Another Visit to LOL

We just returned from spending a couple more days at LOL. We took our first load of stuff to what will be our new house. We were also able to meet with Jervis and Melissa to begin planning our joint priorities for the first part of 2014.

Sarah's first priority will be taking over logistics for incoming mission teams. This will help to remove these time consuming duties from Melissa's plate, freeing her to focus on other areas.

LOL learning center and playground

I (Mark) will begin revamping the ministry website, with a focus on improving aesthetics, updating content, and creating a focused SEO (search engine optimization) plan. (This will coincide with a revamp of the ministry logo.) I will also be working to get the garden started as soon as possible. Currently LOL is spending over $500 every month on produce. The majority of these costs can be offset by production through a new garden.


In addition, by producing our own fruits and vegetables, we will be able to increase the amount of each consumed by the children. Currently the use of vegetables in the menu is quite limited. Snacks such as cookies and chips will be able to be replaced with much healthier alternatives. The most commonly used vegetables currently include onions, bell peppers, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes,

Tutoring at the LOL learning center.

cilantro (gross), and ca-rrots.

We will begin by producing these in the garden in order to quickly lessen the produce bill. Once back, I will be meeting with the operators of a nearby resort who has an amazing vegetable garden in order to glean local insight into the challenges of gardening in the tropics.

Our excitement for this upcoming year grew during our visit. It was great talking, planning, and dreaming with Jervis and Melissa. The Lord is moving at LOL, and we feel honored to be a part of this ministry.

New Year New Ministry

We are pleased to announce our plan for 2014. We have made the decision to continue ministry in Belize serving with an orphanage ministry.

LOL Ministries operates a children's home that strives to offer orphans and displaced children a home-like atmosphere surrounded by adults who provide guidance, mentoring, and love. Having seen institutional orphanages, it is refreshing to see a ministry striving to break the traditional mold.

The ministry is located in Jacintoville, Toledo District, Belize, not far from the coastal town of Punta Gorda. This area, the southern most in Belize, is surrounded by dense jungle, and is home to Mayan, Creole, and Garifuna people groups. It is about a two-and-a-half hour drive south of where we currently live.

We will be serving the ministry in various capacities, as there are several needs which we can help address.

One of our focuses will be managing communication for the ministry. Currently LOL is six years old, and has now had children for a year. They have achieved their first goal which is to provide children with their basic needs: a bed, clothes to wear, food to eat, people around them to provide friendship, assistance and discipline. Now, the ministry is preparing to meet their next goal, bringing together a core staff to surround Jervis and Melissa, the directors and founders, as they begin to focus on additional development with the goal of creating an even more family-like setting for the children.

Jervis and Melissa Fisher, Directors and Founders of LOL

For this next goal to be achieved several things need to happen. First, Jervis and Melissa need some of their tasks taken off their plates. This will happen as long-term missionaries come and begin to manage different areas, such as maintenance, accounting, communication, etc. Secondly, they will need the church to provide the needed resources to move forward.

Our piece, communication, involves several areas. First, we will be filtering incoming communication to limit the amount that Jervis and Melissa have to personally address. Currently Melissa averages around 50-100 emails per day. Responding to these consumes too much of her time.

In addition, we will be creating promotional materials (brochures, information packets, etc.) for churches and short-term teams. These tools will be used to promote the work of LOL and prepare teams for their ministry here. Sarah will be managing logistics for the short-term mission teams that come serve at LOL. The typical team ranges from 50 to 100 people, so managing the technical side of things takes a lot of work. Mark will be rebuilding and managing the ministry website. We hope to create a website that better reflects the culture, happenings and needs of LOL.

In addition to the roles mentioned above, we will be focusing time on mentoring the children. Because of the number of children, currently 26, staff often don't have the time to provide quality one-on-one time that children so desperately need. We will have the freedom to take children aside, or to town for ice cream, and provide them uninterrupted and focused time.

We will also be assisting in the tutoring program that is provided in the ministries Learning Center. When children come to LOL they tend to be struggling academically. Because of this, self-esteem can be diminished which leads to anger and discipline issues at school. By improving their academics such behaviors can be lessened, while self-esteem increases. A win-win.

Finally, Mark will start a vegetable and fruit garden. It has always been a goal to have their own farm, helping to offset what they must buy at the market.

We can't express how excited we are to join this ministry. It is evident that God is using and blessing the ministry. Plus, Jervis and Melissa will be great examples and leaders for us the learn and grow under.

We will be headed to the states in a couple of weeks to visit family, sell some more of our stuff, and gather some items we would like to bring back. We will be trying to meet with all our financial supporters, and will be doing some additional raising of support.