BELIZE MISSION TRIP 2008

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The Belize 2008 team (consisting of Joanie Bold, Bert Eaton, Jackie Foster, Mike & Margaret Larson, Betty McGurn, Tom & Jean Stack, Terri Stillson and Ed Turner) left the church parking lot at 4:00 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 29th, to travel to Raleigh/Durham Airport to catch our 8: 45 flight to DFW for the first leg of our flight to Belize.  We flew from RDU to DFW to Belize.  We arrived in Ladyville, Belize around 3:30 Belize time (CST) after an uneventful flight, thanks be to God.  We picked up our bags, proceeded through Customs with only one bag of our medical supplies inspected, then exited the building and loaded everything into a van before riding to the Diocesan House in Belize City. 

Once we arrived at the House, we split up - women on one side and men on the other.  We readied ourselves for supper, and walked to Macy’s, a nearby restaurant, which served good local fare consisting of a meat (fish, chicken or beef), plus rice and beans and a veggie.  We had eaten there last year and Macy had introduced herself to us as a fellow Anglican and sure enough, we spoke to her again the next morning at St. John’s.

The next morning we picked up some fresh cantaloupe, watermelon, and pineapple from a fruit market, ate, and again loaded into a van for an hour and a half drive out of Belize City along the Northern Highway to the New River.  Here we unloaded, boarded a boat and began our riverboat trip to the Lamanai Mayan Ruin.  Our guide was very knowledgeable and pointed out many items of interest along the way. 

We saw all types of birds, three crocodiles - one about 12 feet long sunning himself, and a nest with a Great Stork in it about 200 yards away, beautiful trees, termite mounds, Mayan fisherman, and fields cultivated by the Mennonites.

  The Mennonites live in the “boonies” and basically stay to themselves keeping to their chosen lifestyle, going to town to purchase supplies occasionally and also producing the majority of chicken and pork in the country. 

We spent about an hour and a half at Lamanai touring the spectacular ruins, and we learned of various trees and medicinal plants and nuts; we also saw a group of howler monkeys in one of the tall trees, an iguana, and just missed seeing several toucans (the Belize national bird).  Although we heard their noisy calls, when we climbed a hill to where they were roosting in the trees, we inadvertently scared them away.  We had somewhat of a carnival type ride back as our guide/boat driver sped through the narrow waterways with abandon.  It was a great trip!

Sunday morning we arose bright and early to attend the 7:00 service at St. John’s Cathedral in Belize City, a two block stroll from where we were staying.  We were recognized as being visitors on our way to San Pedro to help with the Holy Cross Anglican School. 

St. John’s first service generally lasts about two hours - at the sign of peace I do believe every person in the church greeted one another.  After church, we breakfasted at the Mopan Hotel, which is a block from the Diocesan House.  Afterwards, we packed up and rode to the water taxi to take the 12:00 boat to San Pedro.  The boat trip lasted about 1 hour and 20 minutes with one stop at Caye Caulker. 

Francis and Vernon Wilson, who worked with the government and diocese to establish the school, met us at the pier, took charge of our 9 suitcase filled with school supplies and medicines, and scheduled a meeting to brief us regarding our impending week’s work.  We walked about 100 yards down the beach to our place of lodging, Ruby’s.   We settled into our rooms and then met Francis and Vernon on the first floor for a short meeting.  Once briefed, we ate dinner at the Jerk House and walked back, either to retire for the night or to explore the town.

Monday morning, we met at 6:45 and Father Bert led a short service.  At 7:00 we began our 30-minute walk to the school.  Once there, we marveled at the growth - last year there were about 120 students, now there are 450 students, 7 new classrooms, a principal’s office, a storage room and a Dental Clinic - we were seeing a miracle happen before our very eyes! 

We ate breakfast and then coordinated with Francis on what we would be doing.  We went our separate ways, had a fresh fruit snack around 10 and lunch around 12:30.  We normally worked till around 3 or so.  It was pretty warm for us, as we were used to North Carolina’s February weather, not Belize’s 85-degree February! 

After work, walking back to the hotel and cleaning up, we met at 5:30 for Compline, ate supper at one of the nearby restaurants, went shopping, etc.  Each day followed this pattern.  The morning and evening service/discussions led by Bert were insightful and thought provoking.  It was so interesting to listen to each other as we related our daily experiences and insights.   We spoke of the differences between this year and last year and discussed how God’s plans for our work differed from our preconceived ideas of what we would be doing. 

There were so many more children this year than last!  Some faces were familiar but we learned one little girl that we spent time with last year had left.  She had tuberculosis, parasites and several other medical problems in addition to some neglect/abuse issues and was living in extreme poverty (although many students are also impoverished) at home. 

In conferences with teachers, doctors and a governmental social worker, a joint decision was reached that she would not survive if she stayed in her present environment; she was placed in foster care on the mainland where she now lives with a family in the country.  Francis told us she was doing much better and her health was steadily improving.

Another difference was the presence of older children – last year   the school was only for kindergarten through second grade students – this year students through the eighth grade were represented.  Also, the children did not seem as starved for attention as they were last year.  We discussed this and someone pointed out that this was how it should be – it’s one sign that the work being done by Frances and Vernon, the teachers and the volunteers is a success.

Throughout the week we worked in the classrooms, including the Special Education children (whose teacher had quit the week before), washed hundreds of dishes, built a storage closet for art supplies, hung blinds provided by Dr. Alex Willis for the dental clinic, installed toe kicks on several stairs, sorted supplies in the office and storage rooms and taught tooth flossing to the children, courtesy of Betty McGurn. 

Bert spent long, long hours teaching a Confirmation class and working with Deacon Tess (on sabbatical from Canada).  We purchased an electric can opener for Rosalea and her kitchen staff, plus hinges and a hasp for the newly constructed closet and drill bits to replace several that we broke – ironwood does not take kindly to drill bits or nails.

On Friday, our last day, Father Bert along with Deacon Tess conducted a wonderful beach side service for the confirmation students.  After the service, we finished up the work we had been doing, said our goodbyes and left the school with a very warm glow in our hearts and our spirits soaring. 

That night we met Vernon (Francis was under the weather) at the Sunset Grill on the West side of the island for dinner.  A fantastic rain and windstorm engulfed the area delaying our meal for about an hour.  It was actually a very neat experience with spectacular lightning flashes all over – we used the tablecloths for shawls against the driving rain as we huddled in the center of the restaurant.  That was definitely our most unforgettable dinner in Belize!  

The next morning we took the 8:00 water taxi back to Belize City.  After unloading at the Diocesan House, six of us went cave tubing and the other four toured the area and/or rested.  We had a nice supper at a small local establishment, which stayed open just for us.  It was local fare again and was very good – the desserts included coconut and lemon pies and rice pudding. 

The next morning we arose, ate breakfast and went to the airport the requisite two hours before international flight departure only to discover that our 11:45 departure time was now estimated to be 4:45 p.m., due to fog.  Needless to say, we had a long stay in the airport.  We all flew to Miami, by which time our connecting flight had gone so we stayed overnight in Miami courtesy of American Airlines.  We were eventually split into three groups to travel home at different times because of other weather-delayed flights.

In the end we all made it home safely with only a small baggage problem which was fixed the next day.  In summary, we realized the joy and adventure of doing God’s work - in working hard, meeting old familiar faces, making new friends and arriving back home to family and friends.  Hallelujah.

The school has a web site at  www.holycrossbelize.org.  Check it out!!!