OLD TOWN — A 19-member team from United Baptist Church of Old Town, led by Bruce Stevens, will travel July 8-15 to Belize with Thirst Missions.
The goal of Thirst Missions is to partner with teams and provide opportunities for groups to minister, to keep everyone safe, to guide the trip in cultural areas and to take care of all the behind-the-scenes details.
The team will serve in the Corozal District of Belize. Many of the people speak Spanish, although English, the primary language, is taught in the schools. Most of the income of the community comes from growing sugarcane and farming. It is a poor area with many physical and spiritual needs. The people are hard working, loving and caring, and excited to have a mission team come and work with them this summer, organizers of the missions trip said.
The church, where the United Baptist Church team will minister, has 70 people attend services on a typical Sunday evening. The church has weekly prayer meetings, Sunday School and women’s Bible studies. The church will be focused on strengthening its existing ministries with the aid of the team.
The team will make home visits to the local community members, share information about life in the church, invite them to the week’s activities and build relationships. Sharing of their personal stories, of their faith and of their own lives is expected to encourage the people of the community.
The team also will help with various service projects around the church and community from simple clean up to construction.
Throughout their time in Belize, the United Baptist Church team will lead sessions for children ages 5 through 12, reaching 70-100 children. They will help lead worship services, and will take part in a Sports Ministry in the evenings. The ministry involves outreach to the youth and children through playing soccer, basketball, wiffleball, volleyball and kickball.
As the trip nears the end, the team will journey to Lamanai, taking in the Mayan Ruins there, and continue to Caye Caulker via water taxi, where they will enjoy some time snorkeling and exploring.