I just returned from a week in Belize with Becky doing 3 teacher workshops. All the teachers were appreciative for the information they received. We stayed with Tom and Kathi Moore, missionaries from Texas. We enjoyed Kathi's cooking tremendously, and I was grateful for all the knowledge that Tom shared with us about the people, country, and other things in general. Great stuff.
Our first workshop was at the Central Assembly School in Belize City. After the initial presentation while the teachers were making teaching tools, I heard the most awesome sound. It was a hymn being sung in English coming from the church! I haven't heard a hymn since leaving the states. I needed that!
Then we were off to the Banana Bank Lodge near Belmopan. What a beautiful place. It is owned by a couple from the states, Jerry and Carolyn Carr. They have lived there for 34 years. Carolyn from Tribune KS, and Jerry from Montana. On the grounds are several cabanas with thatched roofs, large swimming pool, very large bird cage, a jaguar, and 2 monkeys on chains with signs on their roped areas that says,"BEWARE monkey bites". Cute but dangerous. Since Carolyn is an artist, the rooms have many of her prints on display. Beautiful pictures of the jaguar. The live jaguar never came out of her cage while we were there. And one morning there was a donkey's head in her cage to feed on. It stunk! And the smile on it's lips wasn't very inviting either! Many of the windows are stained glass. Absolutely beautiful. Carolyn shared supper with us one night, and this is where I learned about the bot fly. I had noticed that she had a place on her shoulder that was dark red, and I thought that maybe it was a wound that was healing. Oh, no, I was informed that a dead worm was in there! I couldn't believe my ears. You mean you're sitting there with the larvae of a fly in your shoulder? Oh, yes, but it was dead because she had painted the area with clear finger nail polish (another good use for it other than our nails)! However, she was going to the Dr. to have it removed. I had never heard of this before. Well, I received an education, probably more than I wanted. Anyway this egg is dropped on your flesh either by a mosquito or the fly itself. It burrows into your skin and there feeds on you until it comes out as a fly. Oh yuck! They itch at first just like a mosquito bite, but then it begins to hurt because they are eating away on you. I looked them up on the internet, and they look just like Tom described them. Want to feel vulnerable? Check it out. I decided to stand once again on the scripture Ps. 91:6. During the meal Becky told about some kind of moth landing on the chin of a missionary while he slept. It laid its eggs there and he had to go to the doctor to have them removed when they began to grow. That freaked me out, too. Well, the next morning Carolyn met me outside and said she had to tell me that after she went to bed, she heard this fluttering noise. She turned on the light and saw this moth. She knew it wasn't the kind that Becky had talked about, but it was like the Lord was saying to her that they had such fun at my expense that...We laughed about it because God does have a sense of humor.
The second school was Valley of Peace. Teachers were engaged and really liked the recipes for making glitter, play dough, and using white toothpaste to stick things to the walls.
The last school was at Red bank, a Mayan village. They, too, enjoyed the presentation and making the teacher tools. When we arrived there, the first thing was to eat in the home of one of the villagers. Two vegetable sized serving bowls were given to each of us. One bowl contained white rice and the other a soup with a couple of large pieces of chicken. NO spoons! A huge basket of tortillas were placed on the table. They use the tortillas to soak up the soup. There's no way that I could have eaten all that food. Tom or Kathi asked for spoons. So thankful for those utensils!! It was delicious, but far too much. They cook in a different building outside the main house. The main house consisting of one room with a very small table, the one where we ate, 2 bedrooms, and I think one bathroom. This main part had a metal roof. The other a thatch. In the "kitchen" there was a sling of sorts hanging from the ceiling, and inside was a 7 month old baby girl. Happy as a lark, she was. Talk about innovation. You could give a little push and swing her to sleep. The only problem for this westerner was that she could only see the ceiling. She could hear all that was going on around her, but couldn't see anybody unless they poked their heard in her "sling". I don't know what else to call it.
Belize is suppose to be very hot and humid. I really did pray that it would not be so, because I sweat so much to the point that it looks like I just washed my hair. Some people perspire, but this lady sweats! So I figured I'd be changing clothes a couple of times a day. Well, lo and behold, if God didn't do it again. The weather was beautiful. NO sweating!! Well, one time at Red Bank, but not enough to speak about. I praised him everyday for that. Of course, no one else was complaining about the weather, either, not that we Christians complain :-)!!
Belize truly is a small country. Less than 400,000 people. But most of it is jungle. I would not want to live there . Everyday commodities are very expensive because most is imported from other countries. They do have jaguars there that like dog meat, so we heard, but they usually stay hidden from human eyes.
God has truly blessed me in coming to Honduras. He has allowed me to visit other countries and meet many of his children. He has protected me, kept me healthy, provided for me, and taught me more about himself. I love him and give him glory for all he is. Truly he will bless his people in their obedience and love to him.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
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