from my heart to yours

As I blogged yesterday, we are still alive and well. Sorry for not blogging sooner than this. The clinic depends on satellite for internet, and many things such as bad weather (common here), etc can affect connectivity. This was the case at the end of last week. Also, this weekend Belize celebrated its 27^th year of independence from British government. This obviously is a very big holiday here (the biggest in Belize) so everything including internet café’s were shut down through Monday. We joined in the celebration by going to their independence parade on Sunday. It was a great cultural experience.

I am looking forward to being able to blog more often to share with you all what God is doing in and through us here in Belize. As I have shared with some of you before, we will be moving onto the clinic grounds as soon as the construction on the new dorm is complete (maybe in a month or so). Living on the clinic compound is going to be a good thing in many ways. We often feel a bit disconnected from the community we are serving and serving with living outside town and 7 miles from the clinic. Living near the clinic will also help Hannah and I be able to “work” and care for Lily and Aidan at the same time, all the while allowing Lily and Aidan participate in caring for the sick and poor of southern Belize alongside us. Being that the clinic has internet access, as unreliable it can be at times, I will have more time to be able to blog and keep us with you guys.

I can honestly say most if not all of you reading this take for-granted the freedom and access you enjoy to be able to talk, whether it is by phone or in person to your friends and family whenever you want. I know Hannah and I took it for-granted UNTIL now. I am very grateful for being able to “talk” to you here and through emails and other arenas such as myspace, facebook, and the very occasional phone call. It really, really helps us, much more than you will ever know.

I know most if not all of my blogs since we have been here in Belize have been “informational” which is all well and good, but I really want to go a step further. I want to be able to share with you what God is saying to me and Hannah, and to receive feedback on what God is saying and doing in your life. Being here has “made” Hannah and I depend on God in ways we have not before. I say “made” because dependence on anything beyond our self is not human nature, but it is God natured. Out of this dependence, I am praying that God will speak to me and “change” areas of my life that need changing, strengthen areas that I am weak in, and tear down walls that I have built that are keeping me from being in the center of God’s will and purpose of my life.

We pray every night for you and your families. Please do the same for us. Being in an environment that is so different (and uncomfortable) than what we are use to, we are fighting the “survival” mentality (just make it through the next 12 months) and running and striving toward the “striving” (passionately seeking all that God wants to teach us and how he wants to use us while we’re here) mentality. I will tell you, this is a struggle for us daily and your prayers are coveted. Pray for our safety (although we do not feel necessarily unsafe, we all the time do net feel completely safe). Pray for our health (both physical and emotional). As some of you well know, homesickness can be worse than the flu! Most importantly, pray that we would be used. That we would be the heart, hands and feet of Jesus to each and every Belizean we come in contact with.

I will try to post more pictures soon!