FPC-Midland Belize Blog: November 2014

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

WAW Wednesdays: Thank You Party, and Need Your Help ...

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

Thank You Party, and Need Your Help ...

Hey Friends,

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S. and we are thankful to God as we see the Ladeni story continue.

She is getting used to her new leg. Last night we had a great celebration of Thanksgiving at an event for over 40 organizations and individuals who have come around Ladeni Osorto and helped to bring her back to health! Michael Martin Murphey made the evening extra special with his gift of song ... here are Murph, Ladeni, her mother Grace… Thanks to our host, Dr. Keith Bjork, and all who helped make the evening possible.

And because tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US and we are so thankful for the work of God ... I’m in your mailbox with an opportunity, or avenue for you to express gratefulness to God.

We are coming upon the home stretch for our annual Christmas Project Trip! We have a team of volunteers heading to Belize December 13-22. This is the time of year when we count on your financial support to make these Christmas parties happen all over Belize for thousands of children and others in great need.

$3000 is needed to support the miracle work going on at the prison. This provides a small phone card to connect every inmate with their children and spouses.

$_____ ? We are grateful for any amount you can offer to help us purchase food and other gifts. With the numerous places we serve, the opportunity is beyond measure and always depends on your support. How far can you help us take this?

Keep Christ in your Christmas by ...

• Blessing the “least of these” ... the poor, widowed, the orphaned, victims of violence and injustice. Matthew 25:40
• Remembering those in prison as though you were in prison with them. Hebrew 13:3
• Supporting Hospice patients and families, HIV children’s ministry and more. John 21:17

You may not be making the trip with us - Let us represent you. Last year we raised $16,000 for this project. Help us get even beyond that for 2014. Please write back and let me know what you can do. Or ... make a gift of this in someones name?

Thanks,

Tim Tam
The Word at Work

EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience, working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize, won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!

Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

WAW Wednesdays: The Word At Work Newsletter

The Word At Work Newsletter

Dear Friends,

We Bring You This Newsletter in lieu of TW@W Wednesday

• CLICK HERE to read about ...

• Urgent: Countdown to Christmas

• Teams in Belize and More

• Family from Afar

• Fundraising for Overhead

Gratefully,

Tim Tam
The Word at Work

Monday, November 17, 2014

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Bienvenidos al Norte

From November 8th through the 15th, 2014, a team from 1st Presbyterian Church-Midland will be traveling to the Central American country of Belize, and working with The Word at Work ministry. This will be an opportunity to reach out and share the gospel with the people of Belize while working side-by-side with the local community and The Word at Work staff on a much-needed construction project ... all of this building upon a foundation of relationships that was laid early this year.

Bienvenidos al norte ...

What a difference a day can make ...

I don't know about the rest of the team ... but mornings such as this have me thinking about long-term mission in Belize ... at least during winter months!

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

Saturday, November 15, 2014

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Heading Home

Heading home ...

We're packed-up, checked-in and Texas-bound following a week in Belize.

Please keep us - Pastor Walter Thompson, Dr. Greg Bartha, Becky Holmes, Pat Hunter, Jeff McDonald, Chrissie Mee and Casey Smith, our friends in the community of Seven Mile / El Progresso, and our WAW partners - in your thoughts and prayers.

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

Friday, November 14, 2014

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Debriefing

Debriefing ...

Dear Lord, ... this week, we have had a glimpse, a brief and tiny glimpse of that garden from which Adam and Eve were driven ... and a preview of the garden that awaits us all, someday, at the end of that path you have set for us here, on Earth. Thank you for the nourishment - for body and spirit, mind and soul - that helps us along that path. For that, and so much more, we thank you ... in Jesus' name ... Amen.

Friday's prayer over breakfast

We are in a place that draws our eyes and our attention outward ... but it is also a time for looking inward. We are spending our last evening in Belize at Spanish Lookout Caye, one of a string of mangrove swamp/islands that line this nation's coast. It is a place of great beauty ... it is, quite literally, like finding one's self in a picture postcard. We are far removed from the busy construction site, the joyfully hectic schoolyard, the rough roads and bustling urban centers that have filled our week ... and that is exactly what we are seeking.

While we are here, we are encouraged to split up and find a place to ourselves, read selected Scripture or choose some of our own, then give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to answering a series of question about the week we have just experienced, where we have been and what we have done over the course of that week, and what lies ahead for us in the weeks, the years to follow.

Later that evening, following dinner and fellowship, we gather to pray, to sing and to talk. We discuss the Scripture we have read, what it means to us after our experience here, and how we saw the Word at work over the course of our mission.

We compare our impressions of this nation, its people and our mission ... what we expected in advance, and what we actually experienced ... what expectations were met, and what expectations were not met?

It's also a time for looking ahead. We discuss how we might share what we learned once we return home. What new directions might First Prez's Belize mission take in the future, and how might we encourage others to join us? If you have comments, questions or answers regarding that, why not send them to us via the e-mail link at the bottom of this page?

Tomorrow brings and end, of sorts to our Belize mission ... but it's also a beginning ... let's see where we go from here!

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: House Blessing

House Blessing

Foundation? Check ... Walls? Check ... Roof? Check ... Alright ... Let's bless this house!

Please keep us - Pastor Walter Thompson, Dr. Greg Bartha, Becky Holmes, Pat Hunter, Jeff McDonald, Chrissie Mee and Casey Smith, our WAW partners, our Pastors living life on the edge, and the people of Seven Miles - in your thoughts and prayers.

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

Thursday, November 13, 2014

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Earth Movers

Earth Movers

Earlier, I said this not a globe you put on your desk ... even if you had a desk big enough to hold it. This is a big, outdoor, rolling globe that you play with ... and that's where the students at El Progresso Government School stepped-up, moving mountains (and oceans, islands, ice caps, continents), and having fun in the process.

See what I mean ...

Please keep us - Pastor Walter Thompson, Dr. Greg Bartha, Becky Holmes, Pat Hunter, Jeff McDonald, Chrissie Mee and Casey Smith, the students (the "Earth Movers!") of El Progresso Government School, our WAW partners, and the people of Seven Miles - in your thoughts and prayers.

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Walter of the Jungle !!!

"Walter of the Jungle !!!" ...

We'll have to get a bigger plaque to go outside the office door for Walter Thompson, Associate Pastor of Mission and Evangelism at First Presbyterian-Midland ... he added another title to his job description ... "Jungle Pastor!" Hold your breath ... here he goes ...

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Take a tour ...

Take a tour ...

As I mentioned earlier, Neighbors and visitors have made tremendous progress on a home construction project, aiding a woman of the village, and her children, who were left homeless by a devastating flood.Video shot in the village of Seven Miles, western Cayo District, Belize.

Take a tour, and see for yourself ...

Please keep us - Pastor Walter Thompson, Dr. Greg Bartha, Becky Holmes, Pat Hunter, Jeff McDonald, Chrissie Mee and Casey Smith, our WAW partners, Eva and her children, and the people of Seven Miles - in your thoughts and prayers.

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Kid, you'll move mountains ...

Kid, you'll move mountains ...

... and oceans, and everything else, with the return of Earthball to the El Progresso School. This was something delivered - in its original, plain white form - by the legendary "B-12" team during their January mission to Belize.

First, you inflate it. The thick outer skin is - quite literally - a blank canvas ... and that's where the school children first got involved, in January, when students from each of the classes at EPGS took turns painting that outer skin, outlining the oceans and continents, then filling the spaces with the paint ... and getting an out-of-the-ordinary geography lesson in the process. Light blue for the coastal waters, dark blue for the deep seas, green, brown and yellow for the continents and islands, with special attention paid to Belize and Texas.

But this not a globe you put on your desk ... even if you had a desk big enough to hold it. This is a big, outdoor, rolling globe that you play with ... and that's where the students at EPGS stepped-up once again today, moving mountains (and oceans, islands, ice caps, continents), and having fun in the process.

Please keep us - Pastor Walter Thompson, Dr. Greg Bartha, Becky Holmes, Pat Hunter, Jeff McDonald, Chrissie Mee and Casey Smith, the students - the MOUNTAIN-MOVERS! - of El Progresso School, our friends in the community of Seven Mile / El Progresso, and our WAW partners - in your thoughts and prayers.

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: They weren't kidding!

They weren't kidding!

As I said, our team was split in two yesterday, with half the team (all the men, as it turned out) going into Belize City for a visit to the Central Prison, and a hospice care organization ... while the other half of out team (all the women, as it turned out) headed back to the construction site.

At day's end, when each reported on the progress of their day, there were some who wondered if the construction part of our team exaggerated just a little on the amount of progress they' made.

When we arrived this morning, we soon learned they weren't kidding ... those walls were DONE, and it was time to start raising the roof.

Most of our team was on the construction site today, and that's exactly what we started doing.

Please keep us - Pastor Walter Thompson, Dr. Greg Bartha, Becky Holmes, Pat Hunter, Jeff McDonald, Chrissie Mee and Casey Smith, the students of El Progresso School, our friends in the community of Seven Mile / El Progresso, and our WAW partners - in your thoughts and prayers.

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Bedside

Bedside ...

I have accompanied Dr. Greg Bartha before, in the course of housecalls at people's homes in Belize ... but this time around, there was a difference.

As I posted earlier today ... while our primary focus remains our relationship with the people of Sven Mile / El Progresso, and the construction of a home for one of them, we are also exploring other mission opportunities in this nation, with the help of Tim Tam and his Word At Work staff.Today, one part of our team was exploring those opportunities, while the rest of our team returned to the village for another day of service at the home construction site.

Our 'explorers' spent the second half of the day in Belize City. There, we learned about a growing program for patients in need of hospice care, and their families. We also learned how we could support this program, and visited with some of the patients that it serves.

Following our prison visit, we were back on the highway, and headed into the heart of Belize City (the nation's largest community), stopping at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where we picked up Dr. Beatrice, then heading out for lunch.

Dr. Beatrice is an anesthesiologist at the nation's largest hospital, which is a full-time job. But she also heads-up the Belize Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation that is based in Belize City, with programs in other communities.

At the table were Dr. Beatrice, Word At Work's Tim Tam, Pastor Walter Thompson, myself, Dr. Greg Bartha and Harold Howard, who has worked as a hospice volunteer in West Texas. During lunch, Dr. Beatrice and Dr. Greg had a chance to get to know one another, and to 'talk shop' about their respective hospice care programs.

"BHPCF is an organisation compromised of volunteers to serve with compassion,love and humility to the terminally ill cancer patients of Belize. The mission of the BHPCF is to operate a palliative care program for the country of Belize that will make physical , psycho social, and spiritual care services available to those who have been affected by or diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, ensuring physical integrity and quality of life as inspired and sustained by God."

After lunch, we visited Dr. Beatrice's home,which also serves as the BHPCF office for a chance to meet those who help with the program ... then it was time for the house callls.
As I said at the start of this post, I have accompanied Dr. Greg Bartha before, in the course of housecalls at people's homes in Belize ... but this time around, it was different. The issues are - in some respects - of a very different and far more serious sort ... but they are still addressed with care and thoroughness ... to "serve with compassion,love and humility."

While the doctors conducted examinations and consultations with the patients and their caregivers, other members of our team visited with family members. As each visit neared its end, everyone would come together with the patient, holding and comforting one another, for prayer.

Please keep us - Pastor Walter Thompson, Dr. Greg Bartha, Becky Holmes, Pat Hunter, Jeff McDonald, Chrissie Mee and Casey Smith, Dr. Beatrice and her volunteers at BHPCF, those served by BHPCF, our friends in the community of Seven Mile / El Progresso, and our WAW partners - in your thoughts and prayers.

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question

FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Inside

Inside ...

While our primary focus remains our relationship with the people of Seven Miles / El Progresso, and the construction of a home for one of them, we are also exploring other mission opportunities in this nation, with the help of Tim Tam and his Word At Work staff.Today, one part of our team was exploring those opportunities, while the rest of our team returned to the village for another day of service at the home construction site.

Which led to some of us starting the day having identification checked, then being searched before entering Belize Central Prison ... this nation's single facility for the incarceration of convicted criminals (both men and women, adults and juveniles), as well as those being held 'on remand' pending the disposition of their cases in court.

Once we were inside, we were greeted by John Woods ... perhaps the most unique prison warden in the world.

As is the case for such institutions in many countries around the world, the prison is part of the government ... but it is not operated by the government. Once upon a time, it was ... and stories of that time portray conditions as more than 'not-so-good,' but downright terrible ... from feeding to sanitation, from incidents of injury and death among inmates to an unacceptably high recidivism rate among those released from the institution.

It is then that the Belizean government took a step that has made the institution one-of-a-kind. Sure, there are plenty of prisons out there operated for the government by private, for-profit corporations ... but how many out there are operated by a non-profit, Christian-based foundation? The prison is still the property of the Belizian national government, but it is Kolbe Foundation - and NOT a branch of the civil service - that is in charge of Belize Central Prison and its operation.

The foundation's website tells us, "Kolbe Foundation is the first of its kind: a non-profit, non-government organization managing the prison system of Belize with a unique approach of rehabilitating each inmate. The results are changed mindsets, productive livelihoods, and reduced crime. All prisoners, through rigorous proven methods, are ultimately provided with things they never had before: counseling, education, hope ... and a fighting chance. Kolbe believes that it’s better for society, an inmate released who has been through life-changing programs, than one who would have been criminally smarter. Prison has a captured audience, rather than sit in a cell doing nothing, inmates have the opportunity to participate in Programs that can genuinely change their lives."

The bottom line for the Kolbe Foundation is not meeting at least minimum standards while seeking maximum profits. Rather, their bottom line can be found in their vision statement ... "To provide a Secure, Humane Facility geared towards Meaningful Rehabilitation and Successful Re-Integration."

It's a vision Woods and his staff continue to pursue ... and they continue to look for better ways to pursue that vision ... ways to better serve, not their stockholders, but the inmates who have been placed in their charge. That includes an ongoing search for updating technology that increases efficiency, and reduces expenses and staff time ... which can then be applied to other services at the prison.

For example, what can be done about the inmates that are being held on remand pending their trials, and the disposition of the charges facing them? Unlike Texas, and elsewhere in the United States, there are no city or county jails in Belize ... some community police stations may have a secure room or cell for holding a prisoner temporarily, but that's it ... so everybody goes to BCP. When a prisoner being held on remand is scheduled to attend a hearing, he/she must be transported (in the custody of a pair of guards) to the community where the charge was presented, then returned to BCP at the conclusion of the hearing ... and that can take many, many hours.

So, what about hearings conducted remotely by video? If approved, the idea could save a LOT of time and money - staff hours, wear-and-tear on a vehicle, gasoline (which costs twice as much in Belize as it does in Texas) - all of which could then go into other areas of prison operations.

That's just one example.

Touring the facility with Woods were Word At Work's Tim Tam, Pastor Walter Thompson, myself, Dr. Greg Bartha and Harold Howard, who has been active with the Kairos Prison Ministry in West Texas, ministering at Texas Department of Criminal Justice (Institutional Division) facilities in Fort Stockton, Texas. Our tour of the Belize facility touched upon a number of areas where improvements have taken place or are now in process.

These improvements have been made possible by contributions from a number of concerned individuals and organization, including our Belize mission partner, The Word At Work ... and by the commitment and the hard work of Woods and his staff.

One of these is the Jeremiah 33:3 radio station that has replaced the traditional loudspeaker system (like the one in the film "Shawshank Redemption"). Jeremiah 33:3's programming includes a wide variety of education, information and entertainment programs, in addition to plenty of music in a variety of genres that appeal to the cultural diversity of this nation, and its prison population. The station also plays requests from the inmates, so long as they have a positive tone/message - which is a requirement for all of the station's programming. Jeremiah also provides a venue for inmates to perform and broadcast their own compositions.

The medical facility is a work-in-progress. While they already address a number of the inmates' medical needs, they'd like to do more. More equipment would allow medical staff to address more needs, and reduce the number of inmates that have to be transported to Belize City for medical care ... a process that poses the same challenges to staff, equipment and expenses as the transports for hearings.

As for the inmates themselves, what could be done to reduce the possibility of their returning to the facility once they have served their sentence and been released? Woods and his staff are addressing this through a variety of programs ... some focus on education, while others seek to improve employment prospects once the inmates are released. Faith-based initiatives are in place, as well, to encourage inmates to have a better view of themselves, their place in this world and their relationship with God. Still another program has adopted a 12-step program inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous, to encourage rehabilitation of body, mind and spirit.

Of course, inmates are not the only ones impacted by a prison sentence ... many leave behind spouses, children and other family members who have relied upon them. Encouraging and maintaining those ties is another area that BCP is addressing though programs and facilities to encourage visitations and contacts between the inmates and their families.

Really, I'm just scratching the surface of what we saw and experienced today ...

Please keep us - Pastor Walter Thompson, Dr. Greg Bartha, Becky Holmes, Pat Hunter, Jeff McDonald, Chrissie Mee and Casey Smith, Warden Woods and his staff (with a special word for the inmates of BCP), our friends in the community of Seven Mile / El Progresso, and our WAW partners - in your thoughts and prayers.

Got questions and/or comments for our team? Send them through the link at the bottom of this page.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Is there something you'd like to ask any of our mission team members, or our pastor?

• CLICK HERE to e-mail us your question