Homecoming

Hello All,

Over the past few weeks it has become increasingly clear that the Lord is calling me to come home a little earlier than I had planned. My time here in Belize has been incredibly rich, challenging and fruitful and I am so grateful for the amazing support and encouragement you have all provided. 

My friend Lewis and I will be leaving Machaca tomorrow at 6:00am to go play tourists here: (San Pedro; aka Ambergris Caye; aka based on the pictures the most beautiful place on the planet) 

and then will fly out Friday afternoon. Again thank you for all of your support; look forward to seeing you soon!

Chris

God's Green Earth

Belize is astoundingly beautiful. We're supposed to be in the middle of dry season which i'm told is usually unbearably hot but recently the weather has just been amazing. 10 minute rain-showers followed by brilliant sunshine and an ocean breeze.

Every place you look is teeming with life. At Machaca pineapple grows wild and the jungle is exploding with a million shades of green. 

And; just so you don't think all we do is here is kill, steal and destroy, one of the sheep gave birth to twins Sunday morning! I was mentally prepared all week for the delivery; running in my mind for hot water and towels Michael Landon style but as it turns out I slept through it. Apparently it was quite uneventful. 

Espresso, Leaves and Slain Turkeys

First off let me begin by profusely apologizing for the delay in this post! Let me also apologize for the random bullet point nature of this post. Things here have been as crazy as a snowstorm in Belize. Life is moving along at quite a fast pace even by American standards (which in Belize time is roughly between light-speed and warp-speed).  

The big project right now is getting the coffee shop in town open and we are almost there. Last week we started working on the menu, different recipes and the like. The building that Machaca has in town is used for the Monday night bible study, a hip-hop dance studio (one of the staff guys teaches the class as an outreach) and eventually as a cafe. The building is so obviously from the Lord as it is literally right across the street from the University of Belize campus in P.G.! The entire crew spent a day last week demo-ing the whole place, ripping out walls and then Lewis Scheer and I spent another day painting while some of the plumbing was being worked out. There's still more work to be done but we hope to have it up and running by March 18th so keep us in prayer!

2 of my roommates - Brian and Doyle - taking a lunch break.

Also in unrelated news.. the new Machaca logo is done!

CAUTION: GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD - NOT INTENDED FOR TURKEY LOVERS 

Last week we had an early/late Thanksgiving Dinner built around one of the 3 turkeys that John's been raising here. As the guest and newcomer I had the distinct honor of slaying the bird. Actually I just didn't want to look like a wuss in front of my roommates or John so I grabbed a machete and went for it. Fredrick snapped the shutter at the perfect moment to capture my terrified, turkey-killer face.

Despite how it began for the turkey (and myself for that matter) the dinner ended up being a really great time. All the staff, interns and the Gotz family - 15 people in total - sat around a great meal enjoying one another's company and then finished with communion.  

So things are well. Thanks for all the prayer, I can definitely feel its effects! Please continue to pray for the coffee shop opening and that God would daily be working in and through me for the rest of my short time down here.

In Him,

Chris

My Roommates

Well after a long day of satellite-modem wrangling the internet is up at Machaca! 

My time here has already been incredibly, unbelievably blessed. God is truly faithful and good to His kids. 

I figured i'd introduce you to the roommates, one of whom is no longer with us, unfortunately. One roommate didn't introduce himself properly so i was forced to ehhemm... dispose of him. Actually, this wretched thing below was hiding in my wet towel Saturday morning and yes, did manage to sting me in the finger. Like any decent, freedom-loving American I ran into my room, woke up my Belizian roommate to ask him how much time I had left to live and told him he could have my tabasco sauce if I died. Like any incredible, fun-loving Belizian Gary just laughed at me. Turns out as wicked as that thing looks the scorpions down here are not as dangerous as they appear.

There are currently 5 of us (ages 22-26) still alive in the boys house here at Machaca and I honestly could not ask for a sweeter group of dudes. Gary and I share a room, then there's Fredrick, Doyle (the worship leader) and Brian (pictures of them squashed on the kitchen floor are coming forthwith). They have been so kind and inviting to the new white boy that it already feels like we've been friends for ages. 

I don't want this post to keep babbling on so i'll just end with some of the stuff  I'mbeginning to understand concerning what i'll be doing with my very short three months here. Some things I would covet your prayers on are as follows:

- The opening of a coffee shop/cafe in town to help Machaca become self-sustaining (we're in the incredibly fun process of designing a menu with drink recipes and such)

- Encouragement of Doyle and the worship team to grow in their leadership and musicianship

- Helping with a new church plant in the nearby city (Punta Gorda) 

- Designing a functional website for the ministry here

- Random tech and design needs (like getting Johns messages up in iTunes, camp t-shirt design etc...)

- Finally, The Gotz's (the missionary family that directs the camp and pastors the church) will be gone at from March 25th through the end of my stay here. This means that all of the above needs to be done more or less before then. This also means that a lot of teaching and leadership responsibility will fall to me. Please, please pray for much wisdom throughout this time. Pray that I will lead as much as needs be and allow the staff (my roommates) to step up at the same time. 

Ok no one wants to read a page full of black and white so i'll stop there and let your eyes have a rest (assuming of course you've made it this far!)

Love you all and miss you already,

Chris

Beautiful Belize

Hey everyone,

Made it in last night after a pretty long day of travel, ending with what was definitively the most exciting plane ride of my life. More of a city bus with a propeller actually, stops and all. Oh, also there was a tourist totally lit on rum punches sitting in the co-pilot's chair. amazing. 

I'll have more in a few days once i get a few things sorted out with internet and such, but until then, blessings to all

Chris

One of my favorite sights

I can never see these pillars without thinking of amazing times past or exciting times to come. Thanks again to everyone who helped send me out!

LAX HO!