As you read through the New Testament a trend
appears regarding Christ’s love for the poor. In fact, this trend is
seen throughout the Bible. I did a quick search online and found 239
verses which speak about the “poor”. In contrast, many of the topics
American Christians like to argue about are mentioned far less:
homosexuality (9 times), fellowship hall (0 times), immigrants (6
times), Armageddon (1 time).
Perhaps the things that we value as American
Christians aren’t valued as much by God. Perhaps our faith is being
focused far too little on the things that Christ showed to be important:
forgiveness; healing the sick; feeding the hungry; spending quality
time in meditation and prayer; hanging out with prostitutes, drunkards,
and crooks.
Sarah & I desire lives that focus on the
things that Christ values. It’s easy to sit in our comfortable air
conditioned house every night and do a few church things now and then.
But Christ wants more. He expects more from his followers. Having heard
that plea we made a decision that redirects our lives, accepting
positions with a not-for-profit mission’s organization.
Our journey takes us to the Central American
country of Belize, and more specifically, to a small coastal village
called Gales Point. With a population of around 500 residents, half of
whom are under eighteen, and an unemployment rate around 90%, these rural
villagers live a life far different that what we experience living in the United States. Within Gales Point stands
one active church which is supported in large part by the Belize Mission, where we will serve.
The Belize Mission exists to: host and direct
hands-on Christian church teams, work teams, medical/dental teams,
construction teams, evangelism teams and other ministry teams throughout
the country of Belize, demonstrating God's love in action as we present
and share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are so excited to
become a part of this ministry!
Life at the Belize Mission will be a drastic
change from our comfortable air-conditioned house. We will be living in a
small cabana that has only the basic essentials. Being located in a
geographically rural location, no utility grid exists. Water is gathered
from rain or a nearby pond and electricity is produced by solar panels.
With average temperatures in the 80’s and humidity between 70-80%,
air-conditioning will be in our dreams. On the bright side I (Mark)
won’t have to wear shoes, though I will need to watch out for the
tarantulas, snakes, and alligators!
Sarah and I desire a life that is fully committed
to serving the Lord. The Gospel is too important not to share with the
world, even those in a small Belizean village. One of the motto's at
Belize Mission is to be “a place to advance, not retreat”. We are at a
time in our lives when we want to advance closer to Christ. We see
nothing that could be more beneficial to our family than doing this.
