Can you believe it’s the end of 2007? Where did the time go? A full recap of this year would be virtually impossible in an update like this! We spent last Christmas in Seattle, on break from School of the Bible in Texas. In July we drove back to our beloved country, YWAM base and friends in Belize. Upon arrival we were welcomed by our cousin, Arthur from Seattle who came to do the DTS. Days later our niece, Mirra arrived to spend a few months with us. Not long after that our parents came down for a visit as well. It’s a joy to have family and friends visit and experience life with us in Belize!
LEGACY and YOUTH We had several Legacy Conferences this year, each very powerful and impacting. We felt something shift in the young people as their hearts grew more confident in Who God truly is and continue to comprehend His love for them. For the record: it rained at EVERY Legacy conference this year, as it has since Legacy began! (See the kids swimming in the puddles below!) . Jason continues to speak at the high school in Belmopan, as other schools are calling to set up classes for the new year. This has been an amazing opportunity to touch the lives of the young people right where they are at. We are grateful to God for opening these doors and want to speak His love to these students.
DTS We had 8 wonderful students this year, 4 Belizeans and 4 North Americans. We are honored to lead the DTS each year, it’s and wonderful experience! Lecture phase was not easy but the students embraced the challenge and are radically transformed. For outreach the DTS helped with hurricane relief work in northern Belize, later went to Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Cuba. Jason jumped in at the last minute to lead the team to Cuba. It was a sudden trip but he was thankful to be able to touch Cuba again. Graduation was December 7th and we finished out that season with a sense of fulfillment and peace that comes upon completing a task given by God. These are tremendous students and we see much fruit in their lives, may all praise and glory be given to God.
YWAM BELMOPAN YWAM has prayerfully decided to purchase 4.5 acres of land in Belmopan. Presently, we have ample opportunity to speak into the lives of young people this land will help the focused effort of impacting youth in the capital and University of Belize. We believe God to help us raise $100,000bz by the end of the year. Our family will move into Belmopan to start the new YWAM campus as soon as papers are finalized. The vision for this piece of property is multi-facetted and we’re continually asking God for His strategy and plans.
YWAM DANCE STUDIO As a first step, YWAM purchased and now directs the Performing Arts Company in Belmopan which will eventually be located on the new YWAM campus. We have jumped in by providing covering to the students and teachers during class times, as well as made our selves available to chat with parents and students during this transition period. Our first performance will be in late spring, so you can pray for us as we pull all the details together for that. This is a new experience for all of us and we’re excited for what God will do as we serve these talented young children. We are eager to get to know the families better and seek ways to show God’s love to them, serve their children’s destiny and be an influence to the community. Keilah will also begin Ballet class in January.
HOME LIFE Home school continues to provide many challenges and successes. Judah is growing more interested in letters and phonics. Although he won’t admit it, he is bored when we’re not “doing school”! Keilah blazes ahead with her lessons and is impressing us with her new reading skills! Her excitement for learning is contagious, even Elijah practices his phonograms at the table with us. What a blessing to see their love for learning increase. We have the best “job” in the world showing the love of God through every aspect of their education! At the dinner table Judah said “I love school cause I get to learn about God”. Our children took horse riding lessons in the fall. It was a highlight of their week, and now Daisy (our family horse) is properly trained. We are seeing each of our kids passions and gifts develop and want to foster growth in each of them. What a fantastic opportunity we have daily to show God to our children and explain His love for them!
Finding Joy in Every Step
