FPC-Midland Belize Blog

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... Law Enforcement Trip, and More

"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."

Law Enforcement Trip, and More

Hello Friends,

Summer teams have been stacked up in back-to-back. We have a small break of four days but start again this weekend with teams from Pennsylvania and North Carolina.Rushing to get this out while it is still Wednesday

Kenny just finish up the law enforcement trip: Last week a group from New Mexico and South Carolina worked with the Belmopan Police Department sharing their faith in Christ and providing training which included defensive tactics (Krav Maga)), first aid/CPR, and firearms. The team also worked with local police on a home of one of the officers, building walls in the home while helping the officer build relationships with his neighbors.

Momentum is building. They are asking for training in additional districts. Do you have law enforcement people in your church that can be involved in next years trip? Please send me their contacting information.

Update on Dallan from geneday@aol.com: To all ... Just went for the first follow up after surgery for Dallan. Dr. Higley said he is doing very well. This is a copy of the x ray of his jaw. The thing that looks like a bicycle chain on the right is the metal bar that is holding his mouth in place until they can put in the prosthesis. Please pray he is very careful and doesn't fall or take a blow to the face of any kind. That bar is very near his brain.

The metal on the left is brackets they put on his teeth to hold rubber bands to keep his mouth almost closed and in place.

The next 90 days are going to be a challenge waiting for the prosthesis. Please continue to pray for God's provision and give Him praise and thanks for ALL HE has done on Dallan's behalf. We still need to raise some more money to pay for the prosthesis. It is truly a blessing for all of us involved to witness God's hand in all of this. There are so many people involved in so many areas and God has brought us all together for His purpose and His child. When you think of where he was just two months ago it truly is a miracle. THANK YOU JESUS!!!

God Bless,

Gene and Bev

Thanks for your involvement and support which makes all this continue to happen!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

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, July 20, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... Right Now in BZ

Right Now in BZ

Hello Friends,

Okay, I just got back from Belize last night. I’m a little bit fried so lets' have some fun. A lot happened last week and a lot more is happening right at this moment. Just for fun I'm going to throw a bunch of photos at you. And there will be more to come with teams stacked up and back-to-back through the summer.

FYI - Law enforcement mission trip started yesterday where Christian officers train Belizean police in a variety of skills and also share how faith sustains them in their work. Look for that next week.

Gabriella before and after: Infection in her leg a thing of the past. She is healthy and growing fast. She is one of the shyest kids I've ever come across, But yesterday she gave her testimony of God's healing work in her life to a crowd at church camp.

Last week's team from Ocean Springs, Mississippi: Dr. Michael Cunningham ... help for a young boy with clubfoot.

Another before and after shot: Some of you will remember Moses from seven years ago, injured by a truck and given no hope for life.

Back when he was in the hospital I made several promises to him. One was a promise to include him on one of my mission trips and take him out to the islands to go snorkeling.

It took me seven years to fulfill that promise. He is now a young man of 15 years old, Junior in high school and getting excellent grades. Here he is pictured with last weeks team giving them points on how to lay cinderblocks.

AND, not only snorkel for 1st time but also Kayaking ...

Pinnacle Church of Amarillo: is also in Belize at this moment working with Phillipa at Exodus Church in Belize city. They've already built the playground set and this week have been assisting Philippa's leaders with hundreds of children in a vacation Bible school.

Monday night was the church’s first women's conference and over 70 Women from the Pickstock neighborhood attended.

Last week, three shipping containers arrived with about 1000 desks and chairs: These high quality desks and chairs were donated so schools in Belize need only contribute funds to pay for shipping expense.

Air Force pilot Devon Meister from Ocean Springs team: spent part of her trip working at the prison in the area of her expertise, Hurricane preparedness.

This was one of my favorite photos of the week so I included it. I like the way the color of the coconut matches the parrot on her head.

And how about these faces:

Utter Joy ...

Awe and Wonder ...

Contentment juxtaposed with a bit of suspicion ...

Thanks for your involvement and support which makes all this continue to happen!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... Friendship!

Friendship!

Hello Friends,

Our group from Mr. Calvary Church in NC is in the northern part of Belize - their kinship with Luz de Evangelico Church in Orange Walk runs deep - we're grateful they've returned again this year to help with their VBS.

WAW Photo

We often say that ministry happens while we are on our way to do something else - and that has been true at many turns on this trip. While in the North, we received word that of one of our partner's nieces was suffering and in need of a help. Karina's misdiagnosis left her losing weight with no plan to help. Today US & Belizean physicians were able to discern that she has gallstones! Tomorrow she will undergo a procedure and we hope you will pray with us that the procedure will go smoothly and that Karina will be living life to the full again soon!

FPC Ocean Springs is enjoying time renewing friendships and making new ones in the Shawville area of western Belize. The team has split up into small groups and worked with Pastor Robby on his home ... they've shared VBS with the kids from House of Salvation ... some of the team has joined Omega Church in their Breaking Bread ministry (learning to cook Belizean style, and then taking meals out into the community and meeting new folks while sharing a meal) and medical folks have offered a women's clinic.

Today we also helped this young man from a remote village ...

WAW Photo

Pedro, 6, has had an issue with his foot since birth - we traveled to Belize City for a consultation today and we've got a plan for surgery that will help him walk and play. Pedro's mom is blind and they are taken care of by Pedro's grandmother - please keep this family on your prayer list! Pedro had a full day! He was able to see the ocean for the first time - and he saw the Jaguar at Banana Bank on the way home - and he met another friend who has been helped by our friends who are the Word at Work.

Pedro hung out with Moises today - you may remember Moises, this "boy who wouldn't die" - a few years back he was in an awful accident that left his abdomen ripped open and critically damaged - but God has plans for this young man, and after months in the Amarillo where he endured multiple surgeries, he returned to his family in Belize. Today Moises is thriving, making good grades (he's in high school!!) and on this trip he's had the opportunity to see how we go.

Speaking of surgery and medical things ...

Your prayers are helping, friends - we hear from Gene Day that Dallan's surgery was successful yesterday, Praise the Lord! Dallan's US "parents", Gene & Bev have been by Dallan's side through the whole ordeal. Please pray specifically for relief from pain from being on the operating table so long and that Dallan will continue to improve and be released soon. Please also keep Gene & Bev in your prayers as they take care of this precious friend. Thanks.

Finally ...

Our friend Ladeni checked an item off of her bucket list and it's nothing short of amazing. In 2014, Ladeni's leg was amputated because of a large cell tumor. Many of you helped make that surgery possible, prayed her through and helped with her medical expenses - and over the weekend Ladeni CLIMBED THE TALLEST MYAN RUIN IN BELIZE!! Here she is at the top of Xunantunich!

WAW Photo

Keep an eye on this young woman - there's no telling how God will use her story to bless others. #TeamLadeni We love you!

Thanks for being the Word at Work!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... Belated Edition

Belated Edition

Hello Friends,

Cal Smith is back in Belize

WAW Photo

Many of you know Cal. He has been coming to Belize for about 12 years helping our mission teams and Kenny as a construction manager.

Cal is known for his dedication and his witty colloquialisms which we fondly refer to as “Calvinisms” ... like "He was as mad as a mule chewing on bumblebees."

WAW Photo

For a variety of reasons he had to take a little recess from traveling to Belize which has caused nationwide consternation ... ”Where’s Cal???”

But when Cal learned that his little friend from the Valley of Peace, Rosario, was getting a house built he had to buy a plane ticket and return.

Rosario is a delightful little Mayan woman, a widow with three children, who stands a little better than 3 feet tall. She's one of the few people that even Cal (formerly known as Lo-Cal) can look down on.

At this moment La Jolla Presbyterian Church is in the Valley working with our local church partners to complete the home.

One of our donors is putting up $2,500 to purchase a milk cow for Global Outreach -- IF we can round up enough dogies to purchase a second! The young men from under-resourced homes who attend this residential vocational school are chomping at the bit to have fresh milk, yogurt, etc. to beef up their meals!

If you're churning to help us meet this matching grant, PLEASE CLICK HERE above .... thank you!

( Notate Bessie on your donation, please. )

Tim Hagen just returned from some time in Belize with Pleasant Grove Baptist Church

WAW Photo

Pleasant Grove continued strengthening their relationships with their friends in Shawville last week. Several different projects were worked on in partnership with House of Salvation Church and Omega Ministries including two chicken coops for families in the area and plastering the inside walls of a church. What a fun week of fellowship and work! Everything is better when chickens are involved. God is working in Shawville through both of these churches, and we were blessed to be a small part of it!".

WAW Photo

Thanks for being the Word at Work!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

Monday, July 4, 2016

Mission trip opportunities this fall at FPC-Midland include Belize

• Last chance to sign up

1st Presbyterian Church-Midland has two mission trip opportunities coming this Fall. Please contact Pastor Walter by July 7 if you are interested in either of these trips.

Uganda: Team will work with Dr. Bartha and the different ministries he is involved in, including clinics, schools, orphanages, and churches. Approximate dates: October 13-24.

Belize: Team will return to the village of El Progresso to continue partnering in ministry with our friends there. Specific projects will be identified once the team is formed. Early-mid November, approximately 1 week.

For more information, please contact:

Walter Thompson
Associate Pastor of Mission and Evangelism
• wthompson@fpcmid.org
(432) 684-7821 ext 115

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... Looking for you!

Looking for you!

Hello Friends,

Please take a moment to view the video below - we appreciate you sharing it with your friends as well!

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... A Glance at the Backside of the Tapestry

A Glance at the Backside of the Tapestry

Hello Friends,

Dallan finds a pet?

Having a grand time in Texas while medical Community works to beat an aggressive tumor.

New laptops in “The Jungle” ... Belize City

Covenant Church in Austin Texas provides laptops for Exodus Church, Belize city. Their partner church runs a tutoring program where until now all the children took turns on one computer owned by Pastor Phillipa Herrera…now Phillipa Miller.

6 more shipping containers bound for Belize!

2 of medical equipment
3 of school furniture and equipment
1 of church pews and miscellaneous

Girls move from abuse … to a loving Christian girls home … to learn a vocation

House mother Shelly Perez of Marla’s House of Hope displays colorful handbags made by the girls, because you donated machines and sent people to train them.

Victims of burglary trade sorrows for joy

Though House of Salvation Church recently lost all of their equipment due to a burglary, Robbie and Myrna Ruiz rejoice that God has restored them with even better equipment.

Right now in Belize

• Building a new preschool in the Valley of Peace
• Finalizing the list of next years applicants for School scholarships

In a couple days

• Medical team in Belize city
• Construction on new church plant

How does it all fit together?

I always find it difficult to help people wrap their minds around TWAW. For many it is like the old Indian proverb of the blind men describing an elephant. They get to see the bits and pieces they’re involved with, but as for the whole, it’s as busy and complicated as the backside of a woven tapestry.

But from God’s perspective (the other side of the tapestry) ... it’s simple and beautiful.

Church partners from north and south building friendships, sharing what they have, meeting each others needs. It’s His Church, full of people like you ... Being God’s Word at Work ... and celebrating Him and all that he does.

Thanks for being the Word at Work!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... Be a Part of Team 100

Be a Part of Team 100

Hello Friends,

God is Amazing. How do we know it? Because we have seen people partner with one another to accomplish life changing results in the lives of children, men, women, families and for entire communities. And it’s not just the communities in Belize that are transformed. Every community is transformed because when one is helped all of us are helped. When one child gains hope, we all gain hope. When one community experiences the Gospel in fresh and meaningful ways, we all share in that experience.

I am personally grateful to God for every team member, mission team, and church who has been willing to sacrifice to Be the Word at Work. I am also grateful to the five missionaries (Mollie, Tim, Kenny, Chepito, and Jo) that join me in planning, organizing and facilitating people from the U.S. and Belize to join together as teams. As you all know their work is tireless and filled with the Spirit.

In the next couple of weeks you will be reading about TWAW TEAM 100. I want to ask everyone who receives this email to consider joining TEAM 100. It is vital to help us work efficiently, effectively and without distraction.

What does it mean to be a member of TEAM 100?

We are asking everyone who reads this message to commit to contributing $100 twice each year (May and November) toward the operations budget of The Word at Work.

By joining TEAM 100 each of you will make it possible for our operations team of 6 to be funded throughout the year. You may not know that 100% of the funds TWAW receives that are related to a project/ministry/trip go directly to that project. All our operations funds come from generous donors who know about our need and contribute. I write this to you today, because I know that more people would like to join in helping us fulfill our vision.

I invite you to pray and ask God’s guidance about joining TEAM 100 which will help us keep our operations funded, so that we can keep our eyes on the ball, and help people from Belize and all over the United States BE THE WORD AT WORK.

Thanks for Being the Word at Work, and for joining TEAM 100 - watch for a link to make your gift easily next week!

Thanks for being the Word at Work!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... Refugee Support in the Valley of Peace

Refugee Support in the Valley of Peace

Hello Friends,

Refugees continue to flow into Belize.

Mostly from El Salvador and mostly coming into southern districts of Belize. Yet over 200 are currently in The Valley of Peace. Many fleeing under death threats from gangs, and families arriving with just the clothes on their backs. The organization dealing with refugees, Help for Progress, reports1500 in the last 18 months ... 40% of those have arrived since January - currently at a pace of 150/month.

Oddly, it has not yet been featured in local news.

Amilcar Amaya from the Valley of Peace is now TWAW Liaison for refugee support. He is ready to organize and mobilize efforts of the local church. I asked what we could do to help ... here is his response:

"I am ready to get involve in whatever humanitarian assistance that can be rendered to the hundreds of refugee families coming to Valley of Peace and different parts of the country. On Thursday I participated on day of registration of new refugees. It was astonishing to see more that two hundred people just in Valley of Peace. I feel that there is an urgent need to assist these people.

What is needed? Blankets, dehydrated food, clothes for children and adult, shoes, exercise books, pencils, crayons for those children attending school, sleeping bags, vitamins for children, tooth paste and brushes, farming tools, cooking utensils, chairs, small tables... and so forth I hope these list can help. I believe that many families are struggling to survive. They need help immediately ... I pray that there will be kind- hearted people to provide these needs."

I am willing to go into the settlements and distribute the items personally to the refugees ..."

Kind regards,
Amilcar Amaya

If you can help with this effort, please begin acquiring and getting new or used items to our shipping points in ...

Amarillo, TX
Ocean Springs, MS
Paoli, PA

Thanks for being the Word at Work!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... Good News to Share

Good News to Share

Hello Friends,

Dallan Bailey

Shelly Usher writes, "Good news! Dallan’s visa was approved today and he was told to pick up the passport with the US visa tomorrow at 3:00 ... thanks for praying.”

• Visa approved
• Hospital and physicians on board
• Host family ready
• Money raised for airfare and hospital expense
• Still needed ... funds for new prosthetic replacement jaw ... $17,000

I know from your emails that God has put this on the hearts of many. Now is the time to make those donations.

Angels sighted in Belize!

If you have a moment to be encouraged, CLICK HERE ...

Diana Shaw of Child Development Foundation is with us in the states on a Fundraising tour.

Gomer House, a shelter and ministry for girls who are victims of trafficking and exploitation, is a $400,000 USD project. To date we are almost halfway there. I'm hoping that some of you Reading this letter have a passion for or even a calling to fight in this battle against the sexual exploitation of children.

Property has been purchased and building has already begun. One of our partner churches, Crosswinds Church from Hobbs New Mexico, came to Belize two weeks ago to work on construction. Your church can do the same.

Yesterday morning Diana was on local TV here in Amarillo. Last night she spoke at The Vine Community Church in Clovis New Mexico. Tonight she speaks at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Amarillo where Mollie has organized the event around CDF's slogan "Sell Tacos, Not Children!” Over the weekend we head to California to LaJolla Presbyterian Church.

In addition to other donations we've also had an offer for $50,000 matching grant. Please pray us to the finish line.

Please go to our website for an easy way to donate to Dallan's expenses or Gomer House - or you can mail a check to our address below. Please be sure to note where you wish funds to be directed. Thank you!

Thanks for being the Word at Work!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!