Take two!

Belize was blessed to have had very few Covid-19 cases in its initial exposure. The country swiftly locked down, instated curfews, mandated masks, and closed the borders. We had less than 40 cases, and no new cases for 53 days, until a slow trickle of repatriating Belizeans and border jumpers started to come in. As Belizeans have been returning from the US, cases of Covid-19 have grown and we are facing another season of lock down.

This week the kids were supposed to return to school for the first time since March. The plan was to have them attend in shifts, wearing masks and socially distancing. Last week the government halted those plans. The international airport was supposed to reopen August 15th. That reopening has been postponed. So, here we are, feeling a bit like Groundhog Day, wondering what this second wave will bring.

For our family there have been some recent developments that will affect how we quarantine this time around. A big one is that, after supporting the youth with an online Bible study and with training for VBS, we have been asked to take over the youth group ministry at our church. Our first meeting as newly-installed leaders happened online, with no guarantee of when it will return to in-person meetings. Please pray that the time we spend investing in these youth will bear fruit in their lives.

Another opportunity for campus ministry has been pushed to the back burner, due to school campuses being closed and educators needing to find new ways to teach in this developing country.

Lastly, after many months of looking and praying, we have found a house! We are in the midst of inspections, titles searches and closing paperwork, but it is our hope to be moved by September 1st. The house we found is an absolute answer to prayer, as it is near to our current neighborhood and several of our kids' friends. Please pray that God would provide ways for us to furnish our new house. We moved here with suitcases and the house will be empty when we move in!

So, as we enter Round 2 of lock down and quarantine, we see how God has given us new things to do and be excited about, new ways to impact this generation and a new home in which to finally feel settled. We are blessed.

Fit

Opportunities have been opening up for us to support our local church. We led a youth discipleship Bible study, helped with the VBS program and Eddie also chaperoned a couple of youth trips. As I've seen Eddie come alive in his work with youth, I've felt like I didn't quite fit.

Both Eddie and I have worked with youth for many years, so when I imagine different ways we can contribute here, it makes sense that we could both thrive in youth work. What the past few weeks have clarified for me is that our strengths, personalities and passions are vastly different. What energizes Eddie, like large crowds of rowdy teens, is not my cup of tea.

For awhile, my inner dialogue was telling me that I just don't fit youth work anymore. What fits Eddie like a glove will never be a match for me.

Being an introvert, the work I've done with youth has largely been one-on-one and has allowed me to go deep with them. I thrive when building relationships and supporting people who have been beat up by life or are going through a crisis.

My friend, Manuel, was 13 years old when I first came to Belize to serve. He was a recent immigrant who had very little formal education. He didn't speak the official language here, was poor and had a stutter. I spent almost every day with Manuel that year; playing marbles, going swimming in the river, helping him learn some basic Math and English, talking about life.

This weekend, while Eddie was on a church camping trip with our son, I got a call from Manuel. His 5 year old son had had an accident and torn his hand open. They had come to our town for the hospital emergency room and I was their first call.

I dropped everything and scooped up their family of five from the side of the road. Their son had his hand stitched back together and a follow-up appointment in the morning. They were hungry and needed a place to stay.

With Eddie and AJ out of town, we had more than enough room for this exhausted family to settle in for the night. Manuel and his wife told me the story of the accident and how terrified they had been for their baby. Over the hours of our visit, I saw Manuel start to decompress from all the fear and Adrenalin he'd been carrying. His three kids made a mess and played with our kids' toys. We talked about life, marriage, work and parenting. We laughed and commiserated and I felt God's presence in our midst.

Galatians 6:2 says, "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

The next morning, after filling them up with eggs and fresh tortillas, I dropped them back at the hospital for their wound appointment. I praise God that their son won't lose the use of his hand. I praise God for friendship and being available to be there for my friends. And, this week especially, I am thankful for the reminder that even though my contribution looks wildly different from my Pied Piper husband's, being here is the right fit.

Home Sick

We just got back from our monthly visit to the Immigration office. Eight months down, an untold number to go. It's a strange feeling to be without a home.

Our home countries are the US and Canada, but we don't live in either. We live here in Belize, but don't have roots here yet. Still no home, no jobs, and just the beginnings of meaningful friendships. The stamps on our passports say "Tourist," at least until we qualify for residency.

The Bible talks about the concept of sojourning. To sojourn is to dwell for a time; to dwell or live in a place as a temporary resident, or as a stranger, not considering the place as his permanent habitation. For generations the Israelites lived as exiles and immigrants, always anticipating the day they would return to their true home in Israel. In the New Testament, Peter says we who are believers are sojourners here on earth, just passing through on our way home.

1 Peter 2:11 says, "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul."

The tension of being home, and feeling homesick is not entirely new to me. In life, there are times when I look at the surrounding culture and it is bizarre and foreign. Hearing parents deriding their children, seeing kids bully each other, those things don't represent the culture of my home. Sexual abuse and violence, manipulation, boasting, bribery are foreign, yet sadly familiar.

The house we rent here is not our own. It was planned and built for someone else's purposes, decorated and painted for someone else's taste. Some day soon we will have a house that has been prepared for us, that will reflect our tastes; look and feel like "us." In the meantime, we can resent the home we're in, or work to create an atmosphere we can enjoy.

In the same way, our job here on Earth, is to recreate the culture and atmosphere of heaven, despite sojourning in a place of darkness. We can resent being here, or we can get to work bringing the Kingdom to earth during our stay.