Report of our work in Belize June 8 - 14 2003.

We wish to extend a special thank you to Leia Davis (a member of our 2002 team) for being our webservant during our trip. You would not have received these reports without her assistance!

2002 Belize Trip Report

Please pray regularly for our 2004 team!

Please pray for the members of our 2003 Belize Mission Team.

Sarah Elizabeth Burgess Lindsey Erin Byrd Ashley Renee Chinery Linda Ligon Chinery Paul Alan Chinery Whitney Leeann Chinery David W. Cooper Bobby D. Cox

James Carl Davis James David Dyer Clyde Helton, Jr. Jack L. Holt Angela Harrison Jones Adam Alexander Jones Lawrence Edward Jones Preston S. Justice

Sharon Ann Kesterson Quarrinna Nichole Land Dennis I. Mcintosh, Jr. Kathy Diane Moody Mark T. Rothe Robert Woodrow Sapp F. Ray Sexton Mirranda A. Sexton

Where in the world is Belize?

May 2003

School supplies ready to be packed for Belize!

Getting our totes packed for Belize!

The Alveranga's old house.

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Preparing for the foundation.

The pad is now poured!

On June 1st, 2003 Concord Baptist Church commissioned our 2003 Belize Mission team. We had a good time of fellowship with God's people.

We had our final meeting and the team is excited about their ministry in Las Flores and Roaring Creek the week of June 8-15.

Please pray for our team as they leave Concord next Sunday at 5:30 A.M. to travel to Belize. Pray for the ones who were called to stay behind and support our team through their prayers. Pray how God would have you become involved in sharing His message with all the peoples of the world. Don't forget to check this page every day while we are gone for a daily update.

2003 Belize Mission Team

June 6, 2003

We would like to thank Old Dominion for taking our totes to the airport and all those who helped.

Loading the truck to take our supplies to the airport

June 8, 2003

We had a wonderful and uneventful flight. Security was tight and they were unable to get all our luggage on the plane from Knoxville. Ralph had to go back to Belize City this afternoon to retrieve the rest of our luggage and supplies.

We had some trouble getting through customs in Belize. We had to fill out a SARS form and then they made us pay duty on most of our supplies. Because we did not have a doctor on the team we had to leave the donated medicine at the airport. Ralph will retrieve it later this week.

We went out to the building site and renewed our acquaintance with the Alveranga family. We discovered that the father has left the family and gone to El Salvador. There have been some, but not many, improvements in Las Flores. We also went to Mayamopan where several of our sponsored children live. We were amazed to see women cooking tortillas over an open fire. We are looking forward to getting to work tomorrow.

We met Pastor Gentle and his family on our way up here. Pastor Gentle pastors the church where we preached revival services last year. We also ran into Cory and Alyssia on their way to church. It was wonderful to renew friendships made on our last trip.

Thank you for your prayers for your mission team. We ask that you would continue to pray for us as we begin work in earnest. We will continue to keep you updated through this email and through our website, which will contain 1 or 2 pictures at www.concordbc.org/belizetrip.

In Christ's love and in His service,

2003 Belize Mission Team

People still cook the traditional way in Mayomopan

The team gets their first look at the building site

June 9, 2003

We had a wonderful day today! We finally got our misplaced luggage and supplies this afternoon! Several members of the team who had nothing but the clothes they arrived in were extremely blessed!

We began work on the house this morning. All the trusses are finished and one wall is up! Work will go much faster now.

We converted our money to Belizean dollars today and got a good exchange rate. We located a source for beans and rice which cost us less than we paid last year! We will purchase 1 ton of rice and 1,000 pounds of beans tomorrow.

We located a source for bicycles and God gave us our goal of providing 10 bicycles with the money we had available. The owners of the bicycle shop were incredulous when we told them we were purchasing the bicycles to give them away.

Our VBS team led Bible school at the work site this afternoon. They reported a wonderful school and the opportunity to bless many of the children in Las Flores. Pray for them as they continue in other areas.

We conducted our first prayerwalk tonight. We were able to walk around one block of Roaring Creek praying for all the people we encountered on the streets. We only had one little boy who told us he was "too busy" to pray with us. We will continue prayerwalking tomorrow.

Part of our team went to the hospital and were able to go into the nursery and pray for the mothers and their children. They gave several of the mothers baby clothes. One baby had an open spine and had recently had surgery for spina bifida. The baby needs a shunt installed but there are no neurosurgeons in Belize. The doctor told the mother that he thought he had something that would work. Please pray for this baby, that God would heal this little boy.

The team was also able to purchase a baby bed for a 4 1/2 pound baby that Penny is caring for.

Several of our team members worked in the clinic putting away meds.

Paul Chinery spent time today servicing the X-Ray equipment at the Belmopan Hospital.

That was just the first day! Pray for God to continue to give us strength. We are eating very well. Pray for God to continue to bless us and show His love and power through His team.

Thank you for your prayers. Don't forget to continue to check our website: www.concordbc.org/belizetrip.

In Christ's love and in His service,

2003 Belize Mission Team

The team visits the maternity ward in the Belmopan hospital

Work on the house is progressing

June 10, 2003

Your Belize team had a wonderful and productive day! We worked very hard and accomplished very much!

We finally got all of our money converted and God is pouring out His blessings upon us. We purchased 2,000 pounds of rice and 1,000 pounds of beans. We took 200 pounds of rice and 100 pounds of beans to the Belmopan hospital. They were very appreciative. We got all of the food processed into bags (all 3,000 pounds!) and began distribution in Sal Vapan and Mayamopan this afternoon.

The house team also made wonderful progress! All four exterior walls are up as well as all the trusses and interior walls. We will have the house under roof tomorrow. Pray for the house team as they work very hard on a very tight schedule.

We delivered some of the sponsored children's gifts today and will complete the distribution Wednesday and Thursday. For the members of Concord: we located Naomi Nah (our sponsored child) at school today. Her teacher allowed Mark, Sharon, Adam, and Larry to take her away from school to her house! We met her grandmother and mother and then took her back to school. We have purchased a bicycle for her and will also purchase a pair of shoes.

We went to the bicycle shop to pick up the rest of our bicycles today. We ordered 7 more this morning and yesterday afternoon. We have begun to develop a relationship with the owners. Mark and Larry will be going to see them tomorrow to talk to them about Jesus. Please pray for Mark and Larry as they present the most wonderful news ever presented. All of the bicycles are in our possession and will be distributed over the next few days.

We are all very hot and tired. But we are having a wonderful time serving our precious Lord here in Belize. God has blessed us by bringing several precious believers into our lives as we carry out His work. Pray for the church in Belize.

One of the team members responded to God's call to care for His children. They paid the rent for 4 months and bought the family with 7 children some much needed food.

Several of our team also worked in the clinic today.

Please continue to pray for your team. We have accomplished so much, but there is so much more to do.

In Christ's love and in His service,

2003 Belize Mission Team

The walls and trusses are up!

The team processes 2,000 lbs of rice and 1,000 lbs of beans for distribution

The bicycle shop where we purchased our bicycles. Thank you Ailing and Oscar!

June 11, 2003

Hello everybody!

We had a wonderful day today! The house is under roof and most of the siding is up.

We went to an orphanage this morning which broke our hearts. The orphanage was in such terrible shape. We gave them 200 pounds of rice, 100 pounds of beans, and several pounds of powdered milk.

We also went to the hospital this morning. The team visited the maternity ward and comforted a lady whose baby had died earlier this morning. They passed out clothes and newborn supplies to the other mothers. One team member was allowed to visit a little boy who had been bitten by an alligator.

We began passing out food this afternoon. We met many people in the three villages we visited whose need was so great. Please pray for the people of Belize that God will feed not only physical hunger, but a gnawing spiritual hunger as well. We will hand out the rest of the food tomorrow. We will also pass out bicycles as well.

We went to witness to our Chinese friends this afternoon. We had the opportunity to clearly present the gospel and gave them Bibles. We told them we wished we could speak to them in their heart language. We left and went to speak with the owner of a gift shop who is Chinese and is also a Christian brother. We asked him if he knew where we could locate Chinese Bibles. He smiled and went into the back room and gave us 5 Chinese Bibles free of charge. We shared the need with them and asked if they would follow up with this couple. We had the owner of the shop mark the Romans Road plan of salvation for us. We then went back to speak to our Chinese friends within 30 minutes of telling them we wished we could speak to them in their heart language and gave them a Bible in their heart language.

We also continued passing out sponsored children gifts today. Concord members: we went to town and purchased Naomi a new dress, new shoes, and a lock for her bicycle. We will go to visit her tomorrow and present her with her gifts.

In Christ's love and in His service,

2003 Belize Mission Team

Lindsey Byrd feeds a 2-week old baby at King's Children's Home in Belmopan

Almost done!

June 12, 2003

Our team had a very productive day today. We got the house about 95% complete. Some of our team members will stay behind tomorrow to complete the house.

We finished distributing beans and rice today. Many people were blessed by this vital ministry.

We also distributed bicycles today. All of the people to whom we gave the bicycles were amazed that someone would give them a bicycle in the name of Jesus.

Mark & Larry kept a divine appointment today. We had given a man a ride yesterday. Mark offered him a bottle of cold water in Jesus' name. The man grinned and told him that he was a pastor. We took him to the bus station, prayed with him, and told him we would see him later in his village. When we went to the village, his daughter went to get him. After distributing food, we went to visit his church and he poured out his heart over a very difficult situation. We wept with him and laid our hands on him and prayed that God would bring a good resolution to his situation. Please pray for Pastor Domingo.

We also went back to the bicycle shop. The owners had read the entire third chapter of Romans, in the Chinese Bibles we gave them, last night! We spoke for a few moments with them about the reality of sin and how it separates us from God and how Jesus Christ is the only way back to God. He seemed very receptive and gave us an email address to contact him when we return to the states. Please continue to pray for this family.

We also distributed several of our sponsored children gifts. All of the children were appreciative of the gifts given to them. Concord members: all of the Concord members on the trip went to visit Naomi Nah. We gave her a bicycle, a new dress and a new pair of shoes. She was so thrilled. We had a wonderful time visiting with the Nah family.

Tomorrow is a "day off" for most of the team. Several will remain behind to finish the house. Mark, Larry, Angie, Adam, and some others will be going to Milhollans School and Orphanage. We will be speaking at 2 chapel services. Please pray for them as we present the gospel to them.

In Christ's love and in His service,

2003 Belize Mission Team

A view of the house and cistern

Mark Rothe presents a bicycle to a boy in Las Flores

The team gives food to people searching for food in the Belmopan City Dump

June 13, 2003

Good evening everyone!

Today was our last day in Belize. Most of the team took a day off and went to the beach at Placencia.

Some of the team went back to the house site to finish up some odds and ends.

Mark, Adam, and Larry went to Ontario Christian School and presented the gospel to two different groups. We had a wonderful time with a wonderful group of children.

After leaving the school, we went to the children's home which is a part of the school. When we arrived, the administrator (also the pastor of the church which meets in the assembly hall of the school) of the home met us. Larry asked him if he could use 200 pounds of rice, 100 pounds of beans, and several containers of powdered milk. He had a funny look on his face and told us that he had just written his last check. He would not be able to spend any money for food for the rest of the month. The food we gave him will carry them through the end of the month! God is so good!

The team and our helpers went out to Diamond's Chinese restaurant this evening. We had a wonderful meal together.

It is late and we have to get up to catch our flight tomorrow morning. Pray for us as we journey home. We will see you at Concord around midnight tomorrow! We missed all of you terribly! Thank you for your prayers and your visits to our website while we were away.

The work is so great and the workers so few. Please pray how God would have you to become involved in 2004.

We will see you tomorrow!

In Christ's love and in His service,

2003 Belize Mission Team