updates

Our most exciting news is that Tom's parents are here in Belize visiting with us for two weeks!  We are so grateful to have some company and thrilled to be able to spend some time with them and show them around.  They came to church with us last night and got to experience first hand Tom's teaching and the discussion group afterward.

Last night Tom began a new series on boundaries... called Can Christians Love too Much.  One of his points was about being responsible 'to others' but responsible 'for yourself'.  It was great to see that people in the discussion group 'got it'!

Religion classes with the children at the elementary school are going well.  Yesterday we talked about how God knows each one of them by name and would never call out "hey you!"  We made name tags mostly for my benefit so that I could get to know them better and not call them all sweetheart as I am prone to do.

We have to get our visitor's permits renewed once again.  We tried to get in there yesterday but we were too late, the cashier had already closed down for the day.  We are looking forward to the day when we are granted missionary status so that we don't have to do the renewals monthly but can do them yearly instead.  Hopefully in the next month or so that will happen.

Well, I need to run and  get ready for my class with my sweethearts... and then after that we are off to show Tom's parents more of this beautiful country.  So grateful for the car and that it is just large enough for the four of us to go exploring in!

The Haven... an update

What a night!!  Where to begin?!

Our worship leader/youth pastor at the church is taking a break because of feeling burnt out.  We saw this is a great learning opportunity for everyone.  This young leader was doing worship for 4 services a week, teaching on Youth night and has a full time job as a school teacher.  No wonder he needed to step back.  As he steps back it is important to draw others forward.  

Tom and I chose to involve more people in the running of The Haven this week.  It is important for it not to become the Tom & Alida show. When I arrived at the church I asked one of the young ladies if she would take care of setting up the refreshment table after the teaching time and while I was speaking with her Tom was teaching a young man how to run the powerpoint for the evening.

We had worship followed by a lively time that Tom is calling "Pikni Passij".  Pikni (pronounced picknee) is the Kriol word for children.  The children get a short lesson from Mr. Tom and then they are dismissed to their class.  Tom's main teaching for the evening was about the Rules of Stuck Family.  

The exciting part of the evening is one I cannot fully describe because of our rule of confidentiality. But I can say that the discussion time went deeper last night than ever before.  We are grateful for those of you who prayed for us to be safe people.  I had barely opened the group when the first person jumped in to share what she had learned about her family and herself from the lecture.  It was amazing to hear each and every adult present in the group open up in a more personal way.  Wow.  Wish you could have been with us.

On Saturday Tom and I will be stepping into the youth ministry at the church as mentors.   Tom will be teaching at Youth night for the remainder of the month.   As it stands now the plan is for Tom and the worship leader/youth pastor to alternate teaching each month.  We are looking forward to getting more involved with the youth and are excited about teaching recovery principles to this generation.  Youth here range in age from 13-30 and they make up 64% of the population in this country and are the majority at our small church.  

We are grateful.  

We are on the right track.

 We, as a congregation, are all growing and learning to trust one another

 and together we are trusting God for the results.  

  

The Haven... an update

Last night was our first night back at The Haven since the holidays.  Tom is finishing up his teaching on The Family as a System.  We had a time of worship.  Tom gave a short lesson to the kids which involved a lively discussion and demonstration of upsetting the balance of a family of coconuts.  After the children were dismissed to their class we gave a short break for snacks and then moved into the group discussion time.

Each time we meet we read the rules for the group and rule number four is about safety and says:

Remember that each of us are responsible for building trust and safety.  Who attends The Haven or what is shared in our small group is confidential, and this information needs to stay within the walls of The Haven.  Do not share what others have discussed, without their permission; even if it is in the form of a 'prayer request'.  This is how we maintain safety.

And yet we noticed that it was hard for people to share in the small groups.

Over the holiday break I had a brief conversation with a pastor's wife in the area.  After I described our work to her I learned that what we are doing is desperately needed but that people here have a hard time trusting that what they share in private will be kept confidential.

"People here dey ben burn. Erryone dey gossip" she told me.

This is a small town.  Every knows everyone.  Everyone thinks they know everything about everybody.

And the gossip flies at lightening speed over the coconut wire.

We decided to make a few changes to our format to see if that would help to loosen people up, break the ice and make them feel more comfortable.  The short refreshment time after Tom's message was new...it had worked beautifully in Russia and we thought it would help here. It had people laughing and gave them a brief time to fellowship with one another.  The other change was discussion questions.  Tom wrote up two simple questions that went along with the topic.  Instead of one or two people sharing we actually had 6 people open up to the group of 18.  A victory!

It is hard to share personal things in a small town. Churches are not always safe places to be real.  This principle is universal.  We may feel we are betraying our family or loved one by sharing our own hurts or feelings. We don't want to put someone else in a bad light.  We must keep our 'I'm fine' face on.

Tom and I have had a few counseling appointments and several get together's and meals since we arrived with a young couple who have been married for less than a year.  This week was the first time that they went beyond surface talk and finally poured out their hearts.  The husband said they had discussed it and agreed that we were trustworthy.

Our prayer is that we will continue to build trust and teach principles which well help others grow and become who they were designed to be.  Our desire is to remain open to learning more about the culture through talking to our neighbors, vendors in the market and people that we meet around town.  We will continue to ask questions and stay interested in the Belizean way of life so that we can provide safety and love, a Haven if you will,  for all who come our way.

Please join with us in prayer.

The Haven

Last night we had 16 adults and just as many children at The Haven.  Jonathan did a great job leading worship and Tom's teaching went well.  Just before Tom began teaching he had a verse up on powerpoint for the children to read.

You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body,

  and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me.

   Everything you do is marvelous!

   Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you!

   I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below,

but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed.

   Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do.

Psalm 139:13-16

Contemporary English Version

All the ones who were old enough to read did so loud and clear.  When they finished Tom told them "God made you for a purpose" "He designed you!" You are special and unique!"  He followed up these statements with a few questions;  "Do you know that God did all this for you?"   "Do you know that God knows you better than you know yourself?"  The eyes of one little guy on the second row grew wide with unbelief and he said "Wow!" 

Each week Tom addresses the kids in some way; to give them encouragement for how vigorously they sing worship or just to tell them how much he enjoys seeing them.  And each week we have several teens as part of the adult group who stay in for Tom's teaching.  With 48% of the population of Belize being under the age of 18 making a connection with the young people here is vital. 

Our prayer is that the parents who are attending The Haven each week will continue to come out, to learn and grow healthier as individuals so that they will affect their families and loved ones in a positive way.  Please join us in prayer!

The Haven

Change is always hard.... last week not only did the service change it's night from Thursday to Wednesday it also changed the time from 7:30 to 7.  This week we kept the meeting on Wednesday evening but went back to meeting at 7:30.  Many of the adults who come to our church work in various cities around Belize and even a half hour change in time can totally disrupt a schedule. 

We grew in the number of adults from 9 last week to 17 this week.  We were excited to welcome all the newcomers!  After a time of worship Tom's lesson was 'We Heal Best in Loving Grace-filled Relationships', following the teaching time was the group sharing. 

We continue to trust that God will bring out the people who need to be at The Haven. And our prayer is that as a group we will grow closer to Him and closer to one another as we work on healing the hurts of the past together, and that it will continue to be a safe loving atmosphere for all who attend.

The Haven

Last night was our first meeting on the new night.  We were not sure how people were going to respond.  The regular Wednesday service started at 7:30 and we were scheduled to start at 7.   Many of the people who attend the church are children.  They seemed to be the only ones not affected by the time change.  They were ready to go when the church van honked in front of their houses.

But, as it always happens the people who needed to be there were there.  We ended up with 9 adults in our meeting.   We had a great worship time as a large group, then the kids were dismissed to Children's church, while Tom taught the adults about how our emotional maturity affects our spiritual maturity, and then we had our small group time.  The sharing went well... it was great to witness people opening up and truly being vulnerable with their sharing.

We are not in this for the numbers.  Our desire is to see people get healthy and whole so they can grow in their relationships with God.

Keep us in your prayers... we truly appreciate them and need them!

Opening Night!

Our first night was awesome.  We had worship, Tom's teaching and then a small group meeting afterward.  Due to confidentiality I didn't take any crowd shots.  But we had 8 people show up for our first night.  We are so excited and can hardly wait to see what God will do in the lives of individuals and families here at the Shepherds House and in the community.

The Haven

Tonight will be the first night of our recovery service The Haven.  Not sure how many people will show up but we will be there anyway. 

The worship team is ready to go.  Tom has a message prepared.  And we have guidelines printed up for the small groups following the message. 

Keep us in your prayers and pray for all who have been invited and that those who really need this type of environment will have the courage to come out. 

We are excited to see how God is going to use The Haven here in Belmopan.  No matter what happens tonight and in the coming weeks we know it will all be for His glory!