The Belize Project

Belizere Pizza Houses

2011-12-02T10:08:00.000-06:00

Ever since we have been going to Belize, 11 years now, people have been asking for jobs. Unemployment is high, especially for those with out enough education.
so, The Belize Project is trying to find ways to create jobs. Let' start new businesses.
Here is one model we want to launch in 2012. Have a pizza house in the villages, like 280 of them! We believe people will buy pizza. But to get to town is a major issue. So, let's bring the pizza to them.
A lady in a village can make pizzas. She will need a stove, some tools, some training, and have supplies brought to her consistently. And, some coaching would help.
here is how it works. A pizza sells for $30, that is Belize dollars. It costs $15 in materials, the lady makes $7.50, the middle person makes $2.50 and there is $5 profit! This profit will be split 55/50 to support women's centers/House of Dorcas, and Rehabilation centers/ Jacob's Farm. So these Pizza houses provide jobs for women in their homes so they can stay at home with their kids, and also support ministry that helps the communities.

Huge Orange Walk New LIfe School SUCCESS, PTL

2011-12-02T09:59:00.000-06:00

Do you remember 4 years ago us talking about helping a struggling school that was about to close? The parents came to the Presbytery and asked them to take the school back over. After a lot of soul searching, the Presbytery agreed to do this, and after the transfer, a lot more unknown problems were found. Many families had left, a lot of physical damage had been done, and the reputation of the school was shot. The government had ths school on probation, doubting whether is could be turned around.
But with the leadership of Ruth Ku as principal, and Rafael Ku as General manager, things began to change. It was tough every month. Teachers were not paid on time, and it was cloudy.

But God had a plan. As trust was slowly restored, new life was found. Today, the school has 225 students, up from the low of 90! AND, with the latest national tests, Orange Walk is the number one school in the district!! out of 40 schools. What a remarkable story. We are grateful just to be a part of the story with the financial support we were able to provide, and the educational suport and encouragement that we were able to provide. It is such a joy to just help these hard working teachers. And now God is being glorified in the nation.

Chairs of Excellence Update

2011-12-02T09:45:00.000-06:00

While on this last trip, we met with Ismael, the school superintendent, MiguelMedina, the new principal at PDS,the school board, and the Education commission.
And we went very thoroughly over how the Chairs of Excellence was to work. The funding has come in, and, Lord willing, the school will have financial support for the next FIVE years. During this time, the school is to develop methods and ways for it to be sustainable. Each year, the school picks up more of the responsibility.
Some if the plans include increased enrollment, going from 95 to 140, increasing monthly fees as the quality of education improves, larger fund raisers, developing an Alumni association, and the PTA. As the school grows, support will too. Currently PDS is number two in the district academically!

What is a Drug Court?

2011-12-02T06:34:00.000-06:00

Earlier this Spring, I renewed an old acquaintance with a friend who now serves as a Federal Judge in Mississippi. And it was a renewal by choice, not force! He has been very involved in what are called drug courts. These courts are set up all over the US, and even in many other countries. When someone is convicted of a crime, a choice is offered to them. Either go to jail, or go to rehab, and get on a strict regime of discipline, monitored by the judge. And then, the person meets with the judge weekly to have a check up. This has been very successful! The personal accountability is so helpful.
Now this is not for serious crimes, like being a dealer.
On this last trip my friend went with me and met with the National Drug Abuse committee. The Director was very familiar with this program and Belize would like to have a drug court. They just don't have the expertise. yet. Well, our goal is to help them implement one this year.
First a team of officials has to be formed, the national policy has to be written and approved, and the network set up.
This is where Jacob's Farm can help. Jacob's will be the rehabiliation center for alcohol abuse. Men will be sent there by the judges. It is our vision that we will always have 12 residents in the program. What a way for us to serve.

Leadership Development Trips

2011-04-17T18:11:00.000-05:00

One of the most exciting things we are doing in Belize is helping develop leadership in the churches. Next spring, it is our hope to have 6 college trips with 10 students and a coach on each team spend their Spring Break in Belize. These teams will be partnering with different churches and different groups studying leadership. Each team will be working on a project in the community simultaneously; however, the trip would be designed to develop leadership for both the Belizeans and the college students.
In our Kingdom Building Plan, the first year's focus is leadership development for the churches. That means focusing on the pastors, elders, deacons, and other church leaders and learning about leadership alongside of them. We want them to learn why leadership is important, and what it can do to help Belize move forward as a country.

Nutrition

2011-04-11T22:34:00.002-05:00

Last week I spoke about the value of reading. While it is critical, the next issue we discovered is how important nutrition is. Belizeans do have a good nutritional foundation of rice and beans, but the challenge is creating a balanced diet. Lydia asked for someone to come teach cooking, and how to cook different dishes; all they know is rice and beans. Can you cook?
What would you think about coming to Belize and working at the House of Dorcas teaching some ladies how to cook different vegetable dishes? You could go to the market with them, come back to the House of Dorcas and spend the day cooking with them in the kitchen.
Another question is “How can we get the culture to change its old habits?” We would be very open to ideas to how we might influence that change in things like the rice and bean diet and the Wilson Reading Programs from last week. We do need people to cook, and most importantly, to build relationships with these Belizean ladies.
Over the last few years, six different people around Belize have said that their country needs a canning business. Anything will grow in Belize, but they have no way of preserving their crops. While there is an abundance of ripe fruit, the Belizeans can preserve the produce through canning to avoid having to buy it later. Do we know anyone who would like to help establish a canning business? Beans, fruits, vegetables – anything can be canned. There could even be a “Belizer” brand of canned goods that would be sold throughout the country; this could be a business mission opportunity for you. Let me know if you have any ideas! Long story short, does anybody know anybody in the canning business?

Can You Read?

2011-03-31T17:34:00.001-05:00

This last trip, we became very aware of how important reading is. You can’t do math if you can’t read. You can’t study history if you can’t read. You can’t do science if you can’t read.
When we first started working with the schools in Belize, their first request was for help with discipline in the classroom. Our obvious first solution was to stop feeding the students sugar! This trip, we found a second solution – make sure your students can read.
If a 4th grader can’t read, they get frustrated and cause discipline problems. If a 9th grader can’t read, they will drop out of high school. If a 17-year-old is uneducated and all they can do is cut cane, they become a social discipline problem.
We took something called the Wilson Reading Program and introduced it in Belize in March. This program was originally for adults; however, it has been so successful that it was redesigned for students. It is a great program for people who speak English as a second language.
This March, we worked in three different schools. In one school, we had 9 college students tutoring slow readers. By the end of the week, great progress was made – the children had been launched into their reading career! At another school, we trained the teachers how to use the Wilson Reading Program in their classrooms.
The greatest thing about the program, one teacher said, was that we didn’t tell them what to do – we showed them.
In the third school, where the reading program was introduced last year, they gave all of the students an assessment. The school called a parent meeting and talked to them about their child’s performance on the assessment. That really got their attention! The principal told the parents that the solution was to have their children tutored.
One parent has started tutoring students after school; she is getting paid by other parents to teach their children how to read.
We were able to afford to take eight Wilson Reading Program kits, but we wish we could have had twenty more. We will stay focused on the issue of illiteracy for several more years, and we are very excited about the difference it is making in the next generations of Belizeans.
-Written by Will Stokes and Mac Kelton

The 8 Chairs of Excellence Project

2011-02-08T09:26:00.000-06:00

The 8 Chairs of Excellence Project

In Cristo Rey Village, outside of Corozal, Belize, is a little thirty-four year old school that was established by missionaries to provide a Christian education to the children of the church members of some churches the missionaries had planted. This was a predominantly Mayan area, and as people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, a drastic change occurred. They people turned from their Mayan past of worshipping false gods and rituals. The need was to dramatically change the entire orientation of a culture. This school was established to help teach a different world life view, the one that put the God of the Bible as the creator and maker of all things. This school was called Presbyterian Day School.

These missionaries recruited other missionaries to come serve. And teachers emerged from the new churches. They knew how important it was to teach the children a new perspective of life. The school flourished and now has over 300 alumni. Many of these graduates have become leaders in the community, whether in church, education, government, or business.

Many years have passed and now a new generation is here. During this time a country was born and was named Belize after being British Honduras. And the government has become more socialized, secular, and bureaucratic. Many schools have been built. And the new secular world curriculum has been presented as the answer to all of man’s problems.

But this little school has remained separated from this seepage. And it has struggled as many people have been led to the new world answers for mankind. In Belize there is a church government relationship where churches can build schools and the government will pay the teachers. But then the government controls the teachers and what is taught. And slowly, the teachers become dependent on the government and have to do and teach what the government says are the right things to teach and do.

The government respects PDS because the school has produced a great product. The school has stayed true to its roots and that is fine with the government. As long as it is able to handle all of its needs without the government, it is left alone. But the culture is slowly eating away at the people. Parents are struggling to pay the taxes AND pay for the private education. Even though the parents want to have their children taught a Christian world life view, they are being pulled by the world to another way.

The lady who established this school is Helen Lacey. She has served Belize for 40 years. Her influence has been amazing. And the people love her. But she is elderly, and her strength is waning. Not her commitment, but her strength. She needs help in transitioning to the school being able to stand on its own, and for the school to become totally sustainable by Belizeans. This is especially difficult because all of the other schools in Belize are financially supported by the government and many parents struggle to see or understand the difference. The value of a Christian education is cloudy to many.

This is why we are establishing The Teachers Chair Project. It is a project to help this transition be possible. It is a plan for five years to wean the school off foreign dependence and to build the support locally. The purpose is to help PDS become such an excellent school that the people see the difference and want to be a part of it. And to value it so highly that they will pay whatever it takes to have their children be a part of it.

There are seven teaching positions at the school. We want to establish eight chairs of Christian education. And we are looking for eight groups to each take responsibility for a chair. These can be partner schools, churches, organizations, or even individuals. We will work intensely for five years building up the school and each year lessening the outside support as the school gets stronger.

The eighth chair is for professional development. The current teachers are all strong believers who are there because of their belief in how important what they are doing is. But, all of them need to further their personal education as teaching professionals. They need skill and teaching knowledge. This eighth chair will provide scholarships so each one can get more education. Some need degrees, some want advanced degrees. But all of them want to be the best teacher they can be.

Each chair partner will adopt one teaching position and help that teacher and class to be the best it can be. This can be sending teachers to Cristo Rey to work with the teacher, to send supplies for the classroom, to learn each child in the class, and that child’s needs, to guarantee the teacher’s salary, and help that teacher get advanced education. There are many ideas of what can be done. The teacher would the partner.

The cost of a partnership would start at $750 per month and decline on a preset scale to zero over the next five years. All of the funds would go into the general fund because we want to make sure all seven teachers are supported financially equally, not to cause internal problems. The partner would be coordinated with the other six partners to share what each other is doing. This will strengthen the whole school. There is much training that all seven can benefit from and much can be done as a group.

The funding that is already there would hopefully continue for these five years, and be used for strengthening the entire school’s needs. Some groups will also take on infrastructure needs of the school. There are many needs such as a computer lab, painting the entire school, and the library.

We will work with the parents and alumni, and teachers to build the sustainability. They are very capable of standing on their own feet. But what a blessing this would be to know that there are other Believers who value Christian education who are willing to come alongside of these teachers to help. Would you be a part of this? Would you take a chair?

Partner 1 ______________________________________________

2 ______________________________________________

3 ______________________________________________

4 ______________________________________________

5 ______________________________________________

6 ______________________________________________

7 ______________________________________________

8 _______________________________________________

Objectives

Excellence

PDS is already one of the top schools in the district. We want to become the top school in the country! With all of the strategies implemented, we should be able to do that.

All Children

We want to be able to provide education to all of the children, regardless of their capabilities and giftedness

Professional Development

The teachers are all strong Believers and do an excellent job with all their hearts. They press on whether they are getting paid or not. But, they can use a lot more professional development. We want to provide scholarships for our teachers to be able to complete their degrees and take more advanced classes

Growth

As the school begins to shine, more parents will want their children at PDS. The school will become more attractive and we can fill all our classrooms.

Become Sustainable

As quality increases we will be working on several strategies to be able to raise tuition, get parents more involved, get alumni more involved, and do several fundraisers. This is something that will grow over the coming years, hopefully at 20% per year

Needs

Wilson Reading Program materials

Paint the Buildings $2,000 per building. Five buildings

Computer lab $6,000

Play ground $2,000

Sponsorships $100 per child

Visiting teachers

Learning Center $12,000 per year

Teaching specialists, work with kids individually

Tutors, spend a week at the school tutoring reading one on one

Women vs men

2010-10-15T07:14:00.005-05:00

Women Vs Men

As Jacob’s Farm developed, we began sharing the story throughout the country, meeting people we thought would care. And they did! We received a lot of encouragements and gratefulness. It was a huge lesson I learned about what a great need there was for rehabilitation of alcoholics and drug addicts. The thing that impacted me the most was the immediate seriousness I saw on EVERYONE’s face. It was like, as soon as the word rehab was mentioned, the person stopped in their tracks, and said in desperation, please tell me about this. I am directly affected. My brother, my wife’s brother in law, a person in our church, my neighbor, etc. It was really dramatic. People were crying out for help.

Then came the boomerang, the counter punch. There was an equal or greater need to help the women. I can’t count how many people said the farm was great, but there is no, zero, nada, care for women. When there is alcoholism and addiction, there is devastation in the home and family. Women are abused, and deserted, left to pick up the broken pieces. They are left to raise the family, to do it all. There is no money for food, or school, or actually anything.

Never forget one day while visiting with a drug abuse officer, and sharing our desire for a ministry for women, he said “I can fill it up tonight!” Please do something. There is such a desperate need.

This was the germination for the House of Dorcas. The House of Dorcas is a house next door to an amazing little building called Women in Business. The Women In Business is actually the first women’s group I know of, and the first micro enterprise. It was begun years ago by Soila Pott. She had been deserted 45 years ago by her first husband, and then got into an abusive relationship which ended abruptly. But she had 5 children to raise. And she saw others in similar situations. She formed this group of women, and they started farming together, and supporting each other. They formed a little store/business and began making tortillas for sale.

And the business thrived. God provided thru this little business for the ladies to survive.

Well, 40 years later her daughter, Lydia, came along side of her. She had always admired what her mom had done to love so many people, to provide caring leadership for women who were hurting. Lydia has picked up the ball and kept the store going. One day while visiting with her, I asked about a house in the village that was in disrepair. She said it was a house the women’s group owned, and they had been praying for years for a way to use it to expand their outreach. It was in awful condition. But they had even gotten bids for restoring it years before. And then they prayed.

House of Dorcas before restoration

We went and saw it, and felt their vision for ministry to women, and long story short, we found a ladies group called The Giving Circle who offered to provide a grant for the restoration, and a team helped get it restored, and now they have their place. The house, called The House of Dorcas, will be used for bible studies, training centers for micros, as a craft store. Additionally a safe house was created. We are furnishing it so in crisis; a woman can have a safe place to run to for a couple of days. For security reasons, the location of the safe house is not listed here, however in the time of need, the right people will know where to send a women trapped in domestic violence.

House of Dorcas after restoration

The next step has begun. Lydia is moving forward developing the women’s ministry. She has pinpointed 5 ladies in the village who are again, in great need. They are widows, or single moms with kids to raise. One of them is a teenage mom shunned by her family. This is the beginning of a group being called The Five Ladies of Patchakan. These ladies come together for bible study, encouragement, counseling, and training. Each is developing a micro enterprise that they can do so they can stay at home, and do the best they can raising their kids. One might make pizzas, one have a laundry mat, one do crafts, one do canning, one raise chickens, etc.

So, God has provided. Soli Deo Gloria

from Master Plan to the United Nations

2010-10-13T06:14:00.000-05:00

The Master Plan

Architect Dave, who was to design the most, intensely thought through 8 men, one room dorm in the world, was at the farm for his second trip. He kept wondering, “hey God, what are you doing having me here? “This is crazy. I just don't get it. He had been on a previous trip, and being the servant he is, fell for my telling him we needed him to go again. But, God did want him there. I sent him to the farm to try to figure out what we really had, like a survey?? He spent the day walking the bush, sighting where the property lines were, or we thought they were, where the swamp edge was, and that night over dinner, he said “I finally caught the vision of what God is doing”. This farm is a God thing! This is real. These men are real. How can I serve?

Enter the master plan. Dave designed this what I intended to be just a little old simple house using all the professionalism he has access too. He took his work as a way to glorify God. He asked more questions, did more research, pulled in more resources than he would have for a million dollar house. This was to be for God’s glory! What as joy to watch this servant.

Men on the farm and Vandy Manna built this house that spring break.

We took David’s preliminary work, and realized we needed to start with the end in mind. What was the big picture? What was the vision for Jacob’s Farm?

We began writing down ideas the men gave us, the assets we had, the needs we thought we needed, the purposes, the input of professionals in rehabilitation, the terrain, the location, the energy supply, the local needs, the buildings needed, and many other pieces.

A plan was written, similar to this blog, and then we gathered a team to actually write the plan, and package it. A master land plan was done, photos were taken, a written report was done, a projection was done, several building plans were done. This has all been put together and we would love to give you a copy. And it might be on our website for viewing.

The goal is to finish Phase 1 by April, 2011. We will be able to care for up to 12 men at a time.

Well, this plan has shown people we are committed. The Government of Belize, and the Ministry of Health, and the National Drug Council have realized that there is something good going on. This is not just talk, these people are coming through, addressing one of the biggest issues in the country! They care!

AND, for a little latest info, the United Nations, is wanting to partner with little old Jacob’s Farm, a place where men can wrestle with God! We are working on a letter of agreement with the Government of Belize, the Ministry of Health, and the UN to work together to use Jacob’s as a model for the country, and Central America. To God be the Glory!

This is a strange world. Stay tuned. And pray along with us about this, and What God is doing here. We are the clay.

from Vanderbilt to solar

2010-10-13T05:43:00.000-05:00

We were all in. Over the next years, there was a house built, a tractor donated, we fixed the flooding somewhat, cleared land, planted crops, put in an irrigation system, and learned about farming. And men started coming. Men who were desperate and broken, men who were hopeless. They knew they needed help.

A second house/dorm was built by a fabulous group of students from Vanderbilt. They raised the funding, and gave up their spring break to serve. They took on a challenge for building the house in one week! and they worked right alongside our Belizean friends. Not sure who blessed the other the most.

Word got out around the country quickly and before we knew it, we had 12 residents! We were amazed. What is the thing about build it and they will come? Small problem. NO bath facilities, no kitchen, no dining, no worship center. WE were not ready. So, this was a problem. Men left, some were asked to leave, there was not a clear plan, there were not policies. We grew too fast. We blew some fuses. We didn’t have the funding to sustain.

We don’t view this as a setback, but as God saying slow down, wait on Me.

And we have. Ismael has maintained the farm, kept the crops and animals alive, and has been waiting on the Lord.

We knew that one major issue was funding. Fish farming requires water, duh, and we needed a consistent dependable supply. Diesel fuel is very expensive, and running a small generator to fill 4 big ponds is prohibitive. Our friends down in Punta Gorda had convinced us that we should consider solar pumping. Belize has sun. Mark taught me, the non engineer, what I would call trick. Instead of hooking solar panels to batteries, hook them directly to the pump. When the sun is shining, water is flowing. During dry season there is more sun. Since we could use all the water we could get, this made sense. We purchased a kit and a special deep pump that is variable speed based on the current coming. We got the tower built, tank up, panels up, and we are about in business. As soon as the pump is in, we will be back in fish.

This time we are going to go slow! Let’s get one pond healthy. Let’s start small, 1000 fish, have the funds to feed them for 7 month with the right food, use all male fingerlings which are available now, string wire over the ponds to keep fish eating birds out, and have this pond be ONE man’s micro enterprise. This is a separate story.

We believe we are about ready to bring 2 residents back.

what our education is all about/ Kimberly Carraway,the education champion

2010-10-13T05:14:00.000-05:00

Education & Belize

God changes lives and one way He does this is through His gift of education. Belizeans value education and the profession of teaching. Their teachers and administrators work so hard and do amazing things with the resources they have. We have had the blessing of being able to walk with them in their mission of educating a generation. The teachers are amazing and we get the incredible priviledge of working with them and learning from them year after year.

When I think of the eduation ministry in Belize, I think of my Belizean friends. Friends who are dedicating their lives to serving children and their communities. I think of Dick, the sixth grade teacher who is so dedicated to his students' education that he stays after school for several hours a week working individually with his students (without pay) to help them prepare for their national exams. Ruth W. also comes to mind. Ruth is a woman who leads a small school in a rural village. She attends classes in the city to help her learn more about how to help her students. Many of her students come to school without having had a good meal, so she works hard to set up a feeding program at her school so that no child goes hungry. I think of a little boy in 7th grade who barely knows how to read on a 2nd grade level, but comes to school every day with a huge smile on his face because he is so excited to get the opportunity to learn. And I remember the 12 year old boy who recently had to drop out of school so that he could sell bread on the streets to support his mother who is ill. He shared with me that his dream is to learn how to be a doctor so that he can help heal his mother and his other friends in his village. Education matters. Teachers matter. Schools matter.

The Lord has raised up two special women who are impacting whole communities.

Carolyn loves children. Her sweet words and loving hugs are literally changing a generation. Carolyn runs a pre-school and elementary school in Belize City, which recently received national recognition from the Belizean government. Unity Presbyterian School is a haven in the community - a place where children want to come and yearn to be. Carolyn shed tears of joy last year, as she watched her students all hold in their hands their very own textbook for the first time in their lives. Carolyn provides safety, postive encouragement, and even shoes for her students. Despite her own difficulties, she tirelessly invests in the lives of the children in her community, teaching them everyday through word and deed of the immeasurable love of Jesus! Carolyn's husband, Ernest, is a pastor who walks around his city proclaiming the gospel, singing songs of joy, and repeating his now famous statement to everyone he meets: God is good all the time - All the time God is good.

Ruth is a woman of faith - real faith. Despite what she sees with her eyes, she stands firm on the promises her Heavely Father has made to her in His Word. Three years ago, Ruth was called to lead a Presbyterian school that was about to close. There was no money, no support, and very little encouragement. But Ruth followed the Lord and He used her as He breathed new life into this failing school. Faith Pre & Primary School in Orange Walk, Belize is changing. Enrollment has more than doubled in the past three years, test scores have risen from 24th to 10th in the district and children & families lives are being transformed. Ruth's ruthless determination to believe the Lord and to patiently wait for His provision has been a testimony to the entire town. He continues to provide and she continues to praise. The teachers, parents and students have worshiped the Lord continually as He has cared for them.

Please join us in prayer for these men, women and children who are educating the nation of Belize. Get to know them and their stories, for it will change your life as it has mine.

Kimberly sent this to me and it was just so eloquent and clear, I asked if I could share it. Thanks Kim

in the beginning there were supposed to be fish.

2010-10-12T08:06:00.000-05:00

One of the first “projects” we got involved with was the fish farm. A small church in Patchakan had been given a grant to help the farmers in the church to help them be able to transition from dependence on the sugar cane industry into other farming ideas. They made small loans to farmers to help them get seed money to try something different, a different crop, a new crop.

One of the ideas came from an article in the Belizean newspaper about how Taiwan, and the Belize Government has formed a relationship on Tilapia Fish farming. Taiwan is one of the world leaders in this fish technology. Tilapia were to be fast growing under the right situations and Belize had a lot to offer. So, this committee said, “let’s try this”. One man offered for them to use his farm, about two miles from the village. The committee had spent many quiet weekends there, and I mean real quiet. The middle of nowhere.

So, they picked a spot and dug a pond. Water came in from ground water and they were in business. Looked so easy! Well, this was in December, they put the fish fingerlings in, and presto, problems began.

December is the end of rainy season! So, by March, the pond was dried up! No water source.

They decided to dig the pond deeper! They rented an excavator, and went about 20 feet down.

The water came back; they pumped some water from the nearby swamp, and put more fingerlings in. They were back in Business.

Later that summer, they noticed something was swimming in their pond that did not look like a Tilapia. It was a crocodile! A fat crocodile. So the war began. Several crocs were removed, and a fence was put around the pond. That winter, for some reason, the fish died. Later we learned the water was too deep, and got too cool! The water needs to be 4 feet deep.

Dr. Wiley wanted to show me what they were doing on one of my trips. We visited the farm, met the committee, and heard the problems. Oh, that is simple, let’s get a deep well dug. And lets expand this to three ponds since we one pond had not worked. So we hired a dozer to come dig the ponds and then the Mennonites to come dig a well, and lo and behold, it was a dry well!

Can you imagine, digging at sea level, next to a swamp, and it being dry!

You gotta laugh! We were already in, so we spent a little more (we thought) and dug a well where they suggested, about 2000 feet away. But great water. Now if we could only move the ponds.

We laid pipe, used a trash pump, and started filling the ponds.

Put fish in, birds came and ate their hearts out, and we even discovered poachers coming in the early morning, and late evenings.

Now, mind you, this place does not have electricity! So we operate off of diesel generators, which wear out. Trash pumps wear out.

And men wear out. They get discouraged. They fall away. But God has other plans. He has His purpose for all of this, and one day, Ismael said, “you know, our real purpose for doing all of this is not to farm, but to minister, to help broken people”. (and we are all broken)

Then he shared the vision of the farm becoming a place of ministry, where men suffering from alcoholism could come and receive help. Do work therapy, and receive care and counseling.

He went on to explain how their culture was being destroyed by the breakdown of families, and people were becoming hopeless. He shared a story of his brother and another man who had gone to Mexico for treatment, because there was no treatment in Belize.

And he explained what was being done.

So, let’s go see what happened. Road trip, 7 of us piled into a truck, and went north, across the border to a piece of earth about 30 miles in the country. Rang the bell at the gate, and about 15 minutes later, a little old man walked out, let us in, and gave us a “tour”.

Questions were coming fast and furious. Show us the clinic, show us the Rec Center, show us the kitchen, who funds this, what techniques are used for treatment.

We were blown away and I mean blown away. THERE was NOTHING that we had expected. Astonishing. And we said to ourselves, “this is rehab?” in our little American judgmental ways.

It took us two hours to finally get it. This was real. This was totally faith based. This was a work of God. These men had nothing. They did not know where their evening meal if there was to be one would come from. There was only a book which one of the older men had memorized for their treatment. It was called The Bible. This was their entire counseling!

They had set up a simple structure. Schedule, chores, group sessions, dependence on each other doing their part of the community work. But wow, we left in tears and amazed. This was the real deal. God had figured this one out, not man.

This was the vision for creating Jacob’s Farm. Create a faith based rehabilitation center in Belize where men could come and live, and wrestle with God. They would be cared for, loved into His Kingdom. Restored. Helped to repair his relationship with God, himself, family, and community.

TO BE CON’T

the next step, how was the Belize Project formed.

2010-10-08T07:17:00.000-05:00

About 6 years ago, there was a men’s group that met monthly. These were business leaders, some retired at least once, and we would get together for one day a month and share our lives. About every month, someone would share something they were involved with, part of their story. And you would hear their passion. And their frustration in communicating the needs they felt. They cared about something very deeply, and just wished they could do more to help. Many times these were ministries and charities that had captured the man’s heart.

One month, Dick, said, “I have an idea!” what if? We as a group put our “expertise” to together and formed a business with the sole purpose of making money, and GIVING all the profits away! Just make money to give away. Great idea! It really sparked interest. The next month, Bill came in and said “I found the business! You aren’t going to like it, but it can make a lot of money, and have so many other benefits too. It is the thrift business”. After he explained how it work, or was supposed to work, we all bought in! Let’s do this.

So over the next year, we stirred. Then one day, Tres said, you know, I want to lead this, and spend the rest of my life giving my life away.

He and Dick got together, unbeknownst to me, and researched, and wrote a business plan. Then they called and want to meet with me to show it to me.

In the plan, it called for the store to fund 4 Christian ministries. They were African Leadership, New Hope Academy, Mercy Children’s Clinic, and THE BELIZE PROJECT. They just made up the name, because they didn’t know what it was called. I was blown away! They said they had heard and seen my passion and wanted it to be a part of this venture. Well, I swallowed hard, and said how flattered and honored I was. “But, guys, there is no Belize Project; it is something I just care about. BUT, we will form one”, and that is how it all started. We formalize the concept, legalized it, qualified as a 501c3 non- profit, and we were off and running. Now we ran in a real zigzag fashion for several years. Even in circles or should I say mainly in circles. But God has His timing. He will let us run any way we want to until we realize it is about Him, not us. It is His Ranch, we need to get off our bulldozers and wait upon Him.

So this is how ThriftSmart and The Belize Project came about.

More later

In the Beginning

2010-10-06T05:22:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my blog! Never done this before so bear with me.

I speak in short simple sentences! But maybe the correct word is not simple, just short. Some say I am very laid back, and others say how intense I am.

But life is great. The Lord is King and He is working, even on me!

The Belize Project is 10 years old! Well, actually legally 6 years but we started this movement 10 years ago. Twenty two of us went to Corozal to do a VBS on a mission trip. This was the first VBS I had ever seen and really didn’t want to do it. But, having committed to the trip, and not finding a way to back out, I went. What a week! We were so far over our heads. Our plans blew up. Hundreds of kids came. It was one wild week, but what an experience.

The really neat thing was each morning us caffeine addicts would get up at 4 am and go sit by the bay, and just talk. We had two hours of quiet, deep conversation. Chip, Charles and I talked about the stuff we were learning and how “next” year we were going to Honduras to do this again. But by Friday, our hearts were changed. We had fallen in love with the Belizeans. We saw miracles happening right before our eyes. We saw God providing for all our weaknesses. And we did a 360. “let’s not desert these people”! So many times people come to do missions, have a “life changing experience so they say” and never come back!

It is amazing the look and feel you get when you come back. It totally changes EVERYTHING in relationship. I feel they are saying, “you came and saw what we had, and you came back?” you really do care. They are so surprised. The norm is for people to desert them, to promise they will return and never returning.

Well, the Friday morning we made a emotional commitment to come back for 5 years, and to see what God could do. There was nothing written, we just committed to each other to give it all we had, and that launched “the Belize Project”. Nothing formal, just a willingness to follow what we felt God was calling us to. Our God given passions were unleashed.

Since then, Chip has gone full time to serve in Africa, Charles has gone to serve full time in Spain, and Mac has just stayed where planted. All to the glory of God.

My tears are starting to roll, so come back tomorrow.