Belizean Photos!!

***Disclaimer: Even though it seems as if we have disappeared in Belize...Our team has been busy working the Lord's will and ministering to the citizens of Belize. We are sups excited to share our experiences and at a later time. Today was our RELAXATION day to re-energize for the rest of our sweaty week.**

We woke up to the beautiful sunshine and the sparkling crystal water of the Caribbean ready for what adventures were ahead. Today, we took a day to admire God's creation in the nearby jungles of Belize. Our excursion consisted of a mile-long hike along Blue Creek, which led to a massive clearing with majestically flowing waterfalls and a monstrous cave. We swam with small headlights about a half mile into the cave and discovered a in-cave waterfall. In awe of God's creation, we turned off the head lights and sang "Amazing Grace" in the intense darkness as our voices echoed throughout the caverns. We came back tonight to eat dinner and hung out for the night with our Belizean friends at Da Wata Fountin. Lauren and Stephen shared encouraging testimonies and Tim shared about Jesus calming the storm. Afterwards we created clever crafts and twisted balloon animals for the kids...who of course didn't want the sups fun to end.

**Pictures to be uploaded....so come back! Love Y'all!**

Belize Update!

Hello all! We are so sorry we have been slacking on updating the blog. Belize is wonderful and we are all so excited to be here. We got in Saturday afternoon, after a long day of travels. Immediately we saw Gideon and his family. Tim gave all the newbies a tour of Punta Gorda, and they got to see the walkabout children. The rest of the team went grocery shopping. Sunday morning we woke up early to eat a delicious Belizean breakfast and got the opportunity to visit Gideon's church. On Sunday afternoon the dental team began the clinics, while they were working on teeth the rest of the team prepared for the week and the presentations that they will be doing in the schools. Sunday night we had takeout dinner and ate it at the clinic with the walkabout kids, after we went back to Gideon's church to show a movie to some residents of the community. Sunday night also came with a wonderful surprise! Our dear friend, Rachel Howden, arrived and surprised the team; we all thought she could not make the trip this year. Monday, was our first full work day. The dental team did a great job and treated numerous patients all day, while the rest of the team embarked into the jungle to teach dental hygiene to over 200 students. After a delicious dinner of beans and rice, shrimp, fish, and chicken we headed to the town center in Punta Gorda to show another movie. That night we had devotions and went to bed to rest up for today! Thank you for all your prayers, we feel them daily! We will update ASAP! :)

Belize two-thousand-ten

This week a group of 22 people embarked on a journey to a little city called Punta Gorda, which is nestled in the country of Belize in Central America. This group left Friday and arrived safely.

While here they will be preforming dental exams & procedures on the Belizian community. They will also be teaching good hygiene in the schools down there and doing other random service projects throughout the community.

Arizona 2010 Video is here

For all of those who have not seen it yet, the Arizona Outreach 2010 video is up and running. Thanks to James Watts for filming and editing this year:

Here it is:

Az '1o from James Watts on Vimeo.

Drama Night Showcase @ the mission

Here is the final product of the dramas for the 2010 Arizona Outreach. Enjoy:

Arizona Outreach 2010 Drama showcase

Day 10: VBC bound!

Hey everyone...

Matt Howden just informed me that the team should be back at VBC around 10pm. Updates to follow.

Saturday drive

Picture from the road:

Day 9: Flagstaff to Kingman

After morning baptisms in Sedona, the team will head back to Kingman for their final night together. Pics and info to follow.

Matt Howden sent me this gem this morning.

Baptisms in Sedona

Day 8: Heading Home

The team is on the road again and heading to Flagstaff, AZ. Today is a recreation day and the team will split into various smaller groups and do different fun/outdoorsy activities on the way to Flagstaff. Tomorrow morning the group will go to Sedona for baptisms and swimming and then will head to Kingman. Pictures and updates to follow.

Today's pics went sent in by Lauren Wallace via her handy-dandy iPhone as well as Darnlene Tanisawa and Matt Howden.

Sonic Burger

Willie Stafford @ the Grand Canyon.

Sweet Thursday is calling me back up to Monterey

Hello All

Technically it is Friday here on the mission (because they do not believe in daylight savings) and we are tired and excited. Today we finished our work projects and prepped for our party with the Navajo. So this took up a good chunk of our afternoon.

Fast forward to the night: We greeted our new friends with a great Californian hello at 6 when the party started. This party consisted of face painting, basketball, shooting hoops, bracelet making, coloring, pizza eating, and talking with the Navajo.

When our program started we went through our dramas. They were performed with perfected and all the hard work and practices paid off. These were perceived extremely well by the Navajo. We finally gave gifts to our new Navajo friends and said our goodbye.

I believe all the prayers for this trip paid off since it seemed flawless.

Tomorrow after breakfast we leave the mission and go our separate ways to different recreation locations and will meet up tomorrow in Flagstaff to sleep.

We will try to update the blog on our way home like we did on the way to the mission.

No pictures tonight (i am too tired to find people that took some today):

By Wednesday I can't sleep (but thats not a problem for us here)

Hello everyone thanks again for your prayers it really helps. Our team has had the minimum amount of injuries and sickness is not a problem for all of us 95 missionary journeyers.

Today is Wednesday and our official full workday on the mission and throughout the Navajo community. Tomorrow we will have some teams going out to work until 12 to finish off what tey have left at their work sites.

A fun fact for all of you is when our team comes to the mission we accomplish about an approximately 30 man hours of work combined. This is amazing and truely encourages the people here at the mission or on the rez.

Tomorrow night we have our annual "pizza party" where we invite all the Navajo to come and eat with us and watch our dramas. Please pray that we can encourage the other believers within the community and that the gospel message will be clearly presented through all the hard work with the dramas.

P.S. The dramas are so good that we might start touring the country, so be prepared parents for your children to away longer.

Love Letters Home (father and son edition)

Tom and Tommy Sidebottom & Chris and Joel Pearson

Tuesdays gone with the wind Literally

The Love for Christ is in the air! The VBC Team has been hard at work, from working in the kitchen to digging ten-foot trenches. It is a blessing to see a smile on every persons face, and to know we are doing this for the love of Christ.

Today, the Hospitality crew cleaned the housing site for all the hard workers, and put cute encouraging notes with candy on each pillow. Quotes like, “Chancho. When you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. It's for fun.” (Nacho Libre) Or, “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” (Obi-Wan from Star Wars) These funny, crazy girls had a great time doing their hostility thing.

Ashley and Rachel, two of the girls’ part of the hospitality crew, cheered up the sweaty work crews with Otter Pops. Wahoo! Something cold! The icy treats were a delight to have when you are working for seven hours in 102-degree heat.

With a long days work, it was time for grub, and the Kitchen Crew cooked hamburgers! This geared the team up for Kids Club, which was a success! The team made cute cloth fishes and played games with the Navajo children.

It is an uplifting feeling to know that the LORD had brought together the VBC Team to do such great thing. Please keep us in your prayers on these last couple if days we want to thank everyone who has supported the team. ☺

<3 Ashley Rodondi
P.S. Mom and Dad, I love you and thank you for giving me the opportunity to come on this adventure!

P.P.S. Tony loves you all - <3 Tony DiBlasio

Here are some pictures from our photographers on the trip:

Love Letters Home

Just another manic Monday out on the rez.

Today was our first day of work projects, some on the mission and some at Navajo homes out in the community. Projects included mending roofs, replacing roofs, building additions onto existing structures, painting play equipment, and -our favorite!- weeding the ever-encroaching tumbleweed. Some lucky students got to shovel lovely piles of horse manure, while others organized supplies for the missionaries here.

We've had great times of worship and prayer. Kids are making new friends and gaining new experiences, such as praying out loud for the first time and talking to people they don't know.

Currently most of our team is out in the Navajo community having kids clubs. These kids clubs consist of a Bible story being told or acted out, crafts, games, and getting to know the kids and other relatives that show up to clubs. Unfortunately my kids club was not around so we came back home (our temporary home for the next five days).

Here is some pictures from today: