Finally moved in

As some may know our office has been "transition" mode over the past few months. Since the fire in our neighbor's office in July we've been working out of boxes - looking forward to finding a permanent home. Now we've got it! We're back to the original building but a slightly larger and nicer location. Come and visit us next door to our old location at 100-571 Main St (and see how the Lord has blessed us by moving us 75 feet closer to Tim Hortons! Maybe once He chooses to move us the additional 3 blocks we'll start drinking coffee.)



Year end will soon be upon us and so comes the exciting time of reflecting on the year past and putting the finishing touches on the plans for 2007. This Saturday we had an encouraging meeting with a group of church leaders from the Bergfeld Mennonite Church (the church that initiated the Belize project) to discuss the future of the camping programs in Belize and Latin America. I'm looking forward to spending a week or two - here in our new office - in late December/early January together with Alex Perez (the indigenous leader from Belize) putting together a plan for this year and a strategy for the future when plans to return home to Belize. If you're interested in meeting Alex I'd love to introduce you to him. I'm hoping to host him for a couple days at our house sometime in early January. Photo: Alex and me on the ferry in Belize.




On the home front - the past week has been the week of the flu in the Zacharias household. 3 Zacharias members fell to the sinister plot and were victim to illness. The last man standing (myself) vows never to join the "dark side" of the flu and requests all further sick days come with 1 week's notice. All seem to be recovering nicely.

Long Winded?

It's good that I'm not alone in the "oops, I ran over time" club. In fact I do believe I delicately came in just a touch over my time - but what can you do when God pours out so much blessing you have to share it. One of my favorite stories in scripture is in Acts 20 when Paul is sharing in Troas. He went so long that they ran passed midnight and people fell out of windows because they were falling asleep. I didn't hear any snoring and it may be a good thing too because that guy died (although Paul raised him back up - but I'm not sure I would like to be put on the spot like that while speaking).

The Story I Couldn't Share

There's always all kinds of surprises in every trip overseas. This baptism experience certainly was among them. On many occasions we had graciously declined the opportunity to baptize new believers because we didn't want to take this privilege from the pastors who disciple them. Antony shared with us that culturally it is customary for visitors to do this sort of thing and by refusing we were more likely to hurt feelings then to accept this honor.

So the time came were pastor Pandian (on the left) whispered (no actually he hollered - it was during a "sing with all your might" worship time) in my ear that he would like me to baptize two individuals that morning. Not hearing (or understanding for that matter) a word he said I gracious replied whatever you want pastor I will do for you. A few moments later I was whisked away into a back room where the pastor opened a suit case to find me suitable baptism clothes. I figured being of some "substance" I would soon be let off the hook and I could wear my own clothes (I was likely already quite damp from the 40 degree heat). Then low and behold he found a white lugee (basically a sheet) and a shirt just my size (okay maybe a little snug).

I began to wonder if the Lord was about to humble me. No pins, belts or velcro just a sheet in a tub of water. I could hear the snickers of my students. They could sense the disaster ahead. I felt pretty unspiritual climbing into the tank to share this experience with two vibrant young believers with only the prayer, "Oh, Lord don't let my skirt fall off." Fortunately the night before some of my Indian friends were razing me about my lugee tying ability. So I challenged them to teach me a better way. I guess that's not much of a challenge for guys that wear "skirts" (lugees) on a daily basis. My new skill was put to the test that day and I am pleased to say I passed - but it was still a white sheet and I knew I should have packed gym shorts.

How would you like to have a story like this all of your own? Why not join me from January 16-28 for an experience that will shape your future. You can always contact me at steve@ccicamps.com.

Today's News

Once again the long overdue update arrives!

After a great big sigh of relief I look back on the past month of fundraising banquets and preparations and say, "Wow". We were somewhat uncertain what the outcome of such events would be as there are many similar events in the community. But what a blessing to experience the excitement of our community about what God is doing through the work of camping ministry overseas. It would be a close estimate that 900 people attended our banquets in Winkler and Morden and over $40,000 were raised to send kids to camp in the coming months. Praise the Lord! That means a life changing difference in the lives of thousands of youth!

Here's the latest on what's been going on overseas:

Antony (who oversees the camping ministry in Southeast Asia) sent me this photo yesterday. Though the date on it would appear that it is a New Year's party in 2004 it is actually taken at a youth event that was held in India on October 2, 2006 (just a couple weeks ago). The story behind events like these are really something else.

Looking back I can't believe I was skeptical at first. I remember tossing out a challenge in a training time to a couple dozen Indian youth, "who of you will make a weekly effort to follow up the children you reach out to with the gospel." All of them raised their hands. I figured something got lost in translation because no one explained their schedule restraints or that they needed time to pray about it. They knew they were called for a purpose and this was it. And I can joyfully tell you they are following through on this commitment.

But the story doesn't stop there. Eager to do more they begged Antony, "Can you help us reach out to our friends and peers at our schools and colleges?" And so Antony proposed a series of youth events where those who had served as counselors at camps would invite their non-Christian friends to a day of speaking, skits, singing, etc. And we would have never imagined just how fruitful an event like this could be. The original plan was to host an event for 2,000 but by the time the day arrived over 4,000 showed up. Approximately 1/3 were from the local church and the other 2/3 those they hoped to reach with the gospel.

This event did draw some attention from the authorities who challenged Antony by questioning his intentions for the day. Was this to be a mass conversion event? They were not too favorable in this matter. However, God was working long before this event to prepare for a harvest. The youth I told you about earlier had already been organized on the campuses of the colleges and schools these youth were invited from. In the days following the event each attender would be followed up by these groups and invited into fellowship with Christ and the church. So I don't have a number for you as to how many came to know Christ but what I can tell you is that the church is growing by leaps and bounds.

In the coming year we're hoping to reach out to schools and colleges to reach 21,000 youth. There is certainly potential for more (and you can bet there will be more - as I said before 4,000 attended - those were just the ones we have registered - a number of others found ways to sneak in to satisfy their spiritual hunger!)

Where do I stop? Then there's Nepal. Antony spent the past 6 months training a missionary from India to help with the work in Nepal. Again the Lord continues to open doors for children and youth.

In Cambodia the Lord has poured out blessing as well. A friend of mine, Davis Wieler just returned to share of all God is doing there. I encourage you to check out his blog at http://daviswieler.blogspot.com for more about his experience. I hope to update you soon with pictures and stories from Cambodia.

Till then we continually covet your prayers and support. It's an amazing work God has called us all to and we are so grateful to work together with you to "make disciples of all the nations."

Another "monthly?" update

My sincere apologies for any faithful visitors to this site that have come for recent updates an found none. It certainly hasn't been due to the lack of God's blessing to be shared but rather that sometimes God pours His blessing out so ABUNDANTLY that you find yourself somewhat swamped in it. I'm sure many of you can identify.

Today God has blessed me through the slow response of some of the detail type "stuff" for my next project - this allows me a little time to update you (that's a good way to put a positive spin on the fact that you're waiting for key people to return your constant phone calls so you can get your own work done, right?)

I feel I really need to share with you the blessing of the World Harvest For Kids Event. My heart is flooded with all kinds of thoughts and reflections - most are too hard to describe but I'll do my best.

First I think I should share with you the purpose of the World Harvest event. Over the past couple years we've worked real hard to get the word out about how God is blessing camping ministry in Southeast Asia. At times it can be discouraging when even in your home community people haven't heard about these rich blessings. Unfortunately advertising is hugely expensive and we have such a burning burden to send every dollar possible to the mission field where is effectively brings the gospel to thousands of children. So what do you do? Plan a great big publicity stunt that can double as a fundraiser that the media will take interest in and broadcast your message across the continent. So we ran with Ray's brainchild the "World Harvest For Kids" and invested our energy into this idea that really accomplished more than we could have imagined.

Just to give you an idea as to what this event accomplished:

Before the event:
Number of visits to our webpage per month: around 30-50
After the event:
We had well over 10,000 visits to our site in August (which was a lot cheaper than sending out 10,000+ brochures)

Before the event:
No TV coverage
After the event:
CTV and Global both reported on the event
The "Earth" network out of the US picked up the story and ran it several times in the following week broadcasting to 30,000,000 (that's 30 million!) subscribers.

Before the event:
No other media coverage
After the event:
Countless newspaper and magazine articles from all over the world
Radio interviews from across North America
Tons of people linked to our website through all kinds of online chat forums

At the event:

• Between 8,000-10,000 people saw God's provision for this ministry and took in a world record event. We were able to freely distribute information outlining the work of this ministry to many of these people.
• Approximately 1000 campers were sponsored to attend camp through the sale of aerial photos of the event.
• An incredible amount of goodwill was generated and we had the opportunity to personally connect with hundreds and hundreds of people and share how God has blessed this ministry.
• God provided an outstanding crop - beyond the estimations of many. The sale of which will send many thousands of children to camp (the amount of the sale is yet to be confirmed but it will be more than $30,000 but how much more depends on what grain prices do).
• Hundreds of volunteers gave sacrificially of their time and resources to help us accomplish this feat - some farmers drove up to 8 hours in their combines, and in the pouring rain, to be here (I'm guessing those things don't get real great fuel mileage).

And so much more...

A little bit about my day on August 5

I just wish you all could have seen what I saw and experience what I experienced that day.

I woke up around 4:00 am to get started on the day. It had become my routine over the past week as I was feeling pretty anxious as this huge opportunity drew near. Just a couple last minute details to work out and I'd be off to the site for 6:00. At 6:00 I turned the key in the truck I had borrowed for the weekend and nothing happened. No big deal, I'll just boost it with the car and be off. Finally after minutes of fiddling the truck starts and I'm off feeling a little behind where I'd like to be but conquered the first hurdle.

Pulling on to the field I got a good look at the weather system rolling in and it didn't look promising. However, there was a job to do and we had decided that we would continue to move in faith till we reached the point of no return. We had invested too much time to even think of rescheduling - a rain date simply wasn't a viable option - it was all or nothing.

The clouds weren't a surprise. They had be forecasted and the rain had already fallen on the field the day before. It's amazing how many people came out to the field the day before to let us know it wasn't going to work and that it was already too wet. Talk about the enemy's flaming arrows. We had decided that God knew what He was doing and would provide one way or another and we would simply do our part till He forcefully redirected us.

By 9:00 I really started to question how much further till it was an obvious redirection. A regular shower of lightening bolts were moving closer and closer. I wondered if this was the safest place to be - in the middle of an open field but resolved that surely my thick rubber soles would save me (right?) Maybe it wasn't quite that dramatic but after a couple good thunderclaps I did say to one of the volunteers helping me, "do you think that this was what the Israelites felt like when they came to the Red Sea?" I really felt like crying because it really appeared as though a year of planning and preparation was going to get rained on and ruined.

Then I was reminded that God parted the Red Sea - that became our little joke and then our earnest prayer. We know we didn't pray it alone. Hundreds of pastors and church members in India gathered for an all night prayer meeting. In addition we know countless prayer warriors were upholding us here (and then there was the matter of all the other farmers that were praying for the rain and so the competition began). Some one mentioned that we should pray that if it did rain it would just be on the other fields (ha, ha, what are the chances?) As it turns out the chances are pretty good when you've got a God like ours.

We did get a bit of a sprinkling at around 10:30 or 11:00. That was probably the low point of the day. People that were arriving were saying that the radio was announcing a likely rescheduling of the event.

Then the phone rang and it was my father-in-law. He started off with the phrase we all dread hearing on a day like this, "I've got some bad news." I didn't think things could really get all that much worse. I thought it would be a simple "we couldn't find the supplies you need" - I had called to see if Terri could pick up a couple things that I needed for the day. Instead he told me this (and only this), "Terri took a fall and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. We're pretty sure her knee was dislocated and we think Jace is okay." The "hospital by ambulance" part was kind of weighty for me since I knew Terri being a paramedic and all would probably think she could fix herself unless it was pretty serious - that I knew that she knew what it cost to call and ambulance and would do everything to avoid calling one (we like to call it "thriftiness"). So my mind began to race. Did she fall down the stairs with Jace? What did she fall from? This sounds like months of recuperation - how could we possibly juggle this with a new baby?

Now I really wanted to give up. I hung up and tried to continue on briefing my information team. That was tough for me. I really wanted to be the upbeat chipper guy these guys knew me to be but I shared with them the news and that I really felt like crying. Almost immediately the sun began to peek out and I sensed the Lord speaking to me, "I took care of the clouds now I'll take care of your wife. You've got a job to do." That had been Ter's one request as well that no one would call me. But they figured that since she was already late dropping off my stuff for the day that I would probably figure it out soon enough.

I the midst of getting my info team going I was Emceeing the program. Praise the Lord for good friend like Greg Wood. Over the last year he's been in and out of the office that we share with some local staff with Campus Crusade (he being one of them). Sensing something was wrong he asked how I was doing and I felt the tears coming. I really appreciated that he took the time and prayed with me right there because it's those little things that keep you going.

By this time the sky was bright blue over the field and pouring rain all around. And my confidence in God's provision was becoming stronger. People that were arriving were talking about the down pours all around Winkler. I called Ray, who was in a dignitary lunch that the sky was blue (even though less than a 1/2 mile away where he was it was raining).

Then the people started to come and the excitement began to build. The helicopter arrived (what a blessing - that's another amazing story about how God provided for us) , the news trucks began to roll in, a professional camera crew arrived - that's a story I have to share:
Just about a week and a half before the event Harry Siemens gave me a call - one of many bearing great news. One day it was that a major ag paper would run the story, then the Free Press, the Paul Harvey, then the Earth Network. Wait a second the Earth Network! They weren't going to send out a camera crew but said they would feature the event on some of their programming if we could courier them footage immediately following the event. I was suspicious that the half dozen camcorders we had gathered wasn't going to cut it for this. Someone in the office said, "well then call in the professionals." My response, "good one, we don't have money for professionals." Simple reply, "ask for it for free, what's the worse they can say, no?"

With that I looked for the biggest agency I could find. These guys had won all kinds of awards and done movies, documentaries and advertising for a number of very large companies. I figured I'd show everyone just what we couldn't afford and by how much. I'm not a big fan of these cold turkey phone calls where you are asking for something big. Reminding myself that the worst they could say was no I asked what it would take to get a camera crew out for the event... Next weekend. Quickly he responded, "what is your budget?" I laughed. Then I told him we were hovering around the $0 mark. He responded with an I'll see what I can do. You know what that means, I'll waste three days of your time and then tell you no. A day or two later he called back and said that the company would donate the use of the equipment but he was finding it hard to find videographers to donate their time. The price tag was going to be about $1000 for the day. At this point we didn't have many options and I said yes. Hopefully the product would be a return. The story continues later.

The moments past so fast that the next thing you knew the clock was running and the event was on. What an overwhelming feeling to see it all coming together - and I don't even have a background in agriculture. Ray has mentioned to me since the event that a number of farmers have spoken to him about the day with tears in their eyes. One 70+ year old farmer who was one of the operators had mentioned that this was one of the best days in his life.

It felt pretty good when the last combine came in and the previous record was broken by over 4 minutes. It was done.

The day before the event I drove out to the field just to have a little time alone with God and I just felt flooded with the thought of what this event was going to mean in the lives of children. To think thousands of kids would hear the gospel because of a silly publicity stunt (a good estimate is around 20,000 kids). At that moment I was so grateful that I'd been called to this ministry. You've all prayed for the salvation of an individual and felt that deep burden for his/her eternal destiny. Well here the eternal destiny of 20,000 individuals began to look a lot brighter.

So now we're in the thick of preparing for our fundraising banquet and update evening where we get to share all of this good news with everyone. One element that we hope to share is that professional video I talked about. A couple week ago Ray made a trip to Winnipeg to meet with the agency doing our video. We sat in a very intimidating board room and the guys that I had made arrangements joined us. I had since been informed what this agency usually charges $1800 per finished minute. I was waiting for the bomb - they talked about preferring to edit their own stuff and I expected them to offer a deal of half price or something. Then suddenly they said, "and we're prepared to donate it all."

Now I'm pretty sure these guys were not believers but I reminded them that what they were doing was accomplishing something much bigger than they realized. I also let them know that they were in my prayers with a great deal of gratitude. What they had just given had a value of over $10,000!

So needless to say Ray and I found it hard to wash the perma-grins off our faces that night.

On a personal note

Thanks so much to all of you who pray for us and partner with us in so many ways. I've told you of all these wonderful blessings we have received over the past month but only briefly shared some of the challenges of we've experienced. At many times we have really felt under attack. It's easy in times like these to feel overworked and "busy" but the fact of the matter is that the benefits have far outweighed the sacrifice (however, in the middle of the sacrifice you don't always see these things). To be honest I really felt like giving up some days. Praise the Lord Terri's knee healed very quickly because that really felt like too much. Many days I felt very hollow despite all these blessing all around me. Hard to believe isn't it. But over the past few weeks I've been stuck in Deuteronomy chapter 8 reflecting on the verses there. In summary it speaks of Israel's time in the desert was a test to see where their heart was and whether they would follow God's commands. And God humbled them to the point of hunger and then provided manna so that they would know just how dependent on God they actually were. I feel a little more aware of my dependency on God right now.

We really covet your prayers as we pray for you. Please pray that the Lord would continue to uphold us with encouragement. Please pray that God would continue to provide for us as well. It's so easy to become focused on tomorrow's bread that we forget to ask for today's. We still hover around 80% of being fully funded which is a huge blessing but is a concern as the year is nearing a close.

We just want God's hand to be upon us so that we would be a blessing to others. We want to live daily doing what God wants of us. Please pray for our protection and the protection of our family.

And thanks so much for reading this whole entry. Your patience through my ramblings is a real blessing

Did I Fall Asleep at the Wheel

Well if you've been checking this update regularly my deepest gratitude goes out to you. Updates have been few and far between lately. Partially because the events of our immediate ministry haven't been all that thrilling to report on and it's just been that crazy in the office.

So I returned to a mountain of tasks to conquer and a tight time frame to complete them in. As many of you may know, this Saturday is pretty big getting the word out about what God is doing overseas through the work of Children's Camps International. Planning for the World Harvest For Kids Event is a task much bigger than I thought. Approximately 200 volunteers, over 100 combines, dozens of media organizations, hundreds of phone calls, last minute arrangements, fundraising and more and more has been the buzz of the office over the past month. I wonder what Monday will sound like - although I've got a long date with my computer coming up as a satellite network broadcasting to 30 million homes has requested video footage of the event and my task is to edit the dozens of camera angles.

Up until this morning I felt somewhat overwhelmed. But today during a noon hour prayer meeting an inner joy and excitement started stirring. God is going to use this event - great things are on the horizon. Despite the gliches of the past weeks we will soon have a platform that thousands maybe even millions (okay, thousands will do for now) of people will be exposed to how God is moving all over the world.

Please pray for this event and that we would be free to accomplish this goal to promote and raise funds for a very, very valuable ministry.

And please plan to be there on Saturday. Check out www.worldharvestforkids.com for more details.

They All Speak English!

We made it back! Tonight I'll spend the night with Terri here in Minneapolis. It's really nice to be back. It was a really wonderful and blessed time but also very exhausting.

It's good to be where signs are in English and everyone understands what you are saying. Next time - Spanish lessons! Scott and I nearly got off our bus at the wrong stop but luckily the baggage guy stopped us as we were walking away. We thought we were in Cancun but we were a good 40 km (or so) walk away. All in all, we got the hang of the bus systems throughout Belize and Mexico - so if anyone's up for some econo-travel we'll make great guides.

On the trip back we met all kinds of interesting folks. From FBI agents to apprentice tour guides named "Prefecto" and every vacationer inbetween. Each one we tried to leave with a little encouragement and blessing. It's been good to be challenged to take every opportunity - Alex has been a real example to me in this.

Speaking of Alex, it was hard to leave him behind. Though he's got some good allies around him still a great deal remains to be done. We took a good look at his schedule and tried to set some realistic goals. It may be tricky to reach as many children as at first hoped but we will certainly have two more strong camping programs within the next couple of weeks.

I'm gunning to get some pictures loaded on this site soon so come back to see them.

Off At Sea

We wrapped up our training camp at Spanish Lookout today and it was incredibly positive. We had just a tremendous response which should be very beneficial for the upcoming camping programs.

Today we hopped on a boat to a place called San Pedro. We hope to get a little rest and then head off to Carmaleta for one last church visit/service.

Hope to see you all soon!

Hello From Menno-ville

Apart from the palm trees and heat it's like we're at home. Here in Spanish Lookout life it a lot like Southern Manitoba. Over the past couple days we've been connecting with the youth from the EMMC here in Spanish Lookout. Things have been going extremely well and there's a large group of quality youth that are willing to help us with the two days camps we'll run next week. Approximately 20 young people came out for training and they are like eager sponges. It's really been encouraging.

I am getting a little tired and am starting to get a little sick. But the Lord is good and faithful to carry us through. As I laid down for a few minutes this afternoon I thought, "wait a second, I haven't even asked God to restore my strength and health." Immediately my throat and head stopped hurting. However, I still feel like a good night's rest wouldn't hurt. Your prayers certainly wouldn't hurt either.

Tomorrow we wrap up and start heading back to Orange Walk. We'll take a one day scenic route back and then polish off some details. Please pray for Alex. There's still a lot left and if he's as tired as I am (which I suspect he is) he'll really need some strength to finish well.

Update Try #3

It seems that Belizian computers have it out for me. I get a nice entry all really and then it seems to vanish into no where. So here it is again.
Yesterday we arrived in Belize City to meet a couple pastors - to build some relationships and just get some insight to Belize. There certainly is a wide response - some pastors are so eager to look for ways to reach the country - seeking partnerships and relationships. Other's as in the words of one pastor are, "very territorial and want nothing to do with other churches or organizations." It's sad to see that so many churches are really struggling to find unity.

Today we arrived in Belmapan, the nation's capital to meet with a man who is overseeing a camp here. As is the case in many situations this organization seems to find support for developing facilities but not a lot for the program. I'm scared that this beautiful facility may not be used to it's potential.

Tomorrow it's off to Spanish Lookout for our final training session. I'm looking forward to it although honestly, I'm a little tired. Please pray that God would strongly carry us through these final days.

Another Day In Paradise

The neighbor horse looks happy and the chickens are out on the town so it look like it will be another beautiful day here in Belize.

Unfortunately we missed our fancy seafood dinner last night so it's back to real missionary status for us. Our chef, Alex's mom, had second thoughts about us visiting. Alex shared with us how she struggles spiritually when he is around and the prospect of having us around was probably a little overwhelming. So we will continue to pray for her and maybe just stop in for a brief hello on our way out today. You might offer a prayer on Alex's behalf, I think it's pretty hard to receive opposition like this from home. It's clearly a heavy burden on his heart.

Instead we treated a local man to supper yesterday. His name is Jamin. He too, feels the Lord is putting a burden on his heart for children's ministry so we plan to take him along on our next string of meetings and training session. After supper we went to meet with his parents (Juan & Alica Castillo) to ask their blessing and share with them some of the details of our invitation. They are wonderfully godly people who have guided Jamin well and they have also been a great encouragement to Alex.

It looks like things are set for our next set of meetings and training session. We hope to udate you with blessings along the way.

And the rain stopped...

As we reached the church the cloud shut and the rain stopped. Praise the Lord. It was a little humorous because the moment we said, "Amen" after closing up for the day it started to rain.

Approximately 46 children (new children kept coming in throughout the day and this was the last official count though I know at least another 4 or 5 came in after) joined us today for camp. The age range was a little wider than we had planned but we adapted and the day came off relatively well. We certainly learned a lot to aid in the next preparation which was our goal for this one day, day camp.

Probably a highlight for my day at camp was the sub camp that I had the opportunity to be involved in just outside the doors of the church. A group of three boys stood outside the church looking in but were obviously uncomfortable coming into the church. I felt the Lord putting on my heart "if they won't come in to us I should really be going out to them." With a short prayer for courage I went out to meet them. Quickly our group grew to about 8 and we did crafts together, I shared a magic trick and story, we made up some songs about the tortilla sales man that drove by every 15 minutes and had a really good time. These new friends were a real blessing and I pray that the love of God will penitrate their precious hearts.

Eventually the guys joined me inside to watch the Jesus video for kids. And they ate my hotdog - no devoured my hotdog. They're special kids and I plan to stop by their houses next Sunday before we make preparations to leave.

Thanks for your prayers. Tomorrow we will start our trek. We plan to take a young man from the community with us. We strongly feel that Alex will need someone to walk alongside him to assist him in his work and we hope to offer this young man named Jamin some encouragement.

Hopefully I'll be able to update you again but I'm unsure what sort of access we'll have along the way.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

If anyone should check this blog before you head to church you might want to remember us and ask that God would hold back the rain. Even if it would be long enough for the children to come to the church for the day camp program.

I've come to learn that rain is one of the bigger challenges to the church here. When it rains no one comes to church. The other day when we were asked to speak at Pastor Marlon's church it began to rain. There were only two others that had come to the service and I think they were the pastor's wife and an associate pastor. So on the way to church we made several stops and packed as many as we could in the small little van. For some pastors like Marlon this can be very discouraging. His heart grieves that his church is so loosely committed. Others feel obligated to lower their expectations.

So as it rains here (shortly after 6 am) we feel a little discouraged. I don't know if Satan is working hard to discourage us or if God is trying to redirect us. Already as we spent some time reflecting on the staff training time we realized there is a big task ahead. Though the program itself went very well and the youth shared that they had learned so much and had received encouraging challenge we see little translating to action. Of the 15 Belizian youth we trained only 4 have committed themselves to helping us for 1 day of camp. So we feel a little discouraged with the state of the Spanish church and these youth.

However, we know God will provide in other ways. The group for Blue Creek was excited to come serve and we're confident they will bring back their group of 10 plus a few extra. It's amazing how evident the difference between these churches is. We wish the Spanish pastors would see that if they only took a little time to invest in the lives of their youth that they too would become active like this in their faith.

Well, the bottom line is we are certainly learning. We have certainly leared a lot already and I'm so encouraged by Alex who everyday becomes more and more convinced that he is called to serve is people and the youth of Belize. It may take some time but God will begin to convince churches and bring about change in the lives of the youth. I'm completely confident that God is going to use Alex in a profound way to play a part in this change.

Well, the rain is still coming down hard. I may be fully showered by the time I reach the shower house. BONUS!

We covet your prayers today!

Trying Again

So apparently my blog didn't update last time around. I guess that was the error message I got. It was in Spanish and since I didn't see smoke I figured everything was going to be okay.

Yesterday we trekked into the jungle once again to visit a couple of workers with TEAM Mission International. Not far from Orange Walk (where we are home-basing) they are developing a bootcamp site. God bless them. I feel like one big mosquito bite I can only imagine what the poor 20 American teenagers arriving on Sunday will look like.

There mission is to challenge and training teens to be active in service and evangelism. If they can break through to the youth of Belize I think this could be an awesome ministry but I think things have been slow going in that neighborhood. Some of the locals have mentioned that they think they're a little nuts living in the jungle - though it is beautiful is filled with many dangers for those who are not careful.

Our own program continues to go very well. When I wrote this morning we only had a few hours left in our training session and now we are done. So it's on to a trial day camp program tomorrow. Up until yesterday we were expecting 45 children that one of the pastors recruited from the community. However, a kind gesture of some unknown individual may bring out substantially more children. Alex's sister informed us that someone is advertising for us on the radio. Though it's pretty cool we don't have the facility to house more than 45. In fact housing 45 will already be a small miracle.

Prayerfully we'll do our best tomorrow. We're looking into a community recreation center that would be absolutely perfect for us. Alex pointed it out the other day as we were on the way to check out a Christian school that hoped to rent. For a small fraction of the price we can rent this facility complete with cooking facilities, meeting rooms, indoor play area (which is important since it is technically the rainy season here) and plenty of play space outside. The only thing we need is a sound system for chapel times. What a blessing! Alex asked what I figured it would cost to rent the place and I figured $100-200 per hour. They only wanted $100/week! (and I think that may be Belize dollars which would make it $50 CDN) Here's a secular organization that simply wants to bless us because they feel the community needs a program like this. Even the cheapest Christian school wanted 6 times the rents with half the facility.

After we complete the day camp tomorrow we'll head to Alex's house for supper (I hear lobster is on the menu - yeah missions in Belize is tough when you visit a fisherman's house - apparently lobster is extremely cheap out here). Please pray that we'll even be a light during this time. Though a wonderful woman (did you know that Alex was abandoned as a child and she took him in) she is involved with witchcraft among other things.

The next day we hope to travel south to Belize City making a couple of stops along the way (Spanish Lookout - another Mennonite community where we have some Manitoba connections, Belmapan - a beautiful camp facility with no leadership, and Belize City where we hope to meet some key pastors in the community). We've been told that Belize City has some not so great areas. Fortunately our transportation fell through so we will have to hire a driver to take us around the city. Otherwise I was going to drive, Alex to navigate, none of us knowing where the bad parts are. So already God is answering your prayers for our safety.

After we complete the loop we'll get ready to come home. My apologies is you don't hear from me after Monday but we're unsure when we'll have access to the internet between then and Friday.

Another Jungle Adventure

What A Blessing

A couple days ago I had some major apprehensions about how today (the first day of training) would unfold. I so glad to tell you it was a tremendous blessing and success. Though many challenges still remain many more blessings have been thoughout the day.

Approximately 10 youth from Blue Creek (a Mennonite community nearby) can to the training time. It might a pretty long ride down some pretty brutal roads but they came anyway. We weren't orginally planning to have them but I rescent revival broke out among the youth and they really want to reach out to the communities around them. It was so good to have them join us.

It was a bit of a motley crew of people. Three churches we represented and they were all very different. The Blue Creekers were just like having a group from Winkler. You could immediately tell they had a solid youth group because they were very eager. Pastor Philippe is the pastor who's church we are using. He too has a big heart for children and youth and it really shows in the youth that came. They too were very involved.

However, the last church is probably more typical to Belize. They don't really have a youth group and the youth were dis-interested and frequently excused themselves. Two were obviously a couple and were open in their display of affection. It's amazing just how much difference that little bit of nurturing makes. I wish their Pastor had come to see the difference it would make if he would engage his youth like the others. I wish many of the other Pastors would have simply brought their youth (or even have youth in their churches). It's a real crisis here in Belize.

A perfect example is what happened yesterday just down the road from us. A 12 year old girl was found by her mother very "involved" with her boyfriend. After a harsh repremand the girl ran off to find her father's (who is a local policeman) gun. The result was that she took her own life. That's the destiny for too many youth here in Belize. You see way too many teenage moms. The boys across the street regularly smoke drugs right outside their door. I'm so glad these two churches have a vision to reach the youth of the community but I am so grieved to see that so many churches simply don't even care.

I'm confident Alex will be God's instrument here in Belize. He's got such a big heart for his country and has already been a blessing to many churches and leaders. Please pray for him and the churches he connects with. Some of them are waking up to see that it is their responsibility to reach their youth but are severly under resourced. Pray that they would gain vision and ideas to engage their youth.

Two pastors have invited us to come to challenge their churches tonight. We will join Philippe's church on Sunday but tonight we will chose to serve Pastor Marlon's church. Presently he has no youth attending his church at all. However he has many children. He'd really like to change the pattern of children growing to youth and leaving the church by ministering to them early. He's got a big heart and a big task. Please pray that his church will be motivated to help him in his work.

Other than that we're loving the food, sweating a lot and surviving quite nice (you're going to laugh when you see where we're staying - we call it "economical" - it keeps us out of the rain).

Training Begins

Today is the big day. There's little idea as to who will show up for training and how they'll respond. We've had such a wide response already - some who believe this will be a great success and those who believe it will be a great big flop.

We've certainly seen one thing that is consistant - in most churches youth have no way to serve and therefore they often end up getting into trouble and leaving the church. So we may have a bigger job ahead of us to help the churches re-engage their youth, prepare them for ministry and them give them opportunity to serve within the church. Maybe it's a little more than a 2 week project.

However, we visited a place called Blue Creek and connected with Darryl Dyck (a former pastor of the EMMC in Reinland, MB). He is now pastoring a church in a Mennonite community here in Belize and has a thriving youth group of over 50. He called last night to ask if his youth could be of help. So we may have a very broad spectrum of participants today. I praise the Lord that He knows what He's doing because I certainly do not. I'm confident that He will guide us and at the end of the day I will have many exciting things to share.

If you are sending email to me - for some reason I am unable to check my regular address (the site does not load all the way down here) so please send any messages to szacharias@rocketmail.com

Back from the jungle

Along the road we could see ancient Mayan ruins peaking through the jungle landscape. However I was more interested in the dozens of make-shift shacks that lined the winding road. In door ways stood little children who looked as though they could really use the hope that the message of the gospel.

We're becoming very aware of the poor lifestyle choices that surround the community and even the church. There are many young single mothers and many more children with the need of hope. Please pray that we would be effective in developing leaders to bring this hope to these children. It is difficult to find those who are motivated and willing to live their faith out practically.

We just returned from meeting with a woman who is effectively reaching children through the ministry of CEF. We had a wonderful time of sharing and prayer and we hope that in the future we will be able to work together to reach the children of Belize.

The setting of meeting was quite beautiful. The sun was most gorgeous rising over the jungle this morning (the alarm sounded at five and we had a few moments to enjoy the scene before our bus arrived).

Got to go - fresh pineapple and cantalope await

Finally Here!

It's amazing how one flat tire can change so much. When I arrived in Minneapolis I was informed that the airplane had blown a tire and our flight would be delayed at least 5 hrs. My immediate response was to laugh - the ticket agent then told me she doesn't joke (she wasn't much of a morning person). I must admit soon after I was a little anxious - the well planned trip didn't allow for this delay. Unless Alex was prepared to wait at the border for 17 hrs we were going to have to figure out how to find him (fortunately there is only 250,000 people in Belize so it didn't take us long).

Along the way God certainly provided for us. He sent many angels to quickly guide us and hold buses for us and find us reasonably priced taxis (I've never realized the angels commonly expect tips!) However one thing God withheld from us was a working phone so it kind of felt as though we were travelling in a fog. So we (Scott and I - Scott is a friend of Alex's that met me in Cancun to travel with me the rest of the way) prayed and put one foot in front of the other. After each step I know I was praying please Lord let Alex be at the next step. Orginally we were supposed to me at the Belize/Mexico border but since we had not been able to communicate Alex was not there to meet us. However we did meet two other Canadians who just "happen" to be travelling to the exact same town as we were. So we were able to split a taxi to Alex's hometown. The taxi dropped us off at the Town Hall where who should be waiting for us - ALEX! He had been led to wait for us there (though I wish he had been led to wait by the phone so that when we finally found a working phone the message wouldn't have been that he was out and wouldn't be back for a couple hours).

Already I've had the opportunity to meet with Pastor Philip, a pastor of a growing church here in Orange walk town. He shared with me about his church and community and some of the obstacles in evangelizing here. He has offered his church facility and young people for children's programs and training. I look forward to building a relationship with him and his church.

Today after meeting a couple pastors here in town, we are heading to King's College were a CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) training program is taking place. Yolanda, a vibrant woman from Belize, is training a dozen youth for children's ministry. We are hoping to work with and learn from her.

Our itenerary looks pretty packed over the next couple of days. We will be traveling to Blue Creek before returning to Orange Walk for training on Thursday. Alex is hoping to make it to Belize City sometime next week and we may even dip down to Honduras to meet with some pastors and visionaries there.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. I'm constantly aware of my insufficiency but know God's power is made perfect in weakness.

Today's the day and in a few hours I'll be on the road to Minneapolis to catch my flight. I must admit I'm a little apprehensive. Perhaps a couple years ago I would have been thrilled by the adventure and opportunity but now I'm just a little nervous heading out.

I don't have a completely structured itenary as of yet. The major items are the training sessions June 21-23 and June 28-29. The rest of the time will be spend meeting with pastors and church leaders as well as visiting others who are working towards establishing camping ministries. There is infact a representative of Christian Camping International who has a training team for Latin America and is based next door in Honduras. If opportunity allows we may slip over to meet with him to explore how we might work together.

Thanks again for your interest and prayers. I look forward to reporting to you soon of what God is doing in Belize. Depending on our internet situation I may be updating this blog while I am away.

The Count Down Is On

Thanks again for coming back to checkout our update.

The count down is on and things sound like they are shaping up well for camps in Belize. Alex (our partner in Belize) has made some great connections with some pastors in the Orange Walk area and is busy arranging the details for staff training (June 21-23). I'm looking forward to working with him in training staff for this camping season.

I plan to leave for Minneapolis on June 17th and fly from there early the next morning. I'll be returning on July 5th - I'm confident with many stories of God's work and blessing.

Hello Friends,

This is the first installment of our ministry update. Though we may see each other frequently we don't always have opportunity to share the lastest on what God is doing through this ministry. For this reason I've set up this blog so that when you have a moment you can check up on us. We hope it will be a blessing to you all!

Steve and Terri