Joel's first week

Its been a long week I (Joel) had a chance to go on the men's retreat. What a blessing! I got to know pretty much the core of the village and was very encouraged by the work God is getting ready to do here. The fact that I got to meet all these people in one place and get to know most of them makes me feel like I just skipped ahead one year. God's already working faster than I expected. After returning I managed to get a lot of clearing done around the base. I am a little overwhelmed with all the work but I'm just doing what ever I can with the little I have. I repaired a cordless drill only to find out all the batteries were no good, that was a disappointment. I thought I was getting away from shoveling snow but now I shovel sand every day in this heat. Be thankful you're shoveling snow - wet send is not fun. Sunday Mark and I took a guest back to Belize City. On the way back we broke down with no phone or communication. The ignition coil went out and we needed parts so we walked about three miles to a bus stop then got to a hotel and used facebook to reach Jes. At that point we realized Monday was a holiday and we were stuck until Tuesday. I did however manage to replace a water pump in the pastor's Land Rover and diagnose some other issues while the police stormed the house we were parked in front of with shotguns. Me and Mark didn't know if we should hide behind the car or keep working. God kept the situation peaceful and it was ok. After three days in the same clothes we got our parts and fixed the jeep. Of course on the way back in the middle of nowhere we were stopped by the military police and body searched and questioned. It started quite intense with automatic weapons pointed at us but it calmed down and thank God we were allowed to continue home. It seems like a lot in a week to me even Mark said this stuff has never happened to them. I guess that's just more verification that Satan doesn't want us here. So now I'm at the base watching Sage while I write this. It's a nice brake sort of. Remember to keep us in your prayers and thank you for all of your support.