Living Sent in Belize
Serving With Praying Pelicans
by Stevie Franks
As a Youth Pastor, there are few moments more fulfilling and encouraging than when I get to see teenagers live out the Great Commission and serve Jesus by loving others. Our spring break mission trip to Belize was filled with incredible moments seeing the Holy Spirit move in and through our teenagers at First Baptist Starkville.
Our group spent the week in Orange Walk, Belize, partnering with a local church named Lily of the Valley. The pastor, Felipe Novelo, and his family were unbelievably welcoming to our team of 29 students and 10 adults as they opened up their home, church, and perhaps most importantly, their kitchen. Pastor Felipe’s wife and other women from the church woke up each morning before daylight to begin preparing delicious meals for our team and often provided three meals a day for us.
The week began by attending the church’s Sunday service which consisted of a group of our teens, West Boren, Riley Washburn, and Anna Davis, leading in worship for the church followed by Jax Kimes, a 10th grader, sharing his testimony to the congregation. I had the privilege of then delivering the message through a translator (many of the older Belizeans only spoke Spanish). This was the first time and a very memorable opportunity I was able to experience. I was surprised by how much it forced me to intentionally think on each word I was using since I had only a limited time because of the translating. The time the translator was speaking also allowed me to thoughtfully prepare my next words before I shared them.
Monday and Wednesday mornings were perhaps my favorite part of the trip. Monday, our team visited a local high school consisting of over 350 teenagers. The morning began with senior Caleb Butler sharing a word of devotion from scripture with the teachers followed by the rest of our team arriving to conduct a chapel service. Our worship team led in a few songs followed by devotional word delivered by our senior Arden Parker. She encouraged the students while sharing the Gospel of Jesus. Arden clearly articulated what it means to follow Jesus and the amazing life that only He brings.
Wednesday morning was a similar work, but this time we traveled to a local primary school that included kindergarten to eighth grade. Our worship team of Riley, Anna, and West led the children in some worship songs, to which the students were incredibly energetic and ready to dance with us. Following worship was a word of scripture brought by senior Meg Brown. She shared some truths from the narrative about David facing Goliath while encouraging the children that our hope is only found in God.
Vacation Bible School was the focus on the afternoons of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Local children in the community showed up to have some fun and hear from the Lord. Attendance continued to increase each day for VBS, with 50 on the first day, over 80 the second, and finally over 120 on the last day of VBS. Our youth split up into different teams and led the entire time for Bible school. Students led the children in Bible studies that were centered around the Gospel. Youth also helped prepare crafts for each student that tied into the Bible lesson for the day. It was incredible to watch our Stark Youth love on these children so well. There was so much intentional time spent with all the attendees so that they were sure to hear about the good news of Jesus Christ.
Our group also had the honor to serve the church and Pastor Felipe by painting the interior of the church building. The church recently extended its sanctuary by building a new stage. All week, our team used the mornings to paint and beautify the Lily of the Valley Church. By the end of the week, it was looking top-notch, and our students were so impressive in the way they put their heads down and worked tirelessly for the Lord and for the church.
While the team was painting, a few of our teens would rotate each day to deliver meal packages consisting of beans, rice, and other non-perishables to local families in need.
This was a great way to not only give and provide for those in the community who needed it the most, but we were also able to go under the banner of the local church so that they knew how much they were loved by Christ and that there was a local place they could visit to hear and experience more of His love.
The trip to Belize was obviously an incredible time for our students to experience being the hands and feet of Christ. As the youth pastor, I left feeling so encouraged after seeing the way our students stepped up to serve. They truly personified living sent, as they used their time, money, and gifts so that others could experience life in Jesus.
I would also like to thank you, First Baptist Church of Starkville, for the many ways you lived sent by helping this team go to Belize. Whether it was donating money on the envelope wall, buying a plate of catfish, giving directly for a student in need, or just simply praying for us as we were gone, we could not have traveled to Belize and lived in obedience to the Lord’s calling without YOU.
As I look forward to the future of Stark Youth, I can’t wait to see what God calls us to do in Starkville, our region, and to the ends of the earth. We plan to return to Belize next spring break and look for other short-term opportunities to allow our students to live out the calling of Jesus in Matthew 28:19 to “Go.” I desire for our ministry to first make a deep impact right here in our home. There are so many families and teenagers in our own community who do not have a church home and do not know Jesus. One of the greatest parts about going on short-term trips to places such as Belize is that it instills confidence and the desire for our students to come home and live on mission at their own schools and homes. Secondly, I desire our students to go and experience places in our country and world that are what we call “post-churched.” These are the places that are way past the morals and culture of what we used to be as a country. Our students need to be exposed to cultures where it’s not popular to follow Jesus, let alone actually believe in the Bible. Instead of washing our hands of these types of people and considering them lost, Christ is calling us, the church, to go and share the hope that there is a God who paid the price for their lives so that in the life and death of Jesus Christ, they too can know the hope and peace that we have.
Thank you church for all your support to our ministry, and I look forward to many more lives changed because of our God using this church to send teens and other to share the good news of Christ. May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people, Amen!