Unbelizable! Belize It or Not? Those were titles I considered for this short report on the fantastic spiritual adventure I just completed with six friends from Northwest Arkansas, January 3-9, 2026.

Unbelizable! Because of the ways we experienced God, the people we came to know, and the sights we saw.

Belize It or Not? Because initially there where just two college women and myself signed up for the trip, and I didn’t think we should go. But our mission leadership said, “Go for it!” And the two ministries we were going to serve said, “Come anyway. It will keep our relationship growing and God will use it.” Well, we’re back home now, in a snow storm with temperatures in the teens for a week, still processing what happened there. We became a team of seven, and God did all those things, “…Above all we could ask or think” (Eph 3:20).

Background

Our church community is an average size, and fairly young, but very mission minded. They envisioned and promoted this short term mission adventure to Belize in Central America. The thought was that not everyone can muster the time and financial resources necessary to go on our longer mission trips such as Malaysia and Uganda. Therefore we should provide opportunities for Harvest Community Church members who have it in their hearts to participate in the great commission by going to other nations and sharing the gospel and making disciples in a shorter and more accessible timeframe and place.

Let’s Go!

I co-led this adventure with a young couple, Colt & Taylor, from our church and community group. I’ve been on 20+ short term mission trips since my first to Burkina Faso, Africa, in 2002. But I’m encouraging the next generation to go and learn to lead them. I tell them often, “All you need is someone you know, and some place to go.” “The Holy Spirit will be with you to lead and guide and do the things He does.”

Our young team got it! We so bonded with the young pastor and his wife with their two young daughters and their community in Bella Vista, Belize, that we hated to leave and tell them good bye. The feeling was mutual and we all felt a loving, spiritual, and family bond that’s impossible to forge in three days, unless the Holy Spirit is working, or the wind is blowing among His people (John 3:8). I wrote a several-page, after-action report for our elders and leaders, but there isn’t space for that here. I only want to report that we went, and you should consider going yourself.

I’m giving a thumbnail sketch of our trip, along with some photos, and I’ll let those do the talking. Normally one wouldn’t visit two places on a short adventure like this. But we were led to do so from an earlier scouting trip to Belize in April 2025. I had made five trips to Belize with our church in Fort Smith, Arkansas, but that was more than a decade ago. So we were asking the Spirit to lead us to ministries we could support and people we could trust to allow our short term groups to do kingdom work there in the future.

Our first three days were in service to a small, growing, multigenerational church in southern Belize with lots of kids. Our second three days we served the discipleship ministry of a young couple from Northwest Arkansas, who intend to disciple Belizeans to disciple future generations of Belizeans. We were welcomed into their lives and saw the places they minister and their vision for a campus on the outskirts of the capital, Belmopan, high on a jungle mountain top. We ministered in area high schools, and were connected serendipitously with the East Texas Baptist University track team which was staying at the same camp where we lodged and had our meals.

There were so many opportunities for prayer, ministry, interactions, and friendship that we will be processing what happened for a long time with a sense of mystery, wonder, and joy.

During our ministry time, we visited the beach at Placencia to buy paint, for a brief swim, and to admire the beauty of Belize. We also visited a Mayan ruin near the Guatemala border, and ate some of the world’s best ice cream at a dairy owned by Mennonites, who produce most of Belize’s food in the community of Spanish Lookout. Most mission teams include a day of recreation and reflection to further enjoy a new culture and place, while meditating and talking about the experiences they’ve encountered–still fresh on their minds and hearts.

Go Ye Therefore…

I hope you’ll find a group who takes these kinds of adventures and go! We are blessed more than the people we go to serve. But they are blessed too, so it’s a win, win situation.

Also, you almost have to go away to get to know your friends in our day and time. It’s a bonding time with friends in your church community that you’ll always remember, and a fresh experience with God. You’ll discover, or rediscover, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand….” as Jesus frequently told us ( Matt 3:2, Matt 4:17, Mark 1:15). Adventure with purpose!

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“The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!” (Psalm 16:3 NLT)

“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your gentleness makes me great.” (Psalm 18:35 NASB1995)

“Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.” (Acts 13:26)

“‘That the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,’
says the Lord, ‘who does these things’— things known from long ago.” (Acts 15:17-18 NIV)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB1995)

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Fun Photo from Xunantunich Mayan Ruins

College Girls Tell of Their Belize Experience

Belize 26 Short Story (Small Photo Collection)

Belize 26 Larger Story (Large Collection)