How we got here....by Callen

Why Belize? That is a great question. I'm learning more each day how out of my hands my life and all my decisions really are. Its amazing how quickly I make plans only to have them all fall apart right in front of me.

Michael's job schedule really only allows him to take vacation during the months of June and July and at the end of Spring Break (which is funny to me that some adults still get Spring Break). Anyway, we knew that we wanted to do something fun this summer, for Michael's 30th birthday (in August) and for our 3rd wedding anniversary (in July). We always dreamed of going back to our Honeymoon spot in Belize (Victoria House) and we hadn't planned any other trips for the summer...so we thought about it and decided to go for it and we booked the trip.

Back up a couple of months...Our dear friends Tiffany and Jeb are super involved with a mission called Freedom's Promise. Please check out their website. "Freedom's Promise is dedicated to rescuing women and children affected by the human trafficking trade. Within our own community and abroad we walk out life with those rescued from bondage, restoring them to freedom and hope." One of the ways they "rescue" women and children from the human trafficking trade is to provide them with a skill, such as sewing. Because of my "sewing skills", they asked us to come along on their next trip in October (they go twice a year) to Cambodia. We were thrilled because Michael and I had both been praying for an opportunity to go on a mission trip. We committed to the trip, began making plans only to realize (about 6 weeks later) that there was no way Michael could be away from his job that long (10 - 12 days) during the school year (he doesn't teach, but its still impossible for him to be gone that long during the school year). Obviously, we were so bummed. I was in shock. I couldn't understand why it wasn't working out for us to go after we had both been so willing.

Back up a couple of years....Girls...just a word of wisdom. Listen to your husbands. You might think, just because you are the normal planner in the family with all the good ideas that your husband doesn't have any good ideas. But he does. He really does. Michael has been mentioning to me for years that a guy at MBA (Zac Hood) started a mission project in Belize and that we should consider being a part of it. So after our Cambodia trip fell through, he casually mentioned...again....hey my friend Zac Hood...Belize...mission trip...yada yada yada....you get it. It was like I was hearing him say it for the first time. Wow. I'm learning lessons everyday.

So we called Zac, who said he had been praying for some more help for the summer, and we signed on to the trip. We had already booked our flights for our vacation to Belize, so we just switched our first flight so we could work with Sports Servants for a week before our vacation.

I'm learning to let go of my "plans" for my life a little more each day. I'm constantly amazed how the Lord works things out according to His plan. I'm so thankful to be part of Sports Servants this summer.

Specific Prayer Requests by the Martins

Over the weekend we had a great prayer time with some of the volunteers that will be in Belize this summer with Sports Servants and some others who are involved in The Belize Project in the education area/schools programs. It was so encouraging to hear the prayers of the people who really know Belize and who have experienced what we are about to.  We are so encouraged!! Some of you have been asking for specific prayer requests...so here they are! 

Michael's specific prayer requests:

1.  For God to use him to witness to the Belizeans.

2.  For his words and actions to be representative of Christ and that he may be a Christ like example for the kids of Belize.

3.  That he would put all his trust in God and realize that whatever happens is part of His plan.

4.  That he will keep his heart and mind open at all times. 

Callen's specific prayer requests:

1.  That we will get through customs with no problems....we are transporting two HUGE gym bags full of Bibles that have been donated!!!

2.  That I will be an effective volunteer soccer coach in the girls camp and help my Team Leader (Abby) in any way possible. 

3.  That the Gospel will be in my heart and on my lips when God gives me the opportunity to share his message of hope to these precious kids in Belize. 

4.  That I will be flexible and let the Lord lay out the plans for my day and my time. 

Thanks so much for praying for us!! 

General Prayer Requests for This Summer

The entire summer ministry for Sports Servants begins this Monday June 30th and continues through August 15th....so its easy to see that Michael and I will just be a small part of this great summer. In this post we have the general prayers requests that we are praying and that we would love for you to pray as well for the entire summer ministry. These requests were developed by the founder and staff members that have been involved with this ministry for a while...so they really know the hearts of the Belizeans and the needs of the ministry and the people. Thanks in advance for your prayers. We will hopefully post our specific prayer requests this weekend.

Prayer Needs for Summer 2009

Larger Areas
· That Belizean hearts would be changed and affected in Belize
· Volunteers can go with a daily trust in God for their hearts and for Sports Servants
· That our communities back at home would support, pray, and be encouraged
· Summer of transition to Belizean leadership—removing the crutch
· Development of summer camp and school program models
· Partnerships with schools
· Go Deeper into culture and understanding Belize and Belizeans
· Meetings with principals, officials, Prime Minister
· Warfare- that which is against us

Programs/Camps
· For our ability to understand and discern our role in helping the Belizeans lead
· Priority with Belizean leadership
· Jesus Ek and his leadership
· Nardo Che and his role as Assistant Coordinator and leading other youth coaches
· Children would learn and grow in their understanding of Jesus and God
· For beautiful moments on and off the field
· For the villages and communities to come alive and embrace these programs
· For strength and courage to enter difficult conversations with Belizean leaders
· That we would continue to understand the vision and direction for our role in Belize
· That we would come closer to building a model for integrating our programs into the schools and that a model for our summer program would be further developed
· Two-week workshop- For God’s will to be done in regards to attendance, accreditation, curriculum, and new program development
· For the understanding and creativity to adapt and change as necessary

Belizean Leadership
· That the Belizeans would truly lead
· That they would help each other
· That they would begin to dream and have hope because of our presence
· That more parents and youth would emerge to help with programs

U.S. Volunteers
· Core Group that we would serve each other, love each other well
o Find our roles within the summer, Help bring in other volunteers
· Safety, Health, Energy, Rest
· Times of rest would be peaceful
· That we know better the heart of God towards us
· That we hear God speak to us
· That we can empty ourselves instead of feeling overwhelmed to be so prepared
· That we may serve out of gratitude and not duty, out of love and not obligation
· That we are better for our communities back at home when we return

So.....we are going to Belize!!! by Callen

Soccer is the game we will be playing in Belize....Catch up is the game we need to play now!! Many of you know, but many of you don't know that Michael and I are volunteering for a week this summer with an incredible ministry/service project called Sports Servants.

Personally, we have been praying for an opportunity like this for a while. Here is a portion of our support letter we sent back in May to catch you up on some of the details. We are so excited/terrified about this trip. We can't wait to see the Lord at work in Belize and in the hearts of the people we will meet there.

We started to look at our lives and the blessings of friends and family that God has given us. We were praying for God to present an opportunity for us to give back in some way. After taking a closer look, the Lord began to weigh on our hearts and show us that the greatest gift we have to give right now is our time.

Some of you know that Michael grew up going to an awesome boy’s school here in Nashville, Montgomery Bell Academy. The relationships he has built with the guys he went to school with are amazing. Zac Hood, an alum who works at MBA with Michael now, founded an incredible ministry program in Belize a few years ago. You can read all about his selfless journey to start this ministry at http://www.sportservants.org/. Sport Servants’ mission in Belize is to establish permanent sports programs where children’s lives will be forever changed. Sports Servants desires to develop, fund and activate organized youth sports programs around the world in order to empower children and youth, strengthen their communities, and positively impact the future human relationships of the world. Sports Servants looks to serve areas of need by developing organized programs while training leaders so that people can have permanent programs that bring hope to their communities. We believe the lessons we learn in our youth have an enormous impact on our lives and the environment we grow up in can greatly affect our future actions and beliefs.

Michael and I were equally fortunate to grow up in homes and communities where there was always an organized activity for us to take part in; be it tee-ball, soccer, softball, cheerleading, baseball, at the YMCA, our schools, city leagues or at church. We both know how important this aspect of community is. The story of Belize, a relatively new country in Central America, is that children love to play sports, especially football (soccer). This picture is vastly different from the American version of this game, as the Belizean children are without organized teams and programs, capable leaders and basic equipment. Despite this, their desire and love for sports causes them to play on. Which is why Michael and I have committed to volunteer a week (July 11-18) of our lives this summer to be a part of this wonderful ministry. We feel God calling us to give of our time and talents (one of us a bit more talented in this area of sports than the other…ha ha).

So that is just a little backgroud to get you caught up on where we are. We are SO excited about this opportunity the Lord has given us to serve. Stay tuned for more posts (I am going to try to post every day or every other day) until we leave. We will have our specific prayer requests hopefully listed tomorrow...we would LOVE your prayers!!!!!!