Belize
Summer Mission

2nd June

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

1st June

Day 13: Renewal

Tonight we ended our three day retreat with a reminder of the gifts God gives us to persevere in the faith: community, confession, and Eucharist. After one last day of mission and visiting homes, we had our biggest turnout, and many were able to receive the blessing of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Old, young, men, and women were all touched by the Lord and one could see the 48 missionaries sharing those final faith filled moments together as the final night came to a close. It is clear that the Lord wanted to bless San Ignacio, and now we pray that the Lord continues this great work that he has begun.

31st May

Day 12: Come Home!

This morning we went out to our missioning zones to invite to the second night of retreat. Yesterday we learned about God’s love for us through salvation and tonight we got to receive His love through Confession and the Embrace of the Father. Many people went to confession for the first time in years. After receiving Confession, people went up and were able to experience the Father’s love for them through an embrace from some of the missionaries. Many people share how they truly felt that it was the Lord embracing them. The night was full of grace and encountering the Father’s love for us!

27th May

Day 8: Resting in Christ

26th May

Day 7: He is Risen (Sunday at the Mission)

Cars filled the Sacred Heart College parking lot, even occupying the adjacent sections of grass. Local families dressed in their Sunday best, flowed into the auditorium and were greeted by our 48 missionaries. During Mass we witnessed 94 candidates receive their sacrament of Confirmation into the Catholic Church, as the Holy Spirit was sealed within them. We then proceeded to return to house visits going two by two and three by three sent from Mass to share the Good News!

25th May

Day 6: House Visits

Being invited into a person’s house is such a special opportunity to share the gospel. My group has not only shared but listened to the people we meet hearing, their troubles, their problems and your response to it is the Word of God. Today I visited many fallen away Catholics with Fr.
Ivan who blessed their houses and encouraged them to come back to the church. We saw how God connects and reaches out to each one of them through us, through Scripture, or simply being asked questions about themselves.

24th May

Day 5: Let the Children Come to Me

In their own way, the children of San Ignacio are fellow missionaries. I joined the Children’s Ministry Team hoping to teach the Gospel of Christ to the younger generation of Belizeans, but I did not expect to learn so much about God’s goodness from them. Today, two teams of missionaries were sent out to two local primary schools with nothing but music, smiles, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We were immediately struck by the respectfulness and enthusiasm of the young students who laughed joyfully at our skits and songs, but also listened intently to our lesson on God’s love.

23rd May

Day 4: School of Life – Chores

During our time here, we participate in a “school of life” in which we learn to unite all that we do to Christ, no matter how big or small. We practice this in a special way during our chore time each morning, as each person pitches in and offers his share of the work for love of Christ and each other. We take the motto “for Christ, with Christ, and like Christ.” We look to Him as our model — the God who was obedient to Mary and Joseph, the God who washed the feet of His disciples, and the one who gave His life out of love — and we strive to live like Him in even the simplest things we do, right down to our chores.

22nd May

Day 3: A community of missionaries

21st May

Day 2: The Local Church, hope for the future

Today, the missionary groups visited their assigned zones for the first time. In doing so, we encountered the state of Christianity here in Belize, one person at a time. Some of those we met were faithful parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish here in San Ignacio. Others were baptized Catholic but had not attended Mass for years (one reason we often heard was that they’d stopped going once their grandmother had passed away…) Yet others were Evangelical, Anglican, or 7th Day Adventist. Despite people identifying their faith in many different ways, there was one common denominator – almost every single person here believes in God, in some way or another. And that’s a sign of hope for the Church here in Belize. Why? Because the soil is fertile. There’s a desire for God here and an openness to Him, and a simple faith in His existence and His goodness that is very tangible. This is ripe soil for the missionaries – we can work with it. We came here armed with the Word of God which is sharper than any two edged sword. The Word of God that we came here to share with these people will plant seeds in their hearts, and will call some to conversion, and to return to the true Church. After meeting the people we came to mission to, we ended the day full of expectation and hope at the signs we will see God working during these next days. 

20th May

Day 1: Missionary’s Journey

This morning 40 of our missionaries, priests and sisters woke up at 2:00 am to make it to the D.C. airport by 3:00 am. Seven hours later they met us under the hot Belize sun in San Ignacio. After settling in, we immediately went out on ‘parade’ to announce our arrival. Guitars and missionaries covered the streets as we went through the heart of our mission zones handing out information on who we are and why we are here.

It is amazing how in seven hours we can go from needing a coffee in an airport in America’s capital to meeting people and proclaiming the Good News on the southern side of the Yucatan Peninsula. The stark contrast between life here and the U.S. can make it hard to settle in easily, but we are already starting to place our mind where are feet are – on Mission in San Ignacio, Belize.

19th May

Day 0 – Christ counts on you!

At the Commissioning Mass each missionary heard the words, «Christ counts on you…», to which each missionary responded «and I on His grace». The mission has already started, we landed in Belize passed noon and we already got to meet the people of San Ignacio. Please keep us, and them, in your prayers!

16th May

Pre-mission: “Go and make disciples of all nations»

29th May

Day 10: Set All Afire

Today, Team Headquarters remained at Sacred Heart College to continue missioning in San Ignacio while the four Delta teams spread the Word of God in surrounding villages. The HQ team drove through nearby neighborhoods with a loudspeaker blasting Belizean worship music and announcing the retreat, hopping out of the truck to share with passersby and give them personal invitations to join us tomorrow. Our goal was to set the whole town afire, and many people told us they would come to the retreat – mission accomplished!

30th May

Day 11: God so loved the world!

Today was game day. After ten days of having the Holy Spirit work through us to touch the hearts of the people of Belize, we were ready to put on the first night of the adult spiritual retreat. We spent the day in the blazing hot weather going from house to house to share our joy for Christ so that it may plant a seed into the hearts of all whom we spoke with. To describe what happened tonight is impossible to put into words. You had to be there to truly grasp the overflowing love of God that was present in the Sacred Heart parish tonight. And this is just from the first night of the retreat!

WHY summer MISSION?

Evangelization is a core part of being Catholic. It is the cornerstone of all pastoral action, the demands of which are primary, preeminent and preferential.