Well, here it is, in just 24 hours I will be landing in Belize City. After going through customs & paying a few duties for the supplies I brought in, I'll take a taxi over to the bus station where I'll wait 3 hours to catch the "express bus" to Punta Gorda (cause the regular bus is not air conditioned and is a longer, more miserable ride). After 16 hours of travel, I should arrive safely in Punta Gorda. As you can imagine, Saturday is my least favorite day of the trip.
I've done this trip solo once before and after living there, I feel pretty comfortable in Belize. However, there are naturally some anxieties that come with such a lengthy amount of travel.
But, there's a twist: several weeks ago when we found an extraordinary deal on airfare to Belize, God laid it on someone's heart to cover the cost of a plane ticket. Since my ticket had already been purchased, and the situation seemed to be right, we moved forward with purchasing airfare for my husband. Andy will have to travel a day after me and return a day sooner but beyond that, we felt this was a great opportunity for us and more importantly, for the work we do in Belize.
While I know this will be a good thing for our work, it also inevitably adds a new layer to the picture. 3 kids have to be delivered to 2 different camps while 2 kids need childcare for 10 days and all 5 need childcare at the beginning and the end of the trip (from 2 different family members). Oh and did I mention that currently 1 child is feeling ill?
There are so many things to worry about. Will my children be healthy, safe, and get where they need to go in my absence? I still have packing to finish, am I remembering the essentials, the things I must have that can't be purchased in country? Travelling to Belize and running a camp can be costly and we currently do not have enough cash in our bank account to cover all the costs of camp & travel. How are we going to pull this off? The more I ask these questions, the more anxious I feel.
The solution: stop asking questions!
It sounds crazy right? Of course it does but then I am reminded to trust. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Prov. 3: 5-6. A good friend of mine shared this with me last week and although I try to make this my life's mantra, I still needed to be reminded of it--often. There are a lot of times in my life that I've chosen the 'least desirable' path by doing not what I want to do, but what I feel called to do. Things may not have even turned out the way I'd hoped. Yet in spite of that, God has always worked out the details and goodness and peace have always come from it.
This situation is no different. I know that, I just have to remember to listen to that.
I like to think I'm getting better at that. I haven't asked those 'worry' questions nearly as much this time & (no shocker here) I feel a lot less anxious this time. One way or another, it will work out because I'm not in charge.
In the mean time, we would really appreciate your thoughts and prayers as our entire family makes sacrifices to have our work in Belize be a success this year.
We look forward to keeping you updated this week as time, and internet access, allow.
p.s. as a shameless plug--we are holding a Thirty One products online fundraiser. 20% of the sales will go towards making Camp Creative a success. Here's the link if you are interested but the fundraiser sale ends TODAY (6/26): www.mythirtyone.com/651239/shop/Party/EventDetail/8369176
Friday, June 26, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Back To Belize, Again.
While some of you have still been checking on our blog, we haven't exactly been active in our posts. Fail.
Anyway, we just wanted to give you a quick update (we'll post more later, we promise). I (Julie) am going back down to Belize this summer to direct Camp Creative. This year, a representative from one of the departments at Baylor University contacted me about bringing a service group down to work with us at Camp Creative. We could not be more happy to be working with this enthusiastic group. The best part about this, it allows us to expand and grow Camp Creative. This year, we will be able to bring a mini-camp opportunity to a local children's home, LOL Children's Home, that serves 35 kids, in addition to the kids we normally serve at our day camp. I've also been asked by the orphanage 'mom' to teach the girls a cake decorating class. I'm thrilled to give these girls an opportunity to teach them a craft that they can actually use in the future.
I am currently looking for cake decorating supplies, bags, tips, couplers, and icing gel color, to donate to the children's home. If you have any of those supplies or wish to purchase any to donate, we would be most grateful. This children's home operates on a tight budget and survives on their own donations so I'm really hoping we can bless them with these supplies.
While I plan to give more information, including ways you can help if you wish to, I wanted to let you know about an opportunity to come down to help. American Airlines is currently offering a sale on their airfare. St. Louis rountrip to Belize City is only $382! That is the cheapest price we've seen since they offered a sale 3 1/2 years ago when we lived there. If you feel called to help with kids and creativity, we would welcome your help at Camp Creative. The week of art camp will be June 29-July 3. I'll be heading down the Saturday before and staying several days afterwards for some much needed "down time." Those are the dates that I know are on sale but quite possibly, there is some flexibility on the dates at that price.
Think about it, pray about it, and if you feel called to come down, let us know. If you want to help in any other way, let us know that too.
We're currently exploring some fundraising options for us to help cover the cost of expenses for the camp, as well as travel down there for myself. We'll let you know where we get with that and post any opportunities on our blog.
Thanks and God bless.
Anyway, we just wanted to give you a quick update (we'll post more later, we promise). I (Julie) am going back down to Belize this summer to direct Camp Creative. This year, a representative from one of the departments at Baylor University contacted me about bringing a service group down to work with us at Camp Creative. We could not be more happy to be working with this enthusiastic group. The best part about this, it allows us to expand and grow Camp Creative. This year, we will be able to bring a mini-camp opportunity to a local children's home, LOL Children's Home, that serves 35 kids, in addition to the kids we normally serve at our day camp. I've also been asked by the orphanage 'mom' to teach the girls a cake decorating class. I'm thrilled to give these girls an opportunity to teach them a craft that they can actually use in the future.
I am currently looking for cake decorating supplies, bags, tips, couplers, and icing gel color, to donate to the children's home. If you have any of those supplies or wish to purchase any to donate, we would be most grateful. This children's home operates on a tight budget and survives on their own donations so I'm really hoping we can bless them with these supplies.
While I plan to give more information, including ways you can help if you wish to, I wanted to let you know about an opportunity to come down to help. American Airlines is currently offering a sale on their airfare. St. Louis rountrip to Belize City is only $382! That is the cheapest price we've seen since they offered a sale 3 1/2 years ago when we lived there. If you feel called to help with kids and creativity, we would welcome your help at Camp Creative. The week of art camp will be June 29-July 3. I'll be heading down the Saturday before and staying several days afterwards for some much needed "down time." Those are the dates that I know are on sale but quite possibly, there is some flexibility on the dates at that price.
Think about it, pray about it, and if you feel called to come down, let us know. If you want to help in any other way, let us know that too.
We're currently exploring some fundraising options for us to help cover the cost of expenses for the camp, as well as travel down there for myself. We'll let you know where we get with that and post any opportunities on our blog.
Thanks and God bless.
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