Our Mission

Well, I have been home for about 2 weeks now and I have gotten the question “so, how was Belize?” about 100 times (roughly speaking). Some people are genuinely interested and others are being polite, regardless of their motive, I have no idea how to answer them. It usually takes me about 30 seconds to respond with a “great,” or “awesome,” or even “well, I’m going back so I guess it was something!” There aren’t words to express the millions of emotions and experiences I piled up in the last 10 months. I can’t really seem to wrap my little brain around just exactly what I experienced.

 I left my home, my family, my culture, and my comfort to teach high school students. I removed myself from the life that I knew (and loved) and decided to try to get out of myself; to live for something other than my daily routine. Getting on the plane last August was uncomfortable for me; I am a homebody and I love my family dearly, I didn’t really want to leave them. As I hugged my mother goodbye, she sobbed and begged me to be safe; I then thought of a million different excuses why I couldn’t go to Belize. But I pushed myself out the door and stepped on the plane with a little fear in my heart.

It wasn’t until we got there and had a meeting with the Principal that it was confirmed that I was going to teach English Grammar to 11^th graders and Drama as an elective to 11^th and 12^th graders. It had been almost 4 years since I took a English class myself so I had a lot of brushing up to do. I remember the night before classes freaking out about teaching. Lucia (another volunteer) turned to me and said, “Elisabeth, just let them see that you love them.” And that became my mission. Yes, I did teach English and Drama, and through the grace of God their grammar and acting skills improved. But more importantly I grew to love and admire them, and they loved me in return. Like Katie said before, we aren’t just teachers we are their counselors, mothers, coaches, and quite frequently entertainers! Some people have asked me “so what exactly do you do in Belize?” My answer is this: I try my utmost best to love those amazing kids and become worthy of the love they give me, while teaching them proper grammar.

I guess I could say that in my one year in Belize I became a teacher, I discovered the truth about teenagers, I learnt how to take care of a liter of puppies, I became a cockroach killing machine, and I discovered just how thin my patience really is, and that is all true, but if you want to know what I found in Belize, it’s exactly what is to be found here in the States, and that is a thirst for love. I came across a quote from the author Fyodor Dostoevsky one day and I was struck by the truth and simplicity in it: "Try to love your neighbors. Love them actively and unceasingly. And as you learn to love them more and more, you will be more and more convinced of the existence of God and of the immortality of your soul."