Unlocking Action

I met Sherman, uniquely enough, under the stars. We were at an open air church service that was at an old baseball field in a village called Lords Bank, Belize. I was standing in the back just taking everything in when he approached me. He was very eager to hear about me and why I was in his country. I shared with him that I was managing a Christian Missions Base, and was there to learn about how I could come alongside the people of Belize and serve them. This was a new concept to Sherman, as he only knew Americans as tourists, or as missionaries who come and go. I knew that in order to be an impact and have an impact, I needed to go low and serve the one who God had crossed my path on a daily basis. On this day, it was my new friend, Sherman.

After the service I continued to talk with Sherman. It turns out that he had heard about me through a common friend of ours, and decided to come to this open air service on the chance of meeting me. I began to ask him what he did for a living. He said he worked on an island, running a resort type place for tourists, and also ran his own restaurant. The restaurant, though was closing, and so he was searching for work at the moment. I proceeded to ask him what really excited him in life. It was this question and his answer that made it very clear to me why I had crossed paths with him. He answered that he was a painter and that art really allowed him to express himself and he felt free when he painted. I then went on to share with him a dream that I had been given on three separate occasions. The interpretation of the dream I have is what God has called me and called me to be; I saw a lighthouse on top of a hill with a big storm going on, with huge waves, but the waves were of people. The people were attracted to and coming to the light, which is Jesus. I was placed in dark places to be the light and lead them to salvation. After I shared with him this dream I kept getting, we parted ways and said our goodbyes.

The very next week though, while I was in the prayer room praying, I heard a honk outside. I

looked and it was Sherman! He had asked around and found out where I lived. He told me that he had something for me. As he unrolled what he had brought, I saw before me painting of the very dream that I had shared with him! I had asked many people if they could paint this for me, because it was very important to me, but no one wanted to attempt this endeavor. That no though, allowed for God to wow me and give me this wonderful gift. I was amazed at the detail and the work that Sherman put into this piece of art, all from memory, and one conversation on an old baseball field.

 

On the spot I knew I needed to pay Sherman for this piece of art, and he quickly thanked me. I wanted to pay because I wanted him to know and feel that his gift of artistry is a powerful act of worship and warfare. God is awakening and drawing the prophetic artists out of their dark caves they’ve been hiding in for so long. It is time for the artist to start agreeing with their giftings, and to release their influence into the earth and into people’s homes, offices and businesses. 

 

What I did not know at the time, and learned after I paid Sherman, was that he was going to put this money towards buying the materials he needed to lay the foundation of his home he was building for his wife and very young son. Sherman chose to agree with his gifting, painted a picture that was near to my heart, which allowed for provision to come forth in order for him to build, not only a physical foundation to his new home, but one that would be built by a Kingdom of God transfer. I believe this is how the Kingdom of God was meant to be lived out. 

 

Help me by honoring Sherman, and all the artisans in the earth, by agreeing and encouraging them to put their passion and gifts into action. In this hour of history, we need the artists of the earth to agree with and release what is on God’s heart! 

Guest Blog Writer: Travis Arment

All Things New

The name Maria traced back to ancient Egyptian time means beloved, and I don't think anyone I know with this name is more beloved to God than the one I met when I first arrived in Belize.  I was with a team of people who had gotten the honor to be invited to Maria's house, and it was a life-changing impact on me.

I was not fully prepared for what my eyes beheld around me in the jungle of Belize that day.  Now I have seen poverty, and even experienced it on a smaller level, but what I saw was extreme third world poverty. Maria has absolutely no running water, nor electricity of any kind. Her house structure was patched together with all kinds of materials to protect from the weather. The restroom was a makeshift outhouse.  Bathing was done by sponge bath. Laundry done by hand in the nearby river.

Since there is no running water in this area, Maria has to dig her own well. This well must go down at least 20 feet into the ground.  And since there is no electricity, she must chisel through the rock, granite and other hard materials with hand tools. She fills up 5 gallon buckets with the rock, sand, and dirt, which are then hauled to the surface with a rope.

Maria is in her 70’s, and has a strong, spunky personality that doesn’t like to be told no. She does not speak English, but loves to talk when you get time with her. She is lively and wants what is best for her daughter, Ester and son-in-law, Patricio.  And she simply adores all her grandchildren.  But Maria has also gone through some extremely tough life experiences, one of which was the murder of one of her daughters. To cope with the extreme emotions that accompany such tragedy, she turned to alcohol. She drank to mask the pain of her loss, but could not find permanent relief from her deep seated pain, which spiraled her into depression.

I was privileged to hear Maria's story one day last summer. The circumstances seemed strange at the time, but things are all clear on how they lined up now.  I received a phone call saying that Maria was in extreme pain and nobody around where she lived would take her to the hospital. So another member of the team I was with and I jumped into our green van, and went to pick Maria up from her house. Maria said she could ride the bus from my house, if I would only take her that far.  We returned to my house and waited for the bus.  But when the bus driver saw what kind of condition she was in, walking slowly in extreme pain with a walker, the bus passed her right by. 

It was then that we asked Maria if we could anoint her with oil and pray over her. So right there, at the bus stop in front of my house, my friends and I prayed.  We asked Ester to translate, and we asked God to touch His beloved Maria, not knowing she needed healing for her emotional pain, as well as her physical pain.  We just asked God to touch her.  When we were finished, another bus came, waited for Maria to board, and away they went, to see the doctor.

Late that night Maria came back to my house after seeing the doctor, and she was walking with no pain, no walker, no crutches! She had been healed by God. While I was in our prayer room, Maria walked in, dropped to her knees and began crying out to God to rededicated her life to the Lord! It was then that she told me all the things she has been battling with over the loss of her daughter; the depression and the trying to wash it away with alcohol. I used a translator to communicate with her, and let her know she is in the right place now and that we cared deeply for her. I could see years of pain and grief and torment being washed out of her with the tears streaming down her weathered cheeks. There is redemption when you take the time to invest into lives and peel back the layers until you get to a heart that was deeply hurt and wounded. 

When I asked Maria if she could move into the village so that she could be closer to a doctor if needed or her family, her spirited personality came alive, and she firmly told me no. She loves living how she lives and where she lives. It is what she knows and is very content in her life. This impacted me deeply, because I then began to see the beauty in the poverty that my physical eyes were seeing. 

It wasn’t poverty at all.  It is instead, a place that her children and grandchildren love and always want to go visit. Her house is a place of family and love. It is a place where the kids go play in the pond water before it evaporates in the dry season, and play in the jungle with anything they can find. This even took me back to my own grandparents’ house in the country, where as a young boy I would spend hours exploring and playing with anything we could find. 

Every time I see her, Maria gives me a huge hug and thanks me for that day of stopping to impact her life. But I think it is the other way around for me; I owe Maria a debt of gratitude. It was my honor to watch a person who was seasoned through extremely tough life experiences respond to the healing touch of God. The impact on my heart that extreme gentleness and comfort for stopping for the one has will never leave me. 

I am honored to have been introduced to Maria, the beloved one. Investing into one person with your time, talents, and gifts truly can have a lasting and meaningful impact. It can make all things new.

Guest Blog Writer: Travis Arment

What Dedication Looks Like

We are pleased to introduce you to Victoria and Yancy. Both of these women live in Belize. Victoria (in the purple skirt) is a mother to two beautiful children whom she adores! We met these two beautiful women through Patricio and his wife Ester. They both live about 4 miles away from the WFM Missions Base in the jungle. They each live in small 2 room houses with no running water. We have had the privilege to join them at their houses to eat and visit. I absolutely love going out there and listen to them laugh and joke around.

 

Even though they live in what our culture would consider to be very poor, you would never know it if you met them on the street as strangers. They are full of life and love that exudes out of them. We always have a great time sharing life together when we get the opportunity. I’ve been invited to Victoria’s children’s birthday parties, school graduations and they have shared holiday meals with me. 

 

One of the many things I adore about Victoria and Yancy is their hearts and eagerness to learn. I noticed that the daily food staple for them was rice, beans and homemade tortillas. Although very tasty, it doesn’t meet all their nutritional needs. So I invited them to join me;  I would pick them up from their house, drive to the market and teach them how to shop for nutritional foods that were also cost effective. Once we got our groceries, we headed back to my kitchen where we learned how to make 4 different types of dishes! I would instruct, then watch them make everything so that they could take and make the recipes at home. It was on the job training, and was so much fun watching them learn and take the delicious outcome! The children lined the kitchen with hungry bellies and left fully satisfied! They now have many more options to cook from and to feed their families that are healthy and nutritious.

A hurdle that is always difficult when in a foreign nation is the language barrier . Both Victoria and Yancy dropped out of school in junior high. Neither have been formally taught how to read, write or speak English. Without knowing these skills, it is tough to get employment in Belize.

When faced with difficult situations, we get the privilege to create and build solutions. This event that got me thinking and eventually led me to ask them what their dreams are. Victoria wants to be a great mom and get a job helping people. Yancy on the other hand, would like to be a nurse or office manager. 

 

Big dreams take big risk. When I presented them the opportunity to be taught English, they were elated! We met three times a week for two hours, learning Basic English. These ladies ride their bikes 4+ miles one-way in order to learn. Even in torrential downpours, they braved the weather so that they would not miss class. They are dedicated, and learning so fast! I am so proud of both of them! They have taught me what dedication looks like and how chasing your dreams should never be held back by distractions. We also used this time to equip and teach the word of God into them. They are not only hungry for the skills of learning another language, but for strengthening themselves spiritually. I have the best seat in the room watching them understand and grow both personally and
in their relationship with God.

It is Victoria’s big heart and love of helping people that is so unique to her. She desperately wants a better life for herself and her children. She is so sweet and would give you everything she has if she thought you needed it. 

 

Yancy is witty and funny. I enjoy joking around and listening to her laugh. It is contagious and inviting. She is hungry to learn and eager to grow as a woman and strengthen those around her. Any time you spend around her, you will be doubled over laughing until it hurts.

We should never take lightly an opportunity to help someone if we see the need and have the ability to be an answer. We never know what the person holds inside of them until we go mining for that gold that is hidden. Once you hit their passion and encourage them to pursue their greatness, it is the most fulfilling experience we get this side of eternity with God. It’s an honor to know these two powerful women. I’m excited to continue to see them grow and watch them pursue something that was once impossible.

Guest Blog Writer: Travis Arment

One Man's Dream

I would like to introduce you to my friend Patricio. Patricio has been an anchor on the WFM International Missions Base in Belize for the past year. He is a father to six beautiful children, amazing husband to his wife Ester, son, and friend. 

Patricio has made the most out of his life situations. He is unable to formally write or read English. He has learned English by way of hearing. His past employers would take money out of his pay if they caught him speaking his native language of Spanish, so he learned to be a listener. What he was able to hear, he would then piece the conversation together and was able to start speaking English to satisfy his bosses, and keep money in his pocket to provide for his family. 

Patricio dropped out of school at a very young age. He was faced with this real life decision when his family’s house burned down one day, while his siblings were playing with fire. They lost everything, but were able to rescue and save his siblings. He was only in primary school at the time. Seeing that his family had lost everything and needed money in order to survive, he made the decision to leave school and begin working in the sugar cane fields and coal mines.

You will not find Patricio making excuses for decisions he made and the lack of education he endured. Instead, you will find him encouraging his children to do their best in school and continually providing for his family. He is the right person to have around if you need anything fixed. His knowledge and skill set he has learned over the years has made him a very valuable asset to any employer. 

 

I have spent a lot of time with Patricio over the past year while in Belize. It is always a joy for both of us to sit around a fire, a table, or on a stump and just talk about life. It was a question that I presented to him during one of these times that began to shift his thought process about life. The question was: "What if you could do anything and be anything in this life, what would you do?" Patricio’s dream is that he wants to be a tour guide; not only to tourist that come through his beautiful country, but also a tour guide in the form of teaching the Word of God. He wants to be a pastor and lead people into the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ. From that question, we began to take tangible steps towards achieving his goals. First thing: he had never in life been taught how to drive, or earned a driver’s license. So we began helping him learn to read and write English in order to pass the written test. We spent a week studying and going over the study guide we were provided. He passed the test and was given his permit for a couple months. We taught him how to drive and what being a defensive driver looks like in a 3^rd world nation! 

Then, on his own, with passion and determination, he went in and took the driving part of the test. He passed that with no problems and is now a proud owner of his driver’s license! This is a big deal to a man and family who has had to rely on the unreliable bus system for transportation. Now, he is able to go visit family, go to the store and most importantly, if an emergency arises, he is able to handle that situation and be an answer to someone in need.

This man’s life scope has gone from desperation and looking for help, to being the help and the answer to those around him. He is the most humble man I have ever met, and an amazing husband and father that many will have the privilege to learn from in the years ahead. I am proud to call him my friend and he has taught me to always look at the bright and positives, no matter the obstacle in the way. We honor Patricio and look forward to watching him go after his destiny!

Guest Blog Writer: Travis Arment

Sharon's Story

Meet Sharon!

We would like to introduce you to our dear friend, business associate, and artist extraordinaire, Mrs. Sharondale Humes. She is the mastermind craftsman behind the jewelry that we feature and sell through Normal to Destiny LLC. Sharondale lives in Belize, Central America, in the small village of Burrell Boom. She is an amazing wife of twenty-one years, and devoted mother to her four children, ranging in ages twenty-one to seven years old. But most recently, Sharon has harnessed her artistic skills and opened her own business, selling her handcrafted jewelry and other pieces of artistry to tourists that frequent the Black Orchid Resort in Belize.

First Things First:

Sharondale is first and foremost proud of her Christian beliefs, and serving the Lord is the most important thing in her life. She is a sacrificial giver, and works hard to have the means to give freely to those who are in need. Worship and music are also extremely important to Sharondale, and she leads worship through singing and playing the guitar throughout the Belize District region. She prays and worships while she works, and encourages her helpers to do the same. She receives the ideas for new pieces of artwork and jewelry while she prays, and then begins creating and crafting until she has the completed pieces.

Getting Started:

Sharondale started her business, Rustic Design, five years ago. She has always truly enjoyed creating things with her hands, and had been making and selling larger items locally, such as wicker-type chairs. She would also occasionally create smaller items to give out to friends as gifts, but never thought anything of these creations as a steady source of income.

But there was someone who did think along these lines in Sharon's life. Each time she would bring a gift to a certain lady in her village, the woman would encourage Sharon, and ask her if she was interested in making those gifts to sell as a business. At first, Sharondale would laugh and shrug off the lady's suggestions. “But by and by, the idea started sticking into my head, and one Christmas season, I finally agreed to begin.” Sharon said with a smile.

Sharon started this work in her kitchen, but before too long had to build a little shop out back, behind her house, because the work grew too big to pack up between cooking and cleaning! Her little hobby became a booming business very quickly, as tourists to Belize loved her wares made from the jungle's natural resources.

First Fruits: The Coconut “Flower”:

One day soon after this, Sharondale was out in her backyard, looking at the top of a coconut, which is the part where the coconut itself hangs from the broom or branch of the tree. She began to notice that it looked like a flower, and the ideas started flooding her mind; she was full of possibilities!

Sharondale, in her own words, describes this best: “I first began making earrings and necklaces with the flower. As I worked, I found more and more ideas coming to me, that there was just a lot of stuff I could do with what I had around me, right in my own backyard.”

Other Local Products:

Soon after that, Sharondale started using the shell of the coconut and even parts of the coconut palm as well. It did not take too long before she started to experiment with bamboo and Belizean local flower seeds in her jewelry creations. The coconuts she picks from her yard and her neighbors' yards. She also buys coconuts from local markets and vendors when necessary. The bamboo she cuts and dries herself. It is quite a process to harvest and prepare the bamboo, and she and her helpers do the work by hand.

The three main seeds Sharon uses for jewelry making are also harvested from the local Belizean jungle during whatever season they are are ripe in. For example, the Guanacaste seeds are harvested during the month of March, as that is when they are ripe and fall to the ground. Whatever seeds she collects in March will be her supply for the year in her jewelry making endeavors.

Selling Her Wares:

As Sharon started creating her fine products and selling them in a local village shop, an opportunity opened up for her to begin vending her creations at The Black Orchid Resort, a popular tourist spot in Belize. The Resort is about a mile and half from where she and her family live.

Sharondale laughed as she recalled her very early beginnings with The Black Orchid Resort: “When I first began selling at the Black Orchid, I did not have a driver's license and had to have a friend drive me there each week. After one month, she was no longer able to take me, so I then borrowed a neighbor's bicycle to get there. I would ride the bike while carrying the bags with my jewelry and artwork in them. I did that for one year, but business was growing so fast, I needed more.”

Sharon has since then taken the necessary steps to obtain her driver's license, which is no small task in Belize, and continues to tote her handcrafted wares once or twice a week by van to the Black Orchid Resort, when the cruise ships port in Belize. Passengers from the ships who come to eat that the restaurant can take a gander at her amazing jewelry and other pieces, to make a purchase right there. This is the primary way Sharon sells her goods, and pays her workers each week. Whatever she makes during that afternoon is split between her and her workers, and can vary drastically from week to week. During the rainy season, which is the non-tourist season, Sharon does not sell much merchandise.

Big Picture:

Sharondale currently has four people that work for her on a consistent basis, whom she calls her helpers. When she first started her little business, she only had one helper, but as she has grown, she has been able to pay more workers. “When the season is really good, they work more hours, and when the season isn't so good, they have fewer hours.” Sharon says with a sigh.

Her big dream and desire is to have a nice shop with good ventilation and safe working conditions for all her helpers, with a storefront to sell her amazing creations.

“That would be something nice. I know that will take awhile, since I've been doing this for five years. But I would like that very well. At the moment I am in my little shop, but I would like to relocate myself from the little shop in the back to build a nicer one, where all the dust from sanding wouldn't be so hazardous for my health. I recognize that I have a gift and I would like to continue doing what I do in a safer shop. I love helping people, so having a better shop would put me in a place to really help others. I have the potential to have more than four people working for me, and would love to be able to teach and train others, giving them opportunity to work.”

Sharondale has a natural gift of teaching and encouraging others to be all they are created to be. In a country that is dependent on tourism and sees poverty all around, for Sharon to be able sell her amazing jewelry line in the United States opens up all kinds of doors of opportunity, not just for her and her four helpers, but for the many others she would love to employ all year round.

Normal to Destiny LLC understands Sharondale's heart of stopping for the one, to bring employment and skills to the people around her, giving them better opportunities and choices in life. We believe in the efforts Sharondale is making to all the lives she touches, and her craft is one of high caliber and quality. She adheres to a high standard of excellence in her work and work ethics, and her helpers are also challenged to that standard. This high standard is truly reflected in each piece of jewelry she makes. Mrs. Sharondale Humes is an amazing woman, with an amazing story of successful entrepreneurship, and it is a joy to stand behind her and the work her business produces.

“I truly love and enjoy making these designs. I see opportunity to minister to others and share the Lord and His blessings with people all over the world using my talents and skills that the Lord gave me.” Mrs. Sharondale Humes; Burrell Boom, Belize

Guest Blog Writer: Amber John