Mother-daughter duo serves in Belize

An “eye-opening experience” is how Nanette Symes and Danielle Henke describe their November mission trip in Belize. The mother-daughter team traveled to Belize Nov. 2 to work in schools, orphanages, youth hostels and to spread the Christian message.
The two spent a week working with other Americans and Praying Pelican Missions, a short-term international missions organization. They were thrown into Belizan culture the very first day and went to many cities along the coast throughout their stay.
“We were given an itinerary and our days were 12 to 15 hours long,” Henke said. “We had three different school visits, along with going to a youth hostel which is like a detention center.”
Those working with Praying Pelican helped put on a Vacation Bible School at Gallee Baptist for four out of the seven nights. They went around the area in Belize City and invited area children to the event. The Bible school had around 250 children in attendance. During the Bible school the women helped teach Bible lessons, played games and provided the children snacks. The way the children treated snack time really stuck in Symes’ mind.
“A girl broke a small chip into four equal pieces so she could share it with her friends,” Symes said. “We are so fortunate here. There is no government assistance to help them when they can’t afford food.”
The mission group helped with a food distribution at the end of the week. They would travel by bus and visit with families that they had met during their trip and deliver food. During the delivery the group saw how poverty and hunger is affecting Belizans.
“At one stop a man was holding a knife near the doors of the bus,” Symes said. “He was upset because he was hungry and didn’t understand why we were delivering food only to certain people. I can understand that.”
Candy, chips and soda are luxuries for those living in Belize. One little girl at Bible school asked if they could have something special for a snack that particular day. Symes and Henke gave the group gummy bears and passed them around.
“It was amazing how excited those children were,” Symes said. “They licked the candy and took tiny nibbles to make it last.”
The children were given a lot of responsibility at an early age. Going to high school is a privilege and can be expensive. Henke said their high school education is similar to our college education.
A little girl named Faith attended Bible school with her brother. She was around five years old and was in charge of her little brother who was about two. When she brought him to Bible school she had a very difficult time leaving his side or letting him attend class with his age group.
“She finally trusted us enough to let him go to a different class. It was heartbreaking to see her be so young and take care of her brother,” Henke said.
After visiting the country Henke began to weigh America’s problems against Belize’s.
“When we are out of work or have trouble purchasing food we are able to seek assistance,” Henke said. “When they are out of work they can’t feed their children and they are literally starving.”
The children the women worked with left a positive impact on them. Henke said the children were very respectful to the vistors and to their classmates. A girl named Jasmine was hard to say good-bye to. Jasmine was quiet, respectful and bonded with Henke quickly.
“She got so sad when she found out we were leaving the next day,” Henke recalls. “I told her to be good, that I would miss her and I loved her and she hugged me and said ‘I’ll pray for you.’ She said it out of the blue. I hope I impacted her and I don’t know if she knows how much she impacted me. They changed us.”

THE WOMEN  don’t hesitate when asked if they would go back.
“In a heartbeat,” Henke said.
Symes said she is thankful for all who supported their cause. They raised the exact amount of money needed to attend the trip.
“We had so many supporters and God was helping us grow spiritually,” Symes said.
Many friends have showed interest in traveling on the next mission trip. This summer Henke had said she hopes this trip will be a long term option for her.
“This trip hasn’t detoured me at all,” she said. “I want to go back and see those kids and help.”