Monday Monday!

WARNING - this is gonna be a long one! 
Our third day... Monday. It was the first day of VBS.  We were all a little nervous and had NO IDEA what to expect. 

Here's Deanna meeting some of the kids.  They were pretty excited to be there.  The students did awesome getting the kids involved in the worship.  It was amazing to see how they just started ministering and loving those who entered the doors immediately! 

Doing some worshipping in these pictures.  Some of the church members - Dwight, MJ, and Warren - did some worship and then our team members lead some as well! It was so fun! There was lots of screaming, dancing, hand motions, and laughing... just praising the Lord! :) 

Our theme for VBS was God's love for us and how He shows it.  So, the we started in the beginning... Creation.  We "made" the world and invited the kids to join and help us put the different things God created on the world with us. We got to explain that God made things because He loves us.  He made us and KNOWS us... He promises that to us in Psalm 139. It was chaotic... but wonderful! :) 

We had the kids split up in 3 groups. 

My group... the 11 and up are in this picture.  This is us meeting our class for the first time! My incredible team included Becca, Deanna, and Robby! 

Here's the 7-10 year olds.  They are playing Heads Up 7 Up! The leaders in this group were Dr. Ben, Caitlin, Kelsey, and Caleb! They did a great job loving them, teaching them, and laughing with them. 

Here's the babies - ages 6 and below! We had some little ones but they were so precious.  There was a ton of them!!! The team that herded these children around was Mrs. Pam, Kaitlyn, Zack, and Christina. Gosh... they LOVED these kids!! It was soooo cool to watch! 

We had recess each day. They loved frisbee and dodge ball!!! Dodge ball was a little scary... a lot scary... with very fast Belizean boys!!! Deanna and I had to take shelter! 

Love.

Some of the girls in our group. 

It broke my heart to see their hurt and anger. I wish I could have had more time with the older girls... to really invest and talk to each one of them. To speak truth to them. To tell them that they are loved. If I get to go back... I want to do a teenage girls' Bible study... yes! 

7-10 playing.

Babies doing crafts. 

On Monday we did a tissue paper craft. Like God, in all His creativity, designed and made the world... we all made our own tissue paper creations. 

Here's Melvin!! He was WONDERFUL!!! He stole my heart from the beginning and he actually loved us in return... that was hard to come by in our older group. 

Melvin listened to everything that was taught. He answered every question and just really loved being there. He was a blessing to us! 

This is Brandy and Valeta. 

How I wanted to know them more.  They were beautiful and have so much to offer. Pray they realize that. Pray they find their identity and worth in Him.

This is their water!!! Isn't that cool??? It's in bags... not bottles!! 

Their juice is also in these little baggies! This was part of their snack each day.

Precious. 

Zane. 

Serving the snacks to all the little children.

This is the missionary story.  The church hosted this part at the end of each morning.

The women is the front is telling a story of HUDSON TAYLOR... a missionary from England to China. She told part of the story each day. It was... interesting and hilarious. 

After the first part of the story was done on Monday, she asked the kids "Do you like the story of Hudson Taylor?" They all screamed back, "NOOO!!" haha.. I don't think she expected that response. So, she asked "Were you here last year and listen to that story?"  "Yes"... "Did you like that story?" "YES!".... "But you don't like this one?" ... and they screamed louder, "NOOO!" ... Gave me a bit of a chuckle. 

We got to eat lunch as a team at the church. We were all pretty exhausted.

This was my favorite meal we ate in Belize. It was like a Belizean taco... with pineapple!!! YUM! 

One of my favorite things... small but really impacting. 

After lunch... we didn't really know the schedule. The pastor asked us if we would be okay with helping with some service projects. We were down for whatever. The men helped with fixing a picnic table that had been destroyed by the kids. And the girls were asked to... wash the walls. Now... this is not a very glamorous job and I (honestly) expected some sighs or a bit of complaining.  But... there was not a peep of that... just an eagerness to serve. We washed and scrubbed this dirty hallway for over an hour... trying our best to get every mark off. The girls were joyful as they served. :)

Once we did as much as we could and stopped I (again) expected the girls to be relieved and over it. It wasn't so... they (again) planned ways for how we could serve the church better. They planned to go by cleaning supplies, wash clothes, and wipes from the market across from our hotel to clean again the next day.  Sigh... my heart was so moved.

The scenery on our drive to go door to door.

Door to door in Rootsville.

Wonderful.

This picture was taken after our visit to the orphanage in town. You like my hair, huh? My friend at the orphanage fixed it. 

We weren't allowed to take pictures there for the safety of the children and the families from which they came. Many of the orphans there were taken out of their homes because of the devastating situations they were living in. The orphanage has forever marked Jacob and me. 

Jacob met a little boy named Eric there. He is the most beautiful little boy you have ever seen. He is 12 and has lived at the orphanage for 11 years. He has seen all of his friends move on and be adopted. He has been a part of 3 adoption attempts... all ending without success. He is still there.  He told Jacob, "I just don't think anyone wants me." That is the heart of the orphans there. They feel no one wants them. I assure you... that is not true. I don't know what God has in store for the Morgans... but whatever happens... we will one day have children in our home who we can tell over and over again that they are so wanted... adopted by us and wanted by Jesus. Please pray for Eric and the children in orphanages in Belize and all over the world. Pray they feel the love of Christ. Pray they know they are wanted. 

Monday night we had a meeting with us a the Canadians. We were able to give highlights of our day.  Many of our students stood up to say what their heart had experienced. 

Deanna's story from the orphanage also broke my heart:

She met a 16 year old girl there... who clung to her the entire time we were there. She even held her hand and walked around with Deanna.  She wanted so bad for someone to love her and just spend time with her.  They talked the entire time.  Deanna was amazed that a girl... a year younger than her... was forced to live so differently and so alone. 

When it was time for us to leave, the girl reached into her pocket and told Deanna she had something for her. Deanna was a little nervous... she didn't know if it was a bug or gum or what.  The girl pulled out a necklace and gave it to Deanna.  She told her that she wanted Deanna to remember her... to remember her name, her face. 

This moment was really special to Deanna, and I know she will never forget. The girl gave one of her very few possessions to Deanna in hopes that she wouldn't be forgotten.  Breaks my heart. 

 O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
² You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
³ You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
⁴ You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
⁵ You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

Psalm 139:1-7

Day Dos

Onward to Day 2! It's SUNDAY! We got to go to the church we would be working with all week and see how they worship!! We were pretty pumped! 

Here's the lovely ladies all dressed in their Sunday outfits... ready for church! They are pretty much the most beautiful girls you'll ever see!!! Yep yep! 

Good morning Jacob! 

This is our church... Queen Street Baptist Church!!! It was located on... GUESS... Queen Street! It was across the street from the ocean and located in a pretty rough area of town. It also served as a school - the building on the left are the classrooms. 

This is the inside of the sanctuary!! Isn't it wonderful and so colorful? They kept the windows open for breeze and just let the sunlight pour through!! It was delightful. 

We went to Sunday School. I didn't know I was suppose to stay with the adults... so I went to youth Sunday School with the students. :) I like that better. It was awesome what the teacher spoke on because God is the same everywhere... that's just so cool to me.  The way she talked about what God was teaching her just went right along what God had been speaking to some of our girls about.  Isn't that crazy?... God is the same and speaking all over the world! I LOVE IT! 

Here's how the do worship in Belize City! 

They have an AMAZING drummer - MJ - and great worship leaders. They were full of joy and praise! It was so fun!!! We sang some of the same songs that we sing in church... but, BOY... when you put some Belizean passion behind it... those songs become something totally new!!! It made me dance a lot... of course. 

Each day the church served us lunch... and it was YUMMY.  One of our sides each day was rice and beans... THEY LOVE RICE AND BEANS! 

After church we went back to the hotel for a time of meeting, resting, and spending time together.  Another team from Canada was staying at our same hotel and working at a different church in the area. During our mission meeting, we split up into groups (intermingled with the Canadians) and shared our testimony in 7 minutes. After each person shared, we went back and affirmed the people in our groups. What's affirming?? you might ask... well it's just telling them how awesome they are... it's BLESSING WITH WORDS! We need to do more of that... o the power encouragement has! 

This was a really awesome time for all of us. I loved hearing the stories of the ladies in my group and crying over one of my girls, Deanna's story and how God has just been rocking her world!!! He's just great! This was a great way to start off the week. 

I love these girls with all my heart! 

This is us before heading back to church for the Sunday night service.

I saw some AMAZING things happening in and through Becca and Deanna last week.  God is just incredible and he definitely blessed me while I watched them serve. 

Meet Zack.  He's hilarious. 

What's even funnier... both red heads matching!! Zack called Jacob his dad for the rest of the week. love it!  Zack also made a harpoon gun from an umbrella, made everyone laugh until they cried, and shared the gospel with a Spanish speaking woman going door to door! :) 

Beautiful. 

Before church, we had our team meeting and a special worship session with just us... lead by the hubs. 

It was a special time for me. I love worshipping with a group of people I'm serving with. I believe that's when God really brings hearts together... 

Singing...

Here's the best group. God certainly knew what he was doing when He put us together.  I promise... I only heard encouraging words out of the mouth of each person!! It was incredible how His love just oozed out of everyone. Wonderful. 

Here's my preacher man introducing the team to the congregation and sharing a bit about himself. He had asked a few of the students to share their testimony... they were terrified... but willing.  

Here's Caleb... the Prayer Warrior sharing his heart. God's definitely got ministry in store for this boy! He's great... and very AWARE of what God is leading him to do in the moment. 

Here's Kaitlyn... the Out-going Encourager... 

She'll be a missionary one day... just saying.

She's funny. When she was practicing her story with our group she was trying to say something similar to the "I have grown up in church and have been attending since I was a baby"... but that's not what she said.  She said "Basically... I was born in a pew!" HAHA! They whole time she was giving her story we were all hoping that phrase wouldn't come out of her mouth... not quite appropriate. 

Kels... the Wild Loving One...

Now... this one's story will bring you to tears and then put joy in your heart. Not sure how anyone could listen to this story and not believe in a Miracle-Working God! 

Here's my hub leading worship at our Belize church. :) 

That's cool...

And that's Day 2 folks!