| 1st CFC Youth Camp in Belize |
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| Written by admin |
| Thursday, 07 May 2009 05:51 |
Belize was nothing short of humbling, inspiring, and amazing all at the same time. Fulltime worker Kiesha Middleton and I were invited by Tito Sonny Aguiling and Tito Mickey Santiago (CFC New Jersey) to go on a mission trip to Belize City, Belize from April 13-21. It was really an invitation that came out of nowhere for myself personally, and I was honored to say yes to the call. However, with this being my first time serving out of the United States, I didn’t really know what to expect. From the moment I arrived, we were greeted by the immense Belizian Sun! Coming from Miami, you would expect me to be used to the weather, yet the heat in Belize was even more sweltering and more humid. From the time that I walked down the stairs and arrived into the airport, I knew this would be quite an experience that couldn’t compare to anything I’ve previously been through.
Keisha and I were picked up by the CFC Belize Country Coordinators Carlos and Veronica Serafina Ross. At the airport, we were treated to a meal at the upstairs restaurant by Jason DeOcampo, the lone Filipino CFC member, and also the owner of the restaurant at the airport. Jason is a well-known chef in Belize who has won numerous country awards for his culinary and his food was delicious! Afterwards, we spent the first day fellowshipping with the household of Tio Carlos and Tia Fina at their house. It was also a pleasure to meet and play guitar with CFC Music Ministry Head, former country leader of the Solomon Islands AND Belize Supreme Court Justice Bro. John Muria! We were greeted to a wonderful community that made me feel at home from the very beginning! 
The remainder of the week was used to plan for the youth camp. Right when we arrived, Tio Carlos showed us an advertisement of the Youth Camp which was on the front page of the Belize Christian Herald, leading us to expect an excited and eager crowd. The Ross family has an excellent relationship with the clergy throughout the entire country and they were able to gather interest from youth all throughout Belize. The youth consisted of numerous parishes from the Belize City area and a few from outside the city as well. We conducted an orientation, a household leaders training, and a camp training for the youth moderators of the respective parishes leading up to the youth camp itself. The moderators consisted of young professionals and a few young married couples who are very active with the youth in their parishes and they were very excited regarding our programs and formation tracks. A few of the married couples are also interested in joining CFC in the near future! Despite going into the week expecting just Kiesha and myself to be doing the majority of heavy lifting, God blessed us with resources and a service team via the youth moderators for this camp. Praise God!  When the youth camp finally arrived, a sense of culture shock fully kicked in. This was no ordinary camp venue that I was used to in the US. Electricity was run solely on generators, so we only had access to power for a few hours during the evening time, putting a strain on our voices. While the sisters had cabins, the brothers either slept in tents, or some decided to just sleep outside and take their chances out in the wild. Sleep was hard to find for me, especially with the warm conditions I was faced with. AC was nowhere to be found. We even had an encounter with a flying roach that got into our tent, along with a bat that got into the main venue! Despite the conditions, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. 43 youth participants were able to make it to this camp. The group discussions and 1 on 1’s that I conducted were some of the most fruitful discussions I’ve ever been a part of in the 10+ years I’ve spent in this community. The level of faith shown with the youth in spite of all the adversity they deal with was a very inspiring and humbling thing for me. I am truly convinced that without God and the prayers of this wonderful community, there is no way I would’ve been able to get through the entire weekend especially with all of the energy we exerted. Despite fighting a tough cough throughout the weekend, God willed me through, whether it was through giving a talk, conducting a 1 on 1, or serving Music Ministry. Saturday night we were even blessed to worship with the youth Carribean style, as one of the youth accompanied my guitar playing with a steel pan! The youth camp was an amazing success. God is so good!
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