May 17, 2007

Tonight was incredible! The kids from King's Children's Home (an orphanage in Belmopan) came out to Jaguar Creek to eat with us and to listen to us sing. In spite of the craziness of kids moving around behind me and literally causing chaos at dinner, it was such an amazingly refreshing time.

We crammed so much into this second full day in Belize. We started the 1st of three 30 minute concerts at Belmopan Baptist High School. The coolest part of that time (which is something of an oxymoron considering how hot we were!) was that some of the kids began singing along with us on songs that they were familiar with. Even though I couldn't see it (which is one of the few inconveniences of directing the choir), I could hear and sense their participation.

We then travelled to Armenia Government School to do two concerts for the kids there. First, however, we got the chance to play with them and just be reminded of how blessed we truly are. Even though the school room we sant in was full of stagnant, humid air, it was such fun to sing for those kids and teach them songs about Jesus. The best part of the morning came at the end of the concert with the older kids. Their teacher had them sing us a song about "J-E-S-U-S is the one for me." It was so fun to hear these children sing about Jesus and His gifts to their lives.

We spent the afternoon again at St. Margaret's finishing up digging the trenches and getting everything ready to cement. It was a lot of hard work but everyone pitched in and the only complaining that might have happened was about not having enough work to do.

The night started off kind of rough; the kids from KCH were supposed to arrive at 5:00 and ended up getting here around 7:15. Even amidst the hunger, it turned into a really neat bonding time for BRH because we were stuck in this room together for four hours of socializing. I don't know if I will ever forget Daniel's attempts to teach Edwin "Rock, Paper Scissors" and his adamant refusal to allow him to cheat.

The time with KCH was nothing short of phenomenal. Even with its rocky start, BRH stepped up and served the kids to the utmost. They dished out spaghetti, poured juice and even accompanied little ones to the less-than-pristine public restrooms. It was such an incredible thing to sit back and observe, especially in the moments following the concert. I stood back for awhile and watched Garrett's fan club (three teenaged orphan girls) lead him and a few others in praise and worship and saw various other BRHers utilizing all of their different talents to connect with these Belizean kids who have so little - and want nothing more than to be loved - sing about their thankfulness for Christ's blessings in their lives. It was a huge "pillar" kind of moment in my life. When I realized how much I have and take for granted - including BRH and all of its stressful joys. I definitely broke and, when I saw someone looking at me, had to sneak away to gather myself. It was only our third day and already I found myself on my second set of tearful emotions.

Debrief made it clear what I already expected - everyone else had been similarly touched by what they experienced. The stories and lessons shared by many were poignant and touching. We have all been challenged immeasurably in the short time we have spent in Belize.

I guess that's the story for tonight. Tomorrow is another day ...