A wet concrete path between palm trees and flowering shrubs leading to turquoise school buildings in the Valley of Peace

Valley of Peace, Belize

For more than twenty years, volunteers from Alberta have travelled to a small village in Belize to build and support a Christian high school. The buildings now need repair, and Orville Ferris is planning the next trip.

How to give Read the story

How it started

In the early 2000s, Ron Shaffer and a team from Canadian Union College went on a mission trip to Belize. Brian Townsend, who was then the Alberta Conference Men’s Ministry leader, travelled with them.

While they were there, Brian visited the Valley of Peace, a village that began as a home for refugees from a conflict in Guatemala. He came away with the idea of a mission in the valley, and soon arranged the first group of volunteers.

Over the next 10 to 15 years, volunteers went back every year to build a high school. That school is Valley of Peace Adventist Academy.

What the work has built

A high schoolBuilt by volunteers who made the trip year after year.

More than 300 graduatesStudents who have finished school at Valley of Peace Adventist Academy.

Twenty years of tripsMore than two decades since the first team arrived.

What needs doing now

Two single-storey buildings with red metal roofs and white siding beside a gravel path — Buildings on the school grounds.

The buildings at the academy are now in need of repair. The next goal is to renovate three staff houses.

Every gift helps, whatever the size. All donations are appreciated.

See how to give

The church bulletin, in your inbox

This week’s sermon, what is coming up, and news from the church family.

Valley of Peace today

Secondary students in white and blue uniforms seated at wooden desks in a classroom — A classroom at the academy.

Students in school uniforms painting a green mural of the countryside with a toucan, a jaguar, a river and a tractor — Students painting a mural of the countryside.

A staff member seated at a desk in a school office with green walls and louvred windows — The school office.

The painted sign of Valley of Peace S.D.A. Academy with the school crest and the motto To educate is to redeem — The academy sign. The motto reads: To educate is to redeem.

Four adults standing together and smiling inside a home with turquoise walls — Friends in the Valley of Peace community.

A woman in a blue blouse standing beside a road in Belize after rain — A friend of the mission.

How to give

This is Edmonton Central’s own mission trip. The church opened a dedicated Mission Trips account in May 2026, and gifts for this project go through it. The simplest way is an INTERAC e-Transfer.

Send an e-TransferFrom your bank app, send it to:
etransfer@edmontoncentraladventist.ca
Add the memoIn the message, write Mission Trips: Valley of Peace
That is itIf the message field is too small, email the same address after sending and tell us what the gift is for.

Common questions

Where is the Valley of Peace?

In Belize, in Central America. The village began as a home for refugees from a conflict in Guatemala.

Who is leading this?

Orville Ferris is planning the Belize trip for Edmonton Central.

What will my gift pay for?

The current goal is to renovate three staff houses at Valley of Peace Adventist Academy.

Can I go on the trip?

Speak to Orville Ferris or contact the church office and we will tell you what is planned.

Help repair the Valley of Peace staff houses

Twenty years of work by volunteers built this school. A gift now keeps it standing.

How to give Call 780-420-0215 All ways to give All mission trips