Easter Weekend

On Good Friday morning we had our first sit-down meal. It was so nice to have everyone sitting around the tables.

Later in the morning we went to the Belize Zoo. The Zoo was really pretty. We saw some interesting animals. I really liked seeing the birds. There was this one bird that was so aggressive. If you got close to the cage it would peck at you and it could stick it’s beak about 3 inches out of the cage. It was a little bit scary.

We saw some Keel-Billed Toucans, which is the national bird. They were so pretty! I saw one in the wild one day at the base… but I didn’t have my camera with me then so I didn’t take a picture, but I got one now.

We went out for lunch at Amigos.

After lunch we headed for Belize City to pick up Mrs. Kamphuis. We were dropped off at the Princess Hotel, which is the most expensive hotel in Belize City. The hotel was really nice! We went swimming there. There was lots of stuff there… including a movie theatre, bowling, arcade games, massage rooms, workout room…. and of course a pool. Most of the stuff wasn’t open, though, because it was Good Friday.

On Saturday we just stayed home. It was a relaxation day. That was nice. I don’t think that I had anything that I had to do. Oh, I had to scrub the kitchen floor as punishment. On Friday Amy and I were late in getting to the bus so we had to spend half an hour scrubbing the floor. We ended up scrubbing everything… the counters, the oven, the cupboards, and whatever else we could find to clean.

On Sunday we went to a Mayan Temple. This temple was amazing. We took a fairy across a river, like the last time. This fairy was too small to put the bus on, though, so we had to walk the rest of the way after the fairy. The walk was really long… and tiring… and hilly… and hot… but totally worth it.

The temple was 13 stories high! We climbed to the top up stone stairs that were sometimes huge, sometimes tiny, and sometimes steep. From the top it looked like we were in Ireland. The view from up there was gorgeous. We could see the Guatemalan boarder from there.

In the evening we went to Pastor Scott’s church, which is right around the corner from the YWAM base. The worship was really good. After worship Pastor Scott asked for three people from our team to share how God was working in their lives on this trip. We ended up having four people go up… and some of them were unlikely people who don’t like going up in front of people. I am always amazed to hear how God is working in the lives of the students. Sometimes it feels like nothing is happening spiritually with them, but there actually is. I hear them talk about things that people have said, and I am surprised at what they remember and what speaks to them because often times I totally forget that a person has said what they remember them saying.

Pastor Scott was very supportive of our group. He is going to get all of us 8hrs worth of worship music so that we can worship outside of church. Many of the students come from Christian Reformed churches and so they don’t know the songs that are sung in church here.

It didn’t really feel like Easter this weekend. I am disappointed about a few things. First off, I am disappointed that we didn’t really do anything for Good Friday. We also didn’t do a whole lot for Easter Sunday. In Belize Easter is a huge deal so I am not really sure how we managed to make it just a regular weekend.

I am also sad that I didn’t go to the Bike Race on Saturday. It is a big deal in Belize and I missed it!

This weekend had some major struggles, and also some major rewards. I am learning over and over again how much service this trip takes, and also how tiring that is. I am also learning how important it is to spend time with God and to be refreshed by him. I often get so spiritually drained.., which makes me physically drained and emotionally drained. When that happens the Devil starts to attack my thinking and my attitude towards this trip. I am learning that it is so very important to be revived by God everyday.

Thank you again for all of your prayers. They are greatly appreciated.