🙋‍♂️ Meet Brother Chuck

** Just downstream from their mother, six barefoot Mayan children laugh, play, and scrub laundry in the same river that supplies their drinking and cooking water. One little girl kneels on a rock, washing clothes like she’s seen her mother do a thousand times. Another child, in only her underwear, multitasks—because on laundry day, bath time happens too. Two boys smile curiously at my camera, having never seen a photo of themselves. This is life in Red Bank Village.

Mayan villages line this river for miles, each adding soap, silt, and waste. Farther upstream, Guatemalan Indian communities do the same—and perhaps even factories we’ll never see are polluting the very water these children drink. But for centuries, this has been their way of life. They don’t complain. They smile. And they carry their water home to thatch-roof huts with dirt floors, never imagining it could be otherwise.

As missionaries, we came with compassion—not just for clean water, but for the Living Water. Because while this river may never be pure, hearts can be. And only Jesus can cleanse what truly matters most.
—John 4:14

Four young Mayan girls stand hand in hand in Red Bank Village, each wearing a colorful, homemade dress—blue, burgundy, green, and light blue. Though their faces are serious, there’s beauty in their unity and innocence. Maybe they’d never seen a camera before… but they stood still, together, and let the moment be captured.

Laundry day in Red Bank Village—this Mayan mother washes clothes the traditional way, beating them clean on river rocks while her little ones lend a helping hand. All of it framed by the untouched beauty of the Belizean rainforest. 

Clowning around before church with two little buddies in Red Bank Village, deep in the Belizean rainforest. No pews, no frills—just benches, laughter, and hearts wide open for Jesus. 

Simple and practical—this Mayan outhouse blends seamlessly into the surrounding jungle. Built from bamboo with a thatch roof, it's a humble necessity in this remote village. Just outside, a plantain tree stands as a quiet sentinel in the lush, tropical landscape. Life in the rainforest can be challenging, but it’s also beautifully resilient. 

Before each service in Red Bank Village, we’d squeeze into this simple Mayan church—just benches, no pews, but plenty of joy. That’s me on the left, surrounded by men and boys (the ladies are all on the other side, as is customary in Mayan culture). The bearded guy on the far right is my dear friend and mentor, Roy. We’ve ministered together for many years—and yes, he talks just as much as I do. We’ve even been known to playfully argue over who gets the mic first! 

Peek-a-boo joy in the jungle! This shy little Mayan girl, dressed in a handmade pink dress likely sewn by her mother, peeked around a tree laughing at me while I snapped the shot. She was bashful, beautiful, and full of life—capturing the sweet innocence that still shines bright in Red Bank Village. 

**In a humble neighborhood of Dangriga, Belize, weather-worn homes on stilts line the dirt road—raised high to survive the rainy season’s floods and the storms that sometimes rage in from the Caribbean. Life is hard here. Just down the river, in stark contrast, sits a lavish mansion with manicured grounds, tall fences, sleek cars, and a yacht tied to a private dock. I asked a local who lived there. 'A drug lord,' he told me. Maybe it’s true, maybe not—but what’s certain is this: in every nation, light and darkness live side by side. And the Gospel is for both.

—John 1:5