Full Steam Ahead!

Today is Monday! Time to go to work in full steam ahead mode – although we thought we had already been there working toward graduation! We did some preparation on Friday, but today will be a day of getting posts set in the ground and completing the pickets. Depending on how fast the cement dries, we will begin building out the framework for attaching the pickets. There is also work to be done at the school in preparing for the 8th grade graduation on Wednesday. So, we will have a full day, but are very much looking forward to accomplishing a great deal.

I was very excited to check our email and blog this morning and find the wonderful expressions of encouragement. It is so exciting to share what we are doing and to have you all involved in this work through communication. You must know that your words and prayers and thoughts are priceless to us as we work many miles away as an extension of our church family.

Our prayers are going up for all of you as well, and we do indeed thank God as we remember you.

Patricia and the Team

Pre-K Graduation Day!

What a great day we had Sunday! We attended church just down the road from the Mission House and felt right at home. Praise and Worship was filled with the music of guitars and tambourine and song straight from the heart. We placed our offering box at the front and watched the children take theirs as well. We heard how God has been at work in the lives of some and listened to the pastor’s message while breezes were blowing through open windows and a baby slept (and cried!) in a basket on the floor beside me. We were blessed to start our day within the loving, open arms of the people here.

On to graduation! This is a picture of Miles and Landan helping to prepare the buiding for graduation.

We decided we had never seen four year olds be so obedient and on task as these little guys! Little girls dressed in beautiful white dresses, and little boys all spiffy in black dress pants with white shirts and black bow ties marched in to “Pomp and Circumstance” in perfect time.They sat perfectly still in chairs across the front for an hour and a half, giving their program like pros.

They all said their memory verses without a hitch – so thank you for praying for them. We gave them thundering applause for their performance! Miles brought words of encouragement to them and to their parents, knowing that these small children have become witnesses among their families.

Ben closed with a prayer of watch and care and growth in their lives.

It was an inspiring day knowing that this school and its mission is to build strong Christian principles and to witness to its students from ages 4 through 8th grade. It is a shame that they will no longer be able to provide classes for the high school - their work is much needed. Lastly, here is a picture of the teacher, Juliana, with her students.

A market, a jungle, and a graduation... what more could you want?!

“To market, to market, to buy a fat pig. Home again, Home again, jiggety-jig!” We started out our Saturday morning with a visit to the market in Punta Gorda – just a “jig” from the mission house. We wandered through the streets of vendors, buying our food for the next few days – including lots of wonderful fruit that grows everywhere here. It was quite an experience seeing all the stands with their wares – and it was very, very hot this morning! I have tried once again to send pictures, but even using the wifi here at the internet cafe, they are not able to upload quickly enough. We will keep trying!

After market, we were glad to get back and enjoy a devotional that Ben Maxey had prepared. It reminded us of our purpose and the pardon we have received through Jesus Christ. In our world today, it is so easy to lose focus and forget who and whose we are, when we have been purchased at so great a price. In our mission, we have the opportunity to be reminded sharply as we see much need and seek to sow seeds that become deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of others.

On to lunch with Juliana’s parent who so graciously shared their home and meal with us. We enjoyed the rejuvenation time spent with them after working in the heat on Friday. Then…

It’s a jungle out there! No…really – it is a jungle behind school property! We went there to “harvest” (if you can call cutting and slashing with a machete that) ferns, palms, orchids, and a broad leaf plant larger than me! Here is Landan in action and Miles with the prize jungle palm.

Landan even climbed up a tree to cut down a cocunut for Shara. Here she is enjoying the "fruit" of his efforts.

The plants will be used to decorate for the upcoming graduation for Pre-K/Kindergarten children tomorrow afternoon. They will be quite beautiful and are all supplied from God’s very own hot-house!
We will have a busy day tomorrow with church and the graduation. Everyone is acclimating to the very humid climate fairly well – although it does become very oppressive just before a breeze finds its way through. Please pray that the graduation will go well and the little ones will remember the memory verses they have worked so hard to share. They are truly precious in His sight!

Thank you again for your daily prayers for us; we appreciate you all greatly.
Patricia and the Team

First full Day in Belize

We are finishing up our first full day here in Belize and are at the internet cafe making our post to share with you all. We have pictures to share, but they won't seem to upload. I will keep trying to upload or email them later on.

First of all, thank you very much to those who have ventured to send us emails of encouragement, and thank you, Rori, for helping to keep the blog updated. We have had a "full" day from eating the most amazing "Fried Jack" - see if you can find out what that is! - scrambled eggs and refried black beans for breakfast to the lunch of chicken, fried plantains and beans and rice. But we aren't really just eating! Shara taught a devotional on the fruit of the spirit to the Pre-K group seen in the picture below,

which was a wonderful opportunity to connect with the group at Toledo Christian Academy. The rest of us spent time planning the fence-building project and getting ready to start work on Monday. I split my time between watching Shara and interacting with the students and working on the building project.

This afternoon, Shara continued to spend time with Juliana in helping her prepare for the upcoming graduation. Miles, Landan, Ben and I spent time with Santiago,who keeps the grounds and manages the building projects at TCA, in deciding how to cut the pickets for the fence. With Landan marking the lumber-cutting lines, me marking the picket lines, Ben sawing, and Miles moving all the lumber throughout the process, we make a pretty good team in an assembly line process. We got a good start on the project, which will put us ahead for Monday. I don't think we are ready to make a living at construction yet, but we have skills!

It was a great, hard-working day for all of us. The best part was watching the little Pre-K children recite their memory verses to us as they practiced for the upcoming graduation. You cannot look into the face of child and not know that they are God's blessing to us all!

As the sun rises over the beauty of this lush land, we see God in His very creation. We will watch it set this evening and know that He is still with us.

Arrival

Hello everyone! This is Patricia's oldest daughter, Rori Smith. I have been helping Patricia with the blog. We pray she will have consistent access to electricity and internet so that she can post updates regularly, but there are no guarantees. I received word yesterday (6/2) around 1:35 PM CST that the team arrived safely and was loading up in the van to leave the airport. For those of you who haven't investigated the time difference, the time there is one hour behind us as they are on CST but not daylight savings time. Blessings to all and let us remember to pray for the team daily and specifically, which you can do by following the prayer prompts found here.

Belize Mission Introduction

After weeks of preparation, the time for our trip is upon us – how quickly it has arrived! With piles of clothing, rain gear, work boots and shoes, toiletries, and various other items spread across the living room floor, I am surveying the options and estimating weight – the trunk’s, not mine! The 50 pound limit seems reasonable until you add a pair of steel-toed boots that feel like 25 pounds. But, that is part of the process – collecting, coordinating, organizing, assimilating, deciding and acting. From our groundwork to our mission work, we will follow that same path to taking our love and message of Jesus Christ to the people groups in the remote areas surrounding Punta Gorda, Belize in Central America.

Working with Toledo Christian Academy & Mission, we will have a building project as well as the opportunity to have prayer time with the staff, to share Bible stories with the students, to assist with their graduation and to help prepare the school for closing during the off months. In addition to this specified time, we will also take the occasion to prayer walk and reach out to the primary cultural groups of the Maya Mopan, Kekchi and Garifuna. We hope to take a trek through the rain forest and return unscathed (no snake bites, spider bites, typhoid, malaria, wild animal attacks or poison darts)!!!

Miles Dory leads our team comprised of his son Landan, veteran Belize mission members Ben and Shara Maxey, and me – Patricia Clevenger. My experience has been in business leader mission trips to Managua, Nicaragua and its surrounding peasant villages. While we may be few, scriptures abound with God’s use of individuals like young David and small groups such as the 12 apostles to accomplish His work. And most importantly, the One who gave it all, Jesus Christ as God’s one and only Son – changed the entire world.

We claim Acts 1:8 as our source, our strength and our assurance.

“But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. Acts 1:8 (Amplified Bible)

As we received the commission to “go ye therefore” this past Sunday morning, the mission became real to us. As some of you participated in the laying on of hands, and all of you prayed together as a church, the presence and power of our Lord was apparent. We covet your prayers throughout our short time in the field, June 2-13; please use your book markers to stay reminded of our daily needs, and feel free to pick more up at church and hand them out to others. Also, we hope you follow us as we try to update our blog (never sure of our access or electricity!) and share our journey with you through our stories.

Know this; we love and appreciate each and every one of our church family.

Patricia Philippians 1:3