POCAHONTAS — It’s been more than 20 years since Dr. Dennis Holt founded Cornelius’ House Ministries. The Pocahontas dentist wasn’t looking to establish his lay ministry beyond the U.S. border, but fate stepped in and prepared the way for a mission base in Belize, the only English-speaking country in Central America.
“It was actually over a year ago that the Lord began speaking to my heart concerning the children of Belize,” Holt said. “And I said, ’Well, Lord, open the door.’”
Cornelius’ House Ministries is a lay charismatic Catholic ministry based in Pocahontas focused on bringing “the kingdom of God to this earth.”
The Lord works in mysterious ways, and for Holt, it was by way of a cruise ship. Holt and his wife Janet were approached by friends from Bella Vista about taking a cruise together. Holt said he immediately began wondering if there was a cruise ship that had a port-of-call in Belize.
“We were able to spend one full day in Belize,” Holt said of the February cruise. “I met with one of the local tour guides, Ishmael, who agreed to take me to see the bishop once he had completed his tour. I had been really praying that we would be able to make contact with the bishop of the Diocese of Belize (City).”
But God had other plans.
“A man by the name of Clement Wade, who is the superintendent of Catholic schools for the entire country of Belize, came out to meet us,” Holt said. “He said he didn’t normally come out to meet with tourists, but something had prompted him to this time. We prayed with him and he was very moved that we were interested in helping the children. He said he knew this was from the Lord.”
And then Wade spoke the words Holt said he would never forget.
“He said there had been Baptist, Methodist and other denominations from the states that had did mission work in Belize, and he had always wondered where his Catholic brothers and sisters were.”
Holt said he learned there was approximately 33,000 children attending Catholic schools within a total population of 300,000 people in Belize. Approximately 55 percent of the country is Catholic. The majority of the country’s population is under the age of 30 with 40 percent under the age of 15.
“That’s a very impressionable age,” Holt said. “It’s a great time to teach the children.”
In June, Holt, a member of St. Paul Church in Pocahontas, plans to return to Belize where he will conduct dental screenings and provide toothpaste and brushes. In addition to his wife, Holt will be joined by his daughter Denise, and her husband Dr. Drew Dawson, a Pocahontas physician who will be providing medical care during the two-week mission.
“Everyone has been so generous,” Holt said of the recent drive. “We’ve had local dentists as well as some in Jonesboro who have donated supplies.”
Holt has also established a book drive and has set a goal of 5,000 books, which will be shipped along with the dental and medical supplies.
“When we asked the superintendent of schools what was his greatest need, he said, ’We need books,’” Holt said. “Belize is a poor country. It depends a lot on tourism and that’s drastically been reduced since 9/11. We believe that education is the key to aiding poverty. They had tried to implement 20 minutes of reading daily in the schools and didn’t have enough books to do it. That’s sad. Most of us have books laying around the house just collecting dust.”
Holt said books were needed that were on an eighth-grade reading level or below and needed to be children’s books, not textbooks. Because of the shipping cost, books also needed to be in good condition. All the supplies will be shipped, by plane, to Texas where they will transported by van to Belize.
“Our greatest expense is going to be the shipping,” Holt said of the mission which is being made possible through donations.
Holt said he has tentative plans to return to Belize in the fall with a shipment of computers along with some teens to conduct a two-week computer seminar.
“We’ve been given an opportunity to bring the light of Christ in and show these people how supportive their Catholic brothers and sisters in the U.S. are,” Holt said. “This is an evangelistic tool — a great opportunity. Education is power. The ability to read and write is unsurpassed in helping children to become quality leaders and valuable asset to their society. These kids will one day be the leaders. We have an opportunity to help thousands of children improve their reading skills.”
For more information on the mission, contact Cornelius’ House Ministries at (870) 892-9473, e-mail dfholt@sudden link.net or visit www.corneliushouse.com.
All donations will be given to the Belize mission fund and are tax deductible.
