Monica Seidl: Answering the Call: A Journey of Faith and Service

MONICA'S WEBSITE
SILENT BRIDGE
JUSTTALKINGABOUTJESUS.COM
Monica Seidel's journey from vacationer to community advocate in Belize is nothing short of inspiring. 

After falling in love with the country and building a house, Monica spearheaded various projects to benefit the village of San Antonio. 

Through initiatives like Belize Blessings, Monica focused on education, health, and safety for the community. 

She established a community library, organized medical clinics, and is currently working on setting up a police station. 

Monica's vision extends beyond infrastructure as she also aims to address the issue of human trafficking by partnering with organizations like Silent Bridge. 

With her faith as her guide, Monica continues to make a difference in the lives of the people in San Antonio, demonstrating the power of one person's dedication and passion for helping others.

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Transcript

[00:02] Jan: Welcome to just talking about Jesus. I'm Jan Johnson, a seasoned believer who loves relationships and, you know, just talking about Jesus. Hello, friends. So I just spent ten days in Belize, where I went on a voluncation with Monica Seidel and several others. Monica fell in love with Belize, went on a vacation, bought property and built a house. She has since spearheaded a number of projects to benefit the community, which she'll share in this episode. She's a woman full of vision, passion, and driven by the Holy Spirit. As a disclaimer, there is a short portion that will be hard to take in, and you may not want to have your kids listen to it. So let's get started.

[00:49] Jan: My guests today are Monica Seidl and Jay Ostrander.

[00:54] Jan: Welcome, ladies.

[00:55] Jan: Thank you.

[00:56] Monica: Good morning.

[00:58] Jan: We are in Belize because we're working on some projects that Monica has gotten started. A few projects.

[01:08] Monica: She started here. A few projects.

[01:10] Jan: Yes.

[01:11] Monica: It started as Belize blessings. And we came up with a mission statement. And it really was focusing on education, health and safety for the village of San Antonio, Cayo, Belize.

[01:24] Jan: And what's your interest in doing that here?

[01:27] Monica: Well, about seven years ago, we came here on vacation. Five years ago we built a house. And so it is now my village. I'm 2 miles away from it in the inland area of Belize. And when some place becomes your home, you really start focusing inward on the infrastructure and the health of a community.

[01:50] Jan: How did you make inroads to do that?

[01:53] Monica: It was one of those acts of God because my neighbor Rosa, who is a community health worker in the area of San Antonio, she and I were having a conversation almost five years ago, about four years ago, during COVID about what the village needed and what areas I could be of service. And the first one that came to mind was tutoring and education for the local children. Because of COVID they were limited on the information that they were receiving because they couldn't go to school. They were being schooled at home by their parents, who they don't always complete even an 8th grade education.

[02:36] Jan: And they probably didn't have the materials they needed or the time.

[02:39] Jan: Plus they had to work.

[02:40] Monica: Yes. And that was kind of a real resounding, overwhelming thing that when I go back and forth to the US to see the schools in the US respond with every child getting a tablet, every child getting the materials that they needed, that in the village of San Antonio, those children were really facing overwhelming barrier to education.

[03:06] Jan: So how did you put something together for that?

[03:09] Monica: The area has a chairman and he's similar to a mayor and he and I talked about using a community building. And from there, one conversation led to another. They donated a abandoned rat crab bat infested building, and we turned that into a community library. And so with the success of that, we just started to roll forward with the other components of the mission statement, which was health. And so last year we took an ambulance, and we have an ambulance in our village now that we're working on the components of policies and procedures, pricing, how we're going to be fair and unified with how we have those services for the community. But we took an entire volunteer group in October down to run a medical clinic for a week. And then the next component was safety.

[04:11] Jan: And so now with safety.

[04:14] Jan: Well, let's see.

[04:15] Jan: So we're working on a police station.

[04:17] Monica: Yes, we are. We're painting it and fixing it up and making it livable. And last year, it was also rat bat and **** infested as an abandoned building almost on the same property, because the community owns that. So what we did was we went and talked to the local police officer, who. That is his jurisdiction. He's over 90 police officers for the area of Cayo. There are five substations of police stations around the entire area, and ours is the only one that is not open and running to keep our community safe.

[04:57] Jan: So that's going to change.

[05:00] Monica: That's certainly going to change. And so in the last two weeks, we have been working to paint it, to buy all the supplies and materials needed. And I have been asking ladies and anybody to come to Belize, bring a 50 pound suitcase of supplies and materials, and join in the efforts.

[05:21] Jan: Yeah. And it's been fun. Right?

[05:25] Monica: I do call it a voluncation on purpose so that people can feel like they're also on vacation while they're volunteering.

[05:34] Jan: So the majority of us, six people, are in our seventies, but it's been a little bit of a sweaty experience. But we've gotten a lot done so far, and by the end of this weekend, it should be ready to go right with some more community volunteers.

[05:58] Monica: It is amazing to see that the struggles that we've had the first part of the week to get the community rallying behind it, that by the end of this week now we have up to 16 volunteers that will be coming to help finish up. Local volunteers, local volunteers that are finishing up the efforts that we have begun and the influence that we've had in the community. And so hopefully they see that by us coming and starting the project, that they now will continue it with fright.

[06:31] Jan: That is awesome. Where is your faith walk in this daily.

[06:38] Monica: It is one of those things that you walk by faith. If you had told me five years ago this is where I would be, I would not have believed it.

[06:46] Jan: I have been unbelievable.

[06:48] Monica: It's unbelievable.

[06:50] Jan: Yes.

[06:51] Monica: Previously was doing missions work in Brazil and have always had a heart for missions, but didn't realize how strongly it would take hold. And there are things that I have seen and opportunities created that I would not be able to put my finger on as how it all came about. But by God.

[07:15] Jan: Providence one.

[07:17] Monica: Yeah.

[07:18] Jan: Just providing things that where you didn't think they were going to come about.

[07:23] Monica: Or even with the ambulance. It's one of the most powerful things that I tell people. Last year when I was here and I asked the area chairman what we needed, he said, an ambulance. An ambulance to get people to a hospital to get them to the treatments that they need. And I went home and I prayed about it. And a month later, Christmas week, I was talking to him on the phone and he really stated it again. We need an ambulance to complete some of our medical missions here. And I went to work and I said, if anybody knows of an ambulance opportunity, my coworker's husband worked for a local fire station. She said, you mean this one that they just posted on Facebook today that has been dropped from 22 or twenty three thousand dollars to nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine dollars? They want to wholesale it out by the end of the year and Christmas week, you know, you have a week and a half left. So I left work. I drove straight down there and within.

[08:27] Jan: Because you thought somebody else might get a jump on it.

[08:30] Monica: It was just one of those things that within hours it had been confirmed that this was what we should be looking for. This is where it was at. This is the price that they were going to do. And two days later, I went to a firefighting commissioners meeting and presented my story. And I said, how about I just buy it for $8,000 but I need to make three months payments because I don't even have more than $1,000. But I'll start with my first thousand. And within two weeks we had the money. That's when you know that I'm confirming right thing in the right direction to be going.

[09:10] Jan: And then did you made a connection with somebody that had medical supplies?

[09:16] Monica: Made a connection with somebody that had medical supplies and we had, unfortunately, a hospice center closing and bankrupt. And we were able to walk in the doors and take anything off the shelves that we wanted and needed at no cost, any and all of the medical supplies, the electronics. I was able to purchase laptops for 15 or $25, a couple cell phones. So now we've been able to get those electronics down here and help at the medical clinic, at the library. And I have a laptop for the police station ready to go.

[09:50] Jan: Then you have a connection with somebody in Florida, too.

[09:53] Monica: Oh, it's one of those things. You just start building connections, and then you start learning about other nonprofit agencies. And that's really where this has been going now, is just being aware and reaching out to other nonprofits that you didn't even know existed in your own town and across the country and other organizations. Even coming to Belize and volunteering. I had no idea the scale of some of the other nonprofits that sometimes are whispered and talked about but not really proclaimed.

[10:27] Jan: That is awesome. So all kinds of things. Wasn't there a fire? Somebody collected fire equipment and.

[10:33] Monica: Yep, Charles Jones from Herosaver lives four blocks from me. And he works for a firefighting organization up in Olympia, Washington. But his nonprofit that he started with a group of guys is to collect fire suppression equipment. So their breathing apparatuses, all their fire suits, they're fire retarded. In the US, you have a date that they expire that they can't guarantee and certify that they will continue to be safe. So they collect all of those items from fire stations. They typically would gather them up and then destroy them because they can't really use them in the US. Well, mexican standards are totally different. So he collects and pallets them, and then he takes them down once a year, usually between August and October, and they go to Guanajuato, Mexico, and they train and work with firefighters down there. They take all the equipment that they can collect down there. And so just. His organization is grassroots. It's just a small seed, but it makes such a difference when it's planted in Mexico, where they have nothing for breathing apparatuses, they have nothing for fire protection and safety. Well, now they have a fire drug, they have equipment. They have a chance.

[11:54] Jan: Yeah. Yeah. How did you get the ambulance down here?

[11:58] Monica: That was interesting. We have another nonprofit in the northwest, impact northwest. And I reached out and met several of those gentlemen, and as a cry for help, my husband and his best friend transported our truck to Texas, and we had a Belizean fly up and drive it through Mexico five years ago. And I contacted the same Belizean and said, would you do it with an ambulance? And his name is Cesar. And he said, yes, Miss Monica, I can do that. Just get me to Texas and I'll get it to Belize for you. And James from impact northwest. He lives up in Seattle. We went and picked him up and he drove the ambulance by himself for three straight days almost. He did stop and sleep for a few hours each night, but he delivered it to Texas and the Belizean flew up and connected with him, handed off the keys, the ambulance, and away it went.

[12:51] Jan: Wow. Yeah.

[12:53] Monica: So that's cool.

[12:54] Jan: So what's your vision?

[12:56] Monica: Wow. Now it's one of those that. What's next? You know, once we get. You always have the sustainability because Belize does step in and run things once we start it. The library is now open six days a week with the Ministry of the library of Belize supporting a stipend for the librarian and then the medical clinic. We're working to get it running more full time. So I still have a dental component. And Terry Tack, one of a fellow Rotarian in Longi, was donating an entire optometry room for eye doctor care. So for me, looking towards the next trip in October being a medical trip again, hopefully bringing another group down with equipment for dental, for eye and for medical. And then you have to have a little bit of fun in there somewhere.

[13:51] Jan: Yep.

[13:51] Monica: So spring of 2025, it's my hope to build a playground and bring teenagers and have a component of the exchange program for maybe local students that are in either the LCC college in Longview or one of the schools up there to be involved. But yeah, the projected project is also playground.

[14:16] Jan: That would be pretty fun. And so any listeners out there that might want to be involved, I'll put links in the show notes for that. So now you have been exploring another avenue with trafficking. Tell us about that.

[14:32] Monica: So during my search for other nonprofits, I found one that was in nearby. And they do, yes, human trafficking, which is a lot more serious of a subject. And of course, it was just by chance that I was home two days in the US last November and went to the Colima Chamber of commerce and was excited to share with them that the ambulance had been delivered safely. It was there, and it was from Colombia that the ambulance came from. And right after that meeting, somebody suggested that I go out and talk to a gentleman in the lobby that worked to train police officers internationally. And the gentleman, when I explained what we were doing, was very interested and intrigued. And then he told me his story. And that's when the tears came. That's when the reality of that there are dark things out there that we are not aware of. And he has an organization called Silent Bridge. And when you go to that website and you hear the stories and you see the children and you realize that there is not just human trafficking for sexual exploitation or for work exploitation, but there's harvesting happening in our world. And to realize that the not so pretty women and children are then used for harvesting of their organs, and especially in their safe house in Nepal because it's close to the chinese border, population is huge. Sanctity of life is not so precious. The gentleman shared in a presentation that we did that they keep them alive to harvest them, and the last thing they take is their heart.

[16:44] Jan: Oh my gosh.

[16:47] Monica: That'S a heavy subject. So what do you do with that? Well, you then come alongside another organization and you say, how can I help? How do I make a difference with what you're trying to do? They have locations in Ukraine and in Nepal. They're looking to work in Uganda, Congo area, because they know that that's prevalent in that area as well. In addition to the human trafficking that they do try to rescue. And they are survivors. These women and children that come out of these situations are certainly survivors. They need medical treatment, they need mental treatment, they need re education, they need ways to support themselves financially so that they don't either fall victim into that same cycle or that they. They really, truly thrive. And so they try to set up safe havens where they can house women and children between the ages of eight and 18. And even though domestic violence is also a serious issue, they focus very narrowly and funnel down to trafficking. And so they're looking to open a location in Colombia for South America. And they are interested in a location in Central America. And because we have such a beautiful, wonderful location in San Antonio of farming and peaceful areas, they came and were looking for opportunities somewhere in Belize, potentially. Of course, there's a lot of red tape to work with agencies to do some of those things, but it is one of the components that they want to make sure that wherever they're placing these women and children, that it is a safe location, that it is supported by health, education, safety, and to take one woman or one child into the United States for them to receive medical treatment, support, retraining and everything that they would need, the cost is huge. I mean, it's almost insurmountable. And then, of course, all the red tape going into the United States, well, if these are women and children coming out of all of Central America, what you want to keep them locally so that they can reintegrate into their own communities at some point, when it's the safe and the right thing to do. So silentbridge.org has a lot of information. I'm not sharing and disclosing anything that's not shared on their website. However, they are humble, and they do these things from their heart. It is a full on 501 nonprofit. And so to. To see and hear some of the stories that are on that website, I can't know more than what I've already seen and heard because it would hurt my heart, but just to know that they're out there and they're doing what they do. We all have this piece at this puzzle, and I keep talking about this story, and I'm going to be doing a presentation for our altruistic group where it is we're all just one piece of that puzzle. We don't have to bite it off all. We just have to do our part. We just have to do our. Our little piece, which means sometimes just showing up, sometimes grabbing a paintbrush and painting the side of a police station, sometimes just being the support system and providing food. There's ladies in our village today that will be doing some cooking to feed the people that are actually physically working on the police station. So I always tell people, and I always encourage people, you don't have to do everything. Just do your part. Do your one piece of that puzzle to build that big picture of what.

[20:24] Jan: We'Re trying to do and listen to what guys telling you to do. I mean, you see something that needs to be done, do it. Put your hand. Put your hand into it. Yeah. Jay, what has this experience been like for you, coming down here?

[20:40] Jay: Well, it's been really interesting, you know, for one, just seeing all the wonderful work that Monica's done and seeing the library up and functioning. I actually got to personally experience the medical clinic while I was here. I got cut, and so I had to go get treated, and I got a tetanus shot. But, you know, just meeting with the gentleman that we saw from Silent Bridge, you know, just to hear. I work in the financial world, and so we investigate fraud and all of the different things, you know, human trafficking aspect. It's just interesting to see it from that point of view because I've seen it, or we've detected it through the financial sides, and we know what to look for there, but it was really interesting to see their piece of it. And so, eyes wide open right now.

[21:31] Jan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So. All right. Anything else to add?

[21:37] Monica: I just encourage people to, like you said, listen to your heart, listen to God's calling on your life and answer.

[21:47] Jan: Yeah. Take a step and you're always willing to take donations.

[21:51] Monica: Oh, I'll take donations. I'll take leftover school supplies. I will take medical supplies. I even one lady said my dad passed away. I have all of his diabetic testing and everything left over. Do you want it? I'll take it. Absolutely. My mom's generously given up. Well, I don't know that it's generously given, but I've taken over her shop, which is a location now that we stage and store supplies, whether it be for the library, the medical clinic, or in the future, it'll be police equipment, the local sheriff's department in Kellitz county. I've got a couple officers there that are interested in partnering and coming down and supporting the police department with training, with materials and supplies. They have drones. And again, a bullet for vest is only good and guaranteed for so many years in the US. And so they normally just shred them and destroy them. And so down here, the officers walk into situations and not one of them has a bulletproof vest or gun sometimes. Yeah, or gun or anything like that. So it'll be wonderful to be able to go back and keep bringing that story to the other people that say, how can I help? Where do I fit into this picture? And so it is one of those things that there's a place for everybody.

[23:10] Jan: Yeah. Okay, ladies, thank you. Thank you for this opportunity to even be a part of this.

[23:17] Monica: And thank you for coming and painting alongside of us. And thank you for being part of this journey. Thank you for sharing the stories that you do. Because it's not just my story, it's everybody's stories that are out there, and to be able to hear them and share the information is huge.

[23:33] Jan: Yeah.

[23:34] Monica: Thank you.

[23:35] Jan: I believe we as individuals can affect change for our communities. Monica asked the question, how can I help? What might seem as insurmountable for some didn't stop her. She listened to what God prompts her to do, and as you can see, he delivers. He's our provider and waymaker. I hope this episode encouraged you. You can find links to Silent Bridge and Monica's website in the show notes. I would encourage you to go to the website just talking about Jesus. The link is also in the show notes and sign up for my Insider newsletter where you'll receive photos and other information about those who have been interviewed. Ecclesiastes 910. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your mighty who can you ask? How can I help? Let me know how God blesses you this week. Until next time. Thanks so much for listening. I look forward to sharing another transforming story with you next week.