This will be the final installment on the Belizean Blog series. There are photos of the trip posted up in the Gallery section of this site. If you want even more information on the Joshua Squad’s trip to Belize, you can to the Enclave of the Arts website, the Joshua Squad page on the Belhaven website.

This article will be my view on some of the occurrences that happened for us down in Belize:

Monday, May 17th

After a fairly busy day yesterday, we sped up the pace by not only performing twice in the morning, but filling our afternoon with workshops. I really like Belize thus far; there is a very receptive climate for what we are trying to accomplish. The literal climate is very hot. I don’t believe I’ve ever been somewhere where I can start sweating by just standing somewhere.

In my life, I have not stood up in front of a church service and give a mini-sermon, or any type of sermon for that matter. I can count the number of times on one hand. Yesterday, I did it three times. The sermon consisted of the history of the Joshua Squad, the mission of the Joshua Squad, how the Squad functions, and introducing the Squad itself to perform. I remember watching Dr. Lou do it on the mission trips and he made it look fairly easy. It’s easy once you get rolling along and believe in what you’re saying. I definitely believed in what I was saying, but I couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Basically I’m touching on issues that dwell on people’s beliefs and values; not light conversation matter.

One thing that has made this whole trip much easier is a having a team of performers who are on the same page that I’m on. I take care of what I’m supposed to do, and I can rely on the team to do their job as well. I have been on Squad tours in the past where that wasn’t necessarily the case and strife was the result. I’m pleased with this team.

Today was hectic as well. I thank God that English is the primary language in Belize. The children understood what we were saying (somewhat), and the teachers were able to assist us in getting some of the unruly children to cooperate. There weren’t many of those, but there were some. I think we are reaching these children and they feel as if we are trying to befriend them. In between sessions, the children would come visit us and ask us questions about us. This was a great opportunity to talk to the children and develop relationships with them. One of them gave me a Belizean quarter as a token of friendship. However, meeting these children and talking to them about my faith has been the great blessing so far.

Saturday, May 24rd

We wrapped up this tour performing at a youth rally at Unity Church in Belize City, Belize. Several churches throughout Belize were represented at this event, with two other troupes, one heralding from Patchakan and the other from Cristo Rey. One of the unique things about this performance that set a precedent for Joshua Squad mission trips was we performed with another performance team. We performed ‘Creation, Fall, Redemption’ with the Patchakan Youth, along with ‘Fire’ a piece created by Helen Spann, and ‘Russian Roulette’, which was created by the Patchakan Youth.

I look back on this week and am thankful for the MTW staff we worked with. That includes the Smiths (Deanna’s family), Lupe Pena (our tour coordinator), Omar (our driver), and others who were a great blessing. I look forward to working with MTW in the future on other projects, as they were a great partner on this endeavor.

As Director of the Joshua Squad, I went into this trip with questions of whether or not this was what I needed to do with my life. Wondering if I would do a good enough job. There were some slight changes that had to be made throughout the course of this trip, including plane flights and performance spaces. But if there’s one thing you learn on a mission trip, it’s not usually the accomplishments that you most remember, but the people you meet and the relationships you develop. With this in mind, I see myself working with Joshua Squad from some time to come.

Until next time.