Belize?

Okay, I'll admit it, I (Mark) am geographically challenged. When my Spanish conversation teacher first showed us a map of Central and South America, with all the country names labeled, I had no problem naming them. But then she turned the thing over to the side that had shapes of countries with no lables and asked me to say the name of each in Spanish.... Needless to say, I had some homework to do that night. So, if you are not exactly sure where Belize is, don't feel bad.

Belize is the smallest (non island) country in the Americas with about 287,730 people (The City of Fremont, CA has about 210,000). It's area is about 89,000 square miles (about half the size of California). It is the only Central American country without a coast on the Pacific Ocean and also the only one where English is the primary language. That's because Belize was a British Colony for more than a century. It was known as British Honduras until 1973.

The climate is tropical and normally very hot and humid. Belize is home to the longest barrier reef in the western hemisphere (second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia).

Jaguar Creek is located near the capital city of Belmopan. We saw one gas station there. With a population of 7100, it is the smallest capital city in the world. We know of two orphanages there, The Kings Children's Home, and Marla's House of Hope. A little closer to Jaguar Creek are two villages, St. Margarets and Armenia Village. There's a wide variety of people in these two villages including Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo, Maya, North American, European and Mennonite families. The first settlers in Armenia Village area were immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, or Honduras, who fled from civil war.

We know we want to work with the children of Belmopan and these two villages. Beyond that, a lot of details need to be filled in for the vision of Jaguar Creek Ministries. But we are starting at the right place, with a desire to serve and honor God. I'm confident that in time He will help us find great opportunities to help children in need, to encourage people in ministry, and to provide mission trip opportunities that will be not only rewarding and fun, but also spirtually transforming for the participants.

Come back to this blog often, we'd love to share the experience with you. And...don't forget to make a comment!