Belize is beautiful to see, if you are a fan of green grass, lots of trees and mountains or hills extending into the sky. I remember just sitting outside my hotel room and looking across at this gorgeous scenery that seemed to roll on and on forever. This little country, tucked into crook of Central America, was definitely pulling out all the whistles and bells for me. The sun shined down upon me, the breeze cooled my skin and the foliage sharpened their colours all as if for my pleasure. I was and am in love with Belize.
Most importantly were the people I met, the 200 plus kids that I had a chance to teach about God. They came out from every corner it seemed when we pulled up in our van. We expected about 50 kids and was at first overwhelmed by the 150 over. Yet, God was in this mission and he was not unprepared. Somehow we had enough to give and they gratefully received.
There were those that showed the scars of abuse, and some that didn't. It broke my heart to see one boy's arm completely burnt, but his eyes still sparked with life. His brown eyes were beautiful and I still see them in my mind. Another child wore like a brand, a deep and ugly slash across his cheek - it marred his otherwise smooth skin. One boy had seen too much, having to watch his father strangle himself to death in a drug induced stupor. Others had seen the adults in their lives do things to each other that should have been reserved for closed doors, but in a one room building with no privacy, they carried on just the same. Some wore clothes that were torn and dirty. There were those that had no shoes. There was one child that was desperate enough to pick up the scraps of a broken cracker we were sweeping from the dirty floor to eat.
I am not doing this to depress you. Those kids taught me something. Despite their circumstances, whatever it might have been, none of them came looking depressed in spirit. They cheerfully showed up, participated and eagerly helped us to clean up each day. Those kids did not fold their hands across their chests and waited to die. They lived and rejoiced. Those kids who had so little smiled and laughed and hugged and kissed and rejoiced.
Isaiah 58:10-11:
" ... If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
This verse jumped out at me yesterday. If I spend myself on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed...those were the words that penetrated my consciousness. Perhaps I am more sensitive to the hungry and oppressed because of my recent trip to Belize. If you are like me, you are perhaps asking, where is Belize? That was my exact question as well. I knew nothing of the people, couldn't even imagine what they would look like, or how they would speak, or how the country would feel. I definitely did not imagine the hunger, abuse, and poverty that resided in the belly of Belize, away from the eyes of North American tourists.
Belize is one place far away from most of us, a place that many of us will never have a chance to visit. However, hungry people are every where. They are walking among us even now. Friends, let us commit this verse to heart and spend ourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed. God promises us that we will be like a well watered garden. Please, I urge you to open your eyes and your heart to those that are so desperately in need of help - your help. I implore you to be the change that people need today. Allow the love of God to be tangible through you, for then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday.
Thanks for touching Belize! Check out the website for
more information at http://www.touchingbelize.com
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