The Enclave of the Arts along with Belhaven College will sponsor the Joshua Squad mission trip to Belize this May. Headed by Guinn “Skip” Davis, Director of the Enclave Joshua Squad and veteran of several Joshua Squad trips, Skip is leading a group of six talented people to Belize.
Tues. May 13th
Well, I’m here in Belize! Mom and Dad picked me up at the airport and we bumped up the road for a while. It's so good to see them and finally catch up on all the stuff that happened at college. I thought we were just going to go home to relax, but my job has already begun. I stopped by Lupe Pena's house and had a long talk about everything: food, transportation, youth groups, churches, the youth rally, and money. By the time I actually got home I was exhausted from traveling all day and planning stuff. I wrote the Joshua Squad about some of the details, but I'm sure I can share the rest when they get here. I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the things I have to do before they get here, Lord, you have enough strength to help me. Prepare and excite the group's heart to be here. Soy cansada, voy a dormir ahora! Deanna Smith
Deanna, with her brother, Isaac
Wed. May 14th
I'm so happy! Thank you, Lord, for the time to be able to help my mom. I got to clean the kitchen while she was away. She was very happy when she got back. After that I marched straight away to organizing a meal plan for the team. My head is spinning from trying to get everything straight. Lupe came by and we set the meal plans, and talked again about costs and itinerary for the Lamanai trip. Later, my dad and I went around the village talking about the trip to the fish farm, and arranging food, and transportation. I got to meet with Magdiel and Vicky about the youth rally and how they want to run rehearsals with the team. It was so good to be with them again. They mentioned that the youth group is really discouraged and not unified. Father, please use us in some way to be a blessing to them. Work in their and our hearts to be unified. Ahh! They are coming tomorrow. Deanna Smith
Grace with students from Concepcion
Thurs. May 15th
I woke up this morning to mom saying, "Sorry, the Joshua Squad isn't coming today." I was so disappointed. It didn't help either that I had gotten only a few hours of sleep from being so excited, oh well! Instead I went grocery shopping with mom for the clinic, Joshua Squad and our family in Corozal. I have never been shopping for so much food in my life or gone to so many stores. Lupe, my mom, and I went to about six or seven schools asking what they would like us to do at the schools. I'm surprised at how many schools want us to teach. Now if only I can make an outline of what they want us to teach. I have redone the schedule four times already. Lord, give me the strength to keep going. Deanna Smith
Lupe Pena, our guide in Belize
Friday, May 16th
After our flight was cancelled yesterday due to weather, our next option was to fly out of Monroe, Louisiana airport (about 2 hours away) today. So, we all woke up bright and early and left from Belhaven around 5:30 a.m. Former Joshua squad leader, Jonathan Lowery took us to the airport in hid van, giving us "words of wisdom" from his past experiences with squad mission trips - Thanks Jonathan! We arrive and check in to the Monroe airport and then play the movie quote game for almost 2 hours until its time to depart.
Everything goes according to plan, and we land in Houston with plenty of time to eat and shop before departing to Belize. We land safely in Belize, get though claims with only a few questioning looks and comments (mainly..."I wonder what’s with the purple hats?") Then we find Deanna, her father, and Lupe (in charge of mission teams that come in to Belize). We load in our "tour bus" (a big white van that we used throughout the trip) and head through Belize City to check out the church that will be our final performance at a youth rally that will take place. We met the pastor, who was very friendly to all of us, and then continue on our bus ride for about two hours to Lupe's house. Lupe's wife, Gloria, had generously prepared burritos for all of us. We all ate - a lot. The boys actually had a contest to see who could eat the most. I think Brandon and Lex tied. All of us were fascinated by the oversized Coca-cola bottles they had there. Little did we know then that we would drink one with almost every meal in Belize! We then headed to the clinic and settled down for the night. We were in another country, and the adventure was about to begin! Becki Haynes
Becki and Kristi
Saturday, May 17th
We've just finished with our first full day here in Belize. It's really hot! I get tired so easily, because my body isn't used to the heat and humidity. We're having a good time. I feel a little awkward sometimes with my other team mates, but overall it's going well. Tomorrow, Sunday, is going to be a really hard day. We're performing in 3 different churches. AHHH! It's going to be rough and hot. Belize is beautiful.
There are lots of interesting animals and bugs and trees and plants here. It reminds me of the Ukrainian villages, just made out of concrete and adorned with different plant life; the same kind of "make whatever with whatever you have" mentality - the same kind of village feeling where everyone's out and about all the time. It's nice. It's kind of weird how much American goods they have. In the store, they had Cheetos, Gatorade, and all kinds of American stuff that is of course really expensive.
It's also interesting seeing the different ethnic groups. Belize has like 7 different ethnic groups. We went to a fish farm and tried to install a solar panel, but had a lot of trouble. We also went into the village of Corozal and did some shopping, and got to eat real bananas sitting on a dock by Corozal bay. We then went back to Patchakan, ate a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, and then went to help the youth group with their Children's festival. Then, we had a short semi-successful performance for the kids. The music messed up during the performance of Becki's piece "Faster." Finally, we went back to the clinic and rested. Overall, it was a great day. Lex Quarterman
Brandon and Lex on the bus after a performance
Sunday, May 18th
It is our second full day in Belize and this day happens to be Sunday May 18. Today was a busy day for the Squad and a very tired one at that. We had three performances and I believe all went very well. We started off this beautiful hot Sunday morning with an amazing breakfast and then it was straight to preparation. We wore white face for all three of these performances, which didn’t react well to the heat. But I am not sure what reacts well to the heat. I know that I didn’t. But everything went over well.
Our first performance was at Deanna’s church. It was interesting sitting in the sanctuary in white face. We got some fascinating reactions, especially from little kids. We had a time of worship before we performed. I was pretty nervous. Not for the reasons of performing, but for the reasons of us as a squad getting the message across. I work with an amazing team and was not nervous about their performance ability or where their hearts were at, but I was nervous about how the church would receive us and if they would understand our message through theatre. I remember that we prayed right before we went on stage, and right there I knew that it was in God’s hands and that He was in control. The church reacted well and applauded after every sketch. This gave me confidence and reminded me that when God is in control, amazing things happen.
The two other performances we had that day went just as well. I thank God that most of them understood what we were trying to portray, even the people who had never seen a theatrical performance in their life. I feel like it was a very successful day. Tomorrow is another challenge, but with God, there is nothing the Joshua Squad can’t handle. We get to perform and teach at schools. So until tomorrow… Brandon Holman
Joshua Squad with Omar, our driver in Belize
Monday, May 19th
After a fairly busy day yesterday, we sped up the pace by not only performing twice in the morning, but filling our afternoon with workshops. I really like Belize thus far; there is a very receptive audience for what we are trying to accomplish. The literal climate is very hot. I don’t believe I’ve ever been somewhere where I can start sweating by just standing somewhere. But back to our mission...
In my life, I can count the number of times on one hand that I have stood up in front of a church service and given a mini-sermon, or any type of sermon for that matter. Yesterday, I did it three times. The sermon consisted of the history of the Joshua Squad, the mission of the Joshua Squad, how the Squad functions, and introducing the Squad itself to perform. I remember watching Dr. Lou do it on the mission trips and he made it look fairly easy. It’s easy once you get rolling along and believe in what you’re saying. I definitely believed in what I was saying, but I couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Basically I’m touching on issues that dwell on people’s beliefs and values; not light conversation matter.
One thing that has made this whole trip much easier is a having a team of performers who are on the same page that I am and who do their jobs very well. Ministry in the arts is great when one can rely on the team members to do their jobs well. I have been on Squad tours in the past where individuals were not fully committed to our purpose which resulted in considerable stress that wasn’t necessarily the case and strife was the result. I’m pleased with this team.
Today was hectic as well. I thank God that English is the primary language in Belize. The children understood what we were saying (somewhat), and the teachers were able to assist us in getting some of the unruly children to cooperate. There weren’t many of those, but there were some. I think we are reaching these children and they feel as if we are trying to befriend them. In between sessions, the children would come visit us and ask us questions about us. This was a great opportunity to talk to the children and develop relationships with them. One of them gave me a Belizean quarter as a token of friendship. However, meeting these children and talking to them about my faith has been the great blessing so far. Guinn “Skip” Davis
Joshua Squad with students from Presbyterian Day School.
Tuesday, May 20th
Today has been long! We were up at 5:15 and working on getting everything packed by 6:00. I had to force my eyes open and command myself to move enough to press snooze on my alarm…I thought I was a morning person, but after today I may have changed my mind!
The first school we performed at 7:00, and other than a few sound glitches, it went well. I did the make-up piece for the first time. I was really nervous! I totally forgot everything that I had written down and what order I had planned on doing things in and pretty much just made it up as I went. I think it turned out okay though, and boy was my face a sight to see! Brandon begged for a picture so now there is official black-mail material against me…I didn’t really mind; I had fun with it.
But when we started teaching workshops it got tough. We had 3 ½ hours to teach four classes of roughly thirty kids each. The first two were hectic because the kids were little and it’s hard to keep their attention for any extended period of time. I did have some darling little girls though! They all wanted to know my name and hold my hand and climb on my back and play with my hair. We had a lot of fun with space and matter manipulation. We mimed a generous supply of jewelry and flip flops which was apparently the funniest thing they had ever seen. Their eyes would get big as they intently watched my hands molding space, and ten little, brown hands would shoot into the air, index fingers pointing straight up urgently (this is like raising one’s hand although it took me a couple times to figure that out) whenever I asked if anyone could guess what I was creating.
The third group we had was more difficult. Skip had Becki and Brandon in the back working out the sound cues for the “Creation, Fall, Redemption” piece that we were going to teach the next class, so it put the actual workers down to three. And the kids we had were totally uncooperative! They were at that awkward stage where they don’t want to risk standing out or being embarrassed and they’re also totally segregated. Skip came and went sometimes offering suggestions, but I felt like the brunt of trying to handle the crowd was falling on me. While teaching techniques we had received only condescending stares and crossed arms so we decided to try to play a game. We taught Rosh tag and split the group in half to play since the room wasn’t large enough to have them all running around at once. Pretty much immediately all the girls sat down and the boys played. They were hesitant at first, but soon got into it. When we said it was time to switch out the groups and let the girls play, however, it got tense. They refused, only shaking their heads and crossing their legs. After watching Deanna and Grace coax and cajole for several minutes, I felt my temper cracking. I was hot, tired, and watching my friends get disrespected really got to me! I stood up and clapped my hands really loud…a lot louder than I meant to actually, but it inspired absolute silence and all rebellious whispers ceased. I stood exactly in front of the girl I had been watching throughout the workshop. She seemed to be the popular one that everyone looked at before doing, or in this case not doing, anything.
“Look,” I said making a point not to yell, but at the same time not to keep up the patronizing smile I had been wearing. “We are here because your school invited us. We came and performed our best for you this morning, and I really hope you enjoyed it. Now we are giving our time to try to teach you some things and to do something fun with you. I want you to have fun. If that’s not what is happening, then fine. You can just sit there and do nothing. We are not going to make you play, and we are not going to waste our time trying if you really don’t want to do it. This is your school and it is your choice. We are just your guests.”
They just stared for what seemed like several minutes and then the popular girl stepped forward and took her place in the middle of the room, ready to play. The others followed. I turned to look at Deanna and she mouthed “Thank you!” from across the room.
I didn’t know what to feel. I felt guilty for getting onto them and frustrated that I had needed to and unsure as to whether or not I should have. Did I do the right thing, Lord? What would you have done in that situation? How do you love us constantly when we turn away from you so often? I know you have given me a heart for children, Lord, give me strength to love them throughout this week!
I think I’ll get up early for an extra prayer time. I really need it! I love you, Father. Kristi Colvin
Kristi and Lex in Life Circles
Wednesday, May 21st
Today we woke up around 7 and had breakfast at Karen Hill's house (where the girls are staying). I gave a short devotional, mainly sharing Galatians 6:9 which says, "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not grow weary." This was especially encouraging because every one of us were exhausted and some of us were even discouraged about not getting to spend more personal time with the people we were trying to witness to. This verse just really helped us remember to keep our attitudes right and not give up because we were doing God's work - and that's exciting!
We left for Corozol Community College and performed for our biggest audience - about 700 students. They responded very well to our performance and were very interested in talking with us afterwards. We talked for a few minutes, but soon had to leave for our next school, Orange Walk Elementary. The kids there enjoyed the performance and were eager to be involved in our workshops following that. They were all very sweet and overall the Squad did a great job of interacting with them.
Next, we had a short afternoon break, followed by supper and traveling to our third performance for the day - Calcutta Missionary church. We arrived quite early and no one from the church was there yet, so the Squad had some fun taking group and individual pictures in a cement construction zone attached to the church (soon to be their new sanctuary). We had a blast just hanging out and taking many wonderfully silly pictures. The whole time, we were joking with each other about how funny it would be if the cement construction zone, with its rocks and rusty nails and cinder blocks all over the place, was where we were performing. Well, what do you know? The pastor showed up and informed us that it was indeed where we were performing - how funny! Once, it was swept it wasn't too bad - no injuries or anything. The church members seemed to really appreciate us coming and we had a great time talking and hanging out with them afterwards. Then it was back to the clinic for bedtime - Yay! What an exhausting but utterly fulfilling day. Becki Haynes
Workshop at Corozal
Thursday, May 22nd
This day we went to Cornerstone High School, where we performed in chapel and taught workshops. It was a good feeling to teach, although, by the end of those workshops, we were so exhausted; it was hard to keep going. The performances were fine and as we progressed through the trip we all knew how to "roll with the punches." We got to see Deanna's high school. It was amazing. It was great to see where she came from. Then, on the way back, Omar stopped and cut us some sugar cane. We got to suck on fresh sugar cane. It was great. Unfortunately, a few of us didn't quite understand the directions on how to suck on it, and chewed on it a little. But nobody was hurt. Then, we had an early snack at the Smith's and got to eat ice cream, which is a delicacy in Belize, because it doesn't stay ice cream very long. We arrived at our final performance place. It was an outside pavilion in a small village. The village was right on the New river. It was beautiful. Before our performance, we sat on the riverside and prayed. It was a great time. Our performance went well. Becki, Grace, and I all shared our testimonies. It was a good time of sharing with the young church. After our performance we ate hot chocolate and biscuits with the locals. It was really delicious. Then, we drove back to Patchakan and had a long night's rest, preparing for a day of fun to Lamanai. Lex Quarterman
Performance at Unity Church with Patchakan Youth
Friday, May 23rd
We got a break from performances and workshops. It was our fun day, or a better way to put it, our day of relaxation, because all of the other days were fun just exhausting. The place we chose for our day off was called Lamanai, a place with Maya ruins and a lot of interesting plants and wild life. We took a two hour boat ride up a river to get there, seeing saw all sorts of birds, crocodiles, iguanas, lizards and other interesting things on the way. I mostly just closed my eyes and let the wind blow in my face - that is until the guide spotted some wildlife or interesting plants.
When we arrived at Lamanai they fed us a pretty good meal. In fact, I can’t remember a bad meal during our stay in Belize. They spoiled our stomachs for sure. This meal was my second time having beans and rice with chicken in Belize, and it sure was good! I especially like the way they serve drinks in Belize. They serve them in glass bottles, the soft drinks anyway. To me, they taste better that way. I wish that the U.S. would have more places that served soft drinks in glass bottles.
After the meal it was on with the tour. The guide that took us on the tour was pretty cool and the tour itself was amazing, just really hot. But what part of Belize isn’t hot! On this tour were trails through this forest of interesting vegetation, we saw some amazing things and heard some interesting stories from our guide. The pyramid like structures, the Maya ruins, was spectacular. My favorite part about these structures is we got to climb on them. That was fun, and tiring at the same time. Some were pretty tall. One was, if I remember right, just a little under 130 feet. At the top of that one, you could see for miles - at least you could see the tops of everything.
After the tour, we were all tired and sweating like crazy. Even Kristi was sweating! (Inside joke for those people wondering). We all got back on the boat to go down the river. This boat ride was supposed to be shorter because we weren’t planning on stopping for any wild life. But an interesting and unexpected thing happen on the way… we ran out of gas! I thought the tour guide was joking at first, but when we drifted in to one of the banks and some branches poked me in the back, I realized he either had a strange sense of humor, or we were really out of gas. It wasn’t too bad though because help arrived shortly after. After starting again, Deanna, Kristi and I got on the front bow of the boat and rode it all the way back.
We got back to the clinic around 5 which was just in time to meet up with the Smiths who took us out to eat. We had another amazing meal at this restaurant that the Smiths patronize sometimes. It was great. Even though we didn’t have any performances on this hot Friday, I was still tired. It was totally worth it though; a great memory. After the meal we went to Deanna’s church where we met up with the youth one last time to practices our pieces before the big day tomorrow. Lex Quarterman
Patchakan Presbyterian Church
Saturday, May 24th
We wrapped up this tour performing at a youth rally at Unity Church in Belize City, Belize. Several churches throughout Belize were represented at this event, with two other troupes, one heralding from Patchakan and the other from Cristo Rey. One of the special things about this performance was that the Joshua Squad performed with another performance team. We performed ‘Creation, Fall, Redemption’ with the Patchakan Youth, along with ‘Fire’ a piece created by Helen Spann, and ‘Russian Roulette’, which was created by the Patchakan Youth. Guinn “Skip” Davis
Joshua Squad at the Unity Church Youth Rally in Belize City
Sunday, May 25th
Well, I’m writing on a plane again…we’ve come full circle I guess. We will be landing in Houston in an hour, and all around me are the bent heads of people filling out the customs form to re-enter the U.S. I am so excited to be heading home! But then, I’m really sad at the same time…how does time race by so fast? It was just a little over a week ago that I couldn’t sleep from excitement about leaving for Belize.
Skip says that since we have to go through collecting and re-checking our bags, we probably won’t make our connecting flight to Jackson, which means we would have to wait until the next flight. I really hope we get there in time!
I have never been so rushed in my life. Well, that’s probably not true, but I just want to say a special thank you to Krista Bower. Due to her perseverant conditioning of each of us in biomechanics and mime, I took the stairs two at a time. We love you Krista!
Waiting in line at customs was the only breather we had. We ran off the plane, raced to get our bags, waited at the wrong baggage claim, waited at the right baggage claim, and then had to drag our suitcases with us through security. I must say though, we have gotten pretty efficient at going through security. Tip: while still several people back in line, you can take off your shoes, watch, and any liquids from your backpack. That way you can zip through when you get to the screening belt. We then had to run up a broken escalator and three flights of stairs. Arriving at the top, out of breath and making a mental note to never carry three large books plus clothes in my backpack ever again, I heard a general commotion I recognized as the voices of my teammates trying to communicate something important. Looking around, I saw Brandon holding the doors to the metro open and motioning enthusiastically for me to hurry up. I forced myself back into my clunking, unbalanced shuffling and slipped in beside Brandon and Grace. Becki was the last to reach the top stair, and I joined in the yelling and motioning for her to keep running and the calling that “she could make it!” The doors were closing as she reached us and she hopped in just as they closed, inspiring relieved laughter from the team. It was pretty amazing. I think God likes for us to have some adventure in our lives!
Lord, you are truly amazing! I praise you for your provision and the way you always look out for us! I really thought we weren’t going to make that flight, but after a dramatic sprint across the airport and an Indiana Jones-like squeeze onto the metro, we are sitting safely in our seats and headed to Mississippi. It looks like I won’t get all the way home until tomorrow, but that’s okay. I don’t think I’ll mind spending some extra time with Becki and Grace.
It’s strange to think I will be saying good-bye to them for the entire summer…
Lord, guide each of our paths and help us to continue growing in our faith! I’ll miss them. Now I cant’ wait until August! Actually….thinking about my own bed….maybe I can! Kristi Colvin
Performance in Cristo Rey
Reactions and Reflections from the Trip
Belizeans have gone out of their way to say they enjoyed it or want us to come again. I know God is using us in a special way. I hope we have encouraged the churches, youth groups, schools, and individuals where we have worked. The team is really tired from the heat and constant ministering in so many ways. Now the trip is at an end. I think the Joshua Squad has learned a lot. If only we can apply it to our lives in the States. Deanna Smith
I look back on this week and am thankful for the local MTW staff with which we worked. That includes the Smiths (Deanna’s family), Lupe Pena (our tour coordinator), Omar (our driver), and others who were a great blessing. I look forward to working with MTW in the future on additional projects in which Joshua Squad could partner.
As Director of the Joshua Squad, I went into this trip with questions about how missions would be part of my life - wondering if I would do a good enough job. There were some changes that had to be made throughout this trip, including plane flight rescheduling and adapting to performance spaces. On a mission trip it’s not usually the accomplishments that you most remember, but the people you meet and the relationships you develop. With this in mind, I see myself working with Joshua Squad from some time to come. Guinn “Skip” Davis – Director, Enclave Joshua Squad
Skip Davis, Director of the Joshua Squad
