More Photos

If you would like to see all of the photos from the trip, visit the following albums!

Album 1

Album 2

Warm Day at Yo Creek

We finished off our week of service in the village of "Yo Creek." The day of village medical was much like the previous three: hot, busy, and full of blessings. We saw over 120 patients and wrote over 200 scripts. The interesting part of the ministry team's day was the opportunity to visit students at school! This was the first village medical day that took place during the week, so instead of having the children come and find us we went and found them!


We went classroom to classroom distributing gifts and treat bags made of toothpaste, toothbrush, crayons, books outlining the life of Jesus, and a necklace with their pictures in them. We played with each grade individually which gave us the opportunity to talk with many of the students. It was a very rewarding last day. Both the students and the patients were greatly appreciative that we had traveled so far to help them. I couldn't help thanking them in return for everything that they had taught me along the way.

The trip has now come to a close and we have all arrived home safely. A second missions group was arriving on flights as we were leaving. I know that there are at least 3 teams going to Belize from the Cincinnati area this year, and they are planning on continuing with the missions next year as well. Please, if you are interested in joining us, let me know. I can get you in contact with the organizers! We would love to have you on our team.

The most frustrating part of the week was the fact that as I take a step back from our trip now, I see that the work that we did was simply a drop of water in a bucket. The more people and the more groups that we are able to send each year to Belize will greatly increase our influence and touch on their country. We have been blessed with so much. There is no excuse that we can use against taking a step out of our comfort zones and making a difference in their lives.

Mennonite Monday

We traveled to the Mennonite community of “Little Belize” yesterday, which proved to be a very enlightening trip. The Mennonites, who are an extremely self-sufficient and conservative people, live with such a different world-view from ours that it was great to experience their point of view for a day. Prior to arriving, we were not sure exactly what activities we would be allowed to do with the children and we were cautious with using cameras throughout the day. We were proud that we truly respected their boundaries, and by the end of the day I think they understood that we were there to learn from them and help them in any way that we could.

Both our group and their community could be seen tip-toeing around each other upon first arrival, but, as you can see from the photos below, our departure at the end of the day was full of relief from being able to break through the cultural barriers.

Below are the pictures outlining our travels over the rivers and through the woods and the progression of our visit at Little Belize.

A group shot before crossing our first river ferry

The hand-cranked river ferry.

We finally got to try some sugar cane!

Our foreign presence was approached with caution...

...and so were our foreign toys (bubbles).

But by the end of our stay, everyone was able to smile.

Many even had a lot of fun!

Village Medical Day 2

Yesterday we visited the village of “Carmelita” for another day of village medical and ministry. We were able to see over 200 patients and write over 400 scripts. Yet again, the children were everywhere and their energy was overflowing. Although it began raining halfway through the day, the soccer and basketball games never stopped.

The patients were offered prayers after their visits to the doctor. No matter what level of faith, everyone was glad to have encouragement and a smile on their way out the door. The surgery team spent another long day in the hospital, operating on 16 patients total. Having already adjusted to the equipment the previous day, the team was very comfortable in their foreign surroundings.

The picture on the right shows the homemade swings that were at the village. I have seen tires used in many different ways, but this was the first time that I had seen them transformed into swings!

On our trip home to Corozal, we passed by the sugar cane processing plant. You know when you are getting close to the plant, because the sugar cane trucks line the roads for miles. The workers are paid by the ton when delivering their cane, and sometimes they have to wait in line for days before they are finally able to unload their trucks. Our translator told us that if the sugar cane sits in the trucks too long before it is processed, it can lose its quality and be worth close to nothing. Needless to say it is a very difficult industry.

The trip to Belize has been a beautiful experience. We have met hundreds of amazing people and been able to help just as many. It is so interesting to learn about their lifestyles and their culture. We have two more days of service before we enjoy a day to act as a true "tourist"!

Tomorrow we head to "Little Belize", one of the five Mennonite villages in Belize.

*Internet was working against me this evening. Pictures to come soon.