Machaca Summer Camp gets international coverage
Primary school children are winding down classes so it means that summer camps are springing up and this year there will be many options for kids to choose from. But In Southern Belize, there’s a camp that is getting international attention because it is hosted by the Gotz family from Utah that came to Belize in 2004 to do missionary work and fell in love with the country. Each year, volunteers from their hometown travel to the Jewel to help with the Machaca Summer Camp for over six hundred young people. The Machaca facility is located eleven miles outside of Punta Gorda Town. It’s a two hundred and fifty-three acre spread in the jungle with fourteen cabins for participants and staff, a team house, a basketball/volleyball court, soccer field, hurricane shelter, chapel, pastures, and more. The camp kicks off in July and it caught the attention of the media in Utah. One of the volunteers, Mary Jane Badger, appeared on the Good Things Utah Show on ABC 4 to discuss the summer camp. She was accompanied by two young girls, who have chosen volunteer work in Belize over a summer vacation in Paris. Here’s that interview from ABC 4.
{Feature of Machaca Summer Camp on Good Things Utah…}
Apart from the annual summer camp, the Machaca Outreach Center also does ministries, weekly Bible Studies, cross cultural training, outreach and military chaplaincy among other initiatives.
How is it that foreigners can get over 200 acres of land and a belizean can’t get a house lot. Open your eyes people.
Even though I have my open opinion about these missionaries coming to belize when they have a lot they can be doing in the US, what troubles me most is the fact that hey can get their hands on over 200 acres of Belizean land and a BELIZEAN CAN’T EVEN GET A HOUSE LOT.
Ha! I have always been anti missionaries. I believe they do more damage than good . And yes one of the quickest ways to amass wealth is by being a foreign missionary. Many examples of those kinds in Toledo. And yes , you don’t know who is lurking behind the mask of a missionary or volunteeri.e. pedophiles, rapists and all that wonderful stuff. Just my thoughts, and I will say not all are bad , they do some good work but they also have negative effects tooo……..
I can see the frustration in that. But what you need to understand is that the 200 acre lot was bought over TWENTY-FIVE years ago! That camp has been up and running for more than 20 years, the Gotz family simply came and took over the camp after the last directors left. In fact they have been training Belizeans, Kektchi and Garfuna to take over the camp AND the last three directors were all trying to do the same thing. They don’t want to be “the americans who cam in and took over” they are trying to have the camp run by “locals.”
Um. You can’t judge people for leaving the states or where ever they’re from to go spread God and His love! There is plenty plenty of people in the states who God has called to do things here in the states yet they sit on there butts! God has different plans for everyone! God loves and died for ALL meaning ALL!!! So there is more people who need to be told and loved on by God through his people then just people who are the states. This really upset me!! Get out of our greater then thou intittled mindset and actually start living for the one who created you!!! We all need to just over ourselves the world does not revolve around the USA
well yes we open our eyes<mines are even bigger, talking about GOD and not money? money talks here.
When the place was undeveloped and just jungle – no one wanted to go live in the bush. Even today city and town people frown at village folks. So when you have people who have the MEANS to purchase land, build on it and maintain it suddenly it is a problem. Come on now – the problem is that we dont want to do and we dont want other to do! It is not uncommon to have people get FREE land from the government and in return sell it off – then they are the first to complain that they dont have anything. The live for the moment – no future plans no interest in keeping real estate for their own children. Kudos to those missionaries – your investments could never be recovered fully but you can help others through these summer programs!
Amen Katarina!!
I am So Proud of all of you for having such a Great Discipleship Camp like Machaca!!
I am blessed to have my own kid’s serving at Machaca!!
I hope to come visit this year & would Love to live there in the future to serve!!
Why is it that some people look for negatives when they (The Gotz family) are doing something positive? Yes the camp is on 200 acres of land, but they are doing positive things on that land. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but you should all know that what they are doing there is helping people. They teach the word of God and they help our belizean people by teaching them basic work knowledge so they can try and find a job and stay off the street. At least these “foreigners” are trying to make Belize a better place and are not here to destroy and corrupt. All I am trying to say is know who and what you are talking about before you speak negatively about it. Machaca is a GREAT camp and I really wish I could be there this year to lend a helping hand. God bless and I will be praying that summer camp goes great this year 🙂
Perhaps there is something more that can be done……. Machaca has been doing lots in PG for years. NO Belizean, even the ones that are well off have not even attempted to even try to do something like what the family has been doing.
Good for them! These people are awesome offering stuff to people who can’t get it anywhere else. Perhaps the hating people on here need to get up off their own butts and do something for other people. Maybe then they will understand the good people like this do.