Last Days in Belize

With our leave date approaching, the big girls and I had to get working! When we came to Belize this time we were unsure how much of our things which we had left in 2012 would still be there waiting for us. Happily though upon our arrival, we found that most of our items were still on site and in tact! So essentially we had 2 households of stuff to get rid of! We had decided against the idea of driving home and had instead decided to fly into Texas, find a vehicle there and drive home to the west coast. We would have to sell most everything..

The boys fix up their bikes for the garage sale

We head over to Springfield to say goodbye to the Fehrs and Ernestos

Gracie holds a baby who is not much smaller than herself! :-)

 

It was a teary goodbye to these sweet friends who we had enjoyed many hours of Bible Study, prayer and discussion. We had been blessed with our time together and Lord willing will meet again someday.

The boys finally got a chance to hunt in the jungle with Edwin

The airline needed weight specifics in order to ship Dutch home. We tried to figure out a way to weigh both he and his crate... without a nearby vet, we decided to strap him into his harness, slip a rod through it and weigh him with the suitcase scale! It worked great!

 

Cleaning, pricing and more cleaning... for weeks and weeks it seemed! :-)

..and messses

..and piles of priced items...

Ashley decided that she would have to find a new home for her sweet Sasha.. we called a man who owns a resort/restaurant who we knew had recently lost a female German Shepherd shortly after birth. We knew that he takes great care of his dogs and so gave him a call to offer her to him.. he loved her and quickly agreed to purchasing her..

It was so sad to see her go..

Next up was Amanda's bunny... thankfully he went to the Hein family.

 

 

The neighbor girls wanted Grace's well trained kitties...

 

and our special friend Milton, whose wife drinks only goat milk, wanted to purchase Ashley's nanny goat. That was a blessing.. We knew she would be well taken care of!

Goodbye Franny!

The girls made tons of rice crispies to sell at our garage sale

 

We advertised with another American family who also was going to be returning to the States. We shared the cost of printing fliers to put into the 400 Spanish Lookout mailboxes and to hang in the local stores.. we rented a centrally located place that was known for garage sales. By 6 am we had 20 people and by 2pm everything was essentially gone. Garage sales are very popular in BZ.

The girls found some friends to play with during the sale.

 

Our children and the other family's children had a fun time with a terrace game

The girls did so well that day! Good job girls! And we were left with hardly anything. Just about everything sold which was a blessing and has allowed us to purchase a truck and travel the States home.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 4th Birthday Little Girl!

 

 

Our precious little girl turned 4! It is simply so hard to imagine that my 'baby' can ride a bike, get dressed on her own, can wash and rinse dishes with her big sisters and is reading. She is a bright and sweet child who doesn't mind acting up if she is needing some attention. :-) She tries to help big sister Grace when she is having a melt down and is very sweet to her big brothers. We are so blessed by her sweet and cuddly self. We are so grateful to the Lord that he granted us the precious gift of our little blondie. We love you Laura! May you grow in grace and wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

                             

Another Sad Goodbye

The Hein family is very special to us. Their daughter has been sick for 6 years which makes them very understanding and sweet to Amanda. The sisters are always so sweet to Mandy and she and Eileen have a cherished friendship which includes encouragement, prayers and love. Eileen was so excited when we came back to Belize since Amanda is one of her closest friends. It was a very sad to say goodbye so soon after our return to BZ... The whole family is so special to us..They made us cry with their serenade of 'God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again' and 'This World is Not Our Home'.. there were many goodbye tears with promises of plenty of letters and phone calls in order to keep in close touch..

 

Amanda and Eileen with Laura

Ash & Eileen

Ashley and Mary

Betty

 

Marcy with the little girls

 

Mama visits with Mrs. Hein

 

Mary enjoys her new gift from Amanda

 We will miss you all so much!

 

Grady took the older children to a concert that the Heins performed. They are such a talented family. We have really been enjoying Alvin and Mary's first CD..

Insects and reptiles and amphibians, oh my!

A few separate times in July, the killer bees decided to swarm! Best to stay inside!

 

Here you can see the swarming bees, hanging in a long cluster, surrounding their queen

 

This cute lizard showed up one evening..

The flies were excited about the coming of the rainy season..

Geck!

This grasshopper is about the size of a huge cockroach

 

Always a good morning hello from our resident frog who lives in the bathroom sink!

 

This horrid creature fell from the roof of the carport very near Mama's foot. Knowing by the looks that it most likely was a terrible thing, we killed it promptly. Upon examination he had 2 huge stingers and looked closely related to a scorpion.

Even the cat left it alone...

A pretty visitor

 

After a visit to the jungle, Mama was afflicted with 3 bites and a bot fly larvae laid under her skin!

 

Ello Little Bitty Froggy!

 

This rhino beetle kept us all in stitches for a long time. When provoked, it would raise up like this and 'challenge' us.. We will miss buggy Belize!

Starting the Goodbyes

We have been so blessed by so many new friends and opportunities in Belize this time. Such a different experience than our last stay. We found ourselves in tears many times throughout the last few weeks.. we had made such fast and special friends. Some who were Christians, some not.. some who were still in the process of finding Christ and the new birth that he has to offer any person who is willing to surrender and place their faith in Him. We couldn't help feel that our time wasn't over in Belize..we were longing to stay. But our decision had been made and the Lord was making it clear that we were supposed to go. I wanted to put a few photos of some of our visitors and folks who came to say goodbye in order for our family to remember some of these sweet moments.

 

Second Rocket Stove for Succotz

With such a large family, we wanted to make the Succotz family a second rocket stove before our departure. They gratefully accepted the additional stove which greatly improved their outdoor kitchen and task of cooking for so many family members.. We really enjoy making these efficient stoves and were blessed to have left the molds and plans with a earnest Christian brother who intends to make and distribute more in the coming months..

 

Clay

 

Add Sawdust... and stir

 

Grady molds the mixture into the three molds

The molds consist of the fire box mold, combustion chamber and the skirt which holds the pan

 

Rocket stove curing..

 

 

 

filling in the cracks that occurred while drying

Special delivery! Ivan peers into the firebox

That'll do! The family was so grateful that their rusty tin roof on the outdoor kitchen was also able to be replaced, thanks to the left over materials from Big Maria's project.