Monthly Archives: October 2012

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My Mission Trip to Belize

By Kristen Baker

 

My experience in Belize was great.  I had an awesome time.  The plane ride was really quick, but BORING.  When we landed I was super happy. We got outside and a DCI van was there to pick us up. We got to the DCI camp and they showed us to our room. We finished unpacking and went outside to the hut where we met two other teams. One was three people. The mom, Shari, the dad, Jeff, and the kid, Bryce. The other one was two people, Barbara and Susan. We went to eat dinner. Yum!

Then we got ready to go to the park. We took the van to the park and there were a lot of kids there. We did sports, balloons, and bracelets.

 Then we went back to the camp, wrote in the journal and went to bed. We woke up the next morning and went down to the hut and planned out the week. Then we took a DCI bus to go paint. We paint for a while and went to lunch. It was yummy. Then we went back to finish painting.

Next we went back to the camp and regrouped for early dinner so we could go to the park. There weren’t as many kids as there was yesterday. We gave out books and hats. Then we had to leave the park. We went back to camp and went to bed. We woke up and went to breakfast. We took showers and we took the van. It was me, my brother and Papa going on our excursion. We were going on the tubes in water. We got there and had to hike half a mile to get to the tubes. Then we “learned along the way.” We got back to the camp and had PB sandwiches. We had to wait a long time before everyone came back. We had dinner and went to bed. 

Next morning we went to hostel and Susan and Barbara left. We sang songs at the hostel and Pastor Mark preached after that. We toured the city. One family had 12 kids and the oldest daughter had 2 more kids. When we left the two-ish girl was blowing us kisses at the fence. We had dinner, went to bed, woke up. We were leaving. The other team was leaving with us. We prayed and went to the airport.

 I had a fun time in Belize, but I’m glad I left then or I’d be in a hurricane.

About Kristen: Kristen is 10. She is in 5th grade at Central Middle School. She has been dancing for seven years and loves it. She is an avid reader. This was her first mission trip out of the country and she hopes to do more (she really wants to go to Brazil).

 

Kristen is one of our God's Girlies and she's truly inspiring. If you enjoyed her story, please let her know in comments.  If you have a story you'd like to tell, send it to kristiburden@gmail.com

 

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I don't enjoy dancing....if I'm the one flitting about.  And while I'm Baptist, that's really not the reason I'm no dancer.  I'm a passionate person, but the only place I ever move and shake is on the inside.  I love music.  And I love watching some kinds of dancing.  One of the most exhilarating experiences of my life was seeing Lord of the Dance being performed.

 

Equally captivating are the times I have watched my children dance. The Sunday Jason was voted in as pastor here at Nederland FBC, Rylie danced a John Travolta signature disco move to one of the choir specials.  If I can be so bold to say, it seemed worshipful. 

My children haven't spectacular rhythm or a snappy beat, but they're soul-filled.  They get their passion from their mama. -Maybe a little from their father too. Hayden in his heart overflowing has asked me to dance at several weddings though neither of us know how.  And even Hallie, our serious one, has been caught catching a beat on a few occasions.

Rylie in particular expresses herself through dance.  She has moves that have yet to be invented.  And there's one place where she is always struck by the notion to dance; at the movies.

It makes sense.    You've watched an inspiring plot unfold on the big screen.  And then comes the music.... It's loud and beautiful. They save the best song for last.  That song that plays during the credits.... is an invitation to take up where the movie leaves off.  I believe the "credit song" is a time for response.

For Rylie that response is always to dance.  With reckless abandon.  In the front of the theater.

I had no intention of letting her do that.  She can dance on the inside, like I do.  But Jason is much better about not worrying about appearances. During the credits of a movie, one time, he let her go down to the front of the theater after the crowd had dissipated. Really, her dancing and flailing about in the narrow aisle was actually quite dangerous. So she danced beneath the rolling credits.

She has danced like this in response to every movie since then. 

 I've had to get over my fear of what the lingering audience is thinking.

She dances like nobody's watching.  Are there spectators who think she dances offbeat; that she's a show off?  Quite possibly.

I remember vaguely getting  Wonder Woman underoos (anybody remember those pajamas?) when I was about five.  I was giddy to have them; so much so that my response to having them was to parade (dance) in the living room for my mom and dad.  It was a wild dance whose grand finale ended with my head making contact with the corner of the television.

When did I decide not to respond to the music?

Was it getting hurt?

The fear of being misunderstood?

Or rejected.

I know I misstep.

Do I still hear the music?

Or am I too busy?

Like Rylie, I have a father who beckons me to the music.

The music is always there.

What's missing is, too often, my response.

 

 Hayden before his Valentine dance at School

Hallie-Dancing with reservation

A Wedding Dance

 

 

 

 I'd love to hear from you kristiburden@gmail.com