Reflection from Brittany Roberts

Picture this: You wake up at 6am to roosters crowing and dogs barking like crazy. You know how in the movies, the rooster crows once, everyone wakes up, and the day goes on? No, roosters crow EVERY second of the day AND night. Anyways, you sit up in your canopy of a bug net, peel yourself out of your damp sheets, climb down from the top of your triple decker bunk bed, and walk past 45 other sweaty, snoring girls to the bathroom. Oh the bathroom. The bathrooms are BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper). Luckily, toilet paper was bought for us shortly after we got here, but no tp is typical for Belizean restrooms. The bathroom smells awful and it only gets worse when you turn on the shower. While standing in the shower, wearing flip-flops, you have to hold your breath as the freezing cold water flows down from a skinny stream out of the shower head. As you dry off with your damp, smelly towel you've used way too many days in a row, you're thinking, what the heck am I doing here? And then we start to see Belize, meet its people and you realize, I'm here because God led me here.

This life us girls are living while being here is WAY out of most of our comfort zones. We complain about our cold showers, damp beds, the fact that we have to brush our teeth with water out of our water bottles...but this is life for most Belizeans, minus the fact that we have access to clean water. We complain about our cement floors, walls and tin roofs, but most Belizeans live in run down, cement homes with dirt floors. But these people are the most beautiful, happy, loving people I've ever met. It puts so much into perspective.

When you think of developing countries, you have the mindset that you're going there to help them. But the people here have already done so much for me in the week I've been here than I could ever imagine doing for them in my life. They are so family oriented and friendly. Everywhere we go, we get smiles and waves. When I go home I know a piece of my heart will be left in Belize. With the people, with Howard Smith Nazarene Primary School, with the amazingly beautiful land, and with the Succotz Nazarene campgrounds.

When I reflect on this past week, I am so thankful I get this experience, that God chose me to completely step out of the routine of my life, and to minister to me. In the classroom, God has blessed me with the greatest cooperating teacher I've ever had, some of the cutest 3 and 4 year olds I've ever seen and, despite the language barrier between my students and I, the opportunity to find unique and special ways to connect with my students. I am looking forward to this next week, to have more chances to love and be loved by my students, to connect with them and my cooperating teacher, and to continue to enjoy this amazing experience God has brought my way. I miss home more than anything, but I know that God is allowing me to use these last 2 weeks to continue building the relationships I am building here, with my students, and the other girls on this trip.

To everyone back home, I miss you all so much, I love you tons, and I will see you all in two weeks! Continue praying for us all. We appreciate every prayer!

Much love,
Brittany Roberts