Update on Pastor Juan's son

Thank you all for praying for Bro. Juan's son. I spoke to Bro. Juan on the phone last night, and they are now back home. His son, Jamir, is doing better, but the stitches on the wound are infected.

Bro. Juan got sick while taking care of Jamir in the hospital, so he is not feeling well either. Please continue to lift them up in your prayers.

Please pray for one of our pastors' sons!

Hi everyone... some of you may know Juan Castellanos, pastor of the Nazarene Church in San Antonio, and father of (I think) 10 children... all boys. One of his sons was carrying a sack of corn from the farm on the handles of his bike, when he lost control, went in the drain, went over the handlebars, and landed on his head. I have been having trouble getting information, but heard this morning that he had passed away... however, this evening I heard that he is recovering from his head injury, so we are very thankful for the good report!!! Praise the Lord! However, he still needs much healing, and Pastor Juan has gotten sick while in the hospital with his son.

Please remember them in your prayers!

A new year, but the same, incredible God!

I am thankful for new years. They are like a new journal... fresh blank pages, waiting to be filled with the work of God through our lives. 2010 is no exception. Here it, is, already the 25th page of this new year. That means that we only have 340 pages left to fill... I am motivated to fill them wisely!

I don't know about you, but I am feeling prodded to accomplishing great things for God this year. Why? Because it seems that the world is especially dark these days, and it would be the perfect time for light... God's light, to shine brighter. Oh, I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities to have my light dimmed, for me to become weary in well-doing, but I am confident that God's grace is bigger, greater, and stronger than all of that, in spite of my weak flesh.

So, what is happening this year? Well, the major focus of T.E.A.M. ministries this year will be expand the Bible study ministry. If you read my recent newsletter, then you already know of the recent baptism class I taught, and how the baptized youth leader realized he did not have a relationship with God... There are many like him who need to know the truth. So, under the direction of local pastors, we will seek to start several more Bible studies and attempt to spread God's truth to others.

There are some other projects in the works, but that is the big focus. Over the weekend we fired up our two existing studies, and it was wonderful to get back into the Word with them again. Two girls have memorized 8 verses of a chapter in Maya... we are excited for them! The older ones are struggling a little more with the memorization, but still loving the studies.

This week we are back at the task of revising and translating Bible studies, so please pray for wisdom! Also, we are still looking for a new co-worker. And until we find one, the Kekchi work stands still. So please pray that God would direct us to the person He has prepared for the work!

Blessings on your week!

Headed back...

Please pray for safety today as I travel back to Belize, and for wisdom and provision for this new year of ministry!

Thanksgiving...Belizean style

Thanksgiving is such a delightful time of year, and I am blessed to be able to take part in the thanksgiving celebrations of two cultures, and I love them both! I wish I could combine the two into one wonderful package!

I was able to attend a couple of different “harvest services,” as they are called down in Belize, before I left for the States, but missed quite a few more that took place after my departure. In years past I think I have described a harvest service for you, but for those who are newer to our reader list, allow me to indulge in a fresh description.

On Saturday before harvest, the church members gather together to work on preparing the food for the feast. Often they kill a pig or two, but sometimes it is a cow, or they purchase chickens. The animal(s) are cleaned, the meat cut up and seasoned, and the skin is fried and eaten by the workers that evening (as well as some other parts). While them men deal with the meat, the women are busy wrapping poch, which is kind of like a meatless tamale, and eaten with the stewed meat.

At some point during the day, the church is decorated with fruits, vegetables, and sugar cane, giving a very festive "harvest setting for the big day.

Sunday morning finds everyone up early, finishing last minute details on their harvest gifts, and getting dressed in their nicest, sometimes even new, clothing. Most church members carry some gift for the church that will be sold after service to raise money for the church. The gifts are as varied as the givers: 100lb sacks of dry corn from their fields, pumpkins, sacks of oranges, cocoa beans, chickens (live), papaya, cassava, cakes, and host of other local produce that you would not recognize. Usually adults will bring their gifts in before the service, but the children present their during the service.

Often, a church will invite Nazarene churches from other villages to come, and perhaps some of the local congregations of other denominations.

At the beginning of the service the children make their presentations, hair carefully greased and combed, gifts adorned with hibiscus or other flowers, marching in an orderly row to the an appropriate thanksgiving tune, “Bringing in the Sheaves,” and “We’re Marching to Zion” being the most common. Once at the front, after the typical shuffling to get in the correct order, the whole group recites a scripture, sings a song, and shares what they are thankful for. “Thank you God for oranges!” “Thank you God for pineapple!” “Thank you God for my parents!”

After their presentation, they give their gifts, and march back, ready for the next group to come up. Depending on the host church, they may have several groups of presentations, sometimes going all the way up to the young people. I think these presentations are the highlight of harvest for most people, I know they are for me!

Usually each church in attendance is given an opportunity to participate in the service. This usually entails the adult members going up and singing a few songs and sharing testimonies. This can make for a very looooooong service (long = 4+ hours), but is encouraging, I am sure.

After all the preaching, any baby dedications, and whatever else might be included in the service is over, everyone eats together before the visitors travel back to their homes.

Somehow I come away from those services with a true sense of gratitude, as I have watched people who have so little bringing of their harvest to the Lord. It reminds me of the Christmas poem which says, “What can I give Him as poor as I am, If I were a shepherd, I'd give him a lamb. If I were a wise man, I'd do my part, What would I give Him? I'd give Him my heart." It seems an appropriate thought for thanksgiving time as well.

God is good!

Hi everyone! Hopefully you all received the current email newsletter. If you did not, and would like to receive our updates, send us an email at teamtoledobelize@gmail.com.

Things continue to go well with the workshops. We just recently had one young man return who we had not seen for quite some time. He was excited to be back, and said his bicycle had broken, making him unable to come. It is always neat to see people so interested in learning.

The Bible studies in the villages are still bringing all of us great joy. Two girls from the workshops go with us regularly, and we hope they will start Bible studies on their own some day. We have challenged everyone to memorize verses, and it is neat to see them giving all their effort to

hiding God's word in their hearts! One young girl is our best memorizer, but everyone is giving a try.

We were sooo blessed by the provision of a pickup! Thank you to those who gave and made it possible! It is so nice to be able to travel to the Bible studies without having to walk from one to the other. We are so blessed and thankful!

I have started teaching a class for some of the youth in Columbia (the closest village) who are interested in being baptized. Their ideas about salvation and a relationship with God are quickly changing - please pray that they will gain a clear understanding, and have their lives transformed by the power of God!

Rejoicing in His love,

Rebecca

For the T.E.A.M.

Whew... It's been a long time!

It has been a looooong time since an update! Lots has been happening, and we are blessed indeed!

The workshops have been going well, and I continually thank God for Elvina and Clifford's hard work to make it possible every Saturday morning. What a commitment!

The main reason for my blog post, though, is because of my excitement about village Bible studies. GOD IS DOING GREAT THINGS, AND WE BLESS HIS NAME!!!!!

We have started taking our Bible study lessons, and holding weekly Bible studies in the villages of San Jose and Pueblo Viejo. These are both Maya villages, so the classes are taught in Maya, and Clifford is doing an outstanding job doing most of the teaching! It is a joy to see God working through him.

Most of the people attending the classes have never read in their own language before, and some of them cannot read at all. However, in just a few short sessions, most of them are now reading the Scripture in their own language! I cannot adequately express to you the thrill it is to sit and watch people in their 40's and 50's reading God's Word for the first time, and literally seeing their faces come aglow with delight and understanding.

Several of the attendees have commented on how wonderful it is to read and discuss in their own language, it takes away any doubt about the meaning, and makes things very clear. I would suppose they are more excited than we are, but that is hard to imagine!

You might ask why teach them to read in Maya, isn't that going backward? Perhaps for technology it is a step backward, but for the spiritual growth and maturity of precious souls for eternity, it is giant leap forward! You see, Maya is their heart language, the language that they truly understand, and it is terribly difficult for anyone to grasp deep spiritual truths in a language they struggle to communicate in.

A few weeks back, I listened to an elderly man share his testimony in Maya. It was a beautiful testimony, but what made it precious to me was his statement that he believes God, he believes the Word of God... even though he has never read a verse for himself. He cannot read, but he believes based on what he has heard preached. What faith!!! What confidence! I am humbled by his faith, and yet motivated to enable him to study God's word on his own, whether by reading, or by hearing on a recording. And thus... the motivation to travel for Bible studies, even though right now it requires walking 3.5 miles every week to do so. It is worth it!

Remember the audio recording of the Maya New Testament we did early this year? It is finished!!!! The editing is complete, and it is ready to be sent to us! We are soooo excited!!! Pray it gets here quickly!

I better get ready for workshops tomorrow, Elvina and Clifford will be here bright and early... and so will the students.

Rejoicing in His everlasting, never-failing, totally matchless Love,

Rebecca

(For all of us :)