Anticipating New Arrivals!

It's been just over a week since we arrived back in Belize.  We were relieved to finally plop our suitcases down in our rooms and know this is our new home.  If I had to sum up how it has been so far...well...  It has been incredibly reassuring to have God's complete peace in knowing this is EXACTLY where He wants us and this is EXACTLY what He wants us to be doing.  It has been a huge blessing to be back in community living with these amazing people. :)  The first weekend here, one of our staff was married right on the beach at the base.  It was a great time of celebration and reminded us how close knit our community is.

 There will be 10 students flying in next week to begin their adventure through the Discipleship Training School.  It begins with 12 weeks of living here in Belize for Lecture Phase.  This is a time to hone in on the heart and allow God to minister, refine, and restore.  Each week a new speaker will teach on a new topic such as forgiveness, Bible study, or world views, etc.  Students also participate in multiple other activities such as team building, academics (book reports, geography tests, presentations, etc.), leadership activities, small groups, work duties, and having fun!
After Lecture phase the students travel to another country for an 8 week outreach phase.  Most schools have two outreaches, one stays local within Central America and one goes international, anywhere outside of Central America. The group we were leading to South Africa last winter was on their Outreach Phase of their school.  Outreach is a time to put all the head and heart knowledge gained during lecture phase into practice.  Students are involved in a variety of different ministries during this time.  The third phase is an optional Internship Phase.  Each students arranges an internship with the assistance of our internship coordinator.  They then spend 4 months interning at a ministry, Christian business, or organization of their choice.

We are all settled in to our new casita ( little house) and are busy preparing for the start of the school on Tuesday.  We are excited for the students to arrive, but there is one more arrival that we are even more excited about...our baby is due to arrive the end of October!!
We are absolutely thrilled to have this wonderful addition to our family.  There have been many transitions in our lives as of late, but all for good and this one is no exception.  We thank God for his faithfulness and grace as he lavishes his love on us.

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures! (Especially the baby Bump :P)