In February 2022, The Rev. John Clark (“Deacon Johnny”) and his wife, Jacki Bailey-Clark, of St. Gabriel’s, Titusville, spent 22 days in Belize representing No One Hungry Inc. and broadening the ministry’s impact. They planted four of what the ministry calls “God’s Gardens” on this, their seventh trip to the nation, and also built St. Agnes Anglican Church in Mahogany Heights, Cayo, Belize.

The God’s Garden initiative arose out of the need for fresh produce during the pandemic. “We built four gardens to support the feeding programs at the Anglican schools,” Clark said.

The students at these schools supply the labor for the gardens, which also provides them with instruction in both construction and gardening tasks. “Before planting, they build garden boxes and then fortify the soil with a special blend,” Clark said. No One Hungry bought soil and compost for use in the gardens from the garden program at Belize Central Prison.

A local Nazarene pastor also helps students with the gardens. “He has a degree in horticulture and provides them with all the knowledge they need to care for the gardens successfully,” Clark said. “We use non-GMO seeds, and he teaches them how to dry the seeds correctly and reuse them in the next year’s garden.”

The Clarks took six laptops with them for the churches and schools. “It’s still critical that we get laptops and tablets to the schools,” Clark said. “Some churches and schools are in areas where COVID is still aggressive. The students have blended school sessions. Not everyone can afford laptops and tablets. We scrub used ones and clean them up.”

The new St. Agnes building with ornate burglar bars on the windows

The highlight of the trip for Clark was preaching inside St. Agnes’ new building. “Three months ago, the church was a two-walled outside shelter,” he said. “We replaced the roof with a cathedral and built walls. We installed windows, pews and a tabernacle.”

Inmates of Belize Central Prison made crosses for the church in the prison woodshop, including both the small crosses for the altar and the five-foot-tall cross behind it.

Churches and homes in this nation have burglar bars on their windows. “My wife felt these wouldn’t be too friendly, so she designed the ones for St. Agnes to make them more welcoming,” Clark explained. “Paying for the bars was a God thing. American cell phones don’t work in Belize. However, mine began to ring just as I was getting online to ask for $2,000 to pay for the bars. On the phone was a 100-year-old man who’d once been on a Belize trip with me. He was worried about burglaries at the church and wanted to donate $2,000 to help with the cost of window bars. And he was on his cell phone!”

Jacki Bailey-Clark presents St. Hilda’s Anglican Church with paintings of the stations of the cross

St. Hilda’s Anglican Church in Cayo also benefited from the No One Hungry trip. “On Valentine’s Day, my wife presented the church with paintings of the stations of the cross,” Clark said. “This is so important for the students at the church school. Each week during Lent, they learn about the stations. Now when they go to services, they’ll have a better understanding of Christ’s Passion and all He went through for them.”

Clark hopes to enlist other parishes in the Diocese of Central Florida to help the people of Belize. “I’d love to have parish-to-parish relationships,” he said. “The parishes in Belize can’t even afford the basics. One church used a drinking glass for a chalice, and someone brought a plate from home for the paten [Communion plate]. I gave them a chalice, and it enriched the worship so much.”

Clark also brought 6,000 hosts and 1,000 priest hosts (Communion wafers) on this trip.

“These things were not expensive, and I was able to carry them in my suitcase,” he said. “Helping these churches is that easy. These things were less than $15.”

To assist Clark and No One Hungry in the work in Belize, please visit No One Hungry Inc. at noonehungryfl.org.