St. Luke’s and Holy Cross: Thirteen Years and Counting
By Bob Moore, St. Luke's, Durham
In February 2007, St. Luke’s, Durham, sent the very first mission team to work at Holy Cross Anglican School in San Pedro, Belize.
While we worked in the tropical sun of Ambergris Caye that week constructing a classroom and what became the school cafeteria, little did we know the relationship we were also starting to build. In January 2019, St. Luke’s will return to Belize for our 13th winter mission trip to Holy Cross. In addition to these mostly adult trips, the St. Luke’s youth have made three summer mission trips to Holy Cross, with a fourth one already in the works for 2022. What keeps St. Luke’s coming back to Holy Cross year after year?
The short answer is: the people. Whether it’s the Holy Cross staff, the students or simply the people we know in San Pedro itself, they welcome mission team members back as old friends year after year. There’s always plenty of work to do at Holy Cross, including construction and maintenance, medical visits or simply working with the kids either one-on-one or in the classroom. Clergy on our teams also help out with religion units in the classroom, chapel services in the school and even Eucharist services for the community as a whole.
The relationship between St. Luke’s and Holy Cross has gradually broadened into much more than our annual mission trips. St Lukers work throughout the year raising money to support the feeding program at the school, money that is matched through the Holy Cross Education Foundation. One of these fundraisers is a sale of fresh Georgia pecans, both plain and covered in dark chocolate.
St. Luke’s also sends support by providing high school scholarships for Holy Cross graduates. While completing the eight years offered at Holy Cross provides a big advantage in Belize, some of the kids coming out of Holy Cross are capable of much more. However, their families often cannot afford the tuition and fees required to attend the local high school. Holy Cross identifies students in each graduating class with the talent and drive to complete high school and makes their names available for individuals and groups to sponsor for the next four years. St. Luke’s has sponsored a total of five students through high school, with funds coming from individual St. Lukers, families and the entire congregation. Since 2007, we have been involved with some of these students for their entire academic careers. The satisfaction of seeing these kids’ growth from “itty bitties” at Holy Cross to confident, capable young adults, and knowing that we’ve contributed to it, is indescribable.
Starting with our second trip in 2008, St. Luke’s has documented our visits to Holy Cross in a blog. Check out these blog entries – from both adult and youth teams – to see our team members at work and at play in Belize.
