Grove City Nazarene is making good on their pledge to adopt the small country of Belize! While it is still early, already 3 teams from the church went to Belize during February - March. A medical team led the way, led by Dr. Don Furci. They served people at the Center built by GCCN in the southern part of the country and visited a number of villages as well. Many people came to receive the free medical care. It was so encouraging to see the great attention given to the patients, who often come as an entire family. Most encouraging to me was seeing the times that the medical staff would treat their patients with prayer in addition to the meds being offered. I know that this makes a big impression on the people, seeing that their doctors and nurses trust God for their patients ultimate care.
The next team was a group of teachers, led by Homer McKnight. He and my wife, Becki brought a group which consisted of some returning teachers from last year's inaugural trip, as well as some first timers. Once again, they did a fabulous job feeding people who were so hungry to learn. Training was given in Children's Ministry, piano and Bible storying. All aspects were readily received and many requests for 'more, more' were heard. Some of the people who came this year were students last year and reported that they had been using what they learned last year, which is why they wanted 'more!'
This seems to be the greatest felt need among so many people - they truly desire to be taught.
Plans are being made to send more teachers, more often, to meet this great need.
Pastor Rob Paugh then brought a rambunctious group of teens who worked to complete a makeover of the Roaring Creek Nazarene school yard. These young people were phenomenal in their patience, their hard work and their willingness to jump in and do whatever was needed! Prejudice was obliterated when other young people met our teens, fears were conquered (in the presence of MANY scorpions!), a new outreach area was given a huge boost as these adventurous young people went door - to - door inviting people to come to a rally. Then they shared their testimonies, sang and prayed as several people surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus!
They saw "the church" in many different forms while in Belize and realized that 'church' is not about form or structure or place, or many of the things we think it is. They came away seeing that 'church' is about people worshipping God -plain and simple; any where with any thing at any time, the only thing needed is humble hearts and wilingness.
Belize is beginning to see some of the faces of the caring people at Grove City - and they like it!
We are beginning to see some of the challenges and opportunities that exist in Belize - and we like it!
God, lead us in doing what we can to make an impact!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Our Jungle Palace
Here are a couple of pics to show the progress. The men are working so hard in some serious heat and feeding lots of mosquitoes at the same time! THANK YOU to all who are working on it!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
New Believer in Belize
I was honored to be able to introduce Jesus to a man who came to a Sunday night service in Belize, all alone - sat alone - did not sing or stand or clap or participate in any way until I did a teaching on Zacchaeus. He began to add some comments as the congregation shared their thoughts on the interaction between this wealthy, well-dressed, little man who climbed a tree in order to see Jesus and the person of God, who called Zacchaeus by name, insisting that He was to go to his house that very day. They realized that a person who is looking for Jesus, may have to overcome the obstacles that a crowd can put in front of them, find creative ways to get to Jesus, overcome prejudice from those who think they are right with God when you're not and be willing to not let the religious crowd keep you from doing whatever it takes to get to see who Jesus really is.
Before the service had started, I noticed this man sitting alone in the back of the church...and waved at him, He waved back. I found myself praying for him often during the service and especially when the local pastor opened the altar and gave an invitation to come forward for prayer. Some women responded immediately but this man hesitated. I prayed more. I prayed urgently.
Then he realized that he needed to give himself to God the same way that Zacchaeus did - - and just like in that story Jesus knew him by name, welcomed him and declared that he too was saved. Jesus rejoiced and so did this church, as they came and embraced the man and made sure that he was no longer alone.
What a beautiful thing the church is when it works like this.
I just wanted to share this moment with you.
Pastor Ray
Before the service had started, I noticed this man sitting alone in the back of the church...and waved at him, He waved back. I found myself praying for him often during the service and especially when the local pastor opened the altar and gave an invitation to come forward for prayer. Some women responded immediately but this man hesitated. I prayed more. I prayed urgently.
Then he realized that he needed to give himself to God the same way that Zacchaeus did - - and just like in that story Jesus knew him by name, welcomed him and declared that he too was saved. Jesus rejoiced and so did this church, as they came and embraced the man and made sure that he was no longer alone.
What a beautiful thing the church is when it works like this.
I just wanted to share this moment with you.
Pastor Ray
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
All I Needed Was A Rubber Ducky!!
It was weird that the first thing I thought of this morning when I went to the basement and saw 3 inches of water on the floor was...where's a rubber ducky when you need one?? Other than that, I knew I was in for a long day!! Seems there was a clog in the floor drain under the house...not all the way out to the sewer, thank goodness, but a several hundred dollar clog nonetheless!! And of course, it was the same soggy picture in Michelle's basement. Double the fun and games!
All is well as things begin to dry up. The fans are blowing and the dehumidifier is on high. Life is good!!
Ray is doing very well in Belize. SO MUCH is being accomplished by him being there, visiting, meeting new people and just listening. I'm so proud of him!! He is there with the youth team from Grove City Naz right now and had a rally last night and one planned for tonite. He hasn't been on e-mail for awhile but was able to call Monday afternoon. (thank you, thank you, Chief!!) It was good to hear his voice. He's into a full blown cold and I've asked him NOT to bring it home, so please pray that his cold has a short life!! Oh yeah, and that he feels better each day :-)
When Ray gets home, we'll be sure to include some pictures of our house, which is coming along nicely. And pix of some of the teams that have been down there over the past month. Seashore Naz from New Jersey (thanks, Pastor Scott!!) is sending a team down in May to do the inside of our house. It will be led by Ray's brother, Carl.
A couple of my friends went on the Walk to Emmaus this past weekend. I love to sponsor new people and see what they bring out of the experience. I recommend it to everyone!!
I'm having writer's block now so it seems best to sign off.... Blessings, Becki
All is well as things begin to dry up. The fans are blowing and the dehumidifier is on high. Life is good!!
Ray is doing very well in Belize. SO MUCH is being accomplished by him being there, visiting, meeting new people and just listening. I'm so proud of him!! He is there with the youth team from Grove City Naz right now and had a rally last night and one planned for tonite. He hasn't been on e-mail for awhile but was able to call Monday afternoon. (thank you, thank you, Chief!!) It was good to hear his voice. He's into a full blown cold and I've asked him NOT to bring it home, so please pray that his cold has a short life!! Oh yeah, and that he feels better each day :-)
When Ray gets home, we'll be sure to include some pictures of our house, which is coming along nicely. And pix of some of the teams that have been down there over the past month. Seashore Naz from New Jersey (thanks, Pastor Scott!!) is sending a team down in May to do the inside of our house. It will be led by Ray's brother, Carl.
A couple of my friends went on the Walk to Emmaus this past weekend. I love to sponsor new people and see what they bring out of the experience. I recommend it to everyone!!
I'm having writer's block now so it seems best to sign off.... Blessings, Becki
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
a LONG trip home!!
It is really good to be home!! Getting into Houston Saturday early afternoon and finding out that Ohio had closed down completely was NOT expected. We knew that snow was forecasted but didn't realize that it was a record breaker!! So we tried, tried and re-tried to find a way out of Houston to no avail. So we spent a very comfortable night at the Hampton Inn by the airport. (No spiders, no scorpians, and tons of hot water!! Yeah!!) Then back to the airport to try again Sunday morning...but NOTHING. We did however secure a flight to Cincinnati for Monday morning and 2 vans to get us and our luggage back to the Church. So back to the hotel for another night of comfort and rest. Finally on the road to Columbus after a good flight from Houston and all the way wondering where all of that record snow was!!!!
Well, word is that it really WAS there but had already began to melt and was only half the height that it was on Saturday. I got home and was able to shovel the sidewalk with Rachel's help and Christian throwing snowballs at us! Good to be home, but.....
...tough to leave Belize and especially Ray. We had such a great time together and were getting so involved, so quickly in the lives of the Pastors. It was good to meet new ones, some I already knew and to meet all of the wonderful people who work at the Advance camp and made our stay so enjoyable. AND it was really cool to see our new house go from a freshly dug footer with just rebar to 4 walls layed 6 blocks high...already to the bottom of the windows. Looks like we will be ready to start the inside of the house by the end of April!! Yeah!!
Our team was a simply amazing group of people, as always put in place by God for the exact talents needed to train the Mayans. Music, Childrens ministry, and Adult Bible teaching. Four of the group completely new to missions. Yippee!! The food was awesome, especially the fresh tortillas every day. (I did get a chance to visit the grocery store in Dangriga and the sticker shock was overwhelming!! Food is so much more expensive there...except for rice and beans, that is!!!) As Ray mentioned, night time is VERY dark. Seems silly to say, but when the ONLY light is the stars it is even hard to see your hand right up in front of your face!!! A little spooky............
The jungle is very dense and without a machete, you don't get very far at all. I hope to back the jungle up a little bit from around my house when we get there. All I need is a chain saw and a weed wacker and of course a machete. Oh yeah, and LOTS of bug repellent!!! LOL!
Seriously, the possibilities in Belize are endless. There are so many ways we will be able to help the Mayan and Ketchie Indian Pastors as well as the Belizian Pastors. God wants us there. That we know for sure. Our next challange will be to listen for His direction once we are there and settled in. There is alot of healing and mending of relations that need to occur and Ray is so good with that. He loves the people and wants barriers that keep churches from growing removed. We both are excited to get to know all the pastors, their families, their churches and their challenges.
Blessings to the team...Homer, Ted, Kathy, Susan, Denette, Lori, Kelly and Janeen.
It was our pleasure and an honor to work with such an amazing group of people!!
Thanks for prayers and for supporting us with love and encouragement!!
Becki & Ray
Well, word is that it really WAS there but had already began to melt and was only half the height that it was on Saturday. I got home and was able to shovel the sidewalk with Rachel's help and Christian throwing snowballs at us! Good to be home, but.....
...tough to leave Belize and especially Ray. We had such a great time together and were getting so involved, so quickly in the lives of the Pastors. It was good to meet new ones, some I already knew and to meet all of the wonderful people who work at the Advance camp and made our stay so enjoyable. AND it was really cool to see our new house go from a freshly dug footer with just rebar to 4 walls layed 6 blocks high...already to the bottom of the windows. Looks like we will be ready to start the inside of the house by the end of April!! Yeah!!
Our team was a simply amazing group of people, as always put in place by God for the exact talents needed to train the Mayans. Music, Childrens ministry, and Adult Bible teaching. Four of the group completely new to missions. Yippee!! The food was awesome, especially the fresh tortillas every day. (I did get a chance to visit the grocery store in Dangriga and the sticker shock was overwhelming!! Food is so much more expensive there...except for rice and beans, that is!!!) As Ray mentioned, night time is VERY dark. Seems silly to say, but when the ONLY light is the stars it is even hard to see your hand right up in front of your face!!! A little spooky............
The jungle is very dense and without a machete, you don't get very far at all. I hope to back the jungle up a little bit from around my house when we get there. All I need is a chain saw and a weed wacker and of course a machete. Oh yeah, and LOTS of bug repellent!!! LOL!
Seriously, the possibilities in Belize are endless. There are so many ways we will be able to help the Mayan and Ketchie Indian Pastors as well as the Belizian Pastors. God wants us there. That we know for sure. Our next challange will be to listen for His direction once we are there and settled in. There is alot of healing and mending of relations that need to occur and Ray is so good with that. He loves the people and wants barriers that keep churches from growing removed. We both are excited to get to know all the pastors, their families, their churches and their challenges.
Blessings to the team...Homer, Ted, Kathy, Susan, Denette, Lori, Kelly and Janeen.
It was our pleasure and an honor to work with such an amazing group of people!!
Thanks for prayers and for supporting us with love and encouragement!!
Becki & Ray
Thursday, March 6, 2008
You Better Belize- it!!
Hello friends!
It is hot hot hot here, how's that snow and ice doing for ya?
After a half day of snorkeling, we are back at teaching full force. God blessed us today with more people than we have had all week. The people are SO HUNGRY for teaching, it is incredible! This little offering of ours is in some ways so small in our eyes, but so major for them. We have already received requests to come to other parts of Belize to teach more people who find it impossible to travel to where we are.
Last night's rally in Hopkins was a God event. We felt so stirred up and God truly moved. Many came to the altar and prayed for quite some time, many in tears, even though is was getting really late. This is significant because the Indians very rarely show such emotion. It is not about emotion but this was an indicator about how much God was stirring their hearts.
Keep us in prayer as there is another day of teaching and a LOT of travel on our part in order to make it happen. Your family members will be home soon - exhausted but happy for it!
For those who are wondering what Becki thinks about things here - well, there are a lot of different angles to that conversation! You'll have to wait till she has a chance to write, --- about how truly black it is at night! ---- about her first visit to the grocery store - sticker shock! ---- about the wildlife living here at the camp ---you know, just lots of stuff!
For your Jersey folks -Kelly is the bomb! Everything is "awesome" to her - really EVERY thing is 'awesome' to her, she is having a blast and really making a big big difference. We are so glad you lent her to us! Thanks!
Pastor Ray
It is hot hot hot here, how's that snow and ice doing for ya?
After a half day of snorkeling, we are back at teaching full force. God blessed us today with more people than we have had all week. The people are SO HUNGRY for teaching, it is incredible! This little offering of ours is in some ways so small in our eyes, but so major for them. We have already received requests to come to other parts of Belize to teach more people who find it impossible to travel to where we are.
Last night's rally in Hopkins was a God event. We felt so stirred up and God truly moved. Many came to the altar and prayed for quite some time, many in tears, even though is was getting really late. This is significant because the Indians very rarely show such emotion. It is not about emotion but this was an indicator about how much God was stirring their hearts.
Keep us in prayer as there is another day of teaching and a LOT of travel on our part in order to make it happen. Your family members will be home soon - exhausted but happy for it!
For those who are wondering what Becki thinks about things here - well, there are a lot of different angles to that conversation! You'll have to wait till she has a chance to write, --- about how truly black it is at night! ---- about her first visit to the grocery store - sticker shock! ---- about the wildlife living here at the camp ---you know, just lots of stuff!
For your Jersey folks -Kelly is the bomb! Everything is "awesome" to her - really EVERY thing is 'awesome' to her, she is having a blast and really making a big big difference. We are so glad you lent her to us! Thanks!
Pastor Ray
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Becki is in Belize!!
The team arrived safely here on Saturday and have had lunch and a bit of a quick driving tour of Belize City and are practicing right now for tonight's rally. It is very likely that from tonight's service we will have the beginnings of a brand new Nazarene Church!
Pray for the schedule we have ahead of us - over the next week there are:
* 3 rallies - which are major deals here, some people are traveling 2 hours to come to these!
* 4 days of teaching, each with people from different parts of Belize
* untold numbers of lives to be touched for the Kingdom!!
* Pray for new Christians
* Pray for potential future pastors
* Pray for the new churches that are being sought out right now. We could have 12 new ones fairly soon, as people in various areas are expressing interest!
* Pray for the strength, patience, flexibility, and Spirit-led hearts for each of us. We will need it!
His for the Harvest
Pastor Ray and the Team!
Pray for the schedule we have ahead of us - over the next week there are:
* 3 rallies - which are major deals here, some people are traveling 2 hours to come to these!
* 4 days of teaching, each with people from different parts of Belize
* untold numbers of lives to be touched for the Kingdom!!
* Pray for new Christians
* Pray for potential future pastors
* Pray for the new churches that are being sought out right now. We could have 12 new ones fairly soon, as people in various areas are expressing interest!
* Pray for the strength, patience, flexibility, and Spirit-led hearts for each of us. We will need it!
His for the Harvest
Pastor Ray and the Team!
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