FPC-Midland Belize Mission: Debriefing

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.

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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!

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.

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