Many years ago, I read this quote on a colleague's office wall: "You might be the only Bible some people get to read." And I’ve thought of it countless times over the past two decades of my friendship with Sarita and Steven. I met them both in 1999 when we were new students at the University of Belize. Sarita and I quickly became friends as we were both English majors and lived only a block from each other. “How can you be friends with Ivory?" one of Sarita's Christian friends asked her about me one day. You see, even then, at the age of 19 Sarita was already overtly, passionately, unapologetically Christian. And, let's just say I definitely was not. Over the years, I’ve remained the best of friends with her and Steven, especially since, after a series of uncanny coincidences, I’ve ended up living in Belmopan across the street from them.
Their family home is, truly, a mission house with an endless flow of foreign students grateful for a home-cooked meal, temporary place to stay, or bedsheets for their apartment; extended family members and friends milling about the kitchen and breakfast bar enjoying an unhurried visit; church youth stopping by on their bicycles, just for a quick hello; strangers, far from home, comforted by an unexpected Christmas dinner with a family. But even before they owned that house, Steven and Sarita have been extremely generous with their home and financial resources. I experienced this personally fourteen years ago when I needed a place to stay for some months and received from them not only a place to stay but unconditional love.
In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul says we should show people how to follow Jesus through our actions—seeking “the good of many” (32–33). That’s what Sarita and Steven have done throughout the years I’ve known them. Through their actions, they invite the world to believe in God and “follow the example of Christ.”
While not at all surprised, I am greatly inspired by the fact that they’ve formally established their mission of service to the Belmopan Community, and beyond, through The Water Fountain Christian Resource Center.
"Discipleship is very crucial to one’s maturity in Christ Jesus. It keeps you anchored and grounded in your faith in God. I came to this pivotal realization after marriage with two children. I am currently 34 years old and I’m a little more than halfway through the discipleship course with Sarita. We started the course when I was about 18 years old and attending the University of Belize but sadly, it was interrupted after I accepted a scholarship to study medicine in another country. I reached out to Sarita 16 years later due to concerns I had in my marriage and she responded by saying, “It would be my pleasure to assist you in your marriage and my joy to finally take you through the discipleship course that we never completed.” When she said that, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe she remembered! I realized, how committed she was/is to discipleship. Right then, I knew I made the right decision to reach out to her."
Looking back at my life, I know now how important it is to get fully discipled and not skip any steps, not having any shortcuts but completing the discipleship training with clarity and understanding.
Discipleship with Sarita is fun, very interactive, and done online so you could do it from within the comfort of your home. We’ve recently been doing the chapter on ‘Faith’ and I must say that I am truly blown away by Abraham’s knowledge of God and his love for Him. I’ve never fully understood or put myself in Abraham’s shoes before until I had kids of my own. Even now, I wouldn’t be too convinced that God would ask me to do something like that if He had initially promised that I would be the father of many nations. Like Abraham, I want to know God in that way so as to know when he’s speaking and when he’s not and to walk with confidence and full assurance in the Lord; not wavering one bit in the faith or not looking for confirmation from others but to God.