As of today - September 9th

Wow, it's been too long since I've written! Some of you have communicated your concern for me, since I haven't posted an update for almost three weeks, but I'm doing well. I've just been keeping very busy!

I have been focused on several big things in the past few weeks. First, a friend of mine California came to Belize to visit, and we enjoyed taking advantage of the not-rainy days and spent time exploring more of this beautiful country. Second, our elementary schools have started classes, and my duties at St. Barnabas and St. Hilda's are quickly escalating. Third, I have been trying to finalize the next phase of visa and immigration issues that I have to address to stay here long-term, namely applying for a "Missionary Work Permit" with the Labour Department. I've spent the last couple of weeks scrounging up relevant documents, and I hope to apply on Wednesday (Sept 11). After my Work Permit is granted, I will begin working on obtaining my Belizean residency (similar to a Green Card in the States): it seems that I can apply earlier than I thought, but it may take much longer than I hoped. I'd better start working on these things now.

Another big piece of news is that St. Hilda's is changing its Sunday service times. Up until now, St. Hilda's has held its Sunday service of Holy Communion at 11 AM, an inconvenient time slot selected to make sure that Fr. Juan could make it both to St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's. However, since I am serving now at St. Hilda's, the congregation has decided (with Fr. Juan's permission) to change the service time and make it earlier. I have agreed, but we will also be adding a shorter evening service, which means that Sundays are getting much more intense for me and others. The new schedule is:

9:00 AM - Morning Prayer
10:00 AM - Holy Communion

3:30 PM - Children's Instruction
5:00 PM - Evensong

We start this new Sunday worship schedule in two weeks: September 22nd. This is also the Sunday when we will officially begin inviting teachers, students, and parents from our schools to attend worship with us. Please pray that God blesses our worship and uses these new times to draw more people to encounter him in our midst!

One final thing that I should add is that things are getting very patriotic around here! We celebrate two national holidays in September: the 10th is in memory of the Battle of St. George's Caye, and the 21st is Independence Day. Having two enormous national holidays in one month basically sanctifies the whole month for festivities, and we are set to enjoy the parades and music, fireworks and food that are rapidly approaching. Please pray that all goes well and that we render both to Caesar and to God what is theirs.

Have a wonderful week!

As of today - August 20th

Hello folks! There is very little to tell about these last weeks before school starts up again. Last week I enjoyed the many visits that I made around our villages and towns, and I think the preaching went well. I was privileged to attend a wedding on Saturday, and I was even asked to play keyboard at the last minute for the entrance of the bride. I enjoyed it all.

There are several things on the horizon in the week to come. First, we hope to have our first Church Committee meeting on Wednesday. Please pray that everything comes together for that! Second, I am working hard to get my Belizean driver's licence this week, in time for a visit from a friend of mine from the States. Third, I am trying to get my documentation together so that in a couple of weeks when I have to return to immigration, I am ready for the next steps. Please pray that all this formal government business comes together all right!

I am so grateful for all your prayers ... thank you all so much!

As of today - August 12th

A pleasant good morning to everyone! I'm doing well, but feel more than a little bit wiped out after the weekend. Yesterday we held the memorial and burial service for Mr. Arthur Tillett, and we continue to join with the family as they take a new step forward in their grief.

I spent a lot of time this past week in Georgeville, continuing to make as many connections and build as many relationships as possible. I would love to hold the first meeting of the Church Committee sometime this week, but another death in the family here (some several hours drive away) may prevent that from happening. We have a lot of subjects to address, especially before school starts in September.

I am very pleased to have been hooked up with an internet connection in my home over the past week!it is already saving me time and money, and I am very glad that we managed to get it put in. I am still waiting for my computer to return from the States where it was being repaired, but all in good time.

The most frustrating adventure I had last week revolved around an incident related to my visa. Without going into all the unpleasant details, immigration officials did not want to give me a one-month visa renewal as usual. We worked things out with the help of some higher-ups, but next month I will have to present further official documentation about my ministry here in Belize with full credentials.

And finally, on a very random note, I discovered this week, in the one (used) book store in town, a copy of C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters! It has been over a decade since I last read it, but the edition is the exact one that my parents owned whenI was growing up. I have really enjoyed taking a read again, and it's already given me a much needed boost. God knows exactly what he's doing and manages to get just the right kind of medicine into our hands.

As of today - August 5th

Hello everyone! I have just a quick update for you today before the week gets too busy.

This past week we suffered the loss of Mr. Arthur Tillett, one of the patriarchs of our community in Georgeville. I was had prayed and anointed him a few hours before his death, and was still in the village when we received the news that he had passed. Please pray for his wife, Ms. Jessie Tillett and their whole (very extended) family in Belize and in the United States. We will be having his funeral this coming Sunday afternoon.

Besides preparation for the funeral, this week is filled with odds and ends. I may be making a trip to Belize City for a meeting regarding Christian Education and curriculum in our Anglican schools, as well as a trip to Belmopan to renew my visa and apply for a Belizean driver's licence. There will certainly be pastoral visits to be made, particularly with Mr. Tillett's family. This Saturday Juan and Maria Marentes's youngest son arrives from the States to be with us for a few weeks. And the same day we also send off our parish representative to the Provincial Congress, held this year in Barbados. Like I say: odds and ends.

This about convers things, with one exception. I hope today to have internet finally installed in my house. Pray that it happens today or tomorrow without delay, and without any problems. Have a wonderful week!

As of today - July 29th

Thank you all for your prayers! I had a wonderful birthday, as well as a blessed ordination anniversary, and the last few weeks have gone well. The last vestiges of my flu have cleared up, and I'm hitting the ground running just about every day!

So, what's been filling my time? Well, I've been doing a lot of preaching and preparation for it. Two Sundays ago I shared God's Word at St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's, and yesterday I was privileged to return to All Saints' Church (Belize City) to lead the service, preach God's Word, and baptize an adorable little girl. It's been good to be doing so much teaching and leading, but by God's grace I've been noticing some areas where I need to improve, and I'm starting to reflect pretty heavily on them.

I have also been getting into the swing of things at St. Hilda's, focusing heavily on the village of Georgeville, with an eye however to beginning some new initiatives in the village of Central Farm. One of the local patriarchs of the village, Mr. Arthur, is coming to the end of his life, suffering from cancer and pneumonia, and I've spent a lot of time accompanying their family as we prepare for a godly passing. Additionally, there have been other deaths in families and illnesses going on that have disrupted the normal flow of life in the village.

My hope in the next few weeks is to set up the St. Hilda's Church Committee (i.e. Vestry) and begin making a few decisions together about the mission, vision, and strategic direction of the church. Though the momentum may be small, we do still have it for the moment, and I am looking forward to discerning where our heavenly Father would like our church to be in the next six to twelve months, and how best under his gracious direction to arrive at these goals.

All in all, I am excited and expectant, convinced that God is able to do what we cannot, and more determined to grow his church even than we are. Please continue to keep me and our whole team, our churches and our schools, in your constant prayer. Have a great week!

As of today - July 18th

I have some big news to share with you all this week! As many of you know, our ministry team here in Belize, headed up by Juan and Maria Marentes, is pastorally responsible for two churches, St. Andrew's in town and St. Hilda's in a rural village called Georegeville. Similarly, our team has also had chaplaincy responsibilities in three elementary schools, St. Andrew's in town and St. Hilda's and St. Barnabas' in the rural villages. This has been (as you can imagine) quite a lot of work for everyone involved.

My job for the last year has been to accompany Fr. Juan in his many activities in the two churches and three schools. It has gone well, but all of us have felt frustrated by the fact that the rural church and schools have not been getting the pastoral attention that they deserve.

For this reason and others, Fr. Juan with the approval of Bishop Wright has instructed me to take primary pastoral responsibility of the ministry of the rural mission, St. Hilda's Church, and the chaplaincy of the two corresponding rural elementary schools, St. Hilda's and St. Barnabas'. Although I will still have responsibilities in town at St. Andrew's Church and School, I have been given both more responsibility, more leadership, and more autonomy regarding the rural wing of our ministry here in Cayo.

To be honest, I am excited about this increase in responsibility, and I am eager to see what God will do in these months (and perhaps years?) to come. There is much to do, there are many to serve, and there is a great God who has told us that "the fields are white for the harvest." Please pray dilligently for me and for the people of Georgeville and Central Farm as we embrace the race before us and take new steps in evangelism, discipleship, worship, and service for the glory of God and the upbuilding of his Church!

Quickly in other news, today we celebrate the arrival of an ecumenical team of short-term missionaries, headed by Gus Calvo and Geoff Miller, who are coming to work on a range of projects and activities. We are very excited to work with them this coming week.

I am also pleased to celebrate my birthday tomorrow, Friday July 19th. I turn thirty years old, and I ask you to join with me in thanking God for his many gifts and blessings that he has continually poured upon me now for three decades. May his Name be praised!

As of today - July 8th

Hello everyone! I am mostly over my horrible, awful, no good flu and am on the path to recovery. Sunday was a particular struggle, as I think I had been exposed to yet another virus (this time a stomach something or other), and I muddled through the day and its preaching duties, but I work up today without any signs of the setback, which was a good thing since I had to go to Belmopan to pick up my new passport from the US embassy.

This week is the calm week before the arrival of two new short-term teams from the US, and I'll be keeping it low key as I continue to recover. There are some new exciting things in the works around here that I hope to fill you in on next week but, for now, let me say that this week I will be preparing to serve at the newly replanted Iglesia Anglicana "La Anunciación". Please pray for me as I get ready to preach God's Word and assist in services.

That's about it for this week! I am so grateful for your prayers: have a wonderful week!

As of today - July 4th

To all of my amigos estadounidenses, Happy Fourth of July!

This week has been miserable for me: I came down with an intense flu-like fever on Monday, and though I tried to make it through the first day of VBS, I was coming up short. After going home that afternoon, I have been more-or-less housebound until this afternoon. I am still feeling very weak, but the fever has passed for the most part, and I think I'm on the mend.

Please pray for my continued recovery, and my preaching this weekend!

As of today - June 24th

Hello everyone! The last couple of weeks have been good but busy! My parents returned home well, thanks be to God, and my second weekend of serving at All Saints' Church in Belize City also went well despite a couple of dicey moments on the streets. But I digress.

Over the last week we have been enjoying the visit of a team from Mosaic Anglican Fellowship in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tuesday they put on a graduation retreat for our exiting Standard 6 class at St. Andrew's school, and Thursday and Friday they did the same for the Standard 6 classes of St. Barnabas' and St. Hilda's schools. We were incredibly blessed to have them with us, not only for the benefit of our graduates, but for the strong relationships they built with our six older youth who helped lead the retreats with them. Please pray that God would use the many seeds planted this week to grow his Kingdom and increase his glory.

Please, please please keep in your prayers the start of our youth group Bible Study. We're planning on holding it every Tuesday evening at 5:30 PM at the home of one of the youth. I think that this will be a major step forward for discipleship with our youth, so please pray that God will empower us to lead and draw many to come and participate!

This is our last week of classes for our three schools here, and we hold graduation ceremonies on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We are so tremendously proud of our students and wish them all the best as they continue on to high school or other vocations. Saturday another team from Trinity Anglican Church in Thomasville, Georgia arrives to offer a Vacation Bible School to our children in Georgeville next week. Please pray for us as we prepare for their arrival and coordinate for the VBS and other activities with which they will be involved!

In other news, my computer has been diagnosed and has experienced a "catastrophic hard drive failure." As I type, it is on its way back to the United States for repair: hopefully the Macbook Pro is still under the extended 3 year warranty (worth every penny, if you ask me). Please pray for safe passage, inexpensive repair, and swift return to Belize!

As of today - June 10th

Hello everyone! It's been so long since I've posted an update, and I really apologize! Things have been busy here in Belize, and I need to fill you in on much of what has been going on!

As I type, my parents are in town visiting me! We've spent most of the last week or so simply involved in the normal activities of life and ministry in Cayo, but on occasion we've been able to branch out and see a few "touristy" places like Caye Caulker. It's been a blessing to have them with me, and I will miss them a lot when they leave on Wednesday.

This past Sunday I was honored to visit All Saints' Church in Belize City, a church the Bishop describes as a progressive, urban parish. He was not wrong. It was a pleasure to see old friends and new faces, and I was well-received as I lead the service and preached. I cannot wait to be back again at All Saints' this coming Sunday as we celebrate Father's Day and worship the Lord again in song and word and sacrament.

There are a few immediate requests for prayer on my agenda for the coming week. First, please pray for my computer: it's been a week and a half now since it has booted up, and I am at a loss as to how to get it working safely in Belize. Second, please pray for us this week as we prepare for a short-term mission group coming from the United States next Monday. They will be leading retreats for our graduating Standard Six classes from the three Anglican schools in the area, and we are hoping to have a genuine spirit of teamwork and cooperation as we serve God and pray to be used by him in the lives of these students.

Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support: it means the world to me. May the Lord richly bless you all!