Belize 2008
3/13 - Slower = Niiiiiice... (Published: Friday, March 14 2008)
Hello to all - Thursday was another great day, and we're looking forward to our final day of work in Mayomopan tomorrow before we head out to San Pedro for a little rest and celebration. It was by far our most varied day yet, and it was (thankfully!) a bit slower-paced than the first two were.
Random moments from the day - Decided to change it up a bit & put this first, then you can read details below: Scott McCord spent the morning of his 21st birthday in a Belizian prison; later, several of our folks pitched in and made him a cake, and under the leading of Keri Halvorson, our team sung Scott "Happy Birthday" at least 10 times today. Several of us were yelled at by some Canadian missionaries who were stuck on the side of the road. We ended up helping them and discovered that they were just a little lost and scared. Ali Lewis and Brent Dore got a little international driving experience, taking a load of folks into town in Richard's truck - both their eyes lit up like kids with candy when they asked if they could (Ali's was actually yesterday, but I forgot to mention it). At the prison, there was a man working the gift shop (outside the prion gates); Theresa Williams asked him how he was doing, and his response was "I feel like a convict," which brought a good laugh. Hannah Daugherty, only upon realizing hours later that the man actually IS a convict, responded, "He IS?! Then WHY is he outside the prison? Why is he just chillin' in a store?!" (answer: the Belizian prison system is a little more relaxed than ours). On our truck-bed ride to the region of Armenia, with very little roadside light, the stars were clearer and more visible than most of us have ever seen; this led Becky Rambo, Matt Hudson, Scott Skripsky, Keri Halvorson, Sarah Northup, and I into a rousing, laughter-enhanced round of "the stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Armenia..." (funnier in person than in a blog, no?). And Craig Jerpi learned, then performed for us, a hip-shaking Belizian dance with a couple of the local ladies at My Refuge - that boy has some moves. Quite hilarious. As you can see, plenty of laughter and fun throughout the week. Even in our fatigue and sunburned state, our team is having a great time together! OK, on to the day:
Playground - This was the quickest job of the day: we sent 4-5 folks out to tighten bolts, wrap up a few odds and ends, and clean up the job site this morning. That took an approximate 1/2-hour, and then the guys set up a tarp and hung out in the shade waiting for "wood chips" ( = sawdust) to arrive to cover the ground underneath the playground. It never did (so we're revisiting that on Friday), which ended up being a good thing because it let them help out with the...
...Kids' Team - In addition to carrying out the third lesson in their "L-O-V-E" week ("VICTORY IN FRIENDSHIPS!"), this great team had come up with the idea of building a bridge over a dried-up riverbed which separates the school from the park where the playground is. Previously, there had been a VERY flimsy 2x8 board, which broke earlier this week, so Andrew Sullivan and a few others had come up with the idea, then the design, for a new, much-improved bridge. The team, along with some of our playground men, worked for a few hours and had the bridge completed by 3pm or so. The cool story with the bridge is that the day the bridge broke, the school's principal Ms. Westby had called city council to see if they could build a bridge over the riverbed. While we still don't know the answer, she was thrilled when the next day, (in Andrew's words) "a group of random Americans showed up to meet her request!"
Prison Evangelism - About 10 of us piled into the bed of a truck and headed up to Hattieville, the home of Belize's prison. We sat in on an HIV/AIDS support group, which our host Richard Smith holds weekly there. There are about 50 folks in the prison who have been diagnosed with one of these issues, and about 20 of those are involved in this support group. After meeting many of the group members and hearing their stories, we listened and interacted with their support group (hearing such stories as Michael, who has been angry and distant from God since being diagnosed with HIV, but desperately wants to be "filled with the spiritual life" again; and Raymond, who was so angry at a guard one day that he took a machete to chop off the guards head, but on his way, "God gave me a sense of peace and said 'stop - you don't need to do this.' And so he was thanking God today). After the group, we divided up to pray and talk 1-on-1 with the prisoners, who are wonderful, sad people, who only want to know that someone else is thinking about them. On the way back, we had an interesting experience with some elderly Canadian missionaries in their broken van, whom we ended up helping get on their way - another little random moment that God allowed us.
The rest of the day & tomorrow - Having our whole team back to My Refuge by 4pm today (5 hours earlier than yesterday!), several went for a dip in the river, then we got a bit of hang-out time, which was wonderful, as we were pretty much worn-down from the first few days' hard labor. After dinner, we enjoyed another great group time of worship, discussion, and reflection, centered around the topics of "Sharing Christ" and "Meeting Needs." A few of us piled back into the truck and headed to the village of Armenia, which, in Richard's words, "makes Mayomopan seem rich." Sure enough, this was a more-impoverished region; one where we will be going again tomorrow (Friday), to distribute our shoes and hygiene items. That's one of our Friday morning missions, as well as figuring out the ground-cover for the playground (sorry, "park.") At 4pm on Friday, the mayor and city council will arrive at the park, and we will have an official "handing-over" ceremony, as we give the park to the city and the school. Additionally, Ms. Westby and some of the teachers will be on hand for our book donation. It's been really cool to see the word spreading about our work here; the entire village is ecstatic about their new park, and we can't go into a store, gas station, or anywhere without being identified as "the people building the park." Sorry we still don't have pics, but know that as soon as we get back to the States, I'll do my best to upload as many as possible on Monday!
Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, & encouraging emails. You have no idea how much they mean to us! One more update tonight, then we're headed for the Caye early tomorrow a.m.