I wanted to post a few smiling faces that I got to spend the day with......the biggest problem is picking five pictures for each posting!  Please go to the Heal Ministries facebook group or Tina Weir facebook and look at all the pictures for this particular Belize mission trip.  



Perhaps one of the best gifts that I have ever received was today before going to dinner.  After working all day with the school children and having my heart full of joy because of the contagious laughter all around, I did not think the day could get any better.  At the hotel where I am staying in Corozal, the local children rang the bell and asked for me.  They presented me with birthday flowers that they picked.   I don't know of anything that has ever touched my heart in such an emotional way.  Knowing where these children live, knowing how intentional they were to please and express their love might be my all time number one lesson learned in living out the word of God.  These children were "Jesus in the skin" for me today.  I am so thrilled to be here and to be able to experience two different churches (one in Belize City and one in Corozal). Here, where I am supposed to be assisting and helping and yet, they do more for me than I could ever do for them......here, where I am supposed to be seeking what God has me here for........here where love is found all around..........here for such a blessed time as this!

November 2, 2009 - best birthday I can remember!

Today was a blessed day!  I'm so thankful to God for giving me another year to live and most appreciative of Him having me serving His desired people on my special day!  I spent the day at the Calcutta village school which is located just outside of the Corozal town.  The school is called Concepcion School and the principal is Esther Mendez.  The pictures show the children at morning devotion where they have prayer, songs, the weekly Bible memory verse and announcements for the day.  Today, the announcement was a surprise to me!  They sang a beautiful birthday song in English and Spanish and then sang a song asking me how old I was!  They are so joyful and just the healing a soul needs!


This is a classroom that wanted me to take their picture.  The children are so proud of their uniforms, teachers, principal and school.  I gave one class a devotion and asked them what they could think of that they could pray to God to be thankful for:  they all said the same, that they had a home, clothes and food.  Many of the children that said this come from very poor families and some are single parent homes.  And, yet......they have learned at a very young age through many trials that their Heavenly Father will never forsake them and loves them very much.   I was very humbled leaving the school today because I felt like the children taught me......not me teaching them!  The school needs several things that the Principal and I are working on for the Spring Break trip.  This mission trip will be one that is sure to bless anyone attending.  I hope that as you read this, you will pray about attending a village that needs help and love.

The following pictures are from the afternoon services held at the Calcutta church.  It is a mission church started by the Mendezes church.  The Calcutta church is being formed to reach people in the villages on the outskirts of town.   This is one of the projects that is needed in the area:  for a team to return and assists in finishing Calcutta church. 

My favorite quote that I have read lately is from Saint Augustine:   "What does love look like?  It has the hands to help others.  It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy.  It has eyes to see misery and want.  It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.  That is what love looks like."   I pray that I will be more like Christ in all that I do and Belize has given me the desire to serve Him more than ever before through sending teams and reaching out to the needy.

Today was a great day in Corozal.  It is still raining alot here, but they have needed it.  The weather is beautiful and as you can tell from the pictures, the area and the people are even more beautiful here.  I have made great friends here with the Mendez family.  They are pictured in this blog:  Arturo is the pastor of the Presbyterian church here with his wife Esther and their children, Johan and Joammi.  They have embraced me and really shown me Jesus in the skin.  We are planning the Spring Break Mission trip that will be scheduled for the week of March 15th and then a women's conference that will be in both the village of Corozal as well as Belize City with the Betsons at Unity church.    

I loved church this morning.  Seeing Pastor Arturo smiling and singing praises was a joyful experience.  Hearing the songs of praise in a different language always makes me think of Heaven:  hearing the world praise God in all languages.  The church needs a new bus.  Heal Ministries will be giving them some money to fix the bus but it is time to figure out ways to help them raise the money for a new bus.  Pastor Arturo drives around the villages and picks up women and children to attend church on Sundays.  If he does not pick them up, they are not able to attend because they have no vehicles.  I am praying with them that God will give us the wisdom to come up with ways to get them a new bus.  The attendance in church is down quite a bit because the bus is in the garage.  I am so thankful that I am here at this time:  it has been rewarding for God to use me in this country to see the needs He is drawing me toward.  It is humbling to serve these Belizeans.  They are full of joy and laughter and most fun to be around!

The Presbyterian church is beautiful!  It blesses my heart to see it larger and painted and beautiful!  It has improved so much since I was here.  Seeing God's work in the same place over several years is not only rewarding but a simple reminder that what God starts, He finishes.

Finishing the first week back in the field and finally figured out that my pictures were way too large to upload......actually fixed it after praying about it several times!!  This week was a great week to really see the heart of the Belize Unity Church and Preschool.  It is really amazing to see the love of Christ in the eyes.  I posted a few of my favorite pictures for everyone to see how beautiful the children are here.  The blue school posted is the school that our team came and helped with a year ago and it has been such a blessing to work in the classrooms this week:  to hear the laughter, hear the love of teaching from the teachers, hearing the many sweet voices saying, "teacher, I love you!".  The children call me "teacher" and they are so intentional about relationship.  I wanted to come here this week and really be a helper, however, as with most mission trips I have been surprised.  The surprise is not what God is doing but how much He is still teaching me through the ones He is so fond of.  How we respond to each person we encounter is a direct reflection of our priorities.  It is most evident that the priorities of Unity Church and School in Belize City is one of LOVE.

I will be visiting Corozal over the week-end and will be posting some pictures and updates about the village and then back at Unity a few days before I leave.    My prayer is that God will lead the volunteers needed for this area.  It is a joy and humble honor to be here!

editing this post and adding pictures after the fact:  Join the Heal Ministries Facebook group or join my personal facebook, Tina Weir and you can see all the pictures from the Belize City Unity church and school.  It has been such a blessing to be here:  as such a time as this.  I'm not sure if I am helping them nearly as much as they are helping me.  

It is great to be back in the field where the focus is totally God and looking at the children through the eyes of Jesus, listening to what they are saying through the ears of Jesus and praying for God to use me as Jesus in the skin is humbling.  I continue to pray daily that God would give me His ears, His eyes, His mouth and His direction in all that I do.  I will be blogging about the school, church and orphanage in Belize City, Corozal and Orange Walk.

Belize City has a school and church that Heal Ministries is partnering with:  Unity Presbyterian Church and School.  It is located in the burial grounds of Belize City and is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country.   Most of the students live in the neighborhood and walk to school.   The school teaches education in a Christian setting and has many needs that I have discovered while I am here.  The majority of the students have uniforms, but there is a need for about a dozen students to have uniforms.  The cost is $25 Belizean, which equals 1/2 of that in U.S. dollars.  They are in desperate need of a feeding program at lunch time.  The school gives a 1-1/2 hour break for lunch so that the students can go home to eat.   However, many children do not go home.  They stay around the school to play and usually eat a popcicle for lunch or maybe a piece of fruit.  There is no money for extra food.  I have purchased a meal from a lady that bakes beans and rice for only $2 a plate.  It would probably only costs about one U.S. dollar to feed every kid a nutritional meal.  While I am here, I am looking into this.  The principal is going to help me look into getting some moms of the school to cook which would help them get a little money for their family while providing a nutritional meal for every student in the school.   We could get volunteers to help sponsor a student:  for $225 a year one person could provide a uniform and a meal five days a week for one student.  That is changing one heart at a time!

Another need the school has is volunteers.  They have about 200 students:  145 students are in the primary classrooms and the remaining 50 are in the preschool.  The classroom size is large:  averaging 25 students to one teacher.  Each teacher is in need of a teacher's aid.  Please pray that God would send volunteers to help the school.

There is alot of love at Unity.  One can easily see how happy the students are while assisting in the classroom.  The children are eager to love, eager to smile and hug, eager to feel loved by someone.  Many children are babysitting their siblings and going home to an empty house and the attention they receive at this school is priceless.  Learning about God's unconditional love is the primary focus.  It is so amazing to me that these children that come from difficult circumstances are so eager to be kind and show love.  Their laughter is contagious and I have seen Jesus in their smiles and felt His warmth in their hugs.  It makes me eager to help, eager to pray, eager to remain faithful and eager to follow God's lead.

Please look at the pictures in the Heal Ministries Facebook group.  I apologize that the service here is slow and I cannot upload pictures tonight onto the blog.  Blessings and please pray for the children of Belize tonight!

Today is a day that I have waited on since I first heard the word "cancer" in May.  I can honestly say that when I look back, it was the true sadness of how it would effect my family and how I would have to post pone and cancel many mission trips this year.  Missing out on serving God in the field was the hardest part to swallow for me.  

However, in God's perfect planning, He allowed this cancer to slow me down and even stop me long enough to reflect on Him and put all focus of His ministry back where it needed to be.  I am pleased that God loves me so much that He would yearn for my one on one time.  

I am in Belize City tonight and I am most happy that God has allowed me to serve Him, once again, in the field.  As I landed I was reminded of the reflection and changes that have taken place this year:  many changes with my health, with my home and family, with the Heal Ministries board, and all of it came full circle today as I was greeted by Earnest.  He is the pastor of Unity Church here in Belize City with his wife, Carolyn.  They were a sight for soar eyes!  Jesus shines through them and as I am sitting here I can't help but think praises to God for healing me, healing the people in His ministry and finishing the work that He started.  

I will be posting pictures tomorrow of the school and church and the children.  Truly, some of the happiest people that I have ever met are hanging out with me this week!  It is a joy to be back serving and planning teams for 2010.  Thanks to everyone for your prayers, support and encouragment that NEVER stopped during this season:  for such a time as this.  Heal Ministries will be changing one heart at a time, making a difference for God's kingdom, one focus, one heart at a time.  The impact is HUGE when we focus on Him.