Come Holy Spirit. Here in Belize anyone can fall in love with the supportive culture, the wonderful people, and the aches of suffering. That is no typo either, here I have learned to embrace the suffering of my own cross and the cross of others. My fellow missionaries and I can attest to the “stretching” the Lord has allowed us to endure. We have taken on two flat tires the day we arrived, the absence of running water, the heat, and the labor that goes with serving the most i

When asked to write a blog for today, my heart sank and panic rushed in. I don’t consider myself much of a journaler let alone a writer. But this is mission. We are here to serve, stretch ourselves beyond what we thought was our limit, and “leave it all out on the court” (in the pep-talk words of Sr. Elizabeth). We aren’t here to be “good” at anything, we’re simply here to serve and be fully present wherever we are needed. Throughout this Mission trip journey, we have experie

Goodbyes are always hard, but often necessary. We are now in Belize City for a couple of days before heading home to the States. I’ve been excited to come to Belize City and see the ocean here since we’ve been inland. I’ve also been excited to see what the mission of the SOLT parish is like here in the city. Despite all of the excitement of coming to a new place in Belize, leaving Benque was still hard. We had to say goodbye to some amazing people we have met; long-term missi

Good evening! (Or good morning depending on when this reaches an Internet source.) I have been in Benque, Belize for almost 8 full days with this wonderful (and so, so strange) team that SOLT has put together. And let me tell you, it has definitely been an experience. I’m not at all sure what the other bloggers have sated in their writings, but I’m sure you got the x2 blown tire story in one of them? Do me a favor and please ask your child/person you know who went on this tr

Buenos Dias! This is Natalie here, coming to you live from Benque (but not super live, because Wifi is not abundant). I am originally from the Philadelphia area, but go to school at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and I love anything that involves new friends, good food, and beautiful views. Favorite things of Belize so far: Coke served in a plastic bag with a straw, red Fanta, homemade tortillas, chocolate-covered frozen bananas… Okay, I promise they’re not all food.

The past few days have been so busy that we’ve had trouble keeping you updated on our Belizean adventure, but here is our attempt to keep you abreast with our wild excursion. The days have been hot and full, but definitely graced. Sunday, our missionaries had the opportunity to travel to the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich as they were accompanied by a group of Belizean students who would be assisting them throughout the week in their catechesis and afternoon apostolates. At Xunan

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain...” John 15:16 Already from day one, this trip has provided a lot of “firsts” for me. Aside from this being my first mission trip outside of the country, I had also just finished my very first semester in Nursing School, experienced my very first plane ride, my very first ‘double’ tire-blowout, and encountering the Peace of God in a new way. What really called me to this