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It’s off to Africa they go!
The team boarded their first plane this morning around 11:30. They will arrive in Johannesburg about 24 hours later. Friday they will journey to Bulembu, Swaziland, where they will serve all next week.
THE TEAM! (Marcie Jenkins, Beckie Hinze, Debbie Bryson, Maria Torres, & Bob Gentry)
The Send off Team at the airport.
The 5 adventurous travelers will return July 21st from their trip. We can’t wait to hear the stories!
I (Beckie) was asked to give my own ideas about our week in Belize to my friend at FMS, Kristen Kennedy, this morning. I love that I have so many wonderful people who went and always want others to hear from them – but I do love to share my own passion about 26:12. My vision for 26:12 has been that we would offer a wide variety of experiences with a wide variety of outcomes. What happened this week was more than just a band aid of service – Now, don’t get me wrong. Band Aids are good – Band aids prevent bad conditions from getting worse. But this week in Belize was more than a “band aid”. Because we began eternal friendships with Beatriz Thompson, Tim Tam, John Carr, Kenny Logan – and so many others – we actually provided what would be more like “major surgery” than a “band aid”. Our nurses and others who served that week are continuing to work hard to provide ways to improve the health care and living conditions in Belize. Lives will be radically changed because we were there. More on that later!
“Belize was an incredible journey. My second with Twenty-six:Twelve.It was so much more than I ever dreamed. I have 12 new friends-some of them I’ve had for awhile-very dear sisters PLUS 3 very dear brothers!! The people we encountered there are so very strong and faithful to the Lord!! How they each blessed me!! My life was touched-and I went to touch theirs??? I have plan to go back in the very near future and to work again with The Word at Work and Tim Tam-what an amazing man of God!! We had some very comical moments-as well as blessings. You will need to hear mine and Beckie’s “psych” experience-and my and Angie’s nutrition education class:). Hilarious?!!! Ask-cuz we will love to tell you!” Alicia Anderson
“I think that trip was possibly the best thing that has ever happened to me! I am so at peace and joyful each day! I feel His presence and I don’t feel like I have to be in control of everything anymore. God is great!” Becky James
“My experience in Belize was much more than I expected. It expanded my beliefs on what countries with little or no resources can accomplish. I had the amazing opportunity to spend the week with a physician who has left a mark on my heart for the rest of my life. Only every once in a while can you immediately bond as life friends with someone new. This was the case with this 4 foot ten physician. She is a dedicated christian with an amazing energy and heart. My life was blessed by this experience and part of my heart is left in Belize.” Marcylle Combs
“Our week in Belize was healing for many and the love we gave and received was overwhelming. One thing that sticks out is the simple pleasures and kindness by the people there and the people I went with on this trip. God is so wonderful to have provided us with the opportunities and love we were able to give and receive. We work for a wonderful company that God has a hand in and we are so fortunate to be able to show or patients and coworkers how much they mean to us. We get to work through the Lord daily, which is a blessing. We saw things that hurt, but we also saw things that were so pure and good. We can only hope to do a little of God’s work, but wow, when you serve Him and give all your blessings to Him, good things happen, both in us and the people we serve and love. Blessings to all, I pray each and everyone of you can experience a life changing time like this in your lives. Remember God can be with you, there’s room in your car, house, life for Him!” Cori Reid
”The week in Belize opened my eyes to who I am and who God wants me to be. It made me acutely aware of God’s presence in everything, in all corners. The experience filled my heart with such joy and gratitude for God’s grace, mercy, and love.” Amy Chapman
Thirteen amazing women returned from Belize safe and sound last night. The week was rich with experiences. Our friend, Tim Tam, warned us that ministry happens on the way to do ministry – so to keep our eyes and hearts open to what God is doing around us. He also taught us that God working through us was not near as important as God working in us. I have posted a few pictures and hope soon to post stories and other pictures.
The trip was everything that I had hoped for. I was able to meet the people from The Word at Work that will be hosting us and being our guides while we are there in February – and best of all I was able to meet Dr. Beatriz Thompson and her team at the Palliative Care Association. Dr. Thompson allowed me the great privelege of riding with her as she set up oxygen for one patient who the hospital was sending home. The systems and infrastructure in the country of Belize prevent tasks from happening quickly. It seems to be a constant struggle to get anything that the patient needs.We also did a couple of ‘home visits’ and my home care nurse passion ‘kicked in’. Mrs. Carmen was a lady in her 80’s with liver cancer. She had such a joy for the Lord but many heartaches along her journey in life. I am convinced even more that between women everywhere we are more alike than different. Mrs. Carmen and I laughed about our husbands (sorry Rick) and cried over the loss of a life she should have had with her children and grandchildren.
We left there to find Racquel. She was a new patient that Dr. Thompson was seeing who had been reported to her as needing help. Dr. Thompson is so tiny that she has to sit on a pillow to drive. So we were quite the sight driving through the neighborhood of the poorest part of Belize looking for “the house next to the big green house”. Of course there were about ten big green houses on the street. It was much like home care in the states when the patient says “Oh, drive down the FM road and turn left by the barn”. When we arrived at the shack on stilts, where Racquel was living, her neighbors who had reported her condition were there too. Racquel’s situation was unbelievable. She is an emaciated 21 year old with a beautiful 5 month old baby boy. The sheet was covering her as she lay on the tiny sofa – but when the neighbor removed the sheet we saw what kept her from walking. Below her knee was a tumor almost the size of a volleyball. When we asked questions we found out that she had been in Los Angeles trying to get treatment for her tumor. She was seven months pregnant when they did a c-section to take her baby so they could remove her leg and begin the process for a prosthesis. For some reason, Racquel left before any of that could be done, bringing her premature baby back home with her. The baby was responsive with beautiful eyes. He was taking a bottle. But when the neighbor lifted his shirt there was a tube with 3 ports coming out of his abdomen. I assumed that it was some sort of feeding tube. Dr. Thompson gave Racquel morphine right there and left some for the neighbor to give her in the night. She instructed them to bring mother and baby to the hospital the next day. When I saw Dr. Thompson at noon as she was leaving a c-section (she is an anesthesiologist) she hadn’t heard from them – but she was ok with that as she was going to Racquel’s home that afternoon.
I considered it an honor and privelege to be with Beatriz Thompson. She loves Christ and loves her patients. We can learn much from her as we begin serving the people of Belize.
After a lost (and found) bag, a lost (and found) passport, sleeping on a rustic island, sleeping in a beautiful bed and breakfast, eating loads of rice and beans and making new friends I am home. We leave in six weeks where our team of 15 women representing Christ and 26:12 will go to learn more about a different culture and serve the best we can.
“Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!” Luke 12:48
Emily figured that each team of 5 processed about 1000 shoeboxes a day! So that means that we touched the lives of 6000 children – and ultimately their families as we are assured that each shoebox was safe and appropriate for each child.
A sweet thing happened as we were opening one of thousands of boxes full of boxes – Annie said that there was a box from River Oaks Baptist Church. Well, that is my mom’s church in Fort Worth – and she has been actively involved in the OCC ministry for years. So I got to actually take pictures of several boxes that her friends prepared – She had paid her shipping online so we didn’t have record of which ones might be hers. But she was thrilled to hear that I got to visualize the next steps for these boxes.
We ended our week with a celebration dinner in downtown Denver where the lights, carriages and beautiful store windows reminded us again of how blessed we are to live in this amazing country – and work for our unique organization.
Here are some more photos from the week.
Denver Darlings with our crew bosses
All in all, everyone had a wonderful time. Everyone agreed that the trip was a success both because of the hard work and how much fun we had. So, from the Denver Darlings to you: Merry Christmas!
