It's The Little Things....

Hello again from the comfort of Belize,

Today our adventures took us to Bullet Tree, where we were happy to serve 76 people. The church was very small, but that led to a more intimate set up with the people we were serving. This also led to a slower day... which believe me, was okay with us. Because today was a slower day, I was able to pay closer attention to the details around me... and I began to notice a pattern. 

Although our presence made a large impact on the community today, it was the little things that meant the most to the people around us. The little Spanish I was able to speak made a big difference. I could see that even this small effort meant a lot to those people who couldn't speak my language. I had made an effort to communicate and they appreciated that. 

More so, the glasses are a little thing. On average it takes about two minutes to test a person's eyes. It's such a small amount of time... but it makes a huge impact. There's nothing quite like the feeling of witnessing a person's face light up with joy when they can see the letters clearly before them. I was brought to tears twice this morning when one woman exclaimed aloud and clutched my hand tightly when I brought the lens to her eyes. She was so excited to go home and read her Bible now that the letters would be bigger and clearer for her. We both had to wipe our eyes when she left my station. What a small effort on my part that led to such a huge impact on her life. 

Speaking of small efforts that made huge impacts.... today we were the recipients once again of Belize's giving nature... or more specifically... Eliu and Sonia's thoughtfulness. As you all are aware, today is July 4th... Independence Day. While many of you were off celebrating with your family and loved ones... we were away from ours and hard at work today. Upon returning to the hotel after clinics... after another extremely hot and tiring day... Eliu, Sonia, Jessica, and Jonathon gathered us into a meeting and wished us all a happy 4th of July. They brought us delicious red, white, and blue cupcakes with glitter stars on them. What an incredible surprise. This little act of kindness meant the world to us, as we were away from our country and loved ones for this holiday... at least I know it did for me.

We ended the night by attending a church service at Eliu's father's church (where he had clinic on Sunday). Eliu was kind enough to translate most of the service and include us when able. He made an extra effort to have us sing certain verses in English so that we could feel more connected. He even ended the service with the song "This Is The Day", which we sing every day before clinics. What a wonderful way to include us and makes us feel closer to God as we worshiped this evening.

 How amazing it was to see how the people of Belize worship. Their faith is so loud and passionate and open... they do not hide how they feel about God... they exclaim it. What a wonderful thing to witness and be a part of. Watching and being a part of the service tonight made me reflect on how I worship daily. I found myself wishing that I could be a part of such passion and devotion back home. I pray that God will grant me the strength and courage to worship and witness as the people of Belize do.

Today truly was a tiring day... with the heat and excitement today we are definitely ready to call it a night. Tomorrow we will wake refreshed and travel to Eliu's church to serve the people of San Ignacio. 

I'll check back soon.

Bye for now.