It's time to start getting ready for 2010!

Our Belize Mission Trip in 2010 will be February 5-11. The cost will be $1,700 per person. This includes all transportation, lodging, meals and materials. We're hoping we can count on you to help us make a difference in the lives of those we serve.

Ideas and Interest?

Planning has already started for our missions trip to Belize next year (January, 2010). We would love to have you join us! Whatever your skills or strengths may be, God can use them in helping those in need. If you have interest in participating or donating, please contact John Kirby at jkirby@horizoncc.com or call the Horizons Community Church office at 513-272-5800.

Final Video of our Belize Mission Trip

Additional Pictures added to the Pictures Album

Click the picture at the right or use this link...
http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffcandrews/Belize2009#

Check back later this week for a final video.

Our Final Day

Today was our final day in Belize before returning home tomorrow. Here's a summary of the assistance we were able to provide during our five days in Corozal and Orange Walk:

53 people from (and friends of) Horizons Community Church traveled and served in some capacity.
Over 200 people were treated and screened for surgery on Friday.
Over 50 surgeries were performed.
More than 750 people were seen and/or treated in 4 local villages (Chunox, Progresso, Copper Bank and Louisville).
Over 100 homes were screened and many homes repaired.
4 homes were finished for 4 families.

We'll have final counts later this week. Check back over the next few days for a few additional stories, new pictures and a final video.

Thanks to everyone who read the blog and followed the stories taking place in Belize. We read and enjoyed your comments each evening after dinner. And your prayers were greatly appreciated. There is tremendous poverty and need in this country. Yet the people here are very humble and happy. I'm still surprised and inspired that just a few dozen people can help so many in just five days.

If you're interested in learning more about Horizons missions or would like to participate in some way next year, please contact John Kirby at jkirby@horizoncc.com.

Home Life in Remote Villages

I wanted to share a sense of what home life is like for most of the villages we've visited. Most homes are only about 15ft by 18ft and are divided into 3 rooms by drapes or thin paneling. Typically, one room is a living area and two small rooms are just big enough for a bed (which many share) and a little walking area. The floor is typically either dirt or concrete.

Most of the homes have stick walls -- small trees and branches standing vertically -- and have cracks/openings all around. Some homes have concrete walls (a luxury). Windows are usually just louvered wooden slats made of local mahogany. Roofs are made of tin/metal or thatch. Some have doors and some just door openings.

Kitchens are commonly a few feet away from the home to minimize the risk of home fires and to keep smoke out of the house. They have only 3 walls. Food is cooked in pots above burning wood on a small wooden or concrete table. The wood smolders for most of the day.

Some homes have running water spigots for drinking and filling wash buckets. Out-houses are standard. A few homes have electricity for basic needs like a radio or small refrigerator. Clothes are hand washed and hung to dry on clothes lines outside the home.

River Hills Christian Church blog link

River Hills will be working in the same northern area of Belize. They will be serving here next week. You can find their blog at...
http://www.belizemission-journal.blogspot.com/

Another Home in San Victor

Here's one of the other four houses we built in San Victor. The roof was installed yesterday. An interior wall and doors will be finished today and tomorrow.

Houses Dedicated to Families

This afternoon in the town of San Victor where the Construction Team has been laboring for the past four days, the entire mission team converged to dedicate the four new houses to families. To celebrate, we had a Coca-Cola party for the families and local community.

Everyday, each team goes in different directions and has different missions. This was the one time where we could all be together to celebrate not only what the Construction Team has accomplished, but also our experience in Belize.

The families are very gracious and appreciative of their new homes. One family had 9 people living in a stick home/bedroom about 15 by 20 feet. They'll now be able to spread out a bit and have a more sturdy, secure home.

As you can see in the picture, the houses we build have a poured, concrete foundation and block walls. Roofs are tin. And windows and doors are usually local mahogany.

Each house costs $6,000BZ (or $3,000US) to build (mostly materials and some paid labor to pour the foundation and lay the block).

Special thanks to the Jr/Sr High (aka Crew and Crash) kids at our church for raising $4500US to help build the homes. This couldn't have been done without all of your help in raising funds.

Village Medical Provides Needed Medication

The pharmacy group (Joe and Dennis from Terrace Park and Susie from Nashville) has provided numerous medications to villagers for various ailments. Here are some of the more common problems we're finding:

• Diabetes (especially in women; there seems to be a genetic disposition; diets are also very high in carbs)
• Hypertension
• Upper respiratory
• Ear infections (one young girl hasn't been able to hear for a year simply due to the amount of wax build-up)

Good Morning! - Day 5

We're about to head out for the day. The Village Medical and Screen Teams will be in the town of Louisville which is about 30 minutes south of Corozal. Today is also very special for the team because the 4 homes will be dedicated to the new home owners. Check back tonight for a full report on the Construction Team's work.


Last night, the Surgical Team returned around 9pm. Even though they only had one full operating room, they were able to complete their original schedule of 9 surgeries plus 3 additional -- in 12 hours! Surgeries included tonsillectomies, nasal reconstructions for breathing, septums and a lumpectomy.

Summary of Day 4 (Monday)

Summary of today (Monday):

The Village Medical Team saw about 150 patients in Copper Bank.
The Screen Team installed screens in 15 homes in Copper Bank. They also repaired a number of tables and chairs for the elementary school.
The Construction team installed interior partition walls in the third house. They also installed exteriors doors in the second and third houses. While awaiting materials, they spent a good bit of time playing with the children in the San Victor community.

The Surgical Team has not returned yet from the hospital. I'll update this post when we get a final report of their day.

And an update on the number of patients seen yesterday by the Village Medical Team while in Progresso. They didn't return last night until about 8pm last night. They saw over 250 patients. One 2-month old girl who was very non-responsive was rushed to the hospital in Orange Walk and later transported to the hospital in Belize City. Her breathing was very faint and her heart rate very low. We hope to get an update on her in the next day or two.

Children with Unknown Neurological Disorder

During our mission last year, we were asked to visit a home in the Chunox village. In this home, a mother and father were raising four children from the ages of about 3 to 12. Three of the four children were showing signs of some type of neurological disorder. The signs appeared around the ages of 2-3 years old. We visited with the children and collected DNA samples to take back to Cincinnati for testing. Unfortunately, the testing couldn't identify the disorder. It appears to be very rare.

We visited with this family again on Saturday. Clarissa, the oldest girl, is very severe and has not eaten in about five days. She is completely motionless. The son, Roney, is now immobile but can still speak a few words. The second daughter is also immobile and is now blind. Rafael Cob (one of our primary local contacts and a local pastor) took us through the family's home (see video).

To complicate their life further, they are being pushed out of the home they rent and will have no place to live. We're working with Rafael to try and raise money to find or build them a simple home.

Good afternoon! - Day 4

Today, the Village Medical and Screen Teams are in a village called Copper Bank. The Construction team is continuing their work in San Victor. And the Surgical Team is back at the hospital in Orange Walk.

We had a minor setback at the hospital this morning. Our Surgical Team uses three operating rooms each day to perform free surgeries for the poor. Unfortunately, some local medical staff kept us from using one of the operating rooms. A great deal of work goes into reviewing surgery candidates in advance, meeting with them once we arrive and planning an O.R. schedule that maximizes our time while here. The medical need is so great so everyone works very hard to try to perform as many surgeries as possible.

This has created many challenges mostly on the waiting patients--many of which have been sitting and waiting for days. If we can't perform the needed surgery while here, it may mean they don't receive the procedure and treatment they need.

Also, the father of one of our surgeons had a stroke a few days ago. She is returning home this afternoon to be with her family in Nebraska. Please pray for her father and for the hospital situation to get worked out. While it may not get worked out while we're here, it needs to be resolved so future visits can provide needed medical help for the poor.

Summary of Day 3

Summary of today (Sunday):
The Surgical Team performed 16 surgeries including plastic surgery on 2 young girls who were severely burned from a propane tank explosion.
The Village Medical Team saw over 200 patients in Progresso.
The Screen Team screened over 10 homes and fixed play equipment at the community center in Progresso.
The Construction team installed windows in 1 of the 4 homes being constructed and prepared doors for installation.

Surgery on Boy with Cleft Palette

If you followed our trip last year, you may remember about a four month-old boy named Jason who was born with a cleft palette. Dr. Mangat performed surgery on him last year. We had a chance to see Jason again this year. Here are two pictures of Jason last year (before and after surgery) and a picture of him from this morning.

Friday and Saturday in Belize

Here are a few images from Days 1 and 2 (Friday and Saturday).

Good Morning! - Day 3

It's Sunday morning in Belize. By the way, we're in the central time zone only an hour behind east coast time. It will be another warm and sunny day here.

Today, I'll spend the morning in the O.R. at the hospital and the afternoon with the Village Medical Team in a village called Progresso. Tonight I'll share a closer look at the Surgical Team's work and the hospital in Orange Walk.


It's just before 7am and we're about to depart for the day.

Summary of Day 2

Summary of today (Saturday):
The Surgical Team performed 12 surgeries including cleft palette repair, tonsillectomy, throat mass removal and skin cancer removal.
The Village Medical Team saw over 175 patients in Chunox.
The Screen Team screened over 20 homes and repaired a few leaky roofs.
The Construction team installed windows in 2 of the 4 homes being constructed.

The Screen Team Helps Local Village Families

The Screen Team and the Village Medical Teams traveled to Chunox, a remote village about 1 hour southeast from Corozal. The road to Chunox is a narrow, unpaved dirt road. Potholes all along the way make the ride slow and bumpy. Most of the landscape to Chunox is bushes, trees and sugar cane. There are a few small villages on the way with very modest homes made of either block or sticks.

Two rivers have to be crossed on the way. And there are no bridges! To cross each river, there's a small ferry which hold about 3 cars or vans. The ferries are powered by muscle! No motors. A hand crank (i.e. fly wheel) is turned hundreds of times to move the ferry from river side to river side. Nate Wilson helped the ferry worker turn the crank.

Once we arrived in Chunox, the 10 Screen Team members loaded up in a truck owned by one of the local pastors, Rafael (more on Rafael later). The group drove around the village and screened the windows of dozens of homes. They also repaired a few leaky roofs. Walls of most of these homes are made of sticks about 2 inches in diameter. Most have thatch roofs whereas some have metal. Windows are typically just wooden slats which open and close. Without screens, bugs and mosquitoes easily come in and can infect families with disease, commonly malaria.

The Screen Team will serve 3 more villages over the next 3 days.

Good Morning! Day 2

The sun is rising in Belize! Teams have eaten breakfast and are packing in vans now for today's work. The Village Medical Team will travel about an hour to Chunox. If you haven't heard much about the remote villages we serve, I believe you'll find village life to be very interesting and the images very different from what you've seen so far. Check back tonight for more about our day in Chunox.

This picture is a look at the Caribbean Sea from our hotel. Thanks for all of your notes and comments to the team!

All About Belize

Belize is a country in Central America (south of Mexico) with a population of about 300,000 people (one of the lowest population densities in the world). It's capital is Belmopan. The country is about the size of the state of New Hampshire. It's divided into 6 districts. Corozal and Orange Walk, the districts where most of our work is taking place, are in the northern part of the country.

Belize is bordered to the south and west by Guatemala, the north by Mexico and the east by the Caribbean Sea.

Once a part of the Mayan and briefly the Spanish Empire, it was most recently a British colony known as British Honduras. Belize gained independence in 1981. It's considered a parliamentary democracy. The Belizeans elect a prime minister who leads the government. English is the official language, however, most people here speak Spanish.

Agriculture is the main industry here. Across the country, sugar cane grows as far as you can see. Over the next day or two, I'll share more details of how sugar cane grows and how it's harvested and processed into sugar.

Unfortunately, Belize is a very poor country. About 50% of the people here don't have access to doctors, nurses or hospitals. Two-thirds earn less than US$4500 each year. And most children suffer from malnutrition. Our objective while we're here is to help as many Belizeans as we can. For some that may be rescreening windows to keep out malaria-biting mosquitoes. We'll be completing 4 houses for families who need a place to live. And for many others, we'll be providing needed medical help including checkups, vitamins, medications and surgeries.

A few notes and tips about the blog...

Throughout each day, we'll post updates about our activities. These updates appear in the journal area on the main page. An archive of all posts throughout our trip is located on the lower right hand side of the page. So you can always go back and read earlier posts.

You and others can comment on any post by clicking on the Comments link below any post. Whether it's a note to the entire team or a shout out to a specific team member, we love hearing from you!

Each night, beginning tonight, we'll post pictures from the day's activities. A slideshow of these images will play in the pictures area. If you hover your mouse/cursor over this area, you can pause or skip pictures. You can also click on any picture to jump to the entire picture album. Here you can see full screen images and even save pictures on your own computer.

Finally, you can register as a Blog Follower. As a follower, you'll receive emails when new posts and/or comments are added.

Please send us comments or even questions you'd like to ask.

Enjoy!

Remaining Team Members Arrive Safely

The remaining members of our team arrived safely today around 11:30am. After a lunch stop and a check-in at the hospital in Orange Walk, we've just arrived back in Corozal.


Fortunately, all of our packages and suitcases made it. Equipment has been unpacked. Medications have been sorted.

The Surgical Team met with surgery candidates and prepared for tomorrow.

Good Morning! - Day 1

Day 1 is here! We got up early this morning and ate breakfast at 6:15am. Sunrise was around 6:30. After a light rain this morning, it's now 68 degrees and sunny.

Today, our remaining team members arrive in Belize around 11:30am.

Throughout the blog, I'll be referring to 4 teams: the Surgical Team, the Village Medical Team, the Screen Team and the Construction Team. Here's an overview of each team's purpose and plan.

The Surgical Team will operate from the hospital in Orange Walk, a small town about 40 minutes south of where we're staying. About 14 people will perform various functions. Their purpose is to provide free plastic surgery (e.g. cleft palette) and ear, nose and throat surgery to local needy families and children. They'll perform about 50 surgeries over 4 days.

The Village Medical Team will operate in four remote villages throughout northern Belize - one village each day over 4 days. About 20 people will provide medical evaluations and needed pharmaceuticals. They also will provide a children's vacation bible school in each of the villages.

The Screen Team travels to the same villages as the Village Medical Team and provides free mosquito screening on windows of over a hundred huts. This group of about 8 will also do light repairs in some homes. We've also been asked if we could build a swing set in one of the villages.

The Construction Team will complete 4 simple block homes in San Victor. This small village is about 25 minutes southwest of our hotel. The foundations, walls and roof of these small and simple homes were constructed prior to our arrival. A few were even started by the owners ten years ago but never finished. The 12 people on this team will build an interior wall, install exterior windows (similar to plantation shutters) and exterior doors.

The theme of our mission this year is "Serve Him out loud". In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, Jesus said "Let your let shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven." Our mission is one of action and serving to fulfill this call and assist those in great need.

Advance Team Arrives in Belize

It was an early morning departure today. As you can see from the picture, there aren't many people in the Cincinnati airport at 5am!

Advance team members arrived safely in Belize this afternoon! While most members are from the Cincinnati area, others are from Milwaukee, Denver and Nashville.

After arriving in Belize City and passing through Customs, we jumped in vans and began the 2 hour drive north to Corozal in the northern part of the country. The sites along the way are very interesting and very different from what we're used to. Most of the landscape along the way is open fields with sparse trees, bushes and lots of sugar cane. Every now then is a small town where you find small houses and a few, very small grocery stores. I'll share more about the country's geography later.

The surgical team made a stop in Orange Walk to visit the hospital and meet with the local medical team. Others have just arrived at our hotel in Corozal.

It's about 70 degrees and sunny here (a bit warmer than Cincinnati today).

Advance Team Departs for Belize Thursday

About a third of our team will depart for Belize Thursday morning. Our focus on Thursday will be to ensure all logistics are reviewed and in good order. Rental vans...hotel rooms...cell phones...etc. We'll also visit the hospital where the surgical team will be serving.

The remaining team will arrive Friday. The focus Friday will be to verify that all supplies arrived and get them organized for work to begin on Saturday. We'll deliver surgical equipment and supplies to the hospital, package medical supplies for our traveling village medical clinic and drop off tools at the home construction site.

Check back tomorrow for additional posts and details of our arrival in Belize.

Departure less than one week away

We depart in less than a week! With months and months of preparation behind us, our final day of preparation is Sunday. At this point, most of the preparing is done. Sunday will mostly be time to ensure we have all of the supplies for our surgical, medical and construction teams and that they're packed correctly to ensure safe arrival in Belize.

Who would have thought there's so much strategy in packing! We have over 100 boxes, packages or suitcases filled with critical supplies -- surgical instruments, medical equipment, medicine, circular saws, hammers, nails, clothing...and MUCH more. It has to be packed to ensure the weight is under certain maximums. It's also important to "spread things out" just in case one box or suitcase is misplaced.

Check back for a few more posts prior to departure. I'll share more about the people and area we're serving, the country of Belize and our team.

Just a few weeks to departure!

Our 2009 mission trip is just a few weeks away! We have 54 team members who will be traveling and serving in some way in Belize, Central America. We're currently packing and ensuring we have all of the medical supplies, medications, construction materials and tools needed.