It is all coming together...

The Barrie 2016 HANDS team welcomes you to our blog, echoing the words of one of Christianity's first missions team:

Philippians 1 [NIV]:

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

This greeting has extended well past Philippi, and it is our joy to share them with all of our supporters.  It will soon also be our joy to share them with the community of Cristo Rey in Belize.  For about 1/3 of the team, this will be our second trip, having previously served at the Presbyterian Day School in that community in 2014.

So much has already happened with our 2016 Barrie HANDS team already, especially on the fundraising front:

-       Janine, Colleen, and John organized a successful games tournament and silent auction. 

-       Julia has been busy selling homemade pies. 

-       Amber and Julia both also served at a deacons’ church event in exchange for funding for the HANDS team. 

-       The congregation of Barrie First CRC also held a special collection for raising funds that will go into purchasing materials and supplies that we use when in Belize. 

It has been exciting to see the passion within the team for our mission.  It has been equally humbling to see the passion our community has for supporting our team.  A big “Thank You” to all to have so generously supported us!

At this point, flight tickets have been booked, the last little bit of funding is just coming in, and the last few planning and logistics details are being sorted out.  We are leaving January 4, 2016.  Sounds like we have it all under control…right?

This is where we need to focus the attention back on God and His plan for us.  We are only at this point because He has set up Edudeo ministries, He has set up the work for us in Belize, and He has worked in our community to provide for our needs (both people and material).  Truly, He is the one that has made this all possible.  He is gracious enough to include is in His plans.

We are preparing to share time and materials with our brothers and sisters in Belize, but we must humbly remember to keep a servant attitude at all times.  We must be willing to learn about living by faith and full reliance on God while we are in Cristo Rey.  Pray that we will have servant attitudes at all times.

Ways that you can still support:

-       Pray ceaselessly.  Safety, ministry opportunities, grace, and many other concerns rest still only with God.

-       Read our blog.  The previous team drew daily encouragement from the comments and the viewership stats of our blog – what an impact it has to know that we are in your thoughts and prays!

-       Pray earnestly.  God is far more eager to answer our prayers than we are to even offer the prayer

-       Come to our Commissioning Service:  9:30am, January 3, 2016.  The congregation of Barrie First CRC will be surrounding our team with support before we leave

-       Pray

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more to come!

Comments


Other Stories


Currently, eight of the twelve HANDS team members have arrived in Belize.  John, John, Ed, Cor, Steve, Janine, Colleen, met Chuck in the Belize...

Read More

Today was filled with great events!  Sion, Amber, Julia, and Sydney were all able to join us today.  They met us in the afternoon...

Read More

At the end of the second day of work, some of us are feeling our muscles.  First thing in the morning, Julia amazed us...

Read More

Today was hot.  We accomplished a lot today:  more wiring, we mixed concrete and poured the window sills, installed door frames and installed door...

Read More

Today was hot.  We accomplished a lot today:  There was a successful trip to the hardware store (see the picture) more wiring, installed doors,...

Read More

Today was our day away from the worksite.  We got in the van and travelled through Belize to Orange Walk Town.  Orange Walk Town...

Read More

Today was filled with rest.  We joined our brothers and sisters for church in Cristo Rey.  The church met across the road from Presbyterian...

Read More

Today was an action packed day.  We heard the weather report from back home, so we will keep quiet about our +23˚C wind chill...

Read More

This morning we started at a Redeemer Presbyterian Preschool, which has been a project location for previous HANDS teams.  The preschool children where all...

Read More

It is hard for us to believe that it is already our last day in Belize.  It seems like the previous nine days have...

Read More

We have landed safe and sound and we are just getting though customs now.  Thanks for all of your thoughts, prayers and support.  We...

Read More