Road Trip!

Now that our van was finally fixed, the family asked dad to take them to the beach for the day. We got a late start but still went for it.. southbound, down the Hummingbird Highway where we saw this sobering Gospel Sign along the way.....

 

 

Then, as we approached the Old Order settlement of Springfield we saw our very good friends driving their buggy along the highway. We stopped for a few minutes to share the good news about our van being up and running and to catch up a bit..

looking back, it was kinda dangerous really since a few times 2 vehicles, who were in both lanes had to slow waaay down to get past us :-O

 

It was a nice short visit though.. where we made plans to come out to the community for Bible Study the following day.

 

We finally reached our destination!

We just love the wonderful Caribbean Sea air!

 

 

Ryan, catching a lizard

 

Amazing flower

 

..and another

The girls dip their toes in the bath-warm water.. such a lovely day

bird prints in the sand

  



The boys head to the dock where they make new friends and do a bit of fishing..

 

 

We decided not to do much wading on this particular day..due to the large amount of stinging jelly fish in the water! (can you spot them?)

 



Grant catches a gorgeous tropical fish

 

Too small to eat.. the local boy who was there suggested he keep it as a pet.. but we didn't really have a very good way to transport it.. and it just seemed best to throw him back

Ryan enjoys catching some bait fish

 

 

The girls come down to the dock for a windy visit with the boys

The sun sinks lower in the sky.. time to find some 'fast food' and hit the road!

We loved the motto of this small restaurant

Cant beat $3 hamburgers and the $2 U.S. special- fresh scrambled eggs and beans!

We all ate dinner for a total of $25 U.S! That was with cokes! We normally try not to eat out but while we are away from home and have to, we always seem to find these small eateries who not only prepare things which we can eat.. but normally at a very low cost too!

Laura enjoys a Johnny Cake

Fun day! (Thank you Daddy!) Adios!

 

 

 

 

San Marcos Village Graduation

We were recently invited to San Marcos for a very special graduation. Big Maria's daughter Nancy was graduating from 8th grade. In order to attend High School in BZ a student must qualify academically and pay tuition.. many, many Belizeans therefore are only educated up to the 8th grade. The ceremony was held at the Catholic School in the village. Many Protestant Belizeans (like our friends) choose to educate their children in Catholic schools because they do not charge a fee for attendance.

We parked at the Marias' house and walked up to the school

 

It was already crowded by the time we arrived so we elected to stay outside on the porch during the ceremony. Little did we know when we accepted the invitation that there would first be an entire Catholic service and THEN the whole graduation ceremony! :-)

 

 

 

The school church building was decorated so beautifully..with ribbons and palm fronds. Also there was lime green toile everywhere..

 

We thought it was cute how these teen boys wandered from their motorbike crowd from out front of the church in order to pop in and watch the ceremony through the open window

Marta with a bored little granddaughter who was tired of sitting still..

 

Ashley and Amanda took the girls out to the playground for a while

 

Laura had fun playing photographer with her pretend camera all day

 

We were super happy the weather was reasonable.. a wonderful 90 degrees!

 

Such sweet decorations..

 

 

Mandy sits with the kiddos

 

Mama coming back from the school outhouses with the little girls..

 

It was a LONG church service :-)

 

The priest finally gave the sacraments to the Catholics in attendance and then it switched to a graduation ceremony.. After the priest blessed everyone and headed to the back of the church where we were standing, he proceeded to take off his priestly clothing right in front of us; robe, sashes and ropes etc and chatted with us most of the time. We though that would be seen a little informal had we been in the States.. but seemed very normal to him. We enjoyed talking with him. He is a very kind man who obviously loves children and families..

 

This young graduate played (we think) the Belizean anthem on his accordion. So talented!

Class of 2014

 

the graduation ceremony lasted another 1 hour.. meanwhile outside I made friends with this very sweet short term missionary who had come to help at the school for a week. She was such a blessing.. She shared some struggles with me and we talked about how coming to a third world country puts a lot of things into perspective, including what we see as difficulties. We talked about surrendering to God's will and the way of the cross. we were also able to discuss the Sermon on the Mount and the implications for us as Christians...I was also able to share my testimony with her in regard to my headcovering and why we strive to dress modestly. It was amazing how we 'clicked' and how much she opened up to me. Please be praying for this sweet Christian young lady..

 

Unbeknownst to me at the same time, my older girls were involved in a very spiritually deep conversation with one of the other American missionaries who were asking what we believe, why we cover and dress modestly etc.. it was a surprise to go to a small Spanish village for a graduation and end up sharing our testimony with 2 Americans! :-) we were soo blessed with the opportunity!

Mama & Elizabeth

One of the American missionaries

 asked if he could take our family picture. We felt a mite bit like a spectacle.. I don't think most of them had ever seen folks dressed like us, with coverings etc..

 

After the ceremony folks headed home, Belizean style..

We stayed at the Marias' for a while before heading home..

As we were leaving, Grandma Marta handed us a bucket of tamales that she had prepared very early that morning for our family.. tamales seem to be a traditional food which represents celebration, appreciation and love. And YUM are they delicious!

Wrapped in this banana leaf is a scrumptious chicken tamale..

Mmmm... even Laura knows the drill by now!

 

What a blessed day with a very special family

 

Congratulations Miss Nancy!

 

 

 

Work and Play

 

 We had been wanting to take a family photo in these handmade Mayan clothes for a while.. given as a gift, the clothing was purchased by local artisans who embroider the intricate designs. We went to Countryside Park in Spanish Lookout armed with a highchair and 4 hymnals with which to prop up the camera. Considering the primitive set up, we thought the photos turned out pretty nice..Everyone  is even looking at the camera.. Yay! glad to have it done!

Doing some raking around the house! Here in Belize, there always seems to be some type of tree dropping leaves. Its like Autumn year round!

The dynamic duo!

Mom, multitasking

Holding the neighbors bunnies..

I am not sure if there is anything cuter than a little girl holding a baby bunny, is there? ;-)