Jan's Belize blog

It's Time to Go...

2010-06-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

For some reason, all sorts of song lyrics are running through my head: "My bags are packed; I'm ready to go....leaving on a jet plane...." and "Thanks for the Memories of things I can't forget..." and "I'm so glad we had this time together...."

My bags are packed -- packed and stuffed and probably overweight. I thought I'd be taking home less than I brought here but apparently not. I've just got a few goodies that I have grown accustomed to here.

Today was a very emotional day. I knew it would not be easy to say goodbye to all my new friends at Holy Cross, and I was right. Things were pretty quiet in the office, and I finished all the things on my "to do" list by mid-morning. The plan was that we were having the Teacher Appreciation luncheon that the volunteer group from Texas has planned two weeks ago. All their food and teacher gifts finally arrived on Saturday. We set the porch up with one long table, and in spite of the blistering heat, we had a fun and festive lunch. Mrs. Rosalia and her kitchen crew prepared delicious marinated chicken, mashed potatoes and green salad. We had Ms. Jamira's and Ms. Alexia's birthday cake for dessert. That was the easy part.

Then it got hard..... once we had about finished eating, the teachers came to me one by one with cards they and their children had made for me. Each one of them said something very sweet and gave me a big hug. Needless to say, I teared up with the first one. I have beautiful cards with sweet sentiments and a gorgeous carved tucan that are now treasures. I have them tucked in my carry-on bag for safe ,and so I can read each one of them tomorrow as I fly toward home.

After lunch, they moved the tables in the cafeteria, and the dancing began!!! It was so hot that I could only fan myself and watch! After awhile, I gathered my things and slipped away. I just couldn't say goodbyes again.

I have some great pictures of the event and will post them later, but for now the cable for my camera is packed.

I have so much to think about and process as I reflect on these 5 months. It's been amazing, but now it's time to go home. I thank God for calling me to this ministry. I thank every one of you who have supported me with emails, cards, comments on the blog, financial support, prayers and encouragement. I have loved having you walk with me on this journey. When I can put my thoughts into coherent language, I will share it with you. I look forward to thanking you in person. And...anytime you want to look at my 600+ photos, I'll be happy to show you. One more request -- when you've heard too much of "when I was in Belize...", tell me to hush. I'll try to honor that.

Tomorrow will be a long day with 3 flights, long layovers and a late night arrival. I think it will feel good to be home. Peace and blessings.

Graduation 2010

2010-06-20T20:21:00.001-07:00

What a grand and glorious day it was!!! Thirty-five boys and girls graduated from Holy Cross Anglican School today. The graduates, who wore their school uniforms, looked so pretty and handsome. The auditorium at the high school was beautifully decorated by Ms. Zulma and her committee. There was an arch of black and gold balloons for the graduates to walk under as they processed into the auditorium. Ms. James served as the Mistress of Ceremonies and kept everything running smoothly. Mrs. Carol Babb, former General Manager of the Anglican Schools and now Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Education, was the guest speaker. Mrs. Grace and Mrs. Francis also gave brief remarks. Rosa Lopez gave the traditional Valedictorian's speech. I was asked to give the invocation and the benediction -- a very special honor for me. There were songs, dances and poems by the children in the other grades. Prizes -- backpacks full of school supplies -- were given to the children with the first and second highest grades in each class.

Every school has its graduation traditions and at Holy Cross the Standard V students sing "There is a Candle". The Valedictorian brings in the torch. The members of the graduating class pass it from one to the next and finally to a representative from Standard V who carries it out of the auditorium. Very symbolic and moving.

Of the 35 graduates, 27 have scholarships for high school. If any of the others decide to go on to high school later, funds will be available for them as well. Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Kingwood, Texas, raised the money for 25 of those scholarships and had representatives there today to present them. Amazing opportunities for education and success are being provided to children who otherwise would not be able to go on in school. Imagine in the United States if kids were told at the end of 8th grade that, because their families couldn't pay $500 a year, they would not be allowed to go to high school. We have so many opportunities that we take for granted.

As a special treat for all the children and their families, the group from Texas had ordered 500 cupcakes. They were devoured at the close of the ceremony.

I will try to include a representative sample of pictures from this fantastic day.

Adios St. Luke's and Lobster Fest

2010-06-19T20:04:00.001-07:00

The St. Luke's youth pilgrims left this morning on the water taxi for Belize City. I went to see them off. They have some more stops on their pilgrimage before going home Sunday. It has been wonderful having them here. They did good work at Holy Cross and made a difference to many children.

Today I tried to start packing to go home. I've pulled everything out and put it in piles. Most of the clothes are in the suitcases. I still have a few non-clothing items to wrap carefully and squeeze in between the layers of clothes. I think I've done about all I can until closer to departure time. It will be a tight fit to get everything stuffed in.

Tonight was the big final night of Lobster Fest 2010 in San Pedro.

There have been festivities at various resorts during the week, but tonight was the big block party at Central Park for everyone. There were zillions of people there, and every restaurant in town had a booth selling all kinds of things made with lobster. Sunset Grille even made lobster ice cream and lobster flan. No thanks. I had a wonderful broiled lobster tail with a tasty sauce, rice and beans and cole slaw. It was beginning to sprinkle so I brought my dinner home to eat. Yum. I watched the fire dancer, listened to some of the music and watched the judges begin to taste the dishes entered in the cooking contest. I'm sure the party is still going on. Not only was there every kind of lobster dish, there was every kind of beverage for sale as well.

Tomorrow is graduation at Holy Cross so it will be a busy day. The rented chairs are to be delivered at 9:00 am, and the decorating committee will be there then too. It should be a great day. Details and pictures to follow.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.

I want you to meet Isolene

2010-06-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce you to Isolene Bailey, one of the students who will graduate June 20 from Holy Cross Anglican School.

She has been a student at Holy Cross since shortly after the school opened and is an excellent, hard-working student. When I was here on previous mission trips, we spent some time together. This year when I helped in the Standard VI class preparing them for the math part of their PSE, we got reacquainted. Later she was in my Confirmation class and was one of the most dedicated, sincere members of the group. We really drew closer during that time. She would come and talk with me during break time or ask me questions or we would walk home together.

at her Confirmation

Isolene's mother left San Pedro two years ago to go live on the mainland. Isolene has lived with her older sister, then her cousin, and recently with her grandmother during that time. When the Standard VI students began making their applications to high school, she told us that she was moving to Belmopan where she would live with her mother and go to high school. At first she seemed happy with that plan, but about a week ago came to see me with a very sad face, wanting to talk. She wanted to go to high school with her friends; she didn't want to leave San Pedro; and most of all, she didn't want to go and live with her mother. The more she talked, the worse I learned the situation there is. To make a long story a little shorter, Mrs. Grace helped convince Isolene's mother that she would be giving her daughter the best opportunity for success if she allowed her to stay in San Pedro for high school. Isolene's father and step-mother were willing to have her come and live with them, but the mother was opposed to that idea. In Belize, biological mothers have rights that trump anyone else's whether that's really a good thing or not. Isolene's mother would consent to her staying here only if she could live with Mrs. Joy, the Standard VI teacher. Thanks be to God, Mrs. Joy is a generous lady who has taken in kids in the past, loves Isolene, and was agreeable to having her live with her family. The San Pedro High School principal accepted Isolene for next year's class on the spot because of her good grades and high recommendations from Mrs. Grace. Everything has fallen into place, and Isolene is smiling brightly again.

I am smiling too because I will have the joy of being Isolene's sponsor as she attends high school. My small contribution will pay her tuition, school fees and uniform costs. We will stay in touch through letters and email, and I will get updates on her grades each term. Last Friday was her 13th birthday and the day I could share with her our new relationship. We are both very happy. We've spent a good bit of time together, working through the tough situation. I have introduced her to the St. Luke's youth group, and they have fallen in love with her. ("Why can't she come to Durham and go to school there and come to St. Luke's?") They will join me in wishing her well in high school and encouraging her through school. Isolene loves to read, and Monday we are going to the San Pedro library to get her a library card so she can do lots of reading this summer.

God has brought this beautiful girl into my life. He was at work in all that had to be done and decided so that she could live in a safe and caring home. We ask God's loving help and guidance for Isolene as she begins a new phase of her life. It is such a blessing to know her, and I will be anxious to come back to San Pedro to see her the next time.

My last Friday...

2010-06-18T18:02:00.001-07:00

This has been the week of "lasts" as my time here in San Pedro and at Holy Cross is coming to an end. Only 4 more days....

It's been a great week because the St.Luke's youth volunteers have brightened the school with their energy and exuberance. They have willingly taken on any task given them and somehow managed to turn even menial jobs like scrubbing mildew off of walls into something fun. I would invite you to their blog -- stlukesinbelize.blogspot.com - for details of their pilgrimage and some great pictures. I will send them off on the water taxi tomorrow morning.

Yesterday was my last chapel day. Thursday has become my favorite day because with the 3 chapel services, I get to see every child at Holy Cross on Thursday. Yesterday Joe, the priest and St. Luke's youth team leader, talked and reflected with the children on the goodness of God's creation and what we who have been charge over it can do to better care for it. With the oldest group, we even talked a little about the Gulf oil spill. The youth sang with the children some old favorites that everyone knew, and then taught the St. Luke's favorite "Pharoah, Pharoah". A huge hit even with the kitchen ladies! As the children were filing out going back to class, a little boy I haven't ever seen before hugged me and said, "I'm really going to miss you." Yep, it's going to be hard to go.

Francis has been back for the last few days with lists of things that must be done in order for school to function next year. That in addition to graduation preparations has made for some frantic times. It appears all is ready for Sunday's big event when 35 students will graduate.

One of the highlights of their week for the youth group has been the time they have spent with the children. They have been in the classrooms reading, playing games and singing. They especially fell in love with the Infant division. Today they went with me to all 5 of the Infant classes to distribute books to the children. A retired children's author, Jane Moncure, who now lives in Burlington, NC, donated a huge stack of her books. She specifically asked that they be given to children to take home and keep, rather than being put on a shelf in a classroom. The children were thrilled to have their very own book to keep forever! The teenagers read the books with the children and encouraged the little ones to read their book over and over again during summer vacation. The pictures will speak for themselves.

Today we learned that on the national PSE exam, in the Belize district of the country which includes all the big, well-established Anglican schools in Belize City and surrounding areas, the Holy Cross Standard VI children had the second highest combined scores of all the Anglican schools!!! This is really fabulous for a school that is only 4 years old and has only had a Standard VI class for the last 3. We rejoice and celebrate!!

This has been a great week. I am excited about graduation and the bright future of these children. I ask your continued prayers and support for them.

Busy kid, happy kids

2010-06-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

The St. Luke's youth pilgrims are now fully immersed in Holy Cross. They have scrubbed exterior walls and are putting a fresh coat on paint on those walls. They have administered exams individually to several Infant I students. They have read with and to other younger students. They have helped me with graduation preparations. They have played games and organized rope jumping. They have exchanged big smiles, high 5's and hugs with many children. They are making a difference at Holy Cross, and I'm pretty confident Holy Cross is making a difference in them. They are experiencing moments of grace and witnessing the Holy Spirit at work in many and various ways.

Last night I joined the group at their place, The Tides. They are staying in the house at The Tides -- the girls are upstairs where there are 3 bedrooms, a bath, a large living room and kitchen. The guys are downstairs with 2 bedrooms, a bath and a smaller living room and kitchen. We had made arrangements for the husband of one of the Holy Cross teachers to cook a Belizean dinner for them. Kenny is a professional chef. He took some of the group on quite a shopping expedition yesterday to get the freshest ingredients (including snapper that was caught the evening before) and the best prices. His dinner of fish baked with peppers, onions and tomatoes, coconut rice and mango/banana smoothies was delicious! We all enjoyed every taste of it.

Tonight the group came to my aparment for supper. I had done most of the cooking on Sunday afternoon so it would easy to have it ready when they came. I too tried to give them an authentic Belizean meal, so I made stewed chicken, rice and beans, fried plantains and fresh mango and papaya. It must have all turned out OK, because there were NO leftovers!! I have to admit that the big hit of the evening seemed to be the strawberry drink --- it's sort of like Kool-aid, comes in a packet and is mixed with water. We even had to send to the store for more. It was fun having them here.

It was also enriching to participate in their devotional time. They will be snorkeling tomorrow and were asked to open all their senses to the majesty of the sea and the reef. To do more than look -- to smell and hear and feel the new things they will encounter. As a friend of mine said recently, "Some of God's most beautiful handiwork is beneath the surface." I'm sure they will have a great time tomorrow.

No pictures from tonight's dinner -- we were just too busy enjoying each other's company. I am borrowing this picture from the youth blog. They were up to see the sun rise this morning, but I was not. I definitely missed something.

St. Luke's Youth Have Arrived

2010-06-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Right on time on the 3:00 water taxi, the St.Luke's youth mission team arrived in San Pedro. They had smooth travel and were very excited to be here. They were a wonderful and welcome sight as they stepped off that boat!

The kids were real troopers as we lugged and dragged suitcases up the beach to The Tides. They checked in, and then we went on to Holy Cross to drop off the suitcases of donations. MANY thanks to all of you who responded to our call for much needed shoes, school supplies, and other items (balloons and ribbon for graduation!). Without suitcases like those, the school could not continue to meet the needs of its students.

I joined the kids, Joe and Amy for a fun dinner at Carumba's. I caught up on some of the "news" and enjoyed once again the sound of their laughter. They were snapping pictures -- of the food, of each other, of the street -- left and right so their blog entries should be full of great visuals for their readers. We finished off the evening with the world's best ice cream at DandE's. They now know one of my favorite spots on the island!

Since they met at RDU at 5:00 a.m., most of the kids were weary and ready to try out their new beds. They had to be on the dock at 7:00 this morning for a day trip to Lamanai. I will join them this evening for worship. It's been a long time since I worshipped with St. Luker's -- since the adult team left in early February!

Today is cooking day for me. The group is coming here for dinner on Tuesday night, and I wanted to prepare some true Belizean fare. I am fixing stewed chicken, rice and beans (no meal is complete without it), and fresh fruit. This is the peak of mango and papaya season, so we can have some sweet treats. I decided to cook today for a couple of reasons: after a day at school, there wouldn't be time to prepare everthing for dinner by the time everyone arrived. More importantly, if this meal is a flop, I have time to try Plan B! Stay tuned.

Have a good week. This will be my last full week at Holy Cross. Having the group from St. Luke's here this week is turning out to be a great way to ease back into life in Durham.

Another week comes to a close

2010-06-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's not that things haven't been happening around here and thus no new posts. No, it's that things have been very busy. This week saw the end - finally - of exams and the beginning of graduation preparations. Part of my job has been assembling prizes for the top students in each class. We pack a brand new backpack with school supplies and a treat or two for the #1 and #2 student in each class and for the top 3 students in Standard VI. So while I was putting away all the wonderful donations that this week's volunteers brought, I was gathering pencils, notebooks, sharpeners and crayons for the prizes. On Monday, I will let some of the St. Luke's kids put them in the bags and get them all ready.

This week's volunteer team was from All Saints Episcopal Church in Ft. Worth, Texas. They were a big group, but only half of them worked here at Holy Cross. The other half were volunteering at the PolyClinic in town. They really made progress on the new bathroom building.

The teenagers in the group did a number of activities with the children. They presented a puppet show and then let the children make their own puppets out of brown lunch bags. They did a story and game about kites with another class, and the children made their own little kites. A great blend of learning and fun as well as getting to know the children.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival tomorrow afternoon of the pilgrims from St. Luke's. I will meet them at the water taxi. We'll take their donation suitcases to the school, and then get them settled at The Tides. I know they will have a grand week.

San Pedro high school has graduation tomorrow, and last night was their prom. One of the graduates obviously travelled in style. A San Pedro limo.....

Today I walked with Standard VI to the Lion's Den in town for an exhibit by the Belize Archives Department. There were photos and displays about many aspects of the history of Belize - the chicle industry, transportation, slavery, early buildings and a little of the history of San Pedro. It was well done and included some great pictures and information. The kids worked in small groups that each had to find information about one certain area. I definitely learned a lot about several aspects of Belize, and I think the children did too. Several of the boys managed to sneak a peak at the Mexico vs South Africa World Cup game on a tiny TV nearby. The conversation was lively on the walk back to Holy Cross.

Have a great weekend!

Why My Time Here Goes So Fast

2010-06-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

Last week zoomed by and now it's Saturday already. Not only that, but we are 5 days into June! Let me see if I can figure out why the week zipped by so quickly....

We had a team of 32 volunteers at Holy Cross from Amarillo, Texas. They were GREAT, but there was a whole lot of them to keep busy. They were from a Baptist church. They did an "event" in Central Park with face painting, balloons and Bibles for children and adults. In addition, the youth raised $9000 within their church and purchased Bibles for every child at Holy Cross!!!!!! The Bibles didn't get here (remember shipping is a challenge) before the group left, but as soon as they do, we will distribute them. What a great gift.

Reregistration for the 2010-2011 school year continued which meant a steady stream of parents into the office. There will be very little room at Holy Cross next year for new students other than in Infant I. Once children come, they stay. The Ministry has capped the number of children who can be in each class which really is a good thing in terms of instruction, but not in terms of the number of children being turned away.

Letters went out to parents of children who teachers/administrators think might be better served at another school, and they came in to talk about it. Some of the ring-leader trouble-makers are on the list (if you've been here, you probably could name them) as well as kids who are beyond the 14-year-old compulsory education age and continue to fail.

Two children - one on Wednesday, the other on Thursday - split their foreheads open and had to be rushed off the doctor for stitches. Not my finest moment....

Francis decided all the bulletin boards in the school needed to be "refreshed". I took them all down and today she is putting up new ones. I truly dislike doing bulletin boards and have never been very good at it. Thank goodness for Hill's policy on that!!

The PSE scores for Standard VI came back -- 30 out of 37 children passed!!! Yippee!! Twenty-five students are being recommended for scholarships to high school. A few are moving out of the San Pedro area and will also continue their education in high school. It's a very high percentage for Anglican schools and for Belize.

Exams that were supposed to come from the Education Office in Belize City arrived 2 days late, and only 1 copy of each test was sent. We had to duplicate them for the children. It's a very slow process without a photocopy machine -- documents have to be scanned and then printed on the office computer printer. I almost wished for a ditto or mimeograph machine.

A transformer blew out on Wednesday on the street right behind my apartment. It wasn't fully replaced until late Thursday afternoon which meant no lights, fans, AC or water. In addition, I lost whatever was in my freezer and most of what was in my fridge. Ugh.

Friday was the Spring Fair at the school. It's a fund raiser, and, like the Valentine's fair, was fun but chaotic. The fun and games were supposed to last from 9-2 but most "booths" were out of food or prizes by noon. The money will probably go for more sand. There is a donated swing set on its way here, and the sand is needed so there's a place to put it.

My visa had to be renewed -- for the final time -- on Friday.

Another volunteer group of 20+ arrived yesterday, ready to work --- TODAY. This morning, we did tours, orientation and sorted their donated supplies. Enough til Monday.

I think that about covers the week. Construction continues on the new bathroom building. The latest picture is below.

I still can't explain it, but I know there will be something like 22 new toilets when it's finished.

Have a good weekend and a nice week. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival next weekend of the St. Luke's youth. It will be good for me to have a little taste of home, as well as acquainting them with Holy Cross and Belize.

A Joyous Day

2010-05-31T18:33:00.000-07:00

Holy Cross was honored by a visit from the Rt. Rev. Philip Wright on Sunday, May 30th. Bishop Wright came to celebrate the Eucharist and to baptize and confirm members of our school community. The service was held at the Angel Nunez Auditorium at San Pedro High School. Eleven children were baptized, and nine students were confirmed and made their First Communion. This was the first confirmation class at Holy Cross. I was very blessed to lead them and help prepare them for this exciting step. We rejoice with the children and their families.

Bishop Wright presented copies of the New Testament to each family who had a child baptized. In addition he gave Study Bibles and wooden crosses to each student who was confirmed.

I am so greatful to the school staff who prepared the auditorium and helped in many ways to make the service beautiful. While we had a couple of hard rain showers during the service, the spirits of the children were not effected. Truly the Holy Spirit was in that place.

Episcopal Relief and Development Conference

2010-05-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Episcopal Relief and Development diocesan coordinators from all over the US held their annual network meeting in Belize. This is the first time they have ever met outside of the US, but they wanted to see first-hand some of the projects supported by ERD. When I first learned they would be here in Belize, I invited our Diocese of North Carolina coordinator to come to Holy Cross. He accepted that invitation by getting me an invitation to attend the conference. We were delighted to have Reid Joyner, the Diocesan Coordinator for NC, visit Holy Cross on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. He observed some classes, attended chapel services and met many of the children. We flew together to Belize City on Thursday afternoon. Our 15 minute flight was quite interesting as an attractive young woman was sitting in the co-pilot's seat (it's not unusual for someone to travel in that seat). She flirted and jabbered with him the entire flight, even showing him pictures on her digital camera! From where I was sitting, he was trying very hard to ignore her. We did arrive safely so I guess he was able to focus on the right things while we were airborne.

The conference was very well planned, and the agenda was packed. The weekend began with Eucharist at St. John's Cathedral, the oldest Anglican building in Central America. The Bishop of the Diocese of Belize celebrated, and the Bishop of the Diocese of Colorado and the ERD Board was the preacher. I love that cathedral and was so happy to worship there once again.

On Friday morning we boarded buses and left Belize City to visit some of the Anglican schools. One project of ERD is the HIV/AIDS curriculum in the Anglican schools. It's a serious problem here, and ERD is hoping to save lives through education. My group travelled first to Flower's Bank, a very small rural community. St. Stephens School has only 3 classrooms and 3 teachers. One teacher is also the principal, and another is the lay minister to the church community there. The school was bright and cheery; the children had prepared a special dance to welcome us; and we were welcomed into their classrooms to observe a lesson on HIV/AIDS. Sadly this school has only a poorly constructed outhouse and no clean drinking water. There are plans and some donations toward improving this but not until next school year.

Our next stop was All Saints School in Belize City which is a stark contrast to Flower's Bank. The school is quite large; we visited the 9 classes of Standard IV-VI. They too were having lessons on HIV/AIDS prevention. They will also be participating in ERD's school garden program. The beds are ready to be planted. Back at the hotel, there were sessions on various program aspects of ERD -- the Nets for Life campaign, Disaster Preparedness in the US, and ERD's work with disaster recovery particularly now in Haiti. We were priveleged to hear a moving presentation about the earthquake in Haiti and its aftermath, given by an Episcopal priest who is native of Haiti, was in the midst of the quake itself, and now is helping his Haitian brothers and sisters rebuild.

On Saturday, our focus was on small business owners who have been recipients of ERD's micro-loan program - the Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology. We first visited Mr. Alan Jones who is a very talented woodcarver. As a side, he is also the Justice of the Peace for the Lucky Strike community.

From there, we went way down a very narrow dirt road (in a chartered bus) to the farm belonging to Ms. Julia Gonzalez, the Female Farmer of 2010 for Belize. She has a lovely greenhouse full of bell peppers as well as small fields of tomatoes, onions and melons. Her home has no electricity -- the power poles end a few hundred yards before her property and the lines don't stretch to the end of the poles. Our next stop was at Altun Ha, the Mayan ruins. Ms. Lorie Wallace runs one of the on-site gift shops. We did some souvenir shopping, sampled cashew wine (ugh), and had lunch at the foot of one of the temples. On the way back to Belize City, we stopped at Ms. Cherrymae Galvez's roadside grocery store and fast food establishment. St.Luker's -- we have passed this store many times; you would recognize it. And now I know she was able to start this business with the help of ERD. The conference concluded with a banquet Saturday night featuring entertainment by school children from the area, from tiny preschoolers to talented dancers from St. John's College. I am so greatful for this wonderful opportunity to meet ERD coordinators from 67 dioceses in the US, to learn so much about the work of ERD, to see new places, and to learn about successful business women and men.

Unexpected Visitor

2010-05-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

Monday afternoon I came home from an errand to find this creature on my porch. He was pretty skittish and moved very quickly. It was hard to tell which of us was more frightening to the other! I was determined to get some pictures, and he (she?) was determined to get away.

From the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail, I would estimate it was about 3 feet long. When I asked what this type of iguana was called, and the answer I got was "green iguana". I did learn that if you can catch one, they make good eating. I think I will pass on that local delicacy.

I'm going to Belize City tomorrow to the Episcopal Relief and Development Coordinator's Conference. We will visit school and agricultural projects on the mainland that are supported by ERD. Our diocese of NC coordinator came to Holy Cross today to visit. I'm looking forward to seeing new places and learning about new projects in Belize. I might also see some of the school projects that St. Luke's worked on those first years we brought mission teams to Belize.

Sunday is our worship service with baptism and confirmation. Please pray for those who will be baptized or confirmed.

Slow Sunday

2010-05-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

After a very busy week, it's nice to have a quiet Sunday. Once the rain ended on Wednesday, we had bright, sunny, HOT days for the rest of the week. On Friday, the power was turned off to most of the school as some of the main wiring had to be replaced. The only place of refuge was the computer lab where the AC was blasting.

On Friday, Holy Cross bid farewell to the team of 10 student teachers from Vancouver Island University. They had been in the classrooms working side-by-side with Holy Cross teachers for 5 weeks; it was hard to say good-bye. Each class had a gift and celebration for their volunteer. There were laughs and hugs and tears all around. As I watched a tearful goodbye in Standard IV, I couldn't help but think ahead to the end of June when I have to say goodbye to Holy Cross and all the wonderful people here. Nope, not thinking of that right now, Scarlet.....

Friday night was another faculty dinner/social at the school. It was a final opportunity to honor the student teachers and have one more dinner and some dancing. We had a delicious dinner of baked chicken, mashed potatoes and green salad. Mr. Zetina was the DJ for the dancing with plenty of punta and salsa music.

Another local color story -- yesterday as I was walking to the market, this crab was crossing the street in front of the police station. I guess he came from the lagoon which is not too far away. He was a big one -- tip to tip about the size of a dinner plate!

He was scuttling across the street, somehow being missed by bikes and golf carts. When he saw me, he scuttled faster to the side of the road where he ran into a light pole. He seemed OK although I didn't really get too close to check on him. His claws looked like they could inflict pain.

Today is a stay at home and read a good book day. It is raining again. The rain comes very suddenly and very hard; then it stops just as quickly and the sun comes out. Then the cycle starts again. I took a short walk this morning during a dry spell but could tell more rain was moving in quickly. It is very cool when it rains which is nice.

Tomorrow is a national holiday -- Commonwealth Day, aka Queen Elizabeth's birthday. Offices, many businesses and the schools will be closed. I am trying to find out if there are any "festivities" planned. Probably not out here on the island but in Belize City there might be.

What a wonderful treat -- Ms. Laura, one of the Holy Cross teachers, cooked escabeche which is a Belizean onion soup with chicken. It is very different from our French onion soup. She sent her husband over with some for my dinner! Yum. Escabeche is tangy - one ingredient is either vinegar or sour orange - and it is jalapeno hot. She sent extra jalapenos on the side in case I needed more. Not me. There were also homemade tortillas. It was excellent, and I will finish the rest for supper.

Water, water everywhere....

2010-05-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

This morning was only the beginning of the rain! It has poured all day, in fact, the record was broken for the most rain in one day in San Pedro. So far, we have had 11" since midnight and 8 1/2 inches of that came between noon and 1:30!!!!!!! Everything is flooded. The rain had almost slacked off when I made a dash for it and walked home from school. I saw a lot of beach erosion, and some homes and business on the beach have water in them. Golf carts and bicycles couldn't move through the high water. It was easy to see where the swift run-off had come through at the height of the showers. While it isn't officially a tropical storm, it has really seemed hurricane-like in that the rain has come in bands. Just when you think it's safe to run to the cafeteria or to town to the post office, another pounding starts again (I speak from experience...).

We had so many children out of school today, and that will most likely continue tomorrow (a Belizean snow day). Many stay home if it is raining when it's time to come to school because they will get so wet on their walk. The ones who came today will not have dry uniforms or shoes to wear tomorrow. While I did get pretty soaked coming home, I knew I would have a dry place once I got here. I can't imagine what it must be like in San Mateo when it rains like this.

I will leave you with the soggy view of the school and part of my path home....

lapping at the steps the office

Rain, rain, rain....

2010-05-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

This is Day 3 of rain! They say the rainy season doesn't come until June, but you sure could fool me this week. No thunder and lightening, just rain. It begins in the wee early hours of the morning and lasts til about midday. It's cool and smells good, but it really makes getting around more difficult. There are giant puddles everywhere on the streets and in yards, and the mud is very slippery. I have taken a taxi to the bridge each morning in an effort to stay dry for as much of my "commute" as possible. Many of the children do not come to school when it is raining, so attendance is very low this week. We know the cisterns and tanks are being filled so there will be plenty of water for household use. Good thing as there will be lots of laundry to do to get the mud out of everyone's clothes!

Speaking of water -- another interesting only-in-San-Pedro story. A large iguana fell into the Holy Cross water tank last week and drowned. Who knew iguanas couldn't swim? Anyway in an effort to clean the water and get rid of any lingering iguana-ness, Mr. Freddy poured 6 GALLONS of Clorox into the tank. Whew! Whenever someone turns on the faucet in the office, it smells like a swimming pool. I always drink only bottled water when I'm down here, and this episode has convinced me of my wisdom.

An Opportunity for Holy Cross

2010-05-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Please see the letter below from Francis Wilson, founder of Holy Cross School. This is a great opportunity to see donations do even more good work for the children. The school bank account is currently at an all-time low, and we are worried about whether the feeding program can continue. If the children are sent home for lunch, many problems will be created -- the risk to the children who walk several miles to and from school, some who won't return for the afternoon classes, 6 wonderful women who will be out jobs, and most importantly, hungry children. If you have ever considered contributing to Holy Cross, please consider it now while these matching funds are available. Everyone loves a bargain and 2-for-1 dollars is indeed a bargain!!

Dear Friends, I am very excited about the following Corporate Matching Donation Program!! Please, please, please read and respond to this incredible opportunity. The children of Holy Cross are counting on YOU!! Many thanks and blessings, Francis
Holy Cross Education Foundation
Summer 2010 Corporate Donation Matching Program

Amount designated for Corporate Match - $15,000.00 USD

Program – The matching program will give an equal amount of a donation that is identified by the donor as a "Matching Donation" up to $15,000.00.

Purpose - Raise $30,000 to sustain Holy Cross Anglican School

Term - The program is for donations made between May 10, 2010 and September 30, 2010

How it works - Any donation sent to the Holy Cross Education Foundation by credit card or check that is identified by the donor as a “Summer 2010 Match Donation”will enable the Foundation to receive an equal amount from the Corporate Match program. All money will be given to Holy Cross to cover the school’s operating and construction expenses.

Donors to the Corporate Match Program - Two Minnesota based corporations who have asked to remain anonymous. They have requested anonymity as they want to avoid being solicited by other groups.
The children of Holy Cross Anglican School are counting on YOU to ensure that their Feeding Program continues! PLEASE make a donation NOW while your dollars will be doubled - wow!!! Holy Cross needs every penny of that potential $30,000 to remain the state-of-the art educational facility you helped to create. Without your support, we cannot be supportive of our children who are hungry, in need of uniforms, shoes, school supplies or sick. Please don't let us down. Tax deductible contributions can be sent to:
Holy Cross Education Foundation
7550 Corporate Way
Eden Prairie, MN 55344Contact the Chair of the Foundation Board: Brian Ostenso at bostenso@aol.com
Support Holy Cross Anglican School in San Pedro www.holycrossbelize.org

Education Week

2010-05-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

May 10-14 was Education Week in Belize. On Monday, all teachers on Ambergris attended an ecumenical worship service at the Lion's Den. In each region of Belize, similar services were held at the same time. I was honored to be asked to give the opening prayer. This is the first time a service like this has been held out here on the island. Some of our teachers have gone to Belize City in years past. It was great to see Ms. Sharon and Ms. Monica, former Holy Cross teachers.

Thursday night the Town Board sponsored another event for all teachers on the island -- a dinner at the Lion's Den. Each teacher was given a tee-shirt which we wore to the party. There were free rum drinks and Belikin beer, a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings, live music, dancing and drawings for prizes donated by local merchants. All the Holy Cross teachers and student teachers sat together and had a great time. Several of the teachers won prizes in the drawing (not me). There was also a ladies' game of musical chairs -- one of our teachers won. When the men had their round, it turned into "full contact" musical chairs. One of our teachers won 2nd place. There was a huge pinata, and Deacon Jan was Holy Cross's representative to swing the stick at it. It was a small stick and a large pinata. I think I wounded it but didn't strike the cracking blow. The scramble on the floor for its contents was pretty wild.

Today the schools were all out for Teacher Appreciation Day. (Pay close attention to this part, Hill Center friends). At 9:00 this morning, all the teachers and administrators -- and this lucky chaplain -- boarded a Coastal Express boat and headed north to a resort known as Tranquility Bay. The place totally lives up to its name! This is the most beautiful stretch of beach in Belize, and it is where the island meets the reef. You can almost see Mexico from there.

Most of us just lounged on the beach, but some went out in kayaks. We took snorkeling equipment, but the current was so strong that it was very difficult. Some of us walked all the way to the end of the island in search of a good spot to snorkel, but it was low tide and there was no water! We found some awesome shells, though. The restaurant, The Tackle Box, was built by the original owners of the Tackle Box in San Pedro and looks very much like it. The food and drinks were wonderful. One of the men came and cut down coconuts for us to drink the water and eat the coconut meat. Mmmm....

It was a great day. We laughed so much and really had fun together. It has been wonderful to me to be included in the activities and celebrations all week. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

I hope all you mothers had a very nice Mother's Day. I certainly did. This morning I went to the pool for awhile. It was very hot, even the water wasn't refreshing. I cleaned up, did a few things around the apartment, and then treated myself to lunch at the Blue Water Grill.

I had a really yummy salad and enjoyed a great view of the beach and the water.

I topped lunch off with ice cream from Manelly's and even tried a new flavor.

In the course of the day, I talked with both of my sons and my mother. I had some beautiful cards and have been told to look for more in the mail. Hmm.... I sent a batch of photos to Sam's to have them printed. With as many pictures as I'm taking, it seems like a good idea to go ahead and have them printed in groups. Otherwise it will break the bank if I have them all printed at one time. It will be fun to have them waiting for me when I get home.

This evening I had dinner with some friends. We ate at Red Ginger, the restaurant at The Phoenix resort. We had tapas (cheese empanadas, coconut shrimp, fried zuchini strips, bucetta with fresh tomatoes, proscuitto and cantelope) and sangria with incredible creme brulee - mango, pineapple and coconut - for dessert.

This will be a busy week at Holy Cross. We have a large group of teachers from Gainsville State in Georgia coming in tomorrow. I'll spend most of the morning with their orientation. We are out of school at noon tomorrow because there is an ecumenical worship service in the early afternoon to begin Teacher Appreciation Week. I understand that the town does several things for all the teachers on the island. We'll see what is ahead.

A Fun Day

2010-05-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, the Standard VI students were the winners in a poster contest sponsored by Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Their design became the logo for Reef Week. Check out Hol Chan on the internet -- http://www.holchanbelize.org/

Their prize was a day at Hol Chan, and today was the day! The staff planned a great day for the kids. The kids had asked me to go along when they found out I've never been to Hol Chan. Sea-rious, a snorkel/dive company, provided the boat for the kids, their teacher Ms. Joy and me. Hol Chan sent along a smaller boat with their guys. We left this morning around 9:00, all dressed in our tee-shirts which carry the winning design. They took us out to the reef where the kids could snorkel. The guide took them out to the reef in small groups while the rest stayed close to the boat, swimming and playing.

Then we went to Shark Ray Alley which is appropriately named. The nurse sharks and sting rays surrounded the boat as soon as we arrived. The kids loved seeing them, and like the 8th graders they are, they squealed and shrieked at each one they saw. I hope the fish weren't too traumatized!

After everyone had his/her fill of snorkeling, they took us to the far southern tip of the island and pulled the boats up on the beach where we had a cook-out. The Hol Chan staff grilled hot dogs, and we had those with chips and Fanta.

The kids swam, buried a couple of the guys in the sand, splashed and threw "sand balls" at each other. Their sand balls look just like snowballs. They formed them out of the wet sand, and the the "war" began.

We got back around 1:30. It was really a fun day. I loved being with the kids. As we parted company, they all wished me a happy Mother's Day.

Friday - Creative Arts at Holy Cross

2010-05-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

Drama and creativity abound at Holy Cross. On Friday, Ms Godoy's Standard II class presented "Cinderella". They had been rehearsing all week, and Friday's performance was complete with props and costumes. Sadly, the prince was sick, but his understudy stepped in and did a fine job. Every student had a role -- either an acting part or as one of the narrators. The pictures speak for themselves.

Cinderella and her mean step-sisters

You cannot go to the ball, Cinderella.

The fairy godmother comes to help Cinderella.

Off to the ball in a beautiful gown and a coach pulled by horses.

The stroke of midnight and a lost slipper.

It fits!

And they lived happily ever after....

The whole class

Later in the day, Standard IV students did presentations as the culmination of their Mayan history unit. There were talks about the gods, the calendar, dance and games.

Another Monday - full of up's and down's

2010-05-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Arriving at school this Monday morning, we were greeted by yet another power outage. It appeared to only be on the north end of the island -- I had power at home before I left. There were 2 good things -- a great breeze that came in the back door of the office when we propped the doors open and it only last until about 8:45. Whew! The irritating part is that whenever the power goes out, so goes the internet. The Holy Cross server was down all day so no internet for the lab.

It was a somewhat awkward morning. It started last week when the head of the Anglican schools came to meet with each of the teachers. During her conference with one of the teachers, she terminated that teacher's employment as of last Friday. Long story. This morning, that teacher signed in and went to her classroom as if nothing had happened. Shortly after that, her replacement -- sent by the head of the Anglican schools -- came in. Yikes! Our principal had to send for the original teacher, tell her that yes, indeed, she had been fired and that she needed to leave. Moments later, the new lady walked into the classroom and got to work. I'm not sure I would have had the cool to take over like that.

This afternoon, I helped judge the Miss Central America contest in one of the Standard II classes. The students had worked in groups, researching the countries of Central America. Then one girl from each group represented that country in the "pageant". They competed in dressy, dancing, sports and questions. Since it also counted as their Spanish lesson, they had to introduce themselves and give 3 facts about their country in both English and Spanish. In addition, they had to answer a question which was generally Central American geography. It was cute. Here are pictures of the contestants.

And the winner is.... Miss Guatemala

RAIN!!!!!!!

2010-04-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

I awoke at 5 am to the sound of rain! Shortly after came the thunder and lightening. We had quite a thunderstorm in the early morning hours. It was a lovely sound because I knew it also meant the temperature would be lower today. It has been so hot for the past several days that the relief was very welcomed. It rained hard for a couple of hours, let up long enough for me to walk to school, and then the next wave came and it rained until early afternoon.

Very few children came to school today. Many have a long walk and would have been soaked by the time they got to school. Others were home because their parents believe being in the rain will make them sick. I wasn't worried about getting sick but was a little apprehensive about walking across a metal bridge over a river while it was lightening. Fortunately, I didn't have to solve that dilemma.

It's been an emotionally challenging week, and I would like to ask you to include us in your prayers. "Dora", the sweet young girl about whom I have written before, had another awful experience with her step-father over the weekend. I'll spare you the details, but just know it included choking, bruises, arrest, children taken from the home and now children returned to the home. Pray for "Dora's" safety.

My special friend Valdimir is having a harder than expected time in St. Louis. He went for more surgeries on his foot. He has a terrible infection in one foot that has invaded the bones in his ankle. The doctors are doing everything possible to save his foot. This is so sad because he has come so far since his first surgery and is so happy to be able to stand and walk. Please pray for Valdimir and his doctors.

Linda, our incredible school secretary and bookkeeper, is having significant health issues this week that involved a very scary spike in blood pressure yesterday. We hope new medicine and rest will be the ticket to having her back with us soon. I hope things don't fall apart at Holy Cross with me trying to manage the office. Thank goodness everyone who called on the phone today spoke English! Pray for Linda's speedy recovery.

Tomorrow is the payday halfday. But, May 1 is Labor Day in Belize. Many businesses will be closed on Saturday, but the banks are closing tomorrow at noon for the holiday. Things are very complicated for our teachers who need access to their pay for weekend travel and bill paying. Not being able to get to their money until Monday is not a good situation for many.

Have a good weekend.

Hot Sunday afternoon

2010-04-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday evening, and, knock on wood, the power has not gone out since Friday. Electricity for just about the entire island was out from 8:30 am til about noon on Friday as "up-grades" to the equipment were made. There is a major substation on the street behind my apartment, and all sorts of equipment and men were spread all around out there. It seems that San Pedro -- and thus the electricity demands -- are growing fast and the equipment is insufficient. I had stayed home on Friday, and it was too hot to stay inside the apartment without the ceiling fans running. I had some very nice time, sitting in the breezy shade, looking out over the ocean with a good book to read.

Aaaahhhhh.......

Today was our monthly worship service. It was nice to have the PA system working. The pigeons in the rafters were better behaved this time too. The Standard VI students, our confirmation class, all of the teachers, and many of the Holy Cross children were in attendance. Not many families this time, but we were "competing" with a festival in Central Park.

The festival is the annual Reef-Lagoon Kayak festival. There were 2-person kayak teams that raced from the lagoon around the island to end up at Central Park. There were barbeque cook-offs, music, food, drink and LOTS of people. As on any hot Sunday afternoon at the beach, there were many, many children enjoying the water.

The upcoming week at Holy Cross includes several early-release days. Tuesday the students will be dismissed at 2:15 for a faculty meeting. Mrs. Grace was in meetings last week with the Anglican administration and the Ministry of Education folks. I'm sure she has a lot to share with the teachers. Wednesday is our usual early dismissal for teacher planning. Friday is payday again, so everyone is out at noon. I think I have found the advantage of not having direct deposit for paychecks!

I have been following the stories from Central Mississippi where tornadoes devastated areas there. My family and friends are south of the area that was hit and are all fine. I've also heard from my friends in Oxford where all is well too. Many were fortunate, and we pray for those whose lives and homes were lost.

Have a good week.

Earth Day 2010

2010-04-22T15:59:00.001-07:00

It's World Earth Day, and Holy Cross marked the day in many ways. First of all, the children and teachers were encouraged to wear green shirts. The school was a sea of shades of green. Very different from our usual grey and white uniforms.

Many classes made posters urging everyone to save the earth -- to pick up litter, to drive less, to conserve energy, to save the mangroves, etc.

Ms. Zulma's class has created a skit and will perform it next week at the Hol Chan Reserve competition. Classes from Standard 1 up went out to various locations and picked up trash. The middle and upper divisions worked along the beach north of the bridge while the younger children cleaned up the campus and surrounding areas.
This morning we had our regular weekly chapel services. We were very happy to have Pastor Pam from Ohio lead the service today. She has been volunteering at the school all week before going on a diving vacation.

Work goes on in the Standard VI math class. The PSE test is May 4 so time is short. Their teacher, Ms. Joy and I were on our own Monday and Tuesday as Mrs. Grace was in meetings in Belize City. We did a lot of review. Then Mrs. Grace returned to teach about proportion on Wednesday. That topic always stumped me when I was a math student -- I can reason it out in my head but can't put the problem into steps much less explain it to someone else! So what else would I do but fire off an email to my math buddy at Hill. Bonnie to the rescue! I'm still a little shaky in my explanations but am doing a little better.

It continues to be very hot although today we had some much welcomed clouds and a bit more of a breeze. We are consuming much more water, and the air conditioned school office has become a haven. One of the student teachers from Canada told me today that never in her life had she ever been in a temperature like this, and probably there had never been this temperature recorded in all of Canada. I feel sure she's correct! Summers in Mississippi were good preparation for me --- but I still love my air conditioning.

Whew! It's Hot!

2010-04-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

We have had a very hot week -- highs in the 80s everyday. I suppose this is the norm for April. I've just never been here this time of year. After a whole lot of thunder and lightening the past couple of nights, we finally had some rain last night. It rained hard for about an hour in the middle of the night. At least it added to the cisterns as the water supply in San Pedro has been kind of if-y. In fact, over Easter weekend there just wasn't any water. I'm glad I was at home and missed that adventure.

There is water now, but the power outages continue at crazy random times. A neighbor remarked this morning that in the US we are used to the power going out when there are strong storms with thunder and lightening. Not here -- plenty of electricity during last night's storm, but on a clear, cloudless day, it will go out for several hours. Hmmm.... Electricity in Belize comes from Mexico, and there has been a varity of reasons given for the outages --- downed lines in Northern Belize, birds landing in transformers, someone who forgot to mail a check to Mexico :) and the list goes on. I am now armed with a flashlight and an assortment of candles. It just gets pretty warm without the fans.

I have some company in my apartment. This pair of geckos (cleverly known as "Tropical House Geckos") make their appearance on my ceiling about dusk. They make a loud "clicking" sound which makes them seem much larger than they really are. They are fun to watch, and they very nicely eat insects. Tomorrow a group of 10 student teachers from Vancouver Island University arrives at Holy Cross. They will be here until the middle of May. It should be a good mutual learning experience. In another week, another group of student teachers from Gainsville State Univ. will also begin working with and learning from our teachers. It should be eye-opening on both sides.

Francis left yesterday to spend time with her daughter who is nearing the end of her pregnancy. She has been put on bedrest, so Grammy Francis has gone to help out with the 2 year old and 4 year old grandsons. I am very grateful that Vernon is still here. I am not totally on my own out there this time, and I have a much better idea of expectations and responsibilities. I know we will be ready for her to be back long before she actually returns.

I took a short stroll through town this afternoon. Too hot to do more than stroll. It seems pretty quiet -- not many tourists. The Belizean economy is suffering because of the American issues. Many folks have cut back on vacations, and that hurts things here. So, if you find yourself in need of a holiday, come on down! Let these pictures entice you..... Have a great week.

This & That

2010-04-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought I'd ever write that I was having fun teaching math?? Well, I am. For the past 2 days, I have been helping out in the Standard VI (8th grade) math class, working with those kids who need some extra practice to get the current concepts. We are all working hard to have the students prepared for the second part of their big state test. We've been working this week with various problems involving percent -- simple interest, buying on time, etc. So far, so good for me, but next come ratio and proportion. I may need some tutoring myself! I think what I am most enjoying is the time spent with the kids. This group is really well-behaved, smart and fun.

Thank you for all the prayers for our family at Holy Cross after Gabriela's tragic death. We will honor her life at chapel tomorrow. It has been a difficult time, and our hearts ache, but your support and caring are helping. We hope her sister will be returning to school in the next few days.

Many of you have asked about Destiny. I have this update -- she is out of the hospital, although never clear of congestion. She is living with a lady in Belize City in, from what I can gather, a foster home. She has called her dear adult friends, Cullen and Kath in San Pedro, and seems happy. No word yet on whether she will go to the children's home or remain in foster care. She's been assigned a new social worker so the action has slowed some. At least she is a little healthier and is happy.

Some of you may remember my special friend Vladimir ("Baltimore") who I met the first time I came to Holy Cross. He left yesterday to go to St. Louis (the Shriners take care of him) for more surgery on his feet. He will probably not be back at school this year. He hugged me good-bye on Monday. He's very excited about going -- he can walk better after each time there. I will miss seeing his smile in the Standard III class but am so happy he can have this opportunity. His story is one of the many miracle stories at Holy Cross.

We had another one of the unannounced power outages last night. The electricity went off around 1:30 and stayed off til 5:30. I guess that's not a bad time to be without electricity other than having no fans or AC. I think that's what woke me up -- I realized I was hot. The power went out for short periods of time twice more during the day today. We are frequently reminded of the importance of saving when working on computer.

For almost 2 months, we have been waiting to hear from Bishop Wright about when he would be able to come over for a confirmation service. Yesterday we got a call that he would be coming on May 30 so today we got our classes going in full swing. There were 7 kids who came today for class. There are several others who have already participated in a preparation program but were not confirmed, so we should have quite a nice group.

Today I sent my federal taxes to my mother to send on the IRS (I filed for an extension before I came back from Easter vacation). Filing from Belize is not an easy thing to do. The mail is so incredibly slow that I had planned to use the e-filing. But, at the very last minute I was informed by TurboTax that my return was not "eligible" for e-file. Good grief! I just couldn't send that whole packet off to the IRS from here, having no way to know if it ever arrived there. So, thanks to Mother for being the intermediate stop. Apparently the state of NC has different technology because I was able to e-file the state return. It should not be this difficult to get my own money back.

My neighbor brought over a delicious-looking piece of key lime pie (here, they call it "caye" lime pie) . I think it's time to go enjoy it.

I'm Back....

2010-04-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Easter greetings to all. I had a wonderful time at home with family and friends. It was a whirlwind trip - 10 airplanes, 6 airports, 4 cities in 2 states, 4 suitcase packings/unpackings -- but it was fun. And now I'm back and settled in again in Paradise (Villas, that is.)

Holy Cross re-opened today after a 2 week break. I heard a couple of teachers say what I always do at the end of a long vacation -- "if I just had a few more days..."

We began the day with news of a tragedy. One of the children in Standard II was killed in a car wreck in Guatemala over Easter weekend. She and her family were there for her grandmother's funeral and unknowingly drove off into a place where a mudslide had washed out the road awhile back. There is an older sister who also attends Holy Cross. The family has not returned to San Pedro yet. I spent time in both classrooms this morning, providing what comfort I could, allowing the children to share stories and concerns and saying prayers for Gabriela and her family. Many of the children and teachers didn't learn about the accident until they came to school this morning. In chapel on Thursday, we will honor her life and say special prayers for her and her family. The children in both classes are making cards for her family. It was a very difficult day. So sad to lose a young child so suddenly.

Work continued on construction projects at Holy Cross over the break. The cafeteria floor has a new coat of paint and looks so nice. The classrooms were cleaned top to bottom and were sparkling clean to greet the classes today. The bottom floor of the new septic system has walls and a floor. I still don't understand how all this works but will be anxious to see the rest take shape.

There is also now a large flat area of land behind the library and adjacent to the construction shed. Somebody has shoveled a whole lot of sand since the St. Luke's team began filling in that space in February.

There is a new teacher in Infant I. Ms. Nadime had the opportunity to transfer to a school near her home of San Ignacio. Our new teacher comes from St. Barnabas School in Central Farm -- the site of an earlier St. Luke's mission trip. She worked all weekend making the classroom her own and was hard at work with her class today.

It's very quiet here in Paradise Villas. Most of the long-term residents have returned to the US or Canada. Rentals are way down because of the economy. This tourist season has been even bleaker than last year. It is hoped things will pick up soon.

I must go and put the finishing touches on my income taxes. I was all set to move into the 21st century and e-file them yesterday, only to learn that my return is not eligible -- it contains too many copies of one particular form. So.... I will print and mail, the old fashioned way. With the experience many of us have had with the mail, I think it's good that I applied for an extension before I left home. Snail mail lives up to its name in Belize.

Taking a break

2010-03-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Early tomorrow morning I will fly from San Pedro to Belize City, then to Miami and finally to RDU. Holy Cross closes for 2 weeks for Easter vacation, so I am going home. Since this blog is called "Jan's Belize blog" I don't plan to post anything to it until I return to Belize the week after Easter. Easter joy and blessings to all.

Monday, Monday....

2010-03-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

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.

TGIF!!!

2010-03-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, even here it's TGIF. Weekends are good for rest and recovery as the week days at school are pretty intense. While the crisis with Destiny was certainly the major event this week, there were others too. One of the older girls had bruises all over her on Wednesday. At first she didn't want to talk about it but then finally opened up. Her mother left months ago to go to the US, leaving no contact number and having no intention of returning. She left Dora (not her real name) with her stepfather and 3 younger brothers. The stepfather expects Dora to do everything at home -- shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, getting the little boys up and dressed in the morning, seeing that their homework is done and, somewhere in there, doing her own schoolwork. And, when she doesn't do things to his satisfaction, he yells at her, hits her and threatens her. Is it any wonder she acts out in class? Oh, did I mention that she is only 13 years old? Dear Kim confronted Dora's stepfather and told him if he laid a hand on Dora again, the police would be called. He seemed to get it, but that probably won't keep him from berating and degrading her. She is a sweet, cute, bright girl. It was only realized this year that she can barely read. One of the ladies who stays here at Paradise Villas, a retired teacher who volunteers at the school each year, has been working 1-on-1 with her in reading. She goes home next week so I'm going to take up where she leaves off.

Work has finally begun on the self-composting toilet project at the school. With funding from a Episcopal Church Women's grant, the system will allow for the building of 20 new bathrooms for the school. The foundation will be Category 5 hurricane resistent and is made from blocks of styrofoam that will then have a cement-like polymer sprayed on.

Yesterday was the ground breaking for the San Mateo roads project. About 150 folks attended including some key local officials. They will begin bringing in rock and sand in the next few weeks. The residents of San Mateo are very excited. There has been great publicity. The San Pedro Sun reporter was at Holy Cross again today to interview some of the key folks. There is still a lot of money to be raised for this project to succeed. The Ole Miss students are hard at work on that part.

Francis left again today to meet Vernon in Miami. They are going on a cruise -- holistic, healthy and healing. I am looking forward to a quiet weekend with some time by the pool with a good book.

This time next week, I will be in Marshall, NC, reading Ruthie a night-night book. Can't wait.

Oh yes, God answers prayers

2010-03-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

There is a little girl here -- Destiny --who used to attend Holy Cross School. For a number of reasons, she is not in school this year, but she comes by fairly often when she needs something -- food, medicine, a hug. A little history on Destiny -- she is 9 years old and has cystic fibrosis. There is no facility in Belize that can do the definitive test for CF, but any physician who has ever seen her is convinced that she has it. She only weighs 46 pounds and looks like a strong breeze would blow her over. She is quite bright and can be articulate and sometimes mature beyond her years. She is one of several children in the family but is the mother's target. She often refuses to feed Destiny, and as I have written before, frequently makes her sleep outside the house (which is built in the swamp) in San Mateo. Months ago Destiny had been placed at the Liberty Children's Home in Ladyville. While she was there, she was happy; she got medical attention and love; and she was the healthiest she had ever been. Then, for some unknown reason, she came home. Some of the adults who care about Destiny had remarked that they would be willing to help pay her expenses at Liberty if she could go back, knowing it had been such a good place for her.
This morning Destiny appeared in the office in tears, asking if she could just stay with us because if she went home, her mother was going to beat her in the head with a hammer. (It's going to take me awhile to get out of my head the sound of her sobbing "Please, Miss, no make me go home.") None of us doubted her for a second, but what could we do? There is virtually no foster care system in Belize and only a tiny handful of overworked social workers with no resources at their disposal. Francis, Linda and I stood in the office and prayed out loud that God would help us help Destiny. It was a fervent and somewhat frantic prayer. Then Francis went to work. To make a long story short, she made a series of phone calls and learned that the very person she needed to speak to about having Destiny returned to Liberty was actually IN San Pedro TODAY!!!!!! We sent the driver for her; she came to Holy Cross and met with Francis, Cath and Kim, our social worker friend from Mississippi, and within a few hours, Destiny was on her way to Belize City, accompanied by 2 of the volunteer social workers here this week. She will spend some time in the hospital getting some of her health issues under control and then hopefully to Liberty Children's Home. While it is extremely frustrating that things had to reach such a crisis in order for Destiny to get help, I truly believe that God put all those people right here today to rescue this child. It is sad when a child is taken away from her family and home, but in this case, it saved her life.
In the past, when there has been talk of taking Destiny away from her, the mother has said that she didn't want her child taken away. It is a serious humiliation in this culture to have your child removed from your care. She never said she wanted her; she only said she didn't want her sent away.
Thank you God for rescuing this child, for putting in place what was beyond our abilities so that Destiny could be safe and cared for. Keep her under your wing and watch over her in her new surroundings. Amen

Picture Time

2010-03-13T06:16:00.000-08:00

A big happy sigh - aaahhhh-- for those of you beginning your Spring Break this weekend. A big moan --aawww-- for those of you ending yours. They just aren't ever long enough. Here's an idea -- try a sabattical in a tropical country. It's like one, long Spring Break that lasts a whole semester!!!

Fortunately the breeze has returned and temperatures are much more reasonable. The past 2 days have been sweltering. I even turned on my AC briefly last night to cool things down in my apartment. The fans weren't getting the job done.

This is a link http://ambergrisdaily.com/ambergris-caye-stories/a-far-cry-from-paradise/ to a really good article that came out this week about the community of San Mateo and their partnership with Ole Miss. A group of Ole Miss students and their professor, my friend Kim, arrive today. They will be at Holy Cross all week.

I haven't had many pictures to post recently, so I will catch up here today. No rhyme or reason to the choices...

The sea has been really rough this week, so quite a bit of seaweed was washed ashore. The local folks rake it up and use it as mulch.

This fishing boat was probably hand-carved. It is very narrow -- I'm not sure I would fit in it. Because the boat sits so low in the water, sometimes the fishermen fished by hand, just reaching into the water and grabbing a fish.

driftwood

early morning

fishing with a string and a hook

Mission Team from Duke Chapel

Making more solid land at Holy Cross -- sand/dirt will go over the cut branches

Some of the team in their new uniforms

My crispy coconut shrimp with citrus sauce at the Blue Water Grill. Yummmm...

Have a great weekend.

Clinic, Confirmation, & Craziness

2010-03-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

Another busy week with new adventures! Yesterday I accompanied 2 boys from Holy Cross to the San Pedro Polyclinic.

One of the boys had stepped on a nail the day before and needed a tetanus shot; the other boy had bad cold and flu symptoms with fever. The clinic opens for the afternoon at 1:00. We arrived shortly after 1:00 and were given numbers -- ours were 14 & 15. At 2:45 our numbers were called -- we got excited, thinking that meant we were going in to see the doctor. Oh no. That was only to get name, birthdate, and description of the problem. We then waited another hour and a half to see the one very overworked doctor. He checked out the kids; we got one his tetanus shot; both got the antibiotics they needed and we were on our way. It was a long afternoon in a pretty crazy place (not unlike the ER at a US hospital), but the boys were taken care of.

Dr. Zuniga

The Duke students are doing a great job. Today they met with the older kids talking about respect for others, the importance of staying school and answered their questions about relationships. Good information and good conversations. Yesterday they did a lot of vision screenings. There is a volunteer group of optometrists from Texas at the church in San Mateo. They are doing checks and giving glasses, and we were able to take several of the children we had identified with real vision problems to them. Now to get the kids to wear those glasses. They say others pick on them when they wear glasses. Today the Duke folks also did some more vision screenings and shoveled a lot of sand too. They are really hard workers.

This afternoon my first Confirmation class met. Only 4 girls came although they said they knew of others who had said they were coming. We'll send reminders next week and see if others come. If not, we'll go forward with those girls as our group. We need to get a definite date for the service from the bishop. I hope to hear from him soon.

Tomorrow the younger children will have a 1/2 day because there is a big teachers' meeting in Belize City. It's a 1/2 day all over the country. The Standard IV and V students will stay at school, and the Duke kids will be organizing games and activities for them. The Standard VI students are having class because they begin their big state test on Monday.

Stay tuned. There's bound to be more excitement tomorrow.....

Baron Bliss Day

2010-03-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, March 9, is Baron Bliss Day in Belize. The day was commemorated today with national offices, banks and schools closed. Baron Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss left England in the early 1900s with the intention of living on the sea on his yacht, Sea King. He contracted polio about the time he left England. He made stops in the Bahamas, Trinidad and Jamaica before sailing into the harbor at Belize City. While he never actually came ashore because of the polio and the food poisoning he got in Trinidad, Bliss was very impressed by the climate and the hospitality of Belize. He died on March 9, 1926, leaving almost $2 million dollars to Belize in a trust fund. The fund is used for the benefit of Belizeans and has made possible the building of the Bliss Institute Library and Museum in Belize City, health clinics and markets around the country, and has helped with the Belize City water supply system. There is also the Baron Bliss Lighthouse in Belize City which is also his tomb. The Baron is considered Belize's greatest benefactor.

The weekend was quiet. I spent some time at the pool, visited with some of the neighbors and had dinner last night with another neighbor. The team of Duke students arrived Saturday afternoon. I met them at the water taxi, walked them down to Ruby's and later walked to Holy Cross with them. They started work today even though school wasn't in session. Vernon gave them the orientation and grand tour. I walked into San Mateo with them. I saw several of the kids from school so now I know where they live. The students painted and worked on the porch off the kitchen. Tomorrow we hope to get moving on finishing the vision screenings started by the St. Luke's volunteers.

Today is Ruthie's 2nd birthday. Happy Birthay, Sweetie. Wow, how time flies. I was sad to miss the family dinner yesterday, but will be there for her joint party with Ellie later in the month. I called today to wish her happy birthday. She still won't talk when we're on the phone, but she kissed the phone and smiled when she heard my voice. That's enough for me! I'm really looking forward to seeing her and the rest of my family in a couple of weeks. I'm glad I planned this little break while the school is closed for Easter.

Friday again -- already

2010-03-05T17:03:00.000-08:00

This week has zipped by. I guess it comes from being very busy. There has been lots to do at Holy Cross.

On Wednesday, it was decided that the teachers at Holy Cross needed a Lenten retreat. Since we are well into Lent, time was short, so today was the day. Deacon Jan was given the task of planning and leading this retreat. Did I mention it was only decided to do this on Wednesday afternoon? The purpose of our day was two-fold -- to enhance the spiritual growth of the teachers as we move through the season of Lent and to provide them with informaton they can use as they teach their children about Lent. So, we learned, we worshiped, we laughed, we sang, and we prayed. Using our Books of Common Prayer and the liturgy of the Anglican church, we backed up to look at Lent from the beginning with Ash Wednesday and walked through Holy Week. We had a Palm Sunday procession as we moved to lunch. Mrs. Rosalia and her kitchen crew prepared a delicious lunch - a chicken dish with onion soup and flan for dessert. After lunch, we did a foot washing. I hope more of the teachers feel more comfortable with this Maundy Thursday ritual. It was a good day, I think. I learned about some really interesting Belizean Easter customs, most involved eggs and predicting the future. More on this later as I get clearer information.

I've done more in the last couple of days than prepare for this retreat, although it took a lot of time. A couple of days ago, I judged a writing contest for students in Standard III. They were asked to write a good paragraph or 2 about what they like about the school library or about their favorite book. It was a tough assignment for me. It was hard to narrow it down from the submissions. I wish I had copied them so I could include some of them here. One girl, who I have known since my first visit at Holy Cross, said her favorite book was North Carolina Health Care Careers because she wants to be a nurse, and this book showed her the different kinds of patients she would have to take care of. Let's hear it for those books we have been hauling down here in our suitcases!

Yesterday after school we celebrated 2 birthdays - Mr. Edwin the security guard and Mrs. Godoy, one of the teachers. That meant cake, of course. These cakes were huge, 2 layers with cream filling between them.

This has been the week when it seems like every child needs new shoes. I hope some more are on the way in donors' suitcases. In order to get new shoes, a child's old pair must be either too small or worn out. Children have to bring a note from their parents saying they can't afford to buy new shoes. One day this week, a dad came in with his son. The boy was probably 10. We found him a really cool pair of black, silver and red tennis shoes. He was beaming when he put them on. With that big smile on his face, he said "thank you" about a dozen times, waved to us and headed off to class, a very happy kid. He dad also said "thank you" about a dozen times and hugged Ms. Linda, the secretary, before he left. It makes my heart happy.

I've met more of the neighbors in Paradise Villas. Two of the ladies, both of them retired teachers, have set up a schedule to volunteer at Holy Cross. A group of 3 couples who came together to snorkel, dive and vacation, had a tragedy on Monday. They were out on a boat diving and snorkeling when one of the men apparently had a heart attack and died. They are still waiting for his body to be released from Belize City so that his wife can take him home to St. Louis. It has been very hard for his friends in the group. Such a sad end to their vacation.

It sounds like spring may be creeping through the snow and cold for most of you. I hope that makes for a great weekend. I don't have any particular plans, but I'm sure it won't be dull.

Odds and Ends

2010-03-02T16:27:00.001-08:00

I had a pretty quiet weekend. By most standards, it was a lazy weekend. I read a lot, sat out by the pool, browsed the used book store, had a lovely lunch at a neighboring resort, chatted with neighbors, and didn't accomplish a thing. On the weekends, I feel like I'm living a double life. During the week, I'm absorbed by the work, the children, the needs at Holy Cross. Then on the weekend, I feel more like a tourist.

It's been interesting to be where there are lots of American and Canadian tourists and vacationers when I don't consider myself one of them. So many of them are really arrogant and rude. It's is like any local is automatically their servant. They are loud and demanding in the stores and critical of anything that isn't "like we do it". I'm sure they are tolerated because their money is the ticket to survival here, but it's really obnoxious and it's embarrassing. No wonder so much of the world hates Americans.

Francis and Vernon returned to school today and were welcomed with open arms. It was a whirlwind as they tried to catch up. I sincerely hope they don't leave again any time soon, and if they do that it is only for a short trip.

Lionel came by this afternoon to show his jewelry to the ladies who are staying around me. He did pretty well. They each bought something, and a couple placed orders. I should get a commission for being his agent.

The birds were everywhere when we were outside this afternoon. My hummingbird perched long enough to have his (her?) picture taken. There were all sorts of bright colored birds.

All of Belize, especially San Pedro, is in mourning following the death of Sir Barry Bowen in a plane crash on Friday. He was on his way into San Pedro, his home, for a fund raiser for Island Academy. Sir Barry, one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Belize, headed the company that does all the bottling in Belize -- Belikin beer, Coca-Cola products, Fanta, and Crystal water. From all I can read, Sir Barry was a fine man who loved Belize and contributed to its growth in many ways. There were four others also killed in the crash. The loss will be felt throughout the country.

It appears all of those I know and love still have miserable winter weather, with some of you getting more snow. So sorry. I might as well be on another planet when it comes to thinking about what that is like. I certainly hope all of that has gone when I get home in late March. Spring will be most welcomed this year!

Last night was a "no internet" night here. I had written a long piece for this blog, then the
internet went away, and I had nothing. Of course a whole day later, I can't remember most of what I had written. I will quit while I'm ahead tonight

Be Careful What You Wish For

2010-02-25T17:05:00.000-08:00

Only 2 days ago, we were melting in bright sunshine and 90+ degree temperatures. Last night a cold front blew through, and today we barely saw 70. The winds last night were wild. The beach this morning was strewn with palm branches, coconuts and other debris. Palm branches blowing in 30 mph winds make some very strange sounds. I would have been very happy this morning with a sweater or sweat shirt, but my rain jacket had to do.

The wet and stormy weather brought out some previously unseen creatures. Mr. Freddy found this little guy on the edge of the campus. Since he is the school colors, we thought we'd make him the Holy Cross mascot. Oddly, the iguana didn't seem too excited about the idea.....

I have been here a full month as of today. It's hard to believe. I knew the time would go quickly, but this is too fast. Only 4 months left with a 2 week visit home. It was also the day to pay the rent. The unknowns such as electricity and water turned out to be really reasonable and well within the budget. Whew.

Tomorrow is a half day at Holy Cross because it's payday for the teachers. I think it's a lovely practice, and strongly recommend we try it at Hill.

We received a number of packages at school today -- donations mainly of books, sent from friends in the US. I looked at the postage stickers and was shocked at how much it cost folks to mail things to us. One box cost $98 and another $124 to send from Spokane, WA. And they weren't especially huge or heavy boxes. People are so generous in their care for Holy Cross. I'm so fortunate to be able to bring things in my second suitcase each year.

The skydivers will be wrapping up their festivities this weekend. There is a video viewing of pictures from their jumps this week. I hope to attend. Also the new,big (ugly) theater right next to the school has its premier entertainer this weekend -- Laurie Morgan who is a singer from the US. There was a dry run and equipment check earlier in the week that drew quite a crowd.That's the theater on the right and Holy Cross on the left of the picture. I think we should be able to have school assemblies in the theater since it's so close.

I hope you all have a good weekend.

2010-02-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

Is there a way NC and Belize can share weather? It is very hot and muggy here while NC braces for more snow. Somewhere between 92 and 32, there is an ideal temperature. I actually turned my air conditioner on last night to cool the bedroom down before going to bed.

First thing this morning, I went to the Belize Immigration Office in San Pedro to extend my visa for another month. When you come into Belize, your passport is stamped for a maximum of 30 days. If you intend to stay longer, you must renew your visa before the end of that month. It was a simple procedure -- the agent at the Immigration Office filled out a form; I walked 3 doors down to the Treasury Department where I paid my $25; then I went back to Immigration where my passport was officially stamped. So, I'm good until March 22 -- only 6 days before I leave to go home for 2 weeks. I will have to renew again for those 6 days. Once you leave the country, it starts over.

I used the day to get all sorts of things done. I did some shopping -- mainly looking -- in places I haven't been to before. I went to the bank, the grocery store, all those mundane places. One of the things I needed was needle and thread to sew on a couple of buttons. So I went to the store whose name is my favorite -- War Paint Beauty Supply -- which is really a general store. If they don't have something, it doesn't exist on the island. When I asked if they sold sewing needles, the girl pulled out a little plastic box of needles and asked me how many I needed. They are sold individually. I guess I only need one, so that is what I bought for 25 cents. I also needed thread. Here came a big plastic jar with spools of thread. They were small but probably a more practical size than what I'm used to. So, for $1.50Bz, I have 2 spools of thread and a needle. That's a quarter for size reference.Today I hit the jackpot --- the mail came! This is the first mail I have received since the first week I was here. There were 3 letters -- a Valentine, some mail sent from home and another note. I have one more piece of mail but will have to go to the post office tomorrow to retrieve it. It is considered a parcel so it wasn't sent to the box. There must have been a big bag of mail to come in from the U.S. These were mailed as long ago as February 6. It really is "snail mail".

Tonight I attended a community meeting in San Pedro led by Joanne who is in Belize from Canada giving talks and workshops about domestic violence. She is trying to get a women's/children's shelter built here on the island and to start education programs for adults and children about breaking the abuse cycle. She spoke about many of the same things as she did in the workshop she gave at Holy Cross. There seems to be strong support from key members of the community: the president of the Lion's Club and another woman who has a piece of property she is willing to donate. Things are falling into place, one step at a time, and there is still much work to be done. It will take much more than a building, but at least people are talking and sharing ideas. The incidences of abuse are numerous here.

Joanne with Cynthia who works with the shelter in San Ignacio.

Sunday - skydivers and worship service

2010-02-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the 6th annual Boogie in Belize skydiving festival began. Skydivers from all over everywhere have arrived and are making jumps all day. Their landing site is a flat, dusty, open space just north of the bridge. I walked up this morning and waited for a wave of them to come in and jump. The small planes come first, circling the spot and climbing. Then the jumpers make their descent. The parashutes -- canopies is the correct word -- are beautiful bright colors. A dozen or so jump at a time so it is really pretty to watch them float down. Rookies can tandem jump with one of the skilled jumpers, and there were two of those in the group I watched. I have never been that close to skydiving and was surprised at how fast they come in to land. Here is a short clip.

This afternoon we held a family worship service for Holy Cross. There is no Anglican church on the island, so once a month they hold their own service. If there is a visiting or volunteer priest, then they have Eucharist. But all they had today was me.... The service is held at the high school in their auditorium/basketball court. Today there was reportedly a smaller than usual congregation. Word must have gotten out that I was preaching! All the teachers from Holy Cross were there, many with their families. It was fun to see them all dressed up -- Mr. Freddy in long pants and a sport shirt, for one. Because the congregation was mainly children, they were not very responsive at the response times. But, all in all, we had a nice service. I am not used to leading the entire service -- God continues to lead me (push me?) to new places. Next month I will be more comfortable and more in tune with their customary service.

The cold front is now a thing of the past. Today was bright, sunny and hot again. Once the sun goes down, it cools off quickly. Every day is a little different.

I had planned to write about the high school performance of "Fiddler on the Roof" which was last night. As a former high school drama teacher, I was looking forward to it. However, my mother always told me if I couldn't say something nice, I shouldn't say anything at all. So..... I will only state the facts and clear observations.... Those St. Lukers who have met the "world-famous Julliard trained violinist" who lives here in San Pedro will have some understanding when you learn he was in charge of the performance. The choice of "Fiddler" then allowed his playing to be show-cased rather than the young actors from the high school. I am afraid Julliard would be extremely disappointed. In what is often called "Belize time", the show started about 40 minutes late because several key performers had not arrived yet. Understudies and a teacher stood in for them until they came. The show had been rewritten in more modern "lingo" and a more modern setting -- Golde took Tevye's dinner out of the microwave to serve him.

I must confess that I left at intermission. I wonder how many others in the audience did too. The program listed five acts before intermission and another three after intermission. The Broadway version I saw only had 3 acts. Even the free refreshments couldn't entice me to stay any longer.

Here is what I saw on my way home. This little guy had been to the top of the tree and kicked down 2 or 3 coconuts. A better show than the one I had just left.

Have a great week, y'all.

2010-02-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days have been pretty quiet at Holy Cross. There have been a few visitors who have brought supplies and toured the school. We have sent home lots of sick kids -- and adults. At least one teacher has been sick each day this week. Two left early today. Hand sanitizer is flowing like water!

This afternoon the boys' soccer team played New Horizon and lost 2-1. They had a strong first half but let their guard down late in the second half. The new uniforms still have not arrived. Maybe they will provide some new energy for the boys. The playing field is basically a flat rectangle of packed down dust with a goal at each end. There is no grass on the field, only a little along the sidelines. Some of the boys play barefooted. A good sized group of Standard VI students, along with their teacher, Ms. Joy, were in the stands to cheer for the team. I walked back after the game with Ms. Joy and a few of the girls. It was a long walk but pretty along the beach. It was fun to hear the girls chatter and giggle.

This weekend begins a 10-day event, Boogie in Belize, which involves dozens of sky divers. They will jump throughout the next week. Of course, plans include parties, music, and parties. One can do a tandum jump with some of the real jumpers. Don't get excited -- there will be no pictures of me as I jump. I plan to watch some of the jumping but will have my feet planted firmly on the ground!! I see no reason to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I will try to include some photos of others floating to earth.

Have a good weekend.

Ash Wednesday at Holy Cross

2010-02-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

We began the day with chapel -- this week on Wednesday rather than Thursday. I conducted the 3 services this morning and imposed ashes on just about all the children -- one by one. It was a long process, but a good one. Many of the children have a good understanding of Lent -- when it is, how long it lasts, what we do, etc.

As soon as the final chapel ended, I hopped in Mr. Victor's taxi to go to the Lion's Club for the National Spelling Bee. There were spellers from the 5 schools on the island. Two of the Holy Cross children made it to the semi-finals but missed out on the finals by one word each. We are very proud of their showing. The girl who won had been a contestant for the past 3 years. Pretty tough competition.

Back to school for a yummy lunch.

Then an Ash Wednesday service for the students and teachers who were at the spelling bee in the morning.

I gave a couple of tours today. I met the new owners of Banana Beach, a hotel/resort. They want to make regular contributions to Holy Cross most likely with the feeding program. They will be good partners.

I was invited to dinner by some of my neighbors - two great ladies from Wisconsin. One is going home tomorrow but the other is here for another 3 weeks. I think I will enjoy getting together with her. Everyone here at Paradise Villas is so nice and friendly. It's like walking through the neighborhood when I come home each day. People stop me and ask how my day at school was or at least wave and say hello.

It looks like Duke is going to beat Miami. From what I've heard, I think I'm glad I missed the first half.

Shrove Tuesday

2010-02-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

While friends at home are eating pancakes, I am staying close to home. The tradition in San Pedro -- and the rest of Belize, I suppose -- is to run through the streets, dousing others with paint. The children have been at it since the weekend, but tonight the adults are in action. While I have said I want to be a part of the community and culture, being covered in paint is not on my list.

Things have been pretty quiet at Holy Cross this weeks. There are no volunteers working at the school, so I have been catching up in the office with some of my other duties. I've planned the Ash Wednesday services for the school tomorrow, created 2 new bulletin boards and dealt with a number of sick tummies and assorted boo-boos.

The biggest issue today is that a huge shipping container of construction materials and tools has arrived in Belize City. Currently it awaits release from Customs. Then it will have to be brought to the island on a barge. Each stage in this journey requires specific paperwork and personnel. We are waiting for letters from the Ministries of Finance and Education that will allow the materials in duty-free. Then a licensed broker will go to Belize City to claim the container and its contents. Hopefully once that hurdle is covered, there will be a barge big enough and with space to bring things over. Mixed up in all of this are several boxes of printer ink cartridges that require letters of their own. Nothing is simple.

Country singer Kelly McGuire was in San Pedro last weekend at one of the resorts for a concert and made a generous donation to Holy Cross. Ms. Linda the office manager, Ms. Jamira a teacher, Ms. Grace the principal and I were delighted to receive it.

Maybe some pictures I took today on my walk to school will warm you up until your weather does.

Some of you will recognize the house in the photo below -- and the dog too. Yep, that's Sparky. For those of you have never been here, you are looking at the 2nd story of a house that is built up on stilts, so it's pretty close to 3 stories high. Sparky had only stood up to change his napping position; he prefers the view from up there.

I wish you all a holy and blessed Lent.

Weekend Odds & Ends

2010-02-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

Lazy and quiet are the best way to describe this weekend. Aahh....

The St. Luke's team finished off its week with a lovely dinner at Sunset Grill. The food there is some of the best on the island .... and pretty too. See my Mango Tango snapper with coconut rice and veggies. The spikey things sticking out of the olive are battered and fried lobster antennae.

The team left early Saturday morning. I went to see them off at the water taxi and almost missed them. They loaded the boat early -- nothing is ever early in Belize!! It was good to hear last night that they got home safely and without delays. Both teams worked so hard, and Holy Cross is a better place because of their work.

It was a double/triple phone day -- any time you bought up to $49.99 was doubled and above that was tripled. I have loaded up my phone and will be good for calls for awhile. I talked to Mike and Emily, who were having more snow, and got the latest on Ruthie too. I can't wait to see them at the end of March. Also chatted some with Mother. It's nice to hear live voices!

Later in the afternoon Kim came by. We visited awhile and then went in search of lunch. We ended up at Wet Willie's. It was good to spend some time with her, getting details straight about particular kids and their situations. She also introduced me to a number of people here in the complex and in town and gave me a list of good, cheap places to eat. She left this morning but will be back with Ole Miss students in mid-March.

The weather yesterday was about as close to perfect as it could be. Cloudless blue skies, mild temperatures, sun. Perfect for sitting by the pool and reading awhile. I'm not the parasailor, just a spectator.

Today has been a very "domestic" day. I took a taxi south to the Island Supermarket to do some grocery shopping. They have more variety than the smaller markets near my apartment. I can't tell that the prices are any better -- everything is very expensive here. For example, cartons of yogurt were $1.50 each, a small jar (16 oz) of mayo was $3.50, and an 8-slice package of American cheese was $4.25 (US money). On the walk back, I stopped at a little fruit stand and bought fresh pineapple. The lady there gave me a tract - "Your Ticket to Heaven" - along with my fruit. She was very pleased to hear that I am a church goer.

Speaking of church, there are only 3 churches on the island that I know of -- Church of Christ in San Mateo, the Roman Catholic and Seventh Day Adventists churches in San Pedro. Next week, the priest will come from the mainland for an Anglican service.

When I got home, my clean laundry had been delivered. Nellie's, the property management company for my apartment, also owns the local laundry. They will pick up, wash, dry, fold and deliver laundry for $1 per pound. Nice. Laundry is cheaper than food....

So I put away groceries and clean clothes. With the help of some clothespins, I was able to revamp my make-shift closet. A few more hangers and I'm set.

It's about time for a stroll down the beach or some sitting by the pool. I have barbeque waiting for me for supper. There are no large groups of volunteers coming to Holy Cross for the next couple of weeks so I should be able to focus on things in the office. I need to write an update for donors and friends of the school, redo a couple of bulletin boards, and plan the Ash Wednesday services. I also have some follow-ups from the St. Luke's medical screenings to work on. All in all, it should keep me busy!

I hope your weather, wherever you are, is beginning to warm up with an end to the snow. Surely spring will come soon. I do love hearing from everyone, so keep those emails coming. XOXO

A Picture Post

2010-02-12T14:14:00.001-08:00

Today was the Valentine's Fair at Holy Cross. Each class -- generally the teacher -- has a booth, either a game or food. There was also music with Valentine's dedications and face painting. While most of the St. Luke's folks mingled with the children, work continued on the buildings and with data entry. There was more painting and more sand shoveling too. It's been a very successful 2 weeks at Holy Cross with great folks doing great work and having a great time.

Another Busy One

2010-02-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

It was cloudy all day which made for cooler working conditions. The St. Luke's team has done amazing amounts of work this week at Holy Cross -- the back deck is almost finished, tons of sand have been shoveled to fill in and create new land, and many, many children have seen the doctors and/or had their vision screened. We've found some kids who need to be referred to the opthalmologist or other local doctors, but we have also seen a lot of healthy children. Our data on height and weight of the children shows that every child is growing and gaining weight -- a tribute to the feeding program at Holy Cross.

I was on the go all day, back and forth between the office and the screenings, helping teachers, helping volunteers, finding needed items and touring some very generous visitors. It's never dull.

The last couple of days I have been confronted with some heartbreaking stories of child neglect and abuse. I need to learn about these children while Kim, the social worker, and Jim and Peter, the doctors, are here. I will be the one providing follow-up in the weeks to come whether it's with the next dose of worm medicine or being the one a child comes to talk to when he/she is upset. Today Marie and I worked with a tiny boy (age 6 maybe) who, because of a very upset stomach, had dirtied his clothes. She got him cleaned up, and I found him clean clothes. When we said we were going to call his mother to come get him because he was sick, he got very upset and started to cry. He said his mother would beat him because of his soiled his clothes. When she came to school, the mother assured the principal and me that she never beat her children, and he would be fine. When I handed her his filthy clothes, she said, "I will let him clean them when he feels better." That combined with the look of pure fear in his eyes as he walked away with her leads me to seriously doubt her words. I can't understand parents who punish a child for being sick, but this is not the first one I have encountered. I learned of another child who isn't currently in school, but who some of us had worked with in past years, whose mother frequently made her and her little brother sleep outside beneath their house -- which is built over a swamp -- as punishment. She tells them they must sleep with the crocodiles when they misbehave --- and there really are crocodiles in that swamp. Yesterday there was a boy with a healing broken rib caused by a beating he got at home. Then there was the boy we volunteers have known from the beginning -- one of the jewelry sellers. The principal called the police today on him and a girl who were arguing and fighting. The policeman gave him a stern talking to about behaving himself and doing his work in school so he could get a good job, etc. He walked out of the office with a smirk on his face. He is 13 but only in the 5th grade because, by his own admission, he doesn't want to work. He'd rather "beat the system". Those were the hard ones today. I will pray for them and for a way to make their lives a little better.

BUT, I also got about 150 hugs and 300 huge smiles. I got to watch and listen to 5 little boys who were major trouble-makers last year play their drums. The drum group is a reward for good behavior and good grades. They all have really turned around. They are good little drummers too. I watched the Standard VI students make, decorate and distribute hundreds of Valentine's cupcakes. Works of art!

Tonight the St. Luke's group had a "dinner on your own" night so I stayed home to catch up on email and some other work. In addition to the internet being unreliable, the wireless connection at the apartment was changed and no one told me. It has taken me a couple of days to get it all straightened out. I am so dependent on the internet! Somebody remind me what we did before we had it!!

I will try to take and post lots of pictures tomorrow at the Valentine's Fair. It should be a fun morning. The volunteers will continue to paint and enter the screening data onto the computer. I know they are sad to see their week coming to an end. I am so happy to be staying!!!

Good luck to all who are anticipating more snow tonight and tomorrow. Stay safe and warm.

The Internet Has Returned

2010-02-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

We finally have internet service after 2 days without it. It feels good to be "connected" again.

Our Superbowl party was fun, and just about everyone was pleased with the outcome of the game. For anyone who's been to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, it was easy to see how important the victory was to the city. I still remember those awful years when the Saints fans who showed up for games wore paper bags over their heads!!

The work has been amazing at Holy Cross this week. The construction crews have just about finished the decking around the back of the building. They have also shoveled a lot of sand.

The medical screenings are going very well too. We are focusing on vision screenings but have also checked out the Standard V and VI kids from tip to toe. There are quite a few "walk ins" with an assortment of ailments. I am learning a lot since I will have to do the follow-up after our doctors and nurses go home. Yikes!

Yesterday the Holy Cross football (soccer) team had its first victory, defeating St. Peters 5-0. The boys were so excited and proud. My buddy scored the first goal. The next game is not until next Friday, and I intend to be there.

Monday was the busiest day I have had yet. We had 2 volunteer groups in for their first day as well as dentists in the clinic. I gave 6 tours of the school before lunch! We also received many generous donations. Everyone is always so impressed with the school that it is fun to show it off.

Yesterday was by far the hottest day since I arrived. It was at least 90 degrees (reports vary) and muggy. We were all really tired and drained by the end of the day. It rained in the night and is cloudy today so we have some relief.

I am seeing more and more children every day. Yesterday afternoon on the way home, my friend, "Baltimore" was riding his bike home. When he came alongside me, he hopped off his bike so he could show me how well he can walk now. He is so proud to stand up straight and tall and walk without any limp. He was born with 2 club feet and spina bifida. Through Holy Cross and Shriners Hospital, he had a series of surgeries in the US 2 years ago. I met him the first year I came to Holy Cross - he was in the special ed. class because of his physical challenges. He is very smart and now has jumped ahead to Standard III. He is definitely one of the miracles of Holy Cross.

As the doctors screen the children, I have seen several children who are clearly the victims of abuse and/or serious neglect. There are children with scars from beatings, healing broken ribs, or other bones. There are others who return from every vacation having lost weight because they have not eaten the entire time. This is the hard part.

We will celebrate Clara's birthday at dinner tonight. There was a cake for her at school today. It is also Mr. Freddy's birthday. Lots of cake!!

I will try to add some pictures later. Now that I think the internet issues at my apartment have been resolved, I should be able to do more. It would take all afternoon to post pictures from this computer at the school.

For the Original St. Luke's Belize Team....

2010-02-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

Debbie, Terri, Joyce, Jean, Wade, Michael, Joshua, Mike & Margaret, John & Jean, Jim & Joanne -- this one is dedicated to you.

Today Jean, Joanne and I went to Caye Caulker. It's been 5 years since any of us was there. When we worked in other parts of Belize, we would go to Caye Caulker for the day so folks could snorkel. Now that we are in San Pedro, there is no need to go. Except that Jean and I were dying for fry jacks and conch fritters. We took the 9:30 water taxi and went straight to the Sandbox. It really has not changed at all except for new personnel. We had the fruit with yoghurt (their spelling) and granola and the world's best fry jacks. Aaahhh..... I must say that with only 3 of us in there, it really was empty and quiet. Where was that big noisy group at the long table????

We strolled around the island -- Front St. has changed a good bit and not necessarily for the best. More beach front bars and shops, less open beach space, MORE people. We first walked to the Split. The Lucky Lizard is just about to fall in, but you can buy a 2 acre parcel of land across the split. Anyone with a styrofaom box already has the means to get there.

and on the way back, stopped in Chocolate's. Chocolate himself was there and told us of all the awards he has won in Belize for his efforts to protect the manatee. Then we walked to "our" house on the back side of the island. I could tell from the road that the septic tank is still doing a great job. Aren't those doors and windows lovely too?

Of course we had to stop outside of Daisy's. The iguanas said to tell everyone 'hello'. We had a momentary shock when we thought Daisy's had given away to a new high-rise building, but we were a block before there. Daisy's looks just the same, doesn't it?

We finished off our trip with lunch back at the Sandbox -- the conch fritters were every bit as good as we remembered them.

I'm glad we went. It was fun for the 3 of us to be there together and walk down memory lane. I think -- other than possibly the fry jacks -- I don't have any desire to go there for another 5 years. San Pedro is definitely where I'd rather be.

Saturday by the Sea

2010-02-06T05:25:00.000-08:00

It's a little cooler today. Yesterday the high was 88 degrees. (oops, sorry NC). Pretty uncomfortable for the folks who were working outside at Holy Cross. The St. Luke's team one finished their week by painting the "porch" and the exterior of a classroom building.

I spent my day in the cool of the computer lab at a workshop on domestic violence. A woman from Canada has been presenting workshops and organizing interest around this issue in Belize for the past couple of weeks. She is pulling together a variety of resources to build a woman's shelter here in San Pedro. There are only 2 domestic violence shelters in all of Belize (but there are 8 animal shelters....). The 3 speakers are all survivors of spousal abuse, and several of the teachers shared their own stories either of abuse by spouses or of when they were children. The leader had some good information for the teachers. It is estimated that 1 out of 2 children at Holy Cross (and in Belize) is either the victim of physical abuse or witnesses it in their homes. It's pretty clear why the teachers need as many tools as possible to work with the children.

I met the 2nd St. Luke's team at the water taxi around 3:00. Once again a group was thrilled to have gotten out of RDU before bad weather could ground them. We took their suitcases full of donations to the school. Some of Team 1 had gone to the soccer game, where by the way, the boys of Holy Cross played an excellent game that ultimately ended in a 0-0 tie.

Everyone gathered for devotional at Ruby's and then all 27 of us went to dinner together! We had 2 huge tables at the Blue Water Grill. It was a great evening as Team 1 members shared highlights of their week, and Team 2 folks asked lots of questions. We hope the weather will not be an issue for Team 1 as they head home today.

Today most of the group is going out on a beautiful 2-mast sailboat. For me, to get on a boat, there needs to be some purpose or destination. Floating around all day on the water is not my idea of a good time. So, 3 of us are going to Caye Caulker. Yes, that involves a boat -- the water taxi -- but there is a purpose and a destination!! I haven't been to Caye Caulker in 4 years since we started coming to San Pedro. It was the first place I ever went in Belize -- where I fell in love with Belize. It will be interesting to see how it's changed in 4 years. The Sandbox Restaurant has been calling my name -- the world's best fry jacks are there. I will post pictures this evening if the internet will let me.

I am hosting the St. Luke's Superbowl party here tomorrow. I don't have the 52" flat screen projection TV that some of the bars are offering, but we can have a cozier time! Everyone will bring snacks/drinks. I hope it will be fun. I'm not sure where the team loyalties lie or if they are strong enough that we will need to divide the room into the Saints side and the other side (who is the other side???). I hope to have pictures to post of that as well. The real "division" will come Wednesday night when the group splits into the 2 shades of blue for the Duke-Carolina basketball game.

It's about time to slather on my sunscreen (oh, sorry, I did it again) and head for the water taxi dock. Have a wonderful weekend.

A Picture Post

2010-02-04T14:39:00.000-08:00

Since I've not included any photos in the last couple of posts, I'll do one that is almost entirely pictures. Sunrise

My humble abode - #11A

My space in the office -- or at least until Francis returns and reclaims it as hers

Still building over the swamp

and sunset.....

It's a Data day...

2010-02-04T11:56:00.000-08:00

The St. Luke's folks have spent most of today working on the medical records of the children. They have measured height and weight for every child in the school and entered all the available information about each child into the computer. The hope is that these records can be maintained and updated each year. There is still work going on to build the decking around the outer building, and Amy and Hope have continued their individual tutoring.

Today we had chapel services as we do every Thursday. There are 3 chapel services, beginning with the Infants. They recite the prayers, listen to the readings and sing with great joy and gusto. We had visitors for the service this morning from a local mission training group.

Yesterday was a different kind of day for me. I worked at the school until mid-morning and then took the water taxi to Belize City. I had been invited by Bishop Wright to come and meet with him. Amy went with me so she could ask some questions and get some information for the up-coming St. Luke's youth mission trip. I had a good meeting with the Bishop. He is very welcoming to clergy and other volunteers. He remembered me from a previous visit. The meeting was an opportunity for him to share his vision of the Church in Belize so that all the small parts, like mission team visits, can fit into the greater whole. I was pleased to learn that the wheels are turning for establishing an Anglican church here on San Pedro. The wheels turn slowly, but at least they are in motion. Amy got some great information for the youth trip, including the Bishop's interest in getting the St. Luke's youth together with some of the young people in Belize for dinner and conversation. It was a productive day.

Ms. Rosalea, who heads the Holy Cross kitchen team, had asked me to go to the large grocery store in Belize City while I was there. I had a long list. The Bishop was late to our meeting and then graciously spent quite a while with us. So, we didn't have time to get the groceries and make our water taxi home. Needless to say, we opted for getting to the boat on time. We arrived back in San Pedro just in time to gather with the St. Luke's folks for the day's reflection and then go to dinner.

Last night was Chicken Drop night. We had dinner at the restaurant that overlooks the big event. Miss Linda from the school was last night's MC. Quite a crowd!

I have seen more and more of the children today, first at chapel and then as I walked around the school. I love their smiles! Today they could wear their regular clothes -- no uniforms. Usually they do that on Friday, but since school is not in session tomorrow, they could do it today. I can't count how many Miley Cyrus and High School Musical shirts I have seen today!!! Not to mention NBA and NFL. Just like home....

We hoping the new wave of nasty weather in NC doesn't hinder the departure of Team 2 tomorrow. Safe travels to them.

Pictures later .... I left my USB cable at home so I can't download my pictures right now.

Tuesday evening

2010-02-02T15:42:00.001-08:00

I am sitting on my porch, watching a hummingbird flutter through the hybiscus blossoms and the bourganvillia, and enjoying the breeze. It's nice after a very busy day at Holy Cross. The St. Luke's volunteers and I worked hard today in many different parts of the school. They worked on decking and a fence, in the library, escorting children to the dental clinic, and tutoring. This afternoon we organized all the medical files from last year, consolidating forms, creating a simplified spreadsheet for record keeping and getting ready to begin measuring measuring children tomorrow to update their height and weight. They will also try to do vision screening for the children we didn't see last year. We are looking forward to having our medical folks here next week.

I gave some more tours to folks who have heard about the school and dropped by go learn more. We hope they will become generous donors.

The internet was very uncooperative and frustrating yesterday. I could never get online. There seemed to be problems all across the island so I won't take it personally. I did miss being able to check email and say "hi" to you.

Last night I went with the St. Luke's team to Wauraguma's to eat lobster burritoes. Oh my goodness. They were SO good. We had to split them because they are HUGE. I also sampled and learned about pupusas. Yum.

Today I saw one of my favorite students at the school. He's in Standard VI which means he should graduate this year and go on to high school. He lives in San Mateo, the extremely poor community near the school, with his mother and 6 siblings. He makes gorgeous jewelry -- the best of all the boys we see -- and sells it to the tourists to help support his family. I wish I could buy it all!! He walked part of the way home with me this afternoon and then went on to find some customers. I'm sure he would love to be playing soccer or riding a bike or whatever 12 year old boys do, but every afternoon he walks the beach, selling his necklaces and bracelets to the tourists.

I was too busy today to take many pictures but will try to do better.

The end of a lovely weekend

2010-01-31T18:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy weekend. Last night I joined the St. Luke's team for a birthday dinner for Randy. There were balloons and a cake and a festive time. We were so happy when Holly finally arrived. The group is all together now and ready to get busy tomorrow.

We woke to rain this morning. The showers didn't last too long, and most of the day was pretty. It's raining again now, but that always makes things cooler (sorry, NC folks) I have an AC unit in my bedroom but haven't turned it on yet. It is very comfortable at night, and ceiling fans are all I need for now. I'm sure later in the spring I will be very happy to have it.

This morning we joined St. Anne's Episcopal Church from Minnesota for Eucharist. Their priest, Lydia, and I met a couple of years ago. So last week really wasn't my last time to serve as a deacon in a worship service for awhile. It was nice to have both groups together and to enjoy the ocean breeze.

After church most of the group went to Estel's for breakfast, and I went along for the company. Some of them came back to my apt. to try my wireless internet. The internet today has been very hit and miss. It's hard to get a connection and keep it. That's Belize....

This evening I was invited by the St. Anne's group to join them for dinner. I had a wonderful meal at Sunset Grill. They will be leaving tomorrow. Their work this year was in the Toledo District of Belize which is in the southern part of the country. It was interesting to hear about other projects in the country and about how other parishes do mission trips, fundraising, etc. Also at that dinner I met a woman from Raleigh -- Apex, actually --who comes regularly to voluteer with another group. They have a warehouse in Amarillo and bring things down to Belmopan and then over to Holy Cross. We are looking forward to receiving the boxes they have for the school.

Tomorrow the dental clinic at Holy Cross will be open. The St. Luke's folks will begin their work and it will be another busy, productive and wonderful week at Holy Cross.

Aahh....Saturday

2010-01-30T05:54:00.001-08:00

Good morning. It's a beautiful Saturday in San Pedro. I hesitate to even write that knowing what the weather must be in North Carolina. It's warm, of course, with a few clouds and the ever-present breeze. I have my windows open, the fans on and --I hate to say it -- I'm wearing shorts. I hope you all are snuggled in safely at home and can stay warm.

The first St. Luke's mission team --- Team-o Primo --- arrived yesterday afternoon. We took all the suitcases full of donations to the school straight from the water taxi. Everyone got settled in at Ruby's, and I joined them for a very nice dinner. They are up to various things today --some are going to Lamanai, the Mayan ruins; others will snorkel; and most will soak up the San Pedro sun. Some are coming by here later to take advantage of my fridge space! It's great to have them here. I know they will accomplish so much at the school this week.

Later this morning I will try out my new cell phone. It's a very interesting system here. BTL (Belize Telephone) controls EVERYTHING - phone, internet, etc. I have purchased a simple, reconditioned phone with prepaid service. I don't think anyone uses a plan here -- it's all prepaid. Yesterday was "double up" day -- you got double time for your purchase. So for $20Bze, I got $40 worth of minutes. I have no idea what one call to the US will cost, but we'll see today. I was very pleased to see when I got here that Skype would work -- a great, free way to talk to family and even see them via webcam. Come to find out, BTL seeks to block that as well, so after you use it a few times, they figure out your number and shut it down. They want to make sure they get every cent possible for communication. Grr... I'm working on a way to get around that. We'll see what happens.

Thank you all for the comments on this blog, the emails and especially the prayers. Keep them coming! The snail mail really lives up to its name here -- a letter was sent to me on Jan. 22 and I still have not received it. I think there is more at play here than just "Belize time". But, don't let that slow you down --- I love hearing from everyone. Things will eventually get here.

Showing off Holy Cross

2010-01-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

I knew the time would fly once I finally got here to San Pedro and Holy Cross, and sure enough, it is! It's already the end of Week 1. Today I met with representatives of 2 colleges -- Defiance College in Ohio and Vancouver Island University -- who want to develop partnerships with Holy Cross. It was both fun and challenging to serve as the spokesperson for the school, telling the story of Holy Cross and answering a zillion questions. I know I could never do the job that Francis or Vernon would have, but I did my best. I think new and exciting things will come out of our discussions and the school will benefit greatly.

There were also visitors from the nearby condo development, Reef Village. They brought donations of school supplies, books and vitamins. There is a property dispute between the developer of Reef Village and Holy Cross -- more on that later -- but it's hoped the owners' meeting this weekend will be productive.

A rumor made its way back to me today -- the word is that Francis has left the school and I am the new manager!!! Oh no. No way! As much as I would love to be here forever, I am NOT an administrator, nor can I stay beyond June. We are working hard to squash that rumor!

I saw more of the children today, and it is so neat when they look up to greet -- as they do with every adult -- and then realize they know me! This evening in town, I saw one of my favorite little jewelry makers and got a big hug. I know I will see more of him.

Tomorrow is a 1/2 day at the school because it is pay day. Many of the teachers actually live on the mainland in Belize City, Orange Walk or other towns and must go home to pay their bills. No direct deposit here.

Through Francis's introductions, I have been in email communication with the Bishop of Belize. I have been asked to serve as the chaplain for Holy Cross while I'm here and possibly teach a youth confirmation class this spring. I have to have Bishop Wright's approval, so Wednesday I will go to Belize City to meet with him.

The weather is interesting and very changeable. We had a hard rain with lots of wind last night. Today we had 1 or 2 very quick showers. They do settle the dust, but they also fill up the potholes and make puddles. The temperatures are very comfortable (sorry all you folks about to have snow and ice at home), and I am loving wearing my flipflops!!!!

My apartment is full of local color -- murals of palm trees and birds and other local scenes everywhere. I am beginning to get used to it and actually find it pretty charming. However, the owner came by today to put a "for sale" sign in the window. Yikes. I hope I don't find myself needing to move any time soon.

I am looking forward to St. Luke's Team 1 arriving tomorrow. There has been a volunteer group from Virginia Beach here all this week. We have some mutual friends so it's been great to get to know them. They have worked very hard in many areas of the school.

I will leave you a couple of photos -- the entrance to my new home and tonight's moon.

Have a great weekend and stay warm and safe!

Back in Belize - Day 1

2010-01-26T18:04:00.001-08:00

My trip from Durham to San Pedro was very smooth yesterday. All flights were on time, and my luggage made it here too. I unpacked and settled into my little apartment last night after a lovely dinner with Francis. Today I did some grocery shopping and some more settling in.

It was wonderful to be so warmly welcomed at Holy Cross today! Many familiar faces among teachers, staff and children. It was a busy day as BOTH Francis AND Vernon had much to tell me before they leave for the US tomorrow. I hope I took good notes! They are trusting me with a lot of responsibility. I will be so glad to welcome the St. Luke's team on Friday. There is a team here this week from Virginia Beach. I am enjoying meeting them.

To me, the weather is lovely -- a little cloudy, cool and breezy. The locals are chilly, but I find it terrific. It will be good weather for those who are working outside at the school next week, and it is definitely better than the 20s and 30s in NC!!!

I hope to begin taking pictures tomorrow to make this more interesting. I'm sure each day will bring new challenges and new joys. It feels very good to be here.

Stay tuned.....

All good things must come to an end...

2007-08-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

This will be my final post. I will head back to North Carolina tomorrow. I hope the airlines will be more cooperative than they were when I came down. It will be good to be home although a part of my heart always stays here. I will enjoy -- and be thankful for -- family and friends, my own bed, reliable water, air conditioning, and as a teacher for my photocopy machine.
There has been much work at Holy Cross in the past 2 days. The framing is almost completed inside the large building that will house 7 classrooms. The entire outside of the 3 new buildings has a bright white coat of paint, and some of the older classrooms are being repainted inside. There will soon be a screen porch outside the cafeteria building, and there is a huge deck that snakes around the outside of the new classroom buildings. Almost 20 new desks have been assembled, sanded and varnished as well as 10 new bookshelves. Mr. Freddy is confident it will all be ready by September 3.
Yesterday, 2 more dumptruck loads of sand were delivered, and there is actually talk of landscaping!! The local excitement last night was that one of the dumptrucks got stuck in soft sand on the road leading to the school. There was quite a gathering of golf carts and bicycles as folks tried to figure out how to get it out. Finally, this morning a backhoe came and pulled it free.
I spent yesterday and today filling bins with teacher and student classroom supplies - pencils, crayons, notebooks, etc. Those are all ready for the teachers. I have also been sorting, moving and arranging reading books for each level. Many are still in storage, but some are on the shelves in the finished classrooms. The teachers will be excited, and I hope pleased, when they return from Belize City next week.
It has been a wonderful time here, and I feel I have been of help to the teachers and the school. There is always more to do. I have to trust God to tell me what part of it I am to do next. I am so thankful for everyone who helped make this trip possible. I'll see you very soon. Peace and love.

Monday, Monday...

2007-08-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today has been a busy day at Holy Cross. A new group of volunteers from CA arrived this morning and went straight to work. They are painting, framing, sanding desks and getting so much done. Miss Rosa treated us all to a wonderful lunch of beans and rice, chicken, plantains and flan! It's good that I can only eat her wonderful cooking a couple more times.
I have been working most of the day on the teachers' "to do" list. I've done a lot of itnernet searching trying to find some good websites for them. Home internet service is extremely expensive in San Pedro so while many of the teachers have computers, most of them use the internet cafes. My job has been to weed out and narrow down the possible sites so they can use their time more efficiently. I have also made Word Wall cards, puzzles, flashcards and other teaching aids for them. I have a list of many things to look for once I get home either to send back or bring when I return in February. That's where I'll be asking for YOUR help.
Today I met Cath and Cullen, the American couple who are living here. They are the ones who have been instrumental in Destiny's care and served as her foster parents. What wonderful folks! I got more hugs from Destiny today and took her picture in her jazzy new swimsuit. It's so great to see her full of energy.
Tomorrow I will work at the school most of the day. There is a monumental job of sorting the many donated books by reading level. Another volunteer who lives in San Pedro has begun and I will help however I can. There is also vacation Bible school which gives me a chance to see the children.
Wherever I go on this island and encounter children, they ask me if I am here at the school. They are so proud of their school and so appreciative of anyone who wants to help out there. Another new child came today with his parents asking to be admitted. I think he makes 410 students. He will be in the special ed class. He's not been to school before although he looks to be 8 or 9. His parents were very happy that he was admitted but are nervous about sending him to school for the first time. He will be well cared for and loved, I know.
I'm going to try to pack as much as possible into the next 2 days before I have to pack up and head home. Email me if you want me to bring anything back. See you soon.

Rainy Sunday afternoon

2007-08-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

This has been a lazy weekend. All the volunteers are gone until the next group arrives tomorrow from California. I have had some time to explore the island -- have seen new places both on the northern end and the southern end Ambergris. We have had a lot of rain and some pretty significant storms -- lots of thunder, lightening, WIND, and rain. This house is only about 30 yards from the ocean's edge so there is nothing to break the wind. At one point last night, the interior doors in the house were rattling because of the wind! After having the well run dry last week, I will not complain about rain. This is why this time of year is called the rainy season!
I missed being at St. Luke's this morning and look forward to being back among that family next week. I continue to thank God for the opportunity to be here and look forward to the work that's planned for me next week.
Best to all. See you soon.

It's Friday!

2007-08-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Normally I am so happy to see Friday come. But this week, it means my stay in San Pedro is more than 1/2 over. I will be sad to leave -- as always.
My time with the Holy Cross teachers has ended. We had a good day today as they pulled together all the things we've worked on all week and made plans for incorporating those strategies in their classrooms. They are very excited about starting school and getting to work with their children. I had told them they could make me a "to do" list for my remaining days here. I may have to stay another month to get it all done! I will try to leave something for each teacher and then work on other things when I get home.
The Costa Maya festival kicked off last night. Some of the teachers who live in town reported that they could hear the music until 2:00 a.m. We learned this morning that Miss Belize won the Miss Costa Maya Contest. Apparently this was a bit of a surprise as Miss Honduras was the expected winner. She was not as articulate in the question/answer portion of the contest. The festivities continue tonight and tomorrow night there is a musical performance by a very famous Central American musician. The tickets are quite expensive -- $25 per day.
Construction at the school is moving quickly with the last of the wallboard going up today. A new group of volunteers arrives tomorrow, and I'm sure Mr. Freddy has lots planned for them as well. I have met many of the families of Holy Cross as they have come this week to purchase the uniforms for their children. The children are so proud of their new jumpers or pants and shirts. They are anxious for school to start so they can wear them.
We'll see what the weekend brings. I am planning to spend it being as lazy as possible! Not hard in this heat.
I miss you all. Love and peace.

Thursday, August 2

2007-08-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

My teacher workshops are almost over -- one more day. I am enjoying getting to know the teachers and hearing them share their experiences. A couple of them have taught for years but will be new at Holy Cross. Others will be teaching for the first time. The school is blessed to have their excitement and dedication.
Today the teachers got information about their mandatory workshop next week in Belize City. It involves more than the usual amount of bureaucracy and frustration. They must be in Belize (or Orange Walk or one other location in the country) for 5 days. They are responsible for their own transportation, lodging and food! Holy Cross is giving them money for a round trip on the water taxi ($40bze each). Some have family they can stay with but others don't. They can stay at the diocesan guest house in Belize City but still have to manage meals and transportation. The Anglican diocese is providing no assistance. This is really a hardship for some of the teachers. When one of the volunteer groups from Virginia heard about this today, they donated $500 to be split among the teachers to provide some help for them.
At the school -- the roof is on the newest building and they are beginning to install the wallboard. There is a lot of painting going on as well -- windows and more windows. Once someone comes who can do framing, the new large building will be subdivided into 7 classrooms. Then more wallboard and painting. They hope to have them all finished by Sept. 3 when the children arrive for the first day of class.
The water is coming! It will come later today in four 300 gallons containers that will be used to fill the tank at the house and at the school. Each container will be brought over the bridge in a pickup truck. Special permission was required to bring the truck over the bridge. Nothing is easy in Belize, especially if you are not a tourist.
The Costa Maya festival has come to San Pedro. It officially opened today with the beauty pageant. When I was in town yesterday, I saw Miss Mexico, Miss Guatemala and Miss El Salvador. Beautiful young women. We'll wait to see what other festivities are planned. The weekend might be lively.
Love from San Pedro.

Wednesday afternoon

2007-08-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today was our second day of teacher workshops. I think things are going well. The teachers have opened up some and are sharing their ideas more. It is good to see Miss Sharon, Miss Monica, Miss Roxanne, and Miss Diane again. The new faculty includes 2 men, some veteran teachers and some 1st year teachers. They are still in the process of getting a "head" principal -- I think that is something that comes through higher level administration. Miss Sharon will now be an assistant principal and will not teach. I have also met Miss Glenda who is the counselor and nurse and Miss Linda who keeps the office running smoothly. One of the new buildings houses the office, the dental clinic and other yet-to-be-named spaces. It has air conditioning!!!!
Today was a busy one at Holy Cross. Parents came to buy uniforms for their children. With over 400 enrolled, you an imagine that the lines were long. In fact, we ran out of jumpers for the girls and have had to order more.
One of the youth groups from Virginia is conducting a Vacation Bible School each morning so I've gotten to see some of the children. I was walking outside today when Jeritzy came running up to me and threw her arms around me! She says "hi" to all her NC friends and we have made plans for me to take new pictures to show you. I have also seen Jamie and Gabe but not yet Job. There mother is working in the school kitchen with Miss Rosalea and they have moved to a house at this end of the island. Life is much better for all of them. I asked about Destiny and learned that she is doing well health-wise, has gained weight, etc. She is living with her mother and everyone is keeping a close eye on that.
There are 44 volunteers here this week --from 2 diocese in VA. Both are high school youth groups with accompanying and hard working adults. There is much hammering, a lot of painting and just a minute ago I saw 2 kids carrying one of the large louvered windows -- it had not yet been painted.
I have lovely accommodations in the home of my friends Francis and Vernon. They are in Italy this week so I won't see them but am enjoying their AC, and gracious hospitality. The house is just across the road from the school so I can easily walk over and back whenever I want. It is hot, of course. Today seems hotter than yesterday but so far there is a great breeze that helps out the fans. Our "adventure" today is that there is no water here at the house or at Holy Cross. The well has run dry and someone has turned off the valve that connects this side of the river with town water. Someone is "working on it" so we have hopes that we will have water soon. It's always an adventure in Belize!!!!
I'm going into town shortly and be a tourist for awhile. Tonight is the Chicken Drop but I may not get there. It doesn't seem like it would be as much fun without my fellow 'droppers'.... Then I have "homework" for my class tomorrow. Love and peace to you all.

I'm in Belize

2007-07-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

In spite of American Airlines, I have arrived in San Pedro. Holy Cross is amazing -- it has grown in so many ways since we were here in February. There are 2 groups of teenaged volunteers here from Virginia. One of them is led by Robert Marshall who was ordained to the diaconate with me -- small world. I am anxious to spend some time with him and catch up on his ministry. I'm also planning to "pick his brain" about the youth volunteers they have brought and how they are managing.
I met with the Holy Cross teachers this afternoon -- they had to reschedule since I didn't get here in time for our planned session this morning. It is good to see familiar faces among them. There are a number of new people as well. We will meet again tomorrow morning and throughout the week. I need to go prepare for tomorrow.
I have asked Miss Sharon about several of the children and will give you details about them later -- all good news.
It's been a long 2 days since I left RDU so I will sign off for now. Adios from San Pedro and Holy Cross.

Not there yet

2007-07-19T19:13:00.001-07:00

Please come back once I have gotten to San Pedro. I'll try to keep you updated on what I'm doing,