We had wanted to get back to little Maria's house to help them put up the screened fabric on their windows and on their eves to prevent bugs to get into their home. Between illness and company it has been long overdue! :-) Grady and the boys helped to start this house back in March of 2012 and it has been a blessing to help them with a few of the practical finishing necessities. Last year they experienced tons of mosquitos as well as snakes and rats. They are hoping by closing off the wide open areas (with screen) in the eves and by making frames with screens for the windows and doors that it may cut down on the pests..
They can either have their shudders open which allows for a nice breeze on hot summer days..
with bugs
Or they can keep them shut in order to keep the bugs out.. which makes the indoor temps soar..
It is such a blessing being able to work as a family. We love spending the day on little projects like this! :-) Little Maria supports her mother, daughter and sister's household, including children. (little Maria and big Maria live next door to one another) (little) Maria cleans houses M-F and receives about $15-$20 U.S. per day. With a budget like that, it is a bit difficult to purchase simple things like tack strips, caulking and screen. A very special friend in WA heard of their need and donated $100 U.S. for this project. This money was enough for everything we needed..with a bit leftover to make them a small chicken coop to protect their small remaining flock of chickens that the fox has been eating! Ryan hopes to get a start on that chicken house project tomorrow..
Grace and Laura have a fun time swinging with Maria's little girl..
What a great helper!
Laura takes the time to stop and smell the flowers..
cutting screen
Grant is there to help too!
Having a fun time visiting with Grandma Marta and 'big' Maria while the girls play in the hammock
Their back yard view
Mandy pitches in also
Mandy and I say goodbye to 'big' Maria.. we have to come back to finish screens on another day because we forgot that in Spanish Lookout the stores are closed Friday, Saturday and Monday of 'holy week' Grady needs more thin wood for tack strips.. the lumba yaad (a little Belizean Creole there) will open again tomorrow (Tuesday!) when we will head back over for some more screening and chicken house buildin'!
We also hope to get a start on big Maria's front porch steps (she currently has three dilapidated and tippy cement blocks to balance on while clamboring up onto her porch) We also plan to close in her porch in order to transfer her kitchen to outside so that her two teenage boy can have their own room apart from their teenage sister. Currently all four of them live in a one room cabin which is about 500 square feet in all, with no interior walls for privacy. If you would like to help in this project- building steps for her porch, replacing rotten boards on the porch, moving her kitchen to outdoors in order to make room for a small bedroom for her daughter, you can donate here- we figure the whole cost would be no more than $150-$200 U.S. Every little bit helps! :-) On a side note, big Maria also has a pretty severe case of epilepsy which we are trying to help find medication for here in Belize. The whole lack-of stairs to the porch issue has us very concerned as she has actually fallen off of that porch during a seizure twice now. Please pray for this sister.. she has been through so much and is truly trying to live as a Kingdom Christian. She is always such an encouragement to me. In fact in the picture above she is thanking us so much for our help in their lives and I am explaining that she gives so much more to me than she realizes.. that she brings conviction, encouragement and joy to us ladies every time we come for a visit. We were telling her here that God must have known that we needed each other. Wow, anyone still reading this blog post should get a reward or something.. most patient reader. :-) I'll be quiet now. May the Lord bless you this day.
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