Belize Mission – Days 7 & 8

Friday, June 13, 2014

Usually on our mission trips, Fridays are light with the afternoon off so that the team could relax or to buy gifts for their family and friends before returning home. However, this was not be the case. It would be a fun day for the children at the Anglican School in light of what we had in store for them. The construction team also knew they needed to complete their work at the School and the Child Care Center.

At the crack of dawn we participated in the celebration of the Eucharist. Father Jon preached while I presided at the Mass. In his reflection, Father Jon expressed his gratitude for his members for being a part of such a wonderful and God-filled mission. It was a joy having him and the members of St. Paul’s, Vero Beach, as part of the mission team.

After breakfast, the team journeyed to their work places. The construction group at the Dorothy Menzies Center, led by Bob Webster, completed installing the storage units in the room, while  Stephen Sirotko, installed electrical fans on the walls and ceilings of the boys’ dormitories. Our Team Leader, Erna Rappaport, and I spent time with the children, as they wore their new shoes, gifts from Shoes for Soles.

At the Anglican School, 700+ children were treated to ice-cream, a generous gift from a few wonderful people. The missionaries distributed the ice-cream to the children, who thoroughly enjoyed it.

Meanwhile, the Pediatric Medical Clinic continued under Dr. Pat Rowe-King’s direction, and by 3:00 p.m. when the clinic closed, the group had seen 99 patients for the day, a total of 492 children for the week. From the School, members of the medical team, with the Team Leader and myself presented medical supplies to the CEO of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) Hospital, Dr. Francis Longsworth. The CEO also gave the delegation a tour of the pediatric unit, which is under construction.

The Vacation Bible School, led by Dion Phillips-Scotland and Sonia Blake, finished their projects in the morning session. In the afternoon, the V.B.S. participants gathered and formed a circle on the basketball court, where they sang a song.  They received certificates while the other children watched the proceedings from the balcony of their classrooms.

After a long and tiring day, Al Skeete and his Construction Team, completed the work in the restroom building, having installed toilets, sinks, a urinal, a roof, and painted the entire building inside and out. In the evening, the team attended an appreciation evening hosted by the Diocesan Anglican Schools. They presented a well-attended concert, in the Fellowship Hall of the Diocesan Center, during which gifts were given to each missionary. At their invitation, Erna and I said a few words at the evening’s event. One of the highlights of the concert was the re-enactment of the First Aid Seminar, which the  Medical Team presented. The children performed a hilarious dramatization of it.

After the concert, the missionaries dined at a nearby restaurant  to the Diocesan Center and situated on the beach. Since it was a beautiful moonlight night, the missionaries took the opportunity for a moment after dinner to gather on the beach to enjoy the night. Then it was back to the hotel to retire for the night.

 

 

 

Saturday, June 14, 2014

With a busy morning cleaning up and packing, and having breakfast, we made the 15-20 minute journey from the hotel to the Belize airport for a flight scheduled to leave at 1:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. EST). On arrival at Miami International Airport, we return, as a team, to the church where our family and friends greeted us. After a prayer and blessing, we went to our homes after a tiring but God-filled mission.