Sunday, July 31, 2016

Belize Evangelical Garifuna Convention

Andrew Nunez, Pastor of Believers Mennonite Ministries in New York,
invited us to help him organize a convention 
for Belize Evangelical Garifuna Council of Churches.
Pastor Andrew originally from Belize
yearly visits Belize to encourage Garifuna pastors.
Invitations went out to Garifuna churches all over Belize.
The first evening was mostly attended by local women in the area.
A few men showed up too.
Patrick Veliz and Mario Mejia, President of the Belize Garifuna Council of Churches,
 helped organize and lead the meetings.
Patrick and his son played the drums as we sang.
We created a circle of prayer at the close of that first meeting.
The second day was dedicated to teaching.
Brother Andrew taught on the subject of how to study the Bible
Galen taught on how to organize the church.
The Dangriga Mayor sent a letter of recognition to be read.
Life stories were shared with one another.
This 84 year old pastor still leads a congregation of people.
He rides four miles on his bike to his farm every day!
He also speaks on the radio to encourage believers.
He lives his life to the fullest and sets an example for others.
84 year old Brother Jimmot Ray Mejia
Two evenings of the convention we had services in a local park.
Some of the friends Phyllis made
The last day plans were made for next year's convention.
There was a parade and chatting time at the park afterwards.
Many people were reached throughout the three day convention.
The sharing went on until the sun set and than into the evening hours.
We met many new friends and found encouragement from their life stories.