MOTHER'S DAY

We spent the morning at Red Bank Village where the Sunday morning service consisted of a whole lot of singing and --- a wedding! We really enjoyed worshipping with people from various villages as they came together for this special occasion.

Then we went to a "nearby" waterfall. We had never been there before and did not know about the 4 = mile drive back thru the bush, then a 2 mile hike....thru the jungle...then had some fun slipping on the moss covered rocks, sliding down the rocks into a small pool of water and interrupting a photo shoot! We would never have imagined that in this out of the way place, that we would come across a professional photo shoot, complete with bikini clad models and make up artists, grips, photographer and a jungle guide...(who had according to his clothes, taken a bad fall somewhere along the way!)

Some of the team was asking if this long hike thru the steamy jungle, all uphill on the way in,  was our R&R day....declaring that it seemed more like a bootcamp adventure. There were some who said next time we go on R&R they'd rather stay back and work on the house since it was easier! So, to all those back home whose mothers were here today - you will need to give them some extra pampering when they get back home!

THE HOUSE is coming along nicely. The team has been working seriously well together and really hard also. We literally had to force them to quit last night to come to dinner! The drywall is nearly finished, electrical and plumbing are close as well. Some Indian workers are putting in the windows and doing the concrete stucco finishing work around the windows. It is amazing how nice it looks- we simply could NOT do what they do!

Please keep praying - we are doing well and with the exception of some small cuts and bumps and bruises, we all seem to be in good health.

BIRTHDAY ! My birthday was actually 2 weeks ago, but on Saturday night, the team surprised me at dinner with their singing and cards from our friends at Seashore! Wow~ what a great surprise! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! It was great to see the cards - which were hilarious, but also to see your notes and love and well wishes.  I am indeed blessed to have such friends!

Blessings from Belize!

Ray & Becki

House Building Update

Team one has completed a week's work and Mike Sterle has gone back home. He did a great job helping us get the interior walls up and strips for the ceiling set in place. Team Two arrived today which is great because we can start drywall tomorrow! Plumbing and electrical has been started as well.

It's starting to look more and more like a house!

CRITTERS:

Carol was privileged to find 2 scorpions in the ladies dorm. She let them live as they are part of God's creation - but has been advised to extinguish them as they have a tendency to propagate and make more and more little stinging scorpion babies! Watch out scorpions!

JAGUAR!!!!
May 1 as we were coming back from the airport, we saw and nearly ran over a large Jaguar in the area of Blue Hole National Park in the Maya Mountains! Absolutely beautiful animal. It was jumping through some long grass about to cross the road when I hit the brakes so as to not hit it - when it saw the larger white van about to run over it, it turned and in two long leaps was back into the jungle from which it came. What a beautiful animal and a wonderful moment to see one of God's creative efforts.

Many people here have never seen a jaguar outside of the zoo so we feel very blessed.

We also have seen another large black jungle cat - found out that they are called Jaguarundi. Gray fox are seen near the camp. Howler monkeys came by for a brief visit in the 60 ' tall bamboo on the river bank yesterday. Coati Mundi have been seen a couple of times too. And, birds of many kinds can be heard nearly all the time - which is very cool. Carl saw a Toucan yesterday as well. I'm telling you --- the Jungle is a neat place to live!


On Sunday, after having church in Silk Grass, with the wonderful brothers and sisters there, we went for a bit of R&R. We explored St. Herman's Cave --- you'll have to ask Carol about being left in the dark while the men went on a little excursion!

We also swam in a fabulous sinkhole in the jungle called The Blue Hole. The blue water comes up from springs and an underground river, beautiful blue and very cool - actually chilly. It was a great way to relax and anjoy another part of God's incredible creation here in Belize.

Grateful for those who are here helping us -for those at home praying for us -
and
Wishing everyone else could come visit !

Ray & Becki

Bugs...

It's funny - when I signed on to update our blog - there was a note about the bugs they had fixed. Those particular bugs were online computer glitches...the BUGS I'm talking about are blood sucking, human loving, tiny, voracious, vampiric little critters that are driving me - well, buggy!!!

Do you know it is distracting to type when you just want to ITCH!!??!!

I helped string lights here at the camp this morning for a women's retreat that has rented the facilities. It was nice working with Felize and Carmencielo, two really nice men. Anyhow, I had already sprayed myself down with BUG spray but I guess they cannot read -or smell or did not care! We were all getting mildly swarmed with the little biting buggers! The worst were the bottle flies, tiny little black flies that look like gnats but suck blood - and their bites swell up and itch for at least 2 weeks ---- argh! The other men went to put on long sleeve shirts while I tried to drown myself in bug spray - yuck! If you are not aware - the bottle flies are the ones that can leave a larva inside you which gets rather large and really painful... Yeah, so long sleeves can help - especially if they also cover your face! Ha! Yeah - long sleeves -did I mention it is hot here?

Anyhow, here are some other fun facts here in Belize

- it's in the 90's
- the water in the Caribbean looks FANTASTIC - No, have not been in it. just saw it, from the van, where it was hot, in the 90's
- steel has gone up 30% --- so the house is costing more...
- there is a shortage of wheat flour --- Rev Tzib was denied buying 5 lbs of flour for the pastors' retreat - when he went back the next day and tried again - they agreed to sell him only 3 lbs...!
- did I mention that it is in the 90's - and - humid...?

go figure!

Hey, seriously - Just keep praying for the ministry here - this is nothing that is unsual for anyone else - so I'll deal with it.

Ray

Jungle Cat !

I did not get his picture but I did see a medium large black jungle cat run across the road in front of us today! Very cool... Just a friendly reminder that I'm not in Ohio any longer!

THANK YOU! to everyone who prayed for the Pastor's Retreat this past weekend. It went very well - God stirred us as we searched the Scriptures in Ezekiel 37 and sought to apply these valuable words to our churches.

The hours flew by and all too soon, the time had come to depart. It is a good sign of friendship, fellowship and Christian love when men don't rush off when the time is over because they desire to talk more, pray more and not hurry back to the demanding pace of ministry.

Please continue to pray for the pastors here in Belize...they are very much under all the normal pressures that pastors face, plus feeling the increasing strain of some food shortages, material shortages, very high prices and many poor people.

When I can, I will try to post a pic of our house - the men here have worked SO hard, it LOOKS GREAT! Work did stop until we can get more money and more materials but that will soon be on the way...(hopefully) PRAY that we are able to obtain enough materials - some places here are experiencing shortages - and in a small country where most everything is imported - that can really make an impact.

Blessings Friends!!
Ray

Will you join our Prayer Team?

Time to get more specific - as we head to Belize, we need to enlist a group of people who will:

* COMMIT to praying for us regularly
* COMMIT to praying whenever specific requests come in
* COMMIT to holding us up before God's throne
* COMMIT to spending daily and weekly time,
interceding on our behalf
listening to God to hear His response
* COMMIT to sharing only what they truly believe God has spoken - to them - for us

These people will receive:

* Separate prayer requests regarding the ministry (beyond what is posted in our blog)
* Urgent prayer flashes whenever something timely develops
* Updates on specific prayers
* Opportunities to let us know what God is saying to you, for us
* Our gratitude and God's pleasure, as this is the hard yet very necesary work of the Kingdom!

If you believe that you would pray like this, then send us an email ( rbneu7@gmail.com ) stating that you wish to be part of the prayer team.

"Because of the Master, we have great confidence in you. We know you're doing everything we told you and will continue doing it. May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God's love and Christ's endurance."

2 Thesaloninans 3:4-5 The Message


Thank you!
Ray & Becki

URGENT NEED FOR BELIZE

The Mission Council of Grove City Nazarene is asking for prayer in acquiring a vehicle for Ray & Becki to use in Belize. Here are some specifics to consider in your prayers and in your consideration of this, as the Lord may lead you to be involved:

* 4 wheel drive is a must for the rainy season and the areas they will be expected to travel
* diesel is less expensive than gasoline in Belize and may last longer (the last we heard gas was $5.50 per gallon US prices and diesel was $4.10 per gallon)
* they will need to carry passengers, so 4 doors would be very helpful
* vehicles tend to get beaten up pretty quickly because of the rough terrain, so quality counts
* cultural sensitivity means not having the biggest, fanciest vehicle available

POSSIBILITIES

* trucks are available in Belize but tend to be small, foreign made, which means, not quite made for tall people
* a vehicle purchased in the US could also be used to ship their belongings in (if a vehicle is sent from the US, it will be transported via ship, not driven to Belize)
* there is a 4 wheel drive van available in Belize (not sold in the US) {Cost is about $22,000. US} (this could also be very advantageous for small teams going to Belize)
* If anyone knows of a vehicle that may work and be available at a 'great price', please contact us!* If you feel lead to contribute towards this urgent need, please contact us.

Please join us in praying for this crucial need.
Transportation is an every day challenge in Belize.
We are asking for God's wisdom, insight and direction in making this short term decision with long term results.

If you would like to discuss this, please contact:
Ray Neu cell: 609-846-3733 email: rbneu7@gmail.com
Ray is only in the US through this coming Wednesday, and will return May 14. Please keep that in mind when contacting him.

THANK YOU so much for the ongoing prayers! We can already see where it is making a great difference in Belize!

Cheryl Ticknor, Missions President

My Head is FULL ~!

No, I don't have a cold, although allergy season is starting to kick in for me. Pastor Rob recently went to Belize and once he saw the realities of life there he strongly encouraged me to go to some leadership training that he had already been promoting to me. I took his advice and went.

Now, after a week of listening to this teaching - my head is even more full than it already was - thinking about the material, which was fantastic - and thinking about the possibilities and how to implement this in Belize. There is a great need there for leaders who are strong in their beliefs, in and FOR their community.

Instead of the normal Western system of sending people off to schools to receive education, then hoping they come back to serve the local church - (which too often fails) - this system develops leaders right where they live through an intentional framework of 5 guiding areas:

CHRIST - The focus of all we want to do and be
COMMUNITY - The people and place where we serve
CHARACTER - Being with those people brings out character issues to address
CALLING - The actual confirmation of God's specific call
COMPETENCIES - The particular skills and gifts for our work

These are organized thru 4 dynamics in order to attain the best possible learning & life results:

SPIRITUAL - conducted by prayer and Scritpure as ultimate source
RELATIONAL - done with at least one other person or ideally, a group
EXPERIENTIAL - lived out in experiences and tasks completed together
INSTRUCTIONAL - the truth, skill, concept, knowledge desired to learn

I could say a whole lot more but..... if I haven't lost you already, I don't want to . Seriously, if you take even a brief look at this you will see that it stresses learning and building healthy leaders in a different fashion than our institutional approach.

This looks a LOT more like what Jesus did. Which seems to ring a bell with me....

Jesus did not have much time, He chose some pretty sketchy people to work with. They failed Him and disappointed Him often...YET, the ones Jesus chose have rearranged our world - and still are! Maybe there's something to this whole thing afterall...?!

Be blessed while you ponder this...

Ray & Becki