As of today - September 17th

A lot has happened in the last two weeks, and I guess it's really only fair to fill you in on it all!

We are at the moment square in the middle of September festivities. Maybe I should clarify. Belize celebrates two national holidays in September, the 10th (St. George's Caye Day) and the 21st (Independence Day). We've been holding marches and celebrations and carnivals and other fine shindigs for the last couple of weeks, and we have another week to go. Really, the whole month has been set aside for the due festivities, and I am happy to participate in them as part of the community here. Please pray for me in particular on the 21st, as I am scheduled to give the invocation for the Independence Day ceremony in town.

Church has been going well. It's a "low month" for attendance due to all the festivities, but we're charging ahead and making progress in the meantime. We met with the young adults of St. Andrew's church again, and though we don't have momentum quite yet, we haven't hit a wall either. Sunday services have been going well, and I was very excited this past Sunday to travel to Santa Cruz (Selena) again to be a part of their patronal celebrations (Holy Cross Day is September 14) and visit from Bishop Wright. This coming Sunday we start our weekly preparation for Confirmation in St. Hilda's church, and we look forward to presenting a good crop of youngsters to the bishop to have hands laid on them.

School has also started, and we are in the thick of things now. We are holding chapel services at our three schools every two weeks, and having devotions for the teachers every two weeks as well. Lots of little issues are popping up (as is to be expected), but bit-by-bit I am being invited to participate and lead in the life of these Anglican schools, and I'm always honored and happy to do so.

And finally, let me just say that we're looking forward to having Fr. Juan and María back with us at the end of next week. They've been missed, and we're excited to hear about their vacation (and have them take the reins here again). I hope you all are doing well too, and shoot me a note when you have the chance!

As of today - September 3rd

Almost a week down without Fr. Juan and María, and we are (by God's grace) surviving well. Pastoral visits have been going well, and we had a great couple of worship services on Sunday at St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's.

Saturday saw quite a bit of important activity. First, we had an important Pre-Synod Conference in Belmopan which took most of the day. The Bishop and his staffed prepped us regarding the up-and-coming Diocesan Synod (October 11-14), placing the vision, topics, and roles in high relief. Then later than evening, we commenced with "young adults ministry" in Cayo. Twelves young people showed up for some traditional rice 'n' beans and stewed chicken, and we talked over how youth ministry might look in the coming months. We're going to give meeting every two weeks for worship and fellowship a try. Please keep this in your prayers!

This week looks to be "tranquil" ... at least, as much as it can be when all the Anglican schools are starting classes. I visited each school today, giving opening prayers and occasionally a few words. It was great to see all the teachers and staff back in gear. Tomorrow at St. Andrew's we'll begin our devotions with the teachers, and then next week we start regular chapel services at each school. On top of that, we're starting up again our Thursday evening children's ministry in Georgeville on Thursday evenings. In other words, we have our work cut out for us!

Oh, and I'm preaching this weekend. So ... the picture is painted for you, my readers. Would you please keep me in your prayer? 

As of today - August 27th

Last week went pretty smoothly, despite the fact that (as I look back over my calendar), a lot ended up being squeezed into seven days. It was a week with important meetings for the start of school (with teachers and principals) or for the diocesan Commission on Ministry (where we ended up heading to Belize City), with time spent with the new students at the local Creation Care Study Program, and with some intensive pastoral care for a beloved couple in our congregation.

In addition, I was privileged to bring God's Word on Sunday to his people from John 6:60-71. My voice however was drowned out by the rain on the tin roof of St. Hilda's church, so I'm not entirely sure of how much actually came across. Not exactly a "First World Problem."

Please pray for me this week ... this whole month actually. Fr. Juan and María are headed to the States for around four weeks on vacation, and the Senior Warden and I will be heading up the church in their absence. This alone would be reason enough for intensive prayer. However, in their absence, I also have several important goals to accomplish this month: the launch of regular youth ministry at St. Andrew's, the commencement of preparation for Confirmation at St. Hilda's, and the work of a sub-committee that may change the way we take care of all the parish properties here in San Ignacio. Please keep me in your prayers.

Please also keep my further discernment in your prayers: questions, thoughts, and things for me to pray about are beginning to trickle in, and I need the Lord's wisdom during this critical phase of transition. Thanks!

As of today - August 20th

It's been a reasonably quiet couple of weeks here in San Ignacio. I think we are all enjoying the few remaining days left before summer ends, school begins, and the weeks fill up with chapel services and Bible studies. In the meantime, I've been able to chew through some reading (a little bit of D.B. Hart, J.L. Borges, and Marilynne Robinson). I've also been slowly working through and translating some treatises by John of Damascus On the Holy Trinity and On the Two Wills in Christ. It's nerdy and whatnot, but it helps keep me sane, especially as soon as things get crazy come September.

A few other things of note to report from last week. First, we were unexpectedly graced by a visit from the Bishop of Belize, Philip Wright. He preached and led services at St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's, and inaugurated our new Community Center, a building which will basically function like St. Andrew's church's parish hall. It was great to spend time with him and a few other visitors on Sunday.

Second, we are moving ahead to try and begin some real work with adolescents and young adults in the Cayo area. I've begun speaking with key people to get it going, and we're hoping to start meeting in a couple of weeks. Please pray that God puts hunger and desire in our youth for spiritual community, godly teaching, and holy living!

It looks like I will also be preaching this Sunday ... I anticipate the passage to be John 6:60-71. Please keep that in your prayers as well!

As of today - August 8th

Well, it's been a bit too long since I gave an update, but let me get in here and give you all a few details about what's been going on.

Last week ended up being a great cluster of days to rest and study without having to worry too much about groups coming down or people to visit. I was able to work somewhat on last Sunday's sermon from John 6:24-35, a passage which is legendary in its awesome complexity. So, that was tasty! Juan and María were off for a few days in San Pedro in ministry with a SAMS-USA Bridger Missionary couple.

As we've been waiting for Hurricane Ernesto to roll in, I've been spending some time with a group that suddenly came in from Church of the Good Shepherd (Norfolk, VA), who has been working with some of our kids from St. Hilda's in Georgeville. My hands are a little blistered from chopping lawns with a machete, but we've had a good time.

Please keep us in your prayers for these storms, and that I continue to recover a little bit from the stress of the month of July! Thank you all!

As of today - July 31st

Well, today the last of our short-term groups has left our churches here in Belize. We had a great time with the most recent group from New York and New Jersey led by Gus Calvo and Geoff Miller. I spent most of last week helping them out as the team cleaned and painted classroom walls, tiled classroom floors, poured concrete, and built lunch tables for the children of St. Andrew's Anglican School in San Ignacio. I spent most of my time helping build the tables, and I had a great (if sweaty) time on their construction with the other members of the team.

We topped off the excellent week with a visit to Guatemala, to see the Mayan ruins of Tikal. It was absolutely incredible, and I was grateful for another day with the last team to come and visit for a while.

I also had a very productive time with the Spanish-speaking missions on Sunday, preaching at San Andrés (San Ignacio) and Santa Cruz (Selena Valley). Unfortunately, we got rained out from going to Santa Trinidad (Frank's Eddy Village). We're hoping to get together on Friday to have a good-old-fashioned hymn and praise chorus sing-along in Spanish. It was a great time of building relationships!

And hopefully as well, today or tomorrow I will be getting out another installment of "The Occasional Newsletter". I make no promises, but the publishing process seems most imminent! Thank you for all your prayers and support!

As of today - July 23rd

Last week was kind of a blur: we got a lot done, but it was a whirlwind. The team from Grace and Holy Trinity Church (Richmond, VA) did a great job working with the kids in the Arts and Music Camp, and we were very blessed to have them with us. I was set to work helping out with music, and was impressed at what together we were able to transmit to the little noisemakers who came every day. The church is looking forward to seeing them again very soon.

For those of you who were wondering, I enjoyed the trip to Belize City over the weekend. I was very honored and pleased to be at a Gala Event on Saturday night celebrating the bicentennial anniversary of the foundation of the Anglican Cathedral, and the following morning I attended worship (as a "visiting foreign clergyman") at a massive eucharistic celebration for the whole diocese in the cathedral. Great times.

As for this coming week, we are enjoying a visit from an interdenominational short-term mission group from New Jersey and upstate New York, led by the Rev. Gus Calvo. The group is fun and low-key: in addition to some building projects, they are meeting with the families, youth, and others of the church to encourage and build up our congregations. I look forward to accompanying them in their work this week.

One other tidbit. This coming Sunday I will be the guest preacher at all three Spanish-language congregations in the diocese: San Andrés (San Ignacio), Santa Cruz (Selena Valley), and Santa Trinidad (Frank's Eddy Village). We're going to do the wide-sweeping tour that day, starting at 7 am, and going until about 6 pm. I'm looking forward to it.

Have a great week!

As of today - July 16th

Things have gone well over the past week. We had a wonderful visit from Shaw and Julie Mudge all last week as they worked on setting up the creation of an online seminary for candidates for lay and ordained ministry here in Belize. Not only do the Mudges and I continue to bump into each other around the world, but they have been a source of encouragement to me every time we do, and we have been thrilled to have their visit. They went back to their home in upstate New York today.

At the same time that they were departing, another team from Grace & Holy Trinity (Richmond, VA) has come down to put on their annual art camp for the children of St. Andrew's Church and School here in San Ignacio and Santa Elena. We are delighted to have them back, and they've definitely begun putting me to work as we minister together to work on arts, music, and crafts with these kids and to teach them the Word of God in the process.

In addition to the other out-of-the-ordinary events of the last few weeks, we clergy and the whole of our two congregations here in Cayo have been summoned to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (Belize City) for the bicentennial of its founding (and consequently, in a way, the founding of the Anglican Church here in Belize). Some of us will be attending a spectacular gala event on Saturday night, and then everyone will be coming together for a massive diocesan worship service on Sunday morning. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and worship together with our brothers and sisters from around the diocese.

As of today - July 9th

Whew! We're surviving. I'm surviving.

Things have been super-hectic around here, and I do apologize for not posting much in the last few weeks. The big item on the agenda has been the arrival of a fantastic mission team from Trinity Anglican Church (Thomasville, GA). After a couple of the team members came early to scout things out and counsel troubled children at St. Hilda's Anglican School in Georgeville, the rest of the group came down and spent last week in a whirlwind of activity which kind of swept me up into it as well.

In the morning, we ran a Vacation Bible School for the children in Georgeville, keyed in on the lives of John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary, the Apostle Peter, and the Apostle Paul. We had a great time, and the kids got a lot out of it. Then in the afternoons, we spent our time constructing a house and setting up property for a recently widowed teacher in Georgevile. It was hard work, and I finished the week exhausted and under the weather, but we got a lot done, and I felt like we all did a lot of bonding through the whole thing. In short: good times.

This coming week will prove to be interesting as well. We are enjoying a visit from Shaw and Julie Mudge, who are working with the Diocese of Belize to set up an online seminary for candidates for ordained and lay ministry. It's been exciting to have them with us: I met the Mudges back in Perú, and our families have a fascinating array of encounters and interactions in the last few years.

So, all that is to say, please keep me and all of us in your prayers as we recover the last group, enjoy those are visiting now, anticipate the next group to come this coming week, and serve God in daily ministry in the midst of it all!

As of today - June 18th

Well, life never stops here, but it's important that it least I stop to give something of an update here on the website!

Last week was full of the little pastoral details that had gotten swept under the rug the week before due to our trip to Mexico. We spent a lot of time leading services and teaching at the three schools under our purview, and I put my head and heart to preparing my sermon for Sunday (Mark 4.26-34). Much to think about, much to digest, and much to serve up and prepare to two packed services (Father's Day!).

The visa renewal experience in Belmopan (Belize's capital) went well, although I've been informed that I need to add pages to my passport (apparently, I'm running out).

There is not much to report for the docket of the coming week, except for a few small details. First, as of today, I celebrate one month in Belize. I am healthy (if not wealthy), and God has blessed my comings and goings at every time. I am so thankful.

Second, we are entering the epoch of short-term missions teams. This is great, but it adds stress to our team on the ground. The first wave arrives on Sunday: please keep us in your prayers!