Update from Tim Tam

The love of God becomes visible....... and HOPE abounds.

 

Over the past couple of months, The Word at Work has hosted hundreds of volunteers from the States serving alongside our partners in Belize.

Our Board of Directors also got to meet in Belize and view the work taking place there. The repeating theme they observed was HOPE, flowering up everywhere.

 

At Tubal, a Christian vocational training school for underprivileged youth, we continue to bring material support while our staff person, Kenny Logan, ensures students get hands-on training at several of our TWAW construction projects.

 

The director of the school says that Kenny Logan and the Word at Work have been like a lifesaver for a drowning man."  We have more big plans still to unfold at Tubal  later this year.

 

Our  group from FPC Arlington Texas served at YES (Youth Enhancement Services),  a ministry that helps pregnant teens and girls rescued from sexual trafficking.  

The team did computer training and taught sewing projects for the girls to sell.

This year we painted and added to the facility which we built the previous year. 

 

 

At the same time Hillside Church from Amarillo, Texas was busy in The Valley of Peace building a home for a poor family, finishing construction on a community library and running children's programs. There was a large number of educators on the team that not only helped out with classrooms in the morning but did a large scale teacher training program after school which included teachers from several area schools.

Meanwhile, only a few miles away, other teams were busy building the new King's Children's Home.  This is a home for about 40 children that for many years has existed in a modified space that originally was a government office.

Now we have acquired 40 acres and a new children's dream home is under construction where there will be space to play and grow a garden. Teams from Westminster Church in Lubbock, Texas and college students from FPC Boulder, Colorado worked two weeks back to back to lay the foundation for the facility.

Yes, we will need more teams to come and help to complete the rest of the construction. And yes, we need to raise a lot more money for this worthwhile project. Pray about it.

 

Some of the highlights during March include the following:

At the end of their trip the Lubbock Church took the children and staff of the Kings Home out to a Caribbean island for a day of wonder.

Almost without exception, staff included, none had ever set foot on a boat. The boat trip was a blast, and so was exploring the island with all the shells, crabs, and pelicans. Getting to go snorkeling on the coral reef was something they shall always remember. All of this was followed by a time of worship and sharing about the goodness of God that was experienced during the week.

The other highlight to mention........... well you just have to click on this link and see the YouTube video  which includes the children and the new home under construction.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QuLaJGfJ3I

 

 And, while all this was going on........ shipping containers continue to arrive full of supplies for our partners and ministries all over the country.

 This includes massive amounts of reading curriculum, medical equipment and supplies, water purification equipment for areas with poor water.  Worth noting is a special piece of equipment that arrived called a plasmapheresis machine.

It's a machine that separates various elements in blood  and before now this service was not available in Belize.  The donation has generated a lot of excitement because it is expected to save numerous lives.

 

Also, our sewing co-op's are flourishing! Women and young girls in impoverished areas are being taught how to sew items such as aprons, pot holders, blouses, dresses, etc. for their families and to sell for income. 

The current need is treadle sewing machines  for villages with no electricity.

Check it out: http://www.belizehasit.com/christiansewingpartnersofbelize/

 

There are too many things happening for me to share all of them.

So much HOPE being spread it would wear you out to hear it and me to write it! So, here are a few bullet points to keep it brief.

 

• new classroom building being constructed in The Valley of Peace
  
• training counselors for hospice
  
• book drive for Belizean  school of nursing
  
• training program for micro-loans
  
• seeking help abroad for hopeless medical cases
  
• met with the US ambassador and initiated plans to partner on several projects
  
• friends in Clovis raising funds to send 500 wheelchairs
  
• health fair planned for Central Belize
  
• many more teams to come throughout the summer including respiratory therapists; and my personal favorite, teens from a Texas children's home come to minister to kids at a Belizean children's home
  
• planning concerts to raise funding for prison and domestic abuse shelters
  
• sports equipment drive in Dallas-Fort Worth
  
• our ministry to poor neighborhoods in Amarillo is still developing
  
• Story Cloth training is scheduled to take place in August. 100 people in New Mexico   preparing to train spirituality for the thousands of school teachers in Belize.
  
• feeding programs, guitar training, stain glass training, and cake decorating classes