“Whether we get to share Christ with hundreds of people or find ourselves lifting cider blocks up over our heads to build a wall, our goals are still the same, that our efforts and hearts would reflect the glory of God to all the people of this region of Punta Gorda as we serve them well.”
Let’s just say, I’m glad that I put in the part about lifting up cinder blocks!
In the morning, we trudged away from our Missions House, making our way to the small chapel at the entrance to the expansive campus. It was an unexpected treat to hear the sounds of drums and guitar flowing, emanating their indiscernible tunes through the open windows of the barn-like structure that housed this small chapel. As we drew closer, the sounds seemed to draw us toward the barn, as though the presence of the Lord was simply singing a fount of praise within.
Inside the chapel, we gathered around the small worship band, led by Jervis and Doyle, two men who both work at the Laugh Out Loud orphanage in the town. We worshipped alongside them, standing and singing with lifted hands, to the glory of the Lord. It was a great surprise to me to have the opportunity to be present for worship in such a passionate forum, as coming into the trip I did not know what to expect in terms of amenities to this end.
During the next five days, our group split into three group of 5 people and worked to support both the orphanage and the Toledo Christian Academy in their work.
At the orphanage, our mission was simple: getting “stuff” from Point ‘A’ to Point ‘B’. You see, the LOL Orphanage has been working for the past three years to build a home/ building suitable for young children to dwell in to live their lives securely, however, they remain six months away from opening their doors for service. For the final leg of this task, they are building a third-story on top of the two already-constructed stories, resulting in a structure that will house up to 50 orphans and staff at any given time. We had the duty of carrying hundreds of buckets of sand and over 1,000 cinder blocks onto the top of the roof, each team laboring in shifts of five people each day to accomplish this task. This was an amazing service to the small staff of the LOL orphanage as they continue building up their ministry, literally, from the ground-up with little-to-no heavy machine in tow.
We loved having the opportunity to really dig into the project at LOL, mainly because the heart behind it is so rich. The social dynamics of Belize are very unorthodox, starting with the family structure. Many times, fathers will not accept full responsibility for their children, coming and going throughout towns and villages without really knowing what the effects of their actions are on their families. I was amazed at some of the stories I heard from Jervis and Melissa, the proprietors of LOL orphanage, about mothers who heard what they were doing and would walk their young infants to the complex, asking for the babies to be accepted at the orphanage. It was a difficult notion to grasp, that these mothers were so burdened by the responsibilities of raising many children that they simply cannot do so any longer.
Above, Top to Bottom: Caleb and Ryan pose while sanding the concrete tabletops; The orphanage building, still under construction; Jervis and Sam jam during morning worship. (Photos from J. Nicoletti and J. Wood)
No comments:
Post a Comment