We started the day with a concert at a nursing home. It’s an interesting shift to go from a big church to a more intimate setting. Many of the residents had different health issues and weren’t able to communicate easily but — you should’ve seen them when we passed out our shakers. Despite all of their health concerns and limitations, they were still excited to play along and joined us to make music. One man instantly found the beat of our 12-8 piece, and just nailed it. He was fantastic! Their toes were tapping and you could tell that the music had a positive impact on them. We had lunch and headed to the Howler Monkey reserve! I think the kids are really enjoying these animals. We will be s
On Day 4 - we went cave tubing! We learned a lot from our guides on a nature walk to the river. Along the way, many kids tried eating termites (they taste like carrot and mint!) and held a giant tarantula! It was glorious to swim in the cool river. The caves were amazing and just as you might expect, VIP took advantage of those divine acoustics. I was in one of the last groups, so we were probably 10 or so minutes behind the first group. As I descended the final hill down to the entrance to the river, what I heard stopped me in my tracks: it was “Blessing” pouring out of the mouth of the cave. And it was phenomenal. I’ve heard that piece thousands of times in almost every setting — churches,
Day 3 had a much more relaxed pace than our previous two days. We sang in worship in the morning, and then returned to the hotel for some downtime. The kids splashed in the pool, rested, played games and spent time with a local child who is often at the resort because her mom works here. Some of the kids also attended a Bible study. It was a nice Sunday afternoon, for sure! On Sunday evening, we returned to the city for Singspiration at Queen Street Baptist Church. We enjoyed a great dinner, and the kids got to hear the testimony of Pastor Lord. (Yes, he’s a pastor and his last name is Lord.) He’s a young, vibrant minister and the kids really listened to what he had to say about how God has
Every mission trip has a different vibe - and this one is no exception. Voices In Praise is navigating their days well, and battling the heat and humidity with grace and perseverance. Yesterday, we started at a nursing home in Belize. The choir sang a concert and visited with residents. It’s always amazing to me to see how God shows up in different settings. We were singing a beautiful piece called “Be Not Afraid” and I looked at one of my altos. She had tears just rolling down her face as she offered words from the scripture of Isaiah: Be not afraid for I have redeemed you. Be not afraid, I have called you by name. I have no idea what was going through her mind at that exact moment, but I
Update from Belize, June 22, 10pm local time (12am EST): Hello from Belize! We are off to a great start. The singers are in high spirits - even though we've all been up for more than 22 hours. VIP gave their first performance and did a phenomenal job. We'll have photos and more info tomorrow! For now, we rest.
