Monday, Monday....

Another weekend of new experiences....

Saturday was quiet with some pool time, a little shopping for things to bring home and reading. The realtor brought someone else by to look at this place, and he seemed really interested. Today he came to stay in the upstairs apartment to check things out firsthand. I have been assured by the management company that even if he buys this place before June, he has to honor the previous rental agreement. I will not be sleeping out on the beach.

Yesterday was the monthly Family Worship service for Holy Cross. There was a larger crowd than the previous month. All the Standard VI students were there -- it is a requirement for their religion grade. Some visitors from the US also attended. Unfortunately, neither of the teachers who know how to set up the portable PA system came, so we had no sound system. We had to yell the liturgy and readings and even then I don't think most folks could hear what was said. God could hear us, though, I'm sure.

I came home from church -- about 3:30 -- with intentions of watching the Duke game, writing this post, and doing a variety of other things. The electricity, however, had gone off about 2:45 pm and didn't come back on until 8:15. It was a nation-wide outage, but it took longer to restore power out here on the island than in other parts of the country. Electricity in Belize comes from Mexico, and a "power arm" near Orange Walk had burned. It was a long, boring and dark evening. Thank goodness I had a flashlight. There have been outages at other times since I've been here, but they were all in daylight hours. I have now added candles to my list of things to bring back from home!

Today was the the day to renew my visa. I went this morning only to be told to return after 1:00 pm. The air conditioner had flooded the building over the weekend, and they were trying to dry out all sorts of documents and forms. I returned this afternoon and got everything taken care of. My visa is renewed for another 30 days, even though I will only be here for 3. Once I leave the country, it starts all over.

Only 3 days at Holy Cross for me this week since I'm going home on Thursday. They have moved the Thursday chapel services to Wednesday so that I can do the reflection/story time. We will quickly walk through the days of Holy Week. The children will be out of school during Holy Week, and after all our talk of Lent, we don't want to leave them hanging. There is a group of volunteers from Raleigh who will be here that week and will provide a Vacation Bible School in the mornings for any of the children who want to come. They will also conduct a Good Friday service at the school for teachers, families, etc. School will reopen on April 12. Everyone is looking forward to some time off. Just like in school at home, vacations come just when they are needed most.