A group from Wayland Baptist University worked in the Primary school in the Village of San Isidro. This was a group of mostly Education majors so it was a great experience for them to work in one of the local schools. It’s such a blessing to be able to share the Gospel in the local schools. This is a freedom that we still have here in Belize but not sure how much longer it will be allowed.

We began a fund raiser a few weeks ago to raise $10,000 US to purchase a used vehicle for our personal use. We have been using the vans that teams use for over a year but it had gotten very expensive because of the price of gas and many times both vans were being used by teams and left us with no vehicle. We started shopping around and found this one in Belize City for $11,000 US. At that time, we had raised a little over $6,000 so we emailed our home church to get an update and they told us that a little over $11,000 US had been raised so that was perfect!! God is so good!!! Thank you all for your prayers and for your help with this fund raiser. We feel truly blessed to have a vehicle to call our own.

On April 27, 2011, devastating tornados hit our home state of Alabama. Several other Southern states suffered severe damage from these storms but Alabama was the hardest hit. The damage was wide spread with 38 counties being affected. More than 200 lives have been lost with 1000′s of others injured and 100′s of people are still not accounted for.

We are so thankful that none of our family members were harmed and none of them reported any serious damage to property. However, communities surrounding our home and our family suffered severe damage and many communities were pretty much destroyed. It was difficult to sit and watch via the Internet as report after report came across of tornados on the ground and then to see live footage of the storms and the destruction left behind. We began texting and calling those at home to check on them one by one. We were relieved every time we got the message, “we’re ok” from family and friends. Our heart breaks for the many that are not “ok”. We ask that you all continue to pray for those back home in Alabama and in other areas that were affected by the storms that passed through on April 27th.

This year we had two teams from Woodcrest High School in California come down to work in Southern Belize. This High School began a partnership with Pomona Community Christian Church last year. They worked with Pastor Wayne Lopez and helped with several projects at the church and the preschool. This year, one team returned to Pomona and another team worked with Pastor Gregorio Cano at the Baptist Church in Bella Vista. Each team helped with putting down tile on the floors of the church. The Pomona group also did some work at Pastor Wayne’s home. The Bella Vista group also painted the church inside and out. Both groups did VBS each afternoon and also helped with community projects. We look forward to a long term partnership with Woodcrest Christian High School.

A group from First Baptist Forest City returned this year to work in the Village of San Juan. They did a Sports Camp and VBS with the children and Youth in San Juan each day. They also spent time visiting door to door in the Village and had Bible study and worship services at San Juan Baptist Church. They ended their week with a Monkey River tour to see the Howler monkeys and then a Manatee Watch near Placencia.

It seems like 2011 just began and now it’s almost April. We were blessed to be able to take a trip home to Alabama in February. We attended a Missions conference at Grace Life Baptist Church in our hometown. We were of course also able to visit with family and spend a little time with the grandchildren.

We returned on March 8th and the team from our home church arrived on March 14th. This year was a first for the RBC team because they made this a Family Mission trip. There were 8 children in the group, 6 of the children were between the ages of 8 and 11. Each of them helped with VBS lessons and the older boys worked hard with the guys on the construction project. The team began the work on a foundation for an Education Center at Silk Grass Baptist.

We have two other Family Mission teams to host this year. We are excited about what God is doing through families serving together on the Mission field.

Our first Mission team of 2011 arrives Saturday, January 15th. John has been very busy back in Belize. The team will complete the Sunday school building in Santa Rosa so there has been a lot of work to get done before the arrival of the team. I will return to Belize on January 15th as well.

We have several teams scheduled for 2011 so as always it will be a busy year. We are excited to get started with a new year of ministry.

We will again begin sending out Newsletters through email to keep everyone updated on ministries in Southern Belize.

We pray that you all are having a very Merry Christmas. This year has been different for us since John and I are spending the holidays apart. Our grandson decided to arrive two weeks early so I (Darlene) am in Louisiana and Johnny is back in Belize. It’s been such a blessing to be able to be here for the birth of our grandson and to be able to help my daughter during the adjustment.

It’s been a busy time for John back in Belize. He is preparing for the arrival a our first team who will be pouring the roof on the Sunday School room in Santa Rosa.

We wish everyone a Happy New Year! We look forward to a new year of ministry here in Belize.

Wow, December has arrived. It’s hard to believe that another year is coming to a close. This time of year is much different for us here in Belize than for most of you in the States. I know many of you will be busy with multiple family gatherings, office parties and various church events; not to mention the busy shopping season. For us it’s a quiet, relaxed time of year as we prepare to begin a new year of ministry and hosting many mission teams.

As the holiday season began, we of course had our traditional Thanksgiving meal (just the two of us) and we celebrated Harvest Thanksgiving with many of the local churches. Our Christmas tree is up but we rarely exchange gifts on Christmas day. We will celebrate with our church by having a Christmas Eve service, where we will share in the Lord’s Supper and then have a meal together and exchange small gifts.

We do miss family during the holidays just as we do all through the year but we are blessed to be able to video chat with most of them via Skype so we do look forward to those times. This year, I (Darlene) will be flying to Louisiana soon after Christmas to be with our daughter who is expecting her first baby. This will be our third grandbaby and we are very excited. I’ll arrive back in Belize on the same day that our first 2011 mission team arrives.

We pray that everyone is enjoying a Blessed Holiday Season.

After a very busy year, we were able to travel home to the States for a six week furlough. This time of year is a slow time for us here at the camp. There are no teams to host but it’s a busy time in the churches here in Southern Belize. November is “Harvest Thanksgiving” month, so we visit many of the local churches to join in the local Harvest Celebration.

I (Darlene) have enrolled in Graduate school at Liberty University Online so I am taking advantage of the down time that we have this time of year. John has plans to return to school also. He will be completing his Masters of Divinity program at Liberty University.