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? ;-)

 

Cross Cultural Experiences

One thing that we love about Belize is the cross cultural experience that we enjoy from day to day. We have Mayan friends, Creole friends, German friends, deaf friends, Russian Mennonite friends, American friends, Canadian friends.. it is especially fun when we hold our weekly bible study where we have Russian Mennonites speaking in their lower German with one another on one side of the room.. and a Mennonite husband translating everything into Spanish for his Spanish speaking wife.. and then on the other side of the room is a friend who is interpreting in sign language for the deaf in attendance. Literally it is not unusual to have 4 different languages, sometimes five at one time! We love the exposure that our children are having to so many cultures and languages here.

On our anniversary (May 18th) Grady and I had a blessed time attending an Amish-type wedding in an old order community. I was good and did not bring my camera (they do not like having their photos taken!) But here are a few google images of some homes in the community. Very plain, with no electricity.. they rely on horse and buggy for transportation. Truly when we go to visit families within this community we feel as though we are in a Little House on the Prairie home. Not much has changed in this group's lifestyle for hundreds of years.

Horse & Buggy delivering a house!

 

 We have recently made friends with a family who once belonged to this specific church/community but no longer attend for various reasons. They do still live within the community and despite the recently installed solar panels and a few pull string light bulbs (instead of kerosene lanterns) they still live the old order lifestyle. It is amazing to spend time with them and watch how they work without electricity ( no refrigeration!) and none of the luxuries that I am certainly used to! They grow and raise 99% of their food. They can everything they grow and butcher and make all their clothing.. and possess hundreds of other amazing skills.

 

A few Sundays we have been able to join them in a Bible Study.

When the little girls get unruly during our Bible Study time the older children enjoy taking them  outside to roam around their lovely farm. On this particular day they got to take an oxen ride. Everyone (except for Grace who just *knew* they would flip over) had a great time!

Once in a while they are able to catch a ride into Spanish Lookout and come for a visit. Those have been very special days. Recently the lovely daughter in law and half of the family came to our house while she was in labor. We took her to the clinic when it was time and she delivered 15 minutes after our arrival! Praise the Lord! :-)

 

One day they asked if we could please travel with them to the beach. They had only been to a beach one other time, literally in their lives- even though they had lived in Belize, so close to such beautiful beaches! :-) It was a great day.. experiencing new things with them such as the boats and swimming in the ocean for the first time.

 

Their adult adopted son; who had been raised in the world, is personal friends with a couple who own a small resort at Hopkins Bay. He had contacted them to ask if we could use their beach, boats and gear for the day. They were so gracious to welcome us, free of charge.

 

Ryan, Grant and one of the sons get ready to head out~

 

Somethin' about watching your boys head out into the ocean with just 2 oars to help them along. Overprotective? Maybe. But that is our family culture and also as parents, our right! Right?! We get to overprotect until at least age 20! (right Mandy? ;-) )

Ok boys that looks like a good place to fish!

Uh hem! Out a bit far there boys, dontcha think? While they were out there a dolphin joined them!

We played in the sand with the girls, pretending we weren't worried about how far out the boys were. hee hee..

Gracie is not fearful of water any more and had a lovely time! Yay!

Sweet fellowship

P. tries his hand at Ryan's fishing pole.

Special Friends

This lovely boat appeared out of what seemed like no where!

Oh yay! Look whose back from the far distant horizon!

After the boys made it back to shore safely they took their turn with the surf boards

Rye, who did a lot of the rowing, cools off with a Ginger Fanta.. MMMM!

Catch-of-the-day! (Red Snapper I think?)

Time to head to the snack bar for some afternoon coffee and sodas!

 

There were some tired young folks on the way home! It is amazing how much being in the sun wears you out. And yes, two of our children, yea three were VERY burnt after this day! I wont tell you that the UV Ray alert was at a 10 from a scale of 1-10 and I will not mention that my three oldest children didn't use sunscreen ALL day!  It was just a few days of misery though.. and a lesson learned I guess!

 

We sure enjoy spending time with all of our sweet, truly multicultural friends here in Belize. We are so blessed that the Lord has allowed us to spend time in fellowship and in the Word hearing what Jesus has to say to us all. What a joy to have brothers and sisters in the Lord here.. from such varied cultures. It is one thing we LOVE about not only "Homeschooling " our children but rather "World Schooling" our children! :-) What a blessing.