NOVEMBER 12, 2011

Amazing August…Super September and Oh what an October!!!

So many wonderful things have happened since our July update, it’s hard to know where to start, so we       thought we would try something new…an update video!  Click here to see on YouTube!

Major highlights:  After witnessing an alarming increase of hunger here in the south of Belize, Karen and the “ya-ya’s” set out on a mission…and wow, God showed up BIG.  Kidz Konnect has been graciously granted partnership with STOP HUNGER NOW for 2012.  Beginning in January, full containers of food packets will be sent from the US to Belize.  There are 285,000 meals in a container…enough to feed the 1000+ kids in our three schools and their families a nutritious meal for almost two months. We only have to pay for shipping and local distribution cost.  The first container will ship in January and we are seeking sponsors for the transportation cost of 6 containers for 2012.  Until then, we continue to purchase about 1,000 lbs of rice and beans each month.  Click here to donate and to STOP HUNGER NOW!

School started back up in September like never before thanks to Westwood, RockPointe, Cornerstone and the many individuals who purchased BAGS OF HOPE for the children of Belize.  What an amazing sight it was…and now to see the parents being involved in the schools…wow! This ministry will continue so please spread the word, purchase a bag and provide HOPE!  Click here for more details on the BAGS OF HOPE.

The Kidz Konnect medical team was back in October for the fourth time in 2011 with a team of 19 from SC, NC and AL that served, shared and continued to build relationships with the people of Belize.  This new concept of coming each quarter is working very well and making a major impact.  As this ministry has grown to where we will see close to 2,000 people each quarter, we desperately need assistance with the ever-increasing cost of medicines, which are provided at no cost to the people of Belize.  The quarterly team will be expanded beginning in January to include construction and maintenance, so please join in!

New email addresses:  As mentioned earlier, we have begun phasing out www.belizechristian.com and will only maintain www.kidzkonnect4jesus.org beginning in January.  Our emails will now be Karen@kidzkonnect4jesus.org and david@kidzkonnect4jesus.org Please update your address books. Praising God for each of YOU and for ALL of your prayers and support. We want you to understand what a critical and vital part you are in this ministry. YOU are Kidz Konnect!!!  We simply cannot carry out His plan without you and we thank you for your sacrifice and commitment for the children of Belize!  Please visit www.kidzkonnect4jesus.org and Facebook to see more information.

BECAUSE JESUS LOVES KIDS!

Karen and David

August 7, 2011

Dear Friends and Family:

Whew…We don’t know about you but as we reflect on the month of July the words rest and vacation do not come to mind!  Summer brought hard work, passionate people, and blessings abound.  Each camp team this summer was challenged to perform an original train dance to the song, “Love Train”.  So, all aboard, let’s travel back through the blessings and memories of this summer.  Enjoy!

CM Expo:  Karen traveled to the Children’s Ministry Expo in Lexington, Ky.  While at Expo, she was able to teach the importance of missions in your kids/student ministry and to exhibit.  It was blessing to see the Lord burdening the hearts of leadership for global missions for kids.  A special thank you to Roger Fields and Kidz Blitz Ministries for understanding the importance of kids being on mission as an integral part of their discipleship training and spiritual maturity.

Fitness Camp: Michelle Romaine, the founder of Fitness Camp came to Belize along with her daughter Jordan, friends from Green Pond Church in Va., Teresa from Washington State, Travis from our home church Cornerstone, and friends from NC all pulled their spiritual gifts together and blessed the kids in the Light of the Valley area.  Pastor Wayne drove bus loads of kids from one direction while Travis and Becky picked up a van load from another village.  Each child learned that the Lord loves and created them for a purpose.  The kiddo’s were challenged spiritually and physically while learning the importance of fitness, hygiene and making good food choices.  The camp rocked with nearly 300 kids and all had an amazing time!   We are already looking forward to next year.  WATCH THE VIDEO(s)

Partnerships: Some new friends from RockPointe Church in Texas arrived as the Fitness Team was leaving and we were off on another new adventure.  RockPointe has partnered with Holy Angels school in Pomona.  The school is in the valley area and has 400 kids with space for around 300 and that’s pushing it.  The team met with the principal Mrs. Frances and a vision with priorities are being prayed over at this time.  While here the team including two awesome grade school aged kids, Caitlin and Gibson rolled up their sleeves and began repairs to the school in preparation of the coming school year.  This is so mind-blowing; Rock Pointe stepped out in FAITH and ordered 400 Messenger Bags of Hope…one for each child at Holy Angels! A great deal of time was utilized in vision casting and daring to dream BIG.  We can’t wait to see what the Lord will accomplish through these passionate soldiers for the kingdom!

Here we Grow Again:  We would like to welcome our newest school St. Matthew Anglican.  We met with the principal Nancy and her passion and drive to ensure that her kids receive the best academic education possible and her desire to share the gospel while growing disciples within her school led us to forge ahead without a partner church.  God gave us a real peace about this so until a partner church or churches are provided Kidz Konnect will team up with St. Matthews.

Messenger Bags of Hope: This facet of the ministry has to date purchased nearly 800 bags (thank you Westwood and RockPointe!) that will be sent to kids in Belize.  Go God!  However, we are still in need of 300 plus bags for kids.  The bags are extremely affordable at $20.00 each which includes all the supplies, shipment to Belize and also supports the feeding programs.  This is a great ministry opportunity for your entire church.  PLEASE go to www.kidzkonnect4jesus.org and place your orders.  We praise God and thank you in advance for providing a much needed resource for our kids and jobs for the immigrant ladies that do an amazing job sewing them!

Medical Team: The team of 6 arrived in their scrubs and went from the airport to Light of the Valley to begin treating patients.  As the van pulled up there were over 150 people waiting to be seen!  The next 3 days the team treated and ministered to folks in Dangriga.  It is so humbling to witness the HIV/AIDS community grow their trust in the Lord and in us.  We have been blessed to see how healing compassion and restored dignity and hope can be.   Again, thank you to our home church for once again providing ALL the medication needed to treat our patients.  We are seeking support in this area for next year as Cornerstone’s commitment to this area of ministry is complete at the close of 2011.  The next quarterly team will be coming the last week in October.  WATCH THE MEDICAL TEAM VIDEO

We have witnessed more hunger and hopelessness this summer than in all the years that we have been ministering in Belize.  Some of our kiddos are going “days” without food or nourishment.  To date this summer the Lord has enabled us to purchase approximately 1,000 lbs. of rice and beans.  This has placed a small dent in the desperation of the people.  Upon our return to the States we will be reaching out to organizations such as World Hunger to assist us in feeding our kids.  The Bible reminds us in Galatians to, “Remember the poor.”  As a God appointed voice for these children, we ask that you be in prayer for God’s provision in this area.  No child should suffer from the pangs of hunger and malnutrition!

Van: Hooray…the van arrived safely to Belize and the rubber has been burning the pavement since touching Belizean soil.  We are praising God for his provision yet again for something that was so needed.  Again, thank you to CM Connect and Michael Chanley and all of you that made this dream come true.  God is so rockin’ cool!  We are still in need of some assistance with the cost of the van, so please help out if you are able.    CLICK HERE

Welcome: Please join us in welcoming our first Belizean staff member.  Carla Lopez lives in Dangriga Town and is married to Pastor Wayne Lopez.  Pastor Wayne and Carla minister at a church located in Pomona, a village in the Valley area.  Carla will oversee the Preschool and Infant 1 & 2 area of ministry.  Again, welcome Carla!!!!!!!!

Enough said…it is time now for a few days of much needed rest and preparation for the coming school year.  Please continue to pray for our kiddo’s and their families, the coming school year, God’s continued provision, and for us.   To God be all the glory!

Walking by Faith…

Karen and David

June 29, 2011

Dear Friends and Family:

Praise, Praise, Praise…The past few months we have continued to bear witness and be the recipients of God’s goodness and provision.  He has brought AMAZING people into our lives that have partnered, encouraged, and challenged us to serve the Lord and the kids of Belize in excellence. It is so difficult to decide where to begin…

CM Connect Van Contest:  Words cannot express our love and gratitude to Michael Chanley and the CM Connect community.  Thanks to your efforts, we now HAVE A VAN!  The van is a 2003 and with low mileage.  It is packed and should arrive in Belize at the end of July.  Please be in prayer that we won’t encounter difficulties with the government in bringing the van into the country.  The van is going to allow us so much flexibility within our ministry…again thank you and a shout of praise to the Lord!  We still need assistance with the cost of getting the van here to Belize, duties, taxes, tires, licensing, insurance, etc…, so please help out if you are able.    CLICK HERE

Schools:  We have just completed our second school year and stand in complete awe of what the Lord accomplished this year.  Kids have surrendered their lives to the Lord and seeds have been planted.  As the economy of Belize continued in a downward spiral, the basic needs of the kids were continuing to go unmet.  We have incorporated a feeding program, vitamin, and de-worming aspect to our ministry in schools.  We believe that in meeting the needs of the kids spiritually, physically, and emotionally an opportunity to model the love of Christ is achieved.

The 2011/12 school year will begin in September.  We will be adding another school…Holy Angels.  This school is located in southern Belize and has approximately 400 students.  There is a church from Dallas that is coming in July to explore the possibility of a partnership!  We will be implementing a co-op gardening program at Light of the Valley school in which students will work, learn, and raise the vegetables in partnership with the Agriculture Dept. of Belize. The vegetables will go to the school kitchen to assist the feeding program and teach kids that eating healthy is possible even on limited means. Kidz Konnect will be in four preschools and two primary schools.  We have had to postpone some additions due to the HUGE need in the schools that we already minister in. 

In addition to the gardening program we are so excited to announce our partnership with Plywood People.  We are offering Messenger Bags of Hope that will ensure the kids of Belize have school supplies.  All you have to do is go to our website and order a messenger bag of your choice and a bag full of school, hygiene supplies, and the word of God will automatically be sent to Belize for a child.  Plywood People is a nonprofit that recycles billboard materials into bags and provides employment for single, inter-city moms (legal aliens that had to flee their home countries because of turmoil).  This is an opportunity to assist countless others in a manner that brings glory to God.  PLEASE tell your friends and family.  Buy a messenger bag for your child instead of a book bag for back to school.  CLICK HERE

The churches and leadership in Belize continue to grow and mature.  We welcome Greater Light Church in Dangriga to the Kidz Konnect family.  Greater Light will be doing First Look, 252, and XP3.

Medical:  The quarterly team was here in May.  The team was able to treat nearly a THOUSAND people out of our mobile unit. The team will return July 26.  It’s amazing what a little love and compassion can do for those that are ill and lost, especially our HIV/AIDS patients.   If you know any medical personnel please let them know about this unique opportunity to serve the needy and Christ.  Thanks to Cornerstone for covering the cost of ALL the medication this year…words cannot express our gratitude. To the team members that are selfless and committed…you ROCK!                WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

 The final plans for the Berna House have been completed and we plan to break ground for the clinic the last week in October.  WOW!!!!  Watch for updates in future letters.

Camps:  Our first Bible Blast Belize just ended…and the team from our home church in SC is in the air as I write.  We had approximately 200 campers and each team was coached by an American and at least one Belizean…PARTNERSHIP!  The Mayor of Dangriga spoke at the opening ceremony and administered the Blast Oath.  The theme this year was the Ten Commandments.  We had worship, small groups, games, and competition…did I mention gold, silver, and bronze medals.  Each child learned that they are a champion and loved unconditionally by a God full of grace and mercy…thanks to all that helped make this vision a reality!   CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO

July is going to be PACKED full of amazing times of ministry.  Please be praying for our kiddo’s, their families, mission teams, and for us during these wild and crazy summer months.

Until next time…

Peace!

Karen & David

JUNE 7:  We are back from Belize and would like to briefly share our trip with you.  You might recall that back in March we took down over 600 pounds of ministry supplies and materials to the two “pilot” churches and schools.  These two ministries are being actively monitored, evaluted and tweaked as we prepare to implement into other villages in September.  The ministry plan is still to add a group of villages each September and January until we have the entire country covered! 

In all the times we’ve traveled to Belize,  we had never experienced any real travel delays, so we were way past due.  The rainy season in Belize has come early and strong this year and we were about 5 hours late arriving.  Tired and weary is not a good way to start a week of ministry, but we headed out to the school in the Light of Valley community.  Upon arrival, the principal immediately came over to our car and tearfully informed us that one of our preschool kids, Tommy Polanco, had drowned in the river that morning.  Needless to say, the entire school and village was in shock.  Teachers and children were just wandering around the grounds.  God gave us the words and strength to gather everyone into the church and to minister to over 270 kids. We cried, prayed, hugged, and loved, and prayed some more.

God proved yet again that He moves in ways that we cannot always understand. Amidst all the grieving and pain, God showed up and as a result of Tommy’s death, 53 children received the gift of salvation!   Plans are being made to go down to the very spot in the river that took away life and to baptize these children with the wonderful new eternal life they now have in Jesus!  How awesome is that!  Please be in prayer for this village and especially the Polanco  family, as they do not know Christ.  God clearly showed us that the Kidz Konnect 4 Jesus ministry is making a huge and immediate impact on an entire generation throughout the country of Belize!

We will return to Belize on June 22 – July 3 with a team of 20 from Cornerstone Baptist  to continue to develop and strengthen relationships all over the country with our “BELIZE BLAST” outreach ministry. We again thank YOU for ALL of your prayers and support!  We simply could not have reached this point without you and ask that you continue to lift us up in prayer.  Please help us by sharing the vision of Kidz Konnect 4 Jesus with your local pastor and/or youth/children’s pastor.  We need more US and Canadian partner churches to implement the ministry into other Belizean villages!  There is a version of the ministry brochure on the web that can be downloaded and printed for easy distribution.  We can also send out a “kit” with more detailed information if you will send us the contact name.  Please visit the websites to see more detailed and up to date information.

March 24, 2010  

Greetings friends and family! 

Just imagine….two people checking in at the airport with 10 bags and over 600 pounds of children’s ministry materials, including two large projection screens!  That was the scene as we headed back to Belize this month.  We were blessed with a check in agent who understood and appreciated what we were doing and even more, once we arrived in Belize we were personally greeted with a duty exemption letter from the Belize Minister of Finance, thus saving thousands in duty!   Next came the awesome blessing of Pastor Henry’s large van to carry all of the materials. It all came together. 

We kicked off the week of Kidz Konnect 4 Jesus ministry training by leading a large group presentation for the entire school at Light of the Valley….240 children!  They were captivated by the projector and large screen lessons and absolutely loved the new worship songs!  The leader of the Belize Baptist Association was attending and was all smiles as he told us this style of ministry was certainly a first in the country and is EXACTLY what was needed to reach children!

The training of teachers continued each day at Light of the Valley and at night we held training sessions for leaders at Dangriga Baptist Church.  The week ended with another energetic large group at school and then an amazing Sunday where both churches were full of children.  Pastor Alvez had told us not to expect many, if any, children on Sunday night, yet the church was full! These two initial ministry sites will be monitored, evaluted and modified over the next four months as we prepare to implement the Kidz Konnect 4 Jesus ministry into other villages in September.  Training for these new locations will take place in August.  The vision is to add a group of villages each September and January until the entire country is covered!  

We again thank you for all of your prayers and support!  We would again like to ask that you please share the vision of Kidz Konnect 4 Jesus with your local pastor and/or youth/children’s pastor, friends and neighbors.  We need local US church and individual partners to expand the ministry. There is a version of the ministry brochure on the web that can be downloaded and printed for easy distribution.  We can also send out a “kit” with more detailed information if you will send us the contact name.

Because Jesus Loves Kids!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

David and Karen Rhodes  david@belizechristian.com  karen@belizechristian.com

2308 Timberlane Drive

Florence, SC 29506

704-533-3176 David

704-533-3176 Karen