A Word from the Head Iguana

Spring of 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of our first mission to Belize. During the course of this year, we will conduct our 50th mission trip. God has truly blessed our meager efforts serving as His hands and feet in the Central American country of Belize, where the needs are great and the resources are few.

Our planned mission trips for 2020 were cancelled due to COVID and, as a result of COVID, no trips were even proposed for 2021. For an organization that has averaged 2.5 mission trips per year since 2002, the time off has been painful. HOWEVER, we are back in the planning stage for the upcoming year and, with God's guidance, we hope to get back on track. Several people over the past two years have indicated they are ready to return as soon as we get another trip on the calendar.

Our website had become so outdated that I was embarrassed to suggest someone take a look at it. If you are reading this, then you are browsing our new and improved version. I would like to thank Leah Porter for volunteering her assistance in this effort.

The break gave us an opportunity to re-think our goals and objectives, and to make some adjustments as necessary. The past twenty years have been remarkable for our organization. What I thought would be a one-time-down-and-back trip in 2002 has mushroomed and we have experienced a level of success that can only be attributed to God. More than a thousand team members have participated in our missions; classroom space for more than a thousand kids has been provided; thousands have been able to consult with one of our qualified physicians; tens-of-thousands of prescriptions have been administered by our pharmacists; dozens of Belizeans with serious joint problems have been helped through our surgical efforts in cooperation with the Belize Ministry of Health using their operating suite in the government hospital. Thankfully, we have been asked by the new government administration to return to our mission work.

I believe the Iguana Squad is moving toward an even brighter future. I see no cutting back, no reduction of services, and no compromising of our offerings. If anything, we are broadening our scope and offering more opportunities for people to participate. I will share more on that later.

We have been so grateful to all those who felt led to make financial contributions over the last twenty years. It costs about $13,000 for us to construct one classroom and about $10,000 to conduct one medical mission. We have built or remodeled approximately thirty classrooms and held free clinics for fourteen years running and none of it could have been possible without the generous contributions. And just for the record:

100% of all donations go directly to the work in Belize.
All overhead costs are paid by the Board of Directors.
There are no paid staff. All participation is voluntary.
All donations are 100% tax-deductible because we are a federally recognized 501(c)3 charitable organization.

So, hang on to your hats, as we have no intention of slowing down.