Why Should You Go to Belize?
By: Lauren Henderson
I ran.
There was no resistance, no hesitation, no stopping.
I ran.
I ran off the plane and into a country where I would find my heart.
Belize never felt wrong. It always felt so right and so natural that I did not even question whether I was suppose to go there to the point that I did not even know where it was on a map.
But that story isn’t true for everyone.
I remember how scared I was days before leaving for the first time. I was terrified.
Am I going to make a difference? Am I truly going to make friends there? Are the people going to see Jesus through me?
All those feelings. All those fears. All the desperate attempts to fundraise the money…
They were worth it.
Every cent.
Every tear.
Every emotion.
Every fear.
It was so worth it.
Why?
Because when you step back from a fast-paced American lifestyle and into a place where your who goal is to spread the gospel… that’s when true reality kicks in.
Jesus, nothing else, is the only one who can truly satisfy us.
Belize changes your perspective and makes you realize that no matter how hard you try, you are not in control, but Jesus is. We are along for the ride of his wonderful adventure.
Why go to Belize you ask?
To radically get to know the love of Jesus in a way that is so unique and see the true heart of Jesus.
During the trip, you get pushed WAY outside your comfort zone. It’s terrifying and exciting because being in a foreign place being completely vulnerable is exactly where God wants us to be everyday. He wants us to be vulnerable and there’s nothing like a hot climate, no makeup, modest outfits, sweat, and introducing yourself to strangers that’ll get you vulnerable.
It’s terrifying. But worth it.
The very essence of who Jesus is is missions. He left the comfort of Heaven to get to know us in our suffering and become a human when he is God.
Missions is the heart of God because every encounter with Jesus is because of his mission.
He hunts us down and does not hold back his irresistible love from us, even when we are his enemy.
He grabs us by the hand and leads us into his promises for us, even when we are scared and uncomfortable.
Letting Jesus take you by the hand is such a beautiful picture of how Jesus shows us his compassion and love for others through missions.
Even Lot, the cousin of Abraham, had trouble following God out of living in a land that was completely against God. He struggled leaving brokenness like we do.
Jesus leads people to Belize and takes them by the hand to show them the wonderful adventure he has in store for us.
In Genesis 19: 16 it states, “But he [Lot] hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city.”
Let God take your hand and lead you into the unknown because he will never let us go where he has not already set foot.