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Glasgow Belize Missions |
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“How can they preach unless they are sent? How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News…” Romans 10:15 |
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Newsletter June 2008 Edition Email: johnglasgowjr@yahoo.com Phone: 011-501-608-8928 or 011-501-626-7030 |
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Wow, June has passed already! This is always a busy time of year for us. This month has been different from years past and brought some special challenges. The month began with heavy rain, which was welcomed but we soon learned that the rain was not welcomed by many in our area. Tropical Storm Arthur caused serious flooding all over the country but our area, Stann Creek suffered most of the damage and at least 5 people that we know of lost their lives during this storm. Mark Ritchie, a nephew of Chester Ritchie’s, lost his wife and two children. Many families in Sittee River, Hope Creek and Stann Creek Valley lost everything in their home… some even lost their house. We had no flooding in our Village or in any of the areas South of us but the large bridge at Kendall Village was completely washed away which cut off this area from the rest of the country. We were not able to even go to the church at Silk Grass. We could not go into town to shop and it was difficult to get supplies down here to us. They were able to build a temporary road across the river after 10 days so things were beginning to return to normal until June 26th when heavy rains washed all the culverts out from the temporary road. Once again, the road is passable but we have just begun the Rainy Season and the Hurricane Season so we try to stay informed about the weather and the condition of the bridge before making any travel plans.
Even with the heavy rain and the washed out bridge, ministry teams continued God’s work in this area. Gary Williams group from Tennessee was here when the bridge washed out but they carried out things as planned at Mt. Zion Baptist Church and God blessed their ministry in that area. Jeff and Tiffany hosted a team from Blue Springs Baptist while the bridge was out but they were able to fly them into Independence on Maya Island Air. Brandi Debusk brought down her youth group from North Carolina but the heavy rains and washed out road did not hinder the work they were doing in the Village of Trio and their construction team was able to get the belt beam poured on the large dorm building and get it ready for the roof in July.
Below are several photos from the flooded areas as well as the photos of the ministries during the month of June. Please visit our Photo Gallery to view more photos. We have also posted the 2009 Calendar so if you haven’t begun to plan your Belize Mission trip for 2009, then please try to at least give us “tentative” dates for your group so we can reserve the dates for you.
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Gary Williams of Mission Belize Inc. brought a group down from Tennessee. They did ministry in Independence at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. They invited people from several other villages to be a part of a nightly Crusade. The team ministered through music, drama and puppets. |
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After the flood, we wanted to send clothing to the victims but we could not get to them. Pastor Alvis and Mrs. Geraldine from the Light of the Valley and Pastor Wayne Lopez met us in Kendall so we could send the supplies across on the boat. We want to thank the Graduating HS Seniors group from Alabama for leaving so many clothes, towels and sheets. We were able to send items to Stann Creek Valley, Hope Creek and Sittee River. The Camp also gave $250 to Pastor Alvis and to Pastor Wayne so they could help the people in their area. Thanks again to the groups who choose to lodge with us at the Camp. It is because of your support that we can reach out and minister to the people of Stann Creek and Toledo Districts. |
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This family in Sittee River is attempting to clean up and dry out the items from their home. |
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Homes in Hope Creek try to dry things out and salvage items from the flood. |
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A mother in Hope Creek cleans up after the flood. |
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Jeff and Tiffany hosted a team from Blue Springs Baptist in Alabama. The group ministered in San Juan Village. They also helped with the work on the Pre-school building and the Feeding Program building. They were able to get most of the painting completed and put the roof up on the connecting breeze way. Jeff and Tiffany have put a lot of work into the extended ministries of the San Juan Baptist Church. They have raised funds for the Pre-school and the Feeding Program and managed both these programs over the past two years. They have also put many hours of physical labor into these projects. They will continue to manage the funds of these ministries after returning to the States. Jeff and Tiffany plan to continue to be a part of the ministries here in the Southern Region and we are grateful for the support they have given and will continue to give. You can learn more about their ministry and their support needs at boylesministry.org |
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Pastor Alfred Ramsey sat before an Ordaining Counsel and a group of witnesses in June. It was a blessing to be a part of this and to see Pastor Alfred handle the Counsel's questions so well. After the Counsel met, they made recommendation to Mt. Zion Baptist Church that Alfred receive his Ordination. Pastor Alfred was Ordained in a ceremony at Mt. Zion on July 5th 2008. Jeff Boyles resided over the ceremony and Pastor Wayne Lopez gave the charge to Pastor Alfred and his wife, Valarie. |
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Pastor Alfred Ramsey had a group from North Carolina visit Mt. Zion to help with plastering the Sunday school addition. They also did VBS each evening. |
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Brandi Debusk brought her youth group down from Forest City, North Carolina to work with us in Trio Village. They also had a construction team that poured the belt beam on the large dorm building. The group was here for 9 days so they were able to take a couple of days for fun. They went cave tubing at Caves Branch and they also went snorkeling out at Southwater Caye. Our thanks to the Forest City group for the wonderful job they did with VBS and the hard work they put into the building project. |
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This was the first International Mission trip for this group so there were a few challenges and adjustments but overall they handled everything very well. We had a great time with this group but we found out that as host to such a young group, we need to go into training and get in shape. I’d like to say that we were able to rest after they left but Youth camp began 3 days later. |
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High school classes will resume here the last week of August and Primary students return the 1st week of September. Students have begun to buy books and order their uniforms already. From the information that we have gotten thus far, it seems that the Government is providing $300 for students attending regular schools (this does not include Tech schools). The $300 will cover their fees but they will still need to purchase all their books and buy uniforms and shoes as well as school supplies.
Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring a child for school. $250US will cover all the expenses for one child to attend High School. We hope to also be able to receive backpacks and school supplies this year. Let us know if you would like to donate backpacks with supplies to the “Backpacks for Belize” program. |