:

Our day started off being woken up by the roosters! We are used to hearing them but there was something about this morning that was so different about the roosters. Maybe it was because they sounded like they were right inside our dorm (the girls dorm that is). Breakfast was toast, beans, pineapple and papaya. After breakfast, we didn't have much to do so some of us sat around and talked outside, napped, or went on a walk. We couldn't wait for after lunch because we were walking down to the village. When it came time for lunch, we scarfed everything down because we were so excited - not only because we were walking to the village but because lunch was macaroni and cheese, chicken and mashed potatoes.

Then it was time for what we had all been waiting for. We got the final okay and began our journey to the village. We walked to Benny's which took about 20 minutes so we took a little breather then made our way to the market by the river. We walked around and looked at all the people had. They were so kind and many of the items which they make are interesting and cool.

After the market, we walked up the road to the Chinese Supermarket. Some of us bought food and cold drinks for the walk back. We made our way back to Benny's where we sat down to relax and have ice cream. We then started walking back to camp and got to the point we were all dreading - the big hill. It was mostly uphill on the way back but the last hill before camp is the worst. I know I had to take a breather at the top before moving on, but we all made it back.

It was fun when we got back. We sat on the steps and talked as well as watched two of the boys make a swing for the little kids. It is great playing with the kids because they are so interested in meeting us and playing games.

Dinner time came pretty fast. We had chicken, coleslaw and rice. I thought it was very delicious, and it was even better with it all mixed together! Tonight was church night for the youth so after dinner we got ready for that and were going to be dropped off around 7 but no one was in the church so Mrs. Taylor treated us to a fruit drink (don't worry, non-alcoholic) at Benny's. When we finished the drinks, we walked down to the church and joined the youth. This was a great experience because the songs were sung in Spanish and also English. The prayer was in Spanish and, although I couldn't understand, I could definitely feel the presence of the Lord. Ecclesiastes 12:1 and 13 were the verses which were read and it was read in Spanish first and then shout out to Julia who got up in front and read it in English. I had such a great time today and look forward to tomorrow as well as the many other days we are here.

We are back in the dorms and winding down for the night to enjoy yet another great day in Belize! Good night everyone.

Love,

Elizabeth

So, I'm sure you can tell, we all have been quite busy today. As I was journaling about the adventure, I couldn't help but it see how much God is placing on our hearts and lives. For instance, Andrew bought some rope to make the swing Elizabeth was talking about. The kids absolutely loved it, but the selflessness that went into the thought and making of the swing absolutely blew my mind. It really is interesting to sit back and watch 18 education majors do what they love to so the very most: love on kids.

The First Day of School!

Today we stepped foot into the classrooms for the first time, meeting the students that we will be working with for the next two weeks.  I don't think any of us can fully put into words the incredible blessing today has been, but here are the insights from a few students.

Experiences from day one:

McKenzie:

Amazing. That is the only word that comes to mind when I think about my first day. 

As I walked into the school for the first day, my heart was beating this crazy nervous pattern, but I could not wipe the smile from my face. I looked at Jenny next to me and we both had the same thought: "Is this really happening? Are we seriously doing this?!" 

Being introduced to our class for the first time meant 31 beautiful faces shamelessly staring with open curiosity and shy smiles...my heart could not have been happier. I have a classroom of Standard 5 students...which is a bunch of students ranging from 10-14...being an Early Childhood major means I am a little out of my element.

My cooperating teacher greeted me with a hug when I extended my hand...and that's when I realized that this was not an American classroom. It was small and an assortment of vintage wooden desks were crammed in there. I introduced myself, where I was from, etc. then the students went around and shared their names. Mezekiel. Sendy. Brian. Carlos. Arlett. Even a Jennifer Lopez. I don't know how I'm going to remember them all...and when they switched classrooms, there were even more. 59 total in Standard 5.

My favorite part had to be lunch. We had no idea how it worked, what we were getting (Belize food has been kind of hit or miss). Thank goodness for a couple little boys who helped us order and explain what a shilling was. They, and their little sisters became our buds. One of them, was a native Spanish speaker and the other was Creol. The things we learned from them! 

I asked them if the way we spoke sounded funny to them. I'll never forget how he responded: "No...because that is just how you speak...it's who you are." I think that is kind of the point of all of this. I literally reared up. And for the rest of the day he asked me if I was going to cry again.  

He also told me that my lips moved faster than my words, whatever that means...

I'm totally blown away by today. God is so good.

Love, McKenzie

 

Julia:

Today was absolutely amazing! I went into the school, Faith Nazarene, full of emotion. I was anxious mostly, but after 20 minutes in the classroom, all of my anxiety melted away. I was greeted with so much love and acceptance. As I walked around the room asking students what their name was and if they would teach me how to say it, I was humbled. I am in a completely new  environment, but yet I still am confident once put in front of a class. I surprised myself even!

Although I pride myself because I learned almost all 26 names in the first day, there were a few students who have already captured my heart. The first is Karen. Karen is a soon-to-be 12 year old (she won't let me forget that it is January 16th haha). She is spunky and so full of love. She shared with me that her dad had passed away, and that she only lived with her mom and her brother, Elvis (how cute is that name??!). But the highlight of our relationship is that before lunch we made a deal, a deal that I will always remember. "If you teach me math, I will teach you Spanish." It is like a dream come true, a student to ask me to teach them math....so nerdy, and I don't even care :) 

I feel blessed and so humbled for this experience, and how awesome is it that we have 10 more days in the classroom!! Our God is great...all the time!

Love, Julia. 

P.S. I love you, Mom! Shout out to Elmwood 216 baby :)

Devotions for today by Andrew:

Devtional time began with the reading of Psalm 19. Personally, Psalms as the worship/songbook for the Jewish people means so much to me; the writings within are so rich in what an alive realtionship with God will experience. After reading Psalm 19, we read verses 7-11 again to focus on a  word that will follow us throughout not only this trip but forever. The topic forr the night was obeidence in God is success itself. 

Psalm 19:7-11 explains seven aspects to the obiedence of God:

1. It is powerfull.

2. It is plain.

3. It is pleasing.

4. It is pure.

5. It is permanent.

6. It is precious.

7. It is preventive.

Once these were listed the beautiful writing by Cindy Lu was read and lead into a great group discussion about how it feels to have goals and expectations for something we have been called to, but then not reaching those goals and expectations. During this trip we are called and commanded to love everybody as well as give it our best. The poem explains how giving it your best will not only result in pleasing God but also benefit in ways we may never know.

I hope you will enjoy this peice as much as the group did.

Poem used in devotion:

By Cindy Lu
A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s mind such as: “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.” Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure, these thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more.

“Why kill myself over this?” he thought. “I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.” And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. “Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

To this the Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done.

“I, my friend, will now move the rock.”

At times when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what he wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in him…

“By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains; but it is still God who moves the mountains.”

Prayer: God, You call us to obedience every day. Sometimes, I want to see beyond obedience. I want to know why, how and when. Yet, it is usually long after the obedience that I begin to realize what Your plan was back then. So help me just be obedient for today. I am learning, Lord, that by being obedient today, I am stronger for tomorrow. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

_________________________________

The night ended in group prayer that resulted in great community.

We are all thankful for your support, prayers and dedication to follow our trip (and witness our growth).

Shalom,

Andrew  Richardson

I'm sure you can hear the passion and excitement in this post.  It has been such a blessing to not only begin these incredible relationships inside the classroom, but it has also been a blessing to share it with each other.  You've heard it said here already, but I'll say it again; God is SO good!