This summer, my husband and I had the opportunity to go on a music-based mission trip to Belize with a local, non-profit organization called Guitars For Glory (GFG). Originally, they had asked my husband to go as the trip videographer, but when they found out I was a music therapist, they saw the benefits of having someone trained in the therapeutic aspect of music and invited me as well. A total of 19 people went on the trip, all whom work typical 9-5 jobs, but are incredibly talented musicians, worship leaders in their churches, spiritual leaders, and all affiliated with and representatives of Guitars For Glory. The guitar company, Fender, donated at-cost 14 acoustic electric guitars, 2 electric guitars, and 1 bass guitar for us to take to Belize. We also brought 2 kajones (box drums), and a petal board for the electric, hand made by one of our team members, who is the owner of Midnight 30 Music. The trip was a total of 7 days and we spent the majority of our time in the city of Belmopan.
We lead and participated in ministry every day, morning, noon, and night. In planning and organizing the trip, we partnered with Praying Pelican Missions, and were sent to lead music and worship training at the church, Casa De Dios. During morning ministry we had a kids VBS, which I had the privilege of leading music, dancing, and face painting. Another morning we visited an orphanage, which was one of the nicest facilities that we visited in Belize. The children were craving attention, making it difficult for the mere 19 of us to attend to and play with what seemed like hundreds of children, all ranging in age. One morning we were able to spend time in worship as a team, lifting up our voices and praising God. We had packed suitcases full of supplies for women and children’s ministry, which we were able to give away during small group time in the evenings.
Our main ministry was equipping the church, Casa De Dios, for worship, so we spent 3 days leading training workshops, including acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, keyboard, drum, and vocal lessons. I got to help lead the vocal training and on the first day, we were singing 3-part harmonies to the song, “Holy Spirit.” What a beautiful sound. We were able to give away all of the instruments that we brought to the church, Casa De Dios, and to some individuals that attended the music training.
For evening ministry, we lead worship in different places. The first night we arrived, we were waiting at Casa De Dios for the bus to pick us up. They were having their church service, but there was a Spanish language barrier. The church began singing a song in Spanish that some of us from GFG knew in English, so we were able to sing with the congregation, but in different languages. That’s when I realized that the power of God through music truly transcends all language. It was an incredible moment. The following night we lead worship in a street, shutting down a neighborhood street and inviting locals to come worship with us. Another night we lead worship outside of a high school and people gathered on a football field. That night it began raining really hard, so everyone tried to cram onto the small school porch. After a few minutes everyone started slowly going back out in the rain and continued worshiping. A little rain can’t hold us back!
While we were in Belize, we did get to see and experience the beauty of the country. We ate amazing food every meal that the pastor’s wife fixed, under the shade of a huge almond tree. We went cave tubing in the rainforest, seeing bats, crystals, stalagmite, and stalactite. We also rode in a water taxi out to one of the Keys and went snorkeling in the Caribbean in the second largest coral reef in the world. Later that day we swam with stingrays and nurse sharks. If you’ve never touched a stingray, they are super slimy! We also got to rub a shark’s belly, which is bumpy and tough. It was only moderately terrifying with these animals swimming around our legs. 😉
It was truly an incredible mission trip. It is possible that we will be going back next summer to equip other churches in Belize for worship. I feel so blessed that I not only got to experience the power of music in Belize, but that I get to experience it every day as a music therapist. What a gift.
You can find out more information about each organization as listed below:
www.prayingpelicanmissions.org
Mollie Flasch
