Excitement rises as Belize mission approaches
by Ann Deveau
Excitement is rising steadily as 27 people from Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton prepare for a one-week mission trip to Belize in early March.
"The country has many needs, and we're eager to help," says Beverly Morel, who participated in a 2005 mission trip to Belize with the Cathedral Puppeteers. "We spent a week presenting shows in schools, orphanages and hospitals in Belize City. The trip gave them hearts for missions, and that's why we're going back with a larger, more diverse group and broader goals."
Members of the mission team, which includes students, workers and retired people, will travel at their own expense. The Anglican Diocese of Belize recommended a focus on the bustling town of San Ignacio in the mountains near the Guatemalan border in western Belize. The team will volunteer at three Anglican schools with a total enrolment of 700 in grades K to 8.
Belize (population 280,000) is a small, mainly English-speaking country in Central America where the Anglican Church has had a presence since the 1800s. The national government pays the salaries of teachers, but the churches provide the school buildings and pay all operating costs.
"The week will be extremely busy. The puppeteers will present their lively, faith-based shows daily to the children," says organizer Harry Palmer. "Our parish nurse and her helpers plan to make presentations on health topics and provide some medical and dental supplies.
"Our group is blessed with a number of current and retired teachers who will assist the local teaching staff. The construction team expects to lay tile on classroom floors, paint, build some cafeteria tables, and install playground equipment."
The cathedral congregation sponsored a silent auction and dessert party that raised more than $6,000 to put toward this mission. The money will be used in Belize to pay for construction materials, salary for a local foreman for the week, school supplies, books, and medical supplies.
"We have been meeting regularly to prepare for the mission," says Ms. Morel. "We have our prayer partners, vaccines and cross-cultural sensitivity training. We know that it will be important to be humble, patient and open to God's will while we live and work with the people in Belize." Team member Doug Milander has never done a short-term mission and wonders how effective a one-week effort will be.
"But I think it's worth it to go and to try in a humble, hands-on way," he says. "It's all about discipleship, learning to act more like Jesus. I hope it will lead all of us to do more to help others at home as well as abroad."
Ann Deveau worships at Christ Church Cathedral and is part of the mission team.
