It has been more than one year now since I have been in
Belize. Although I have gained a new family here, there is still a part of me
that misses friends and family from back home. Some of my favorite days are
going to the post office (a lady’s house in our village) and picking up letters
from home. I usually can’t even wait two minutes before opening the letter and
reading what is happening back home. Last night, I went back through my letters
that I have received over the past year. I have received around 50 letters in
the last 12 months. They have come from Asia, Falkland Islands, California,
Tennessee, Arizona, Ohio, and many other places. I have received wedding
invitations, graduation announcements, sad letters, joyful news… However, one
trend I noticed was that most of them contained a Bible verse or inspiring
quote. I know that those of you who have been missionaries before can relate.
Getting a letter from home is so encouraging. You feel like you haven’t fallen
completely off the edge of the world; they didn’t all forget about you. But
more than that, what a delight it is to know that God is the only answer.
Sometimes, letters took over a month to arrive from their original destination!
Yet I felt as if it arrived at just the right time. I really try to keep up
with sending hand written letters, but sometimes life goes faster than I can
handle. If I were to write a little note to you, it would go something like
this:
Dear ____________ (Insert your name here),
Can you believe that it has been
over one year since I have seen you? Some days I feel like I just got here, but
other days I feel like I have lived here for years. I get confused sometimes
with time. It has been rather cool here the last few months. Being in the 60’s
may sound really warm, but when you have only warm weather clothes it hits you
hard. One morning, my toes were purple because they were so cold! It is finally
starting to warm up now, but still chilly in the morning for a little while.
We just
started the first set of classes this week. I don’t remember if I told you
about the school here so I will fill you in just a little. This is not a normal
school. We are on a mission to train missionaries. The students (who are 18 or
older) come for three months of intensive classes. We will teach them about
evangelism, practical missionary skills, health, mechanics, construction,
agriculture, and maybe some other things along the way. After the program is
finished, we will send the students out to other mission projects. They will
serve in that project for a minimum of six months. Our hope is that they will
fall in love with serving in the mission field and make a lifetime commitment.
I will be teaching practical skills. Since my arrival, I have learned a lot of
different skills: little bit of mechanics, how to use a machete in the kitchen
or the bush, welding, driving a manual without using the clutch, making a
thatch roof (well still in the process of learning), and a million other
things. Although Southern Adventist University has superior standards for education,
those were not things I learned during my time there. I have a suspicion that
most of the students will have a similar story. Therefore, I am going to try
and teach them a few skills that could be useful in the mission field.
In January
my dad came down for a visit. What excitement to finally be able to show him
all the things I talk about on the phone. He had a half-week of prayer for all
of us here at the project. The theme was about faithfulness until the death.
One sermon that really stuck out to me was when Paul really desired to stop at
Ephesus, but needed to pass by. That city was where his heart longed to be. I
do not know where your Ephesus is, but I know that sometimes God leads us to
places that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable. The amazing part is that God is
leading all the way and would not take us to somewhere that would be harmful
for us.
Not much
other news around here that I can think of. Hopefully we can see each other
sooner than later!
Love and prayers,
Katie
