At the end of our technical breakout upstairs where the defunct board is, we were called to lunch. The school cooks had come in to prepare lunch for the seminary class and the college visitors, and we were invited to join them. We had jerk chicken (what a surprise) and beans and rice, unless it was rice and beans (even more a surprise). I am writing this on Friday (or from the perspective of someone who sees the blog as being in the present on Saturday I will be writing it on Friday), and which meals were beans and rice and which were rice and beans has become blurred in my memory.
After wrapping up our business at the school, we hit the road for the Lamanai ruin. The ruin was 28 miles from the highway, but the first several miles were paved or smoothly graded gravel. Eventually we ran out of smooth and got back to our accustomed potholes. We went through Mennonite country again and saw many horses and buggies, some driven by children. Since they do have cars and trucks, I speculated that fodder is cheaper than gasoline when you have a farm. We were amused to see a buggy carrying several 10-foot pieces of PVC tubing. We just never associate modern technical activities with people who use horses as their major means of transportation.
Dave guessed correctly at every unmarked turn (when Ray was with us we were always urged to go to the left), and we reached the ruin shortly before it was scheduled to close. With what I am beginning to think is typical casualness about closing time among park rangers, we were told to take as much time as we wanted. I don't know what they could have done anyway other than close the visitor center and the gift shop, since the parking lot was outside the gate.
Lamanai means "Place of the crocodile". It is unusual among Mayan ruins in being spread out along the banks of a lagoon, the New River Lagoon on the New River, the longest river that is completely within Belize. This is the river that our hotel and Sunday's restaurant are on. Most of the Mayan temple sites are compact and built around a central plaza. Diet and economy were probably very different from those at temple sites in the jungle away from water like Caracol, the capital city of the Mayans in the Belize region, but there are in fact several ruins within an easy walk of a river.
We climbed the High Temple, which was indeed high. The steps are 16-18 inches high going up and higher going down. They had a rope hung along one of the sections so you could go hand-over-hand, which especially made the descent easier. It will be Thursday before the muscles in the front of my thighs stop hurting.
The view from the top was great. You could probably see into Mexico, although there was nothing to indicate the border. My globe has Belize in yellow and Mexico in blue, but the real thing was mostly green. To the south we could see the Mennonite farms, to the north the lagoon. We were joined on the summit by a group of Mennonites. Their speech sounded more Dutch than German to me, especially when one asked another to point out "dain huis". A couple of grandmothers had made most of the climb. They didn't go the final few steps to the summit, but sat and chatted just below the top. I certainly wouldn't put in all that effort to get to the almost top and not finish, even though the open space without a railing at that height makes me uncomfortable. Especially when I am staggering from the strain on my legs to get up there.
On the grounds we saw keel-billed toucans, white-fronted parrots, and several black howler monkeys. There was vegetation in profusion, with many kinds of flowers. I saw an aloe tree and a few varieties of spices. There were many bromeliads growing on the bark of trees.
We went home a different way. I think you could say we weren't lost since we ended up in Orange Walk Town just a few blocks from the restaurant where we had decided to have supper. We had been reassuring ourselves about our direction by looking at the sun, but suddenly it was gone, and very shortly thereafter it was dark. No long twilight here.
At the restaurant I spoke to a group of people who had been trying to help me see a parrot, which I eventually saw when it flew. They are ex-pat who run a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center a few miles south of Orange Walk. They said there used to be a lot of marijuana growing in the cane fields (did I mention that we had seen trucks lined up for maybe half a mile delivering cane to the mill?). I got the impression that alcoholism is pretty serious, but they are not so far from the modern world that they are not also into crack cocaine.
After supper I strolled around downtown again. I had to do some shopping for a few items that I always bring to Shirley Knight as a reminder of our first trip to Belize. I was also supposed to find the Anglican church and the restaurant for tomorrow's breakfast. I walked between 16 and 20 blocks and found the items for Shirley and the church. I was several blocks from the restaurant when I was accosted by a couple of women sitting on a streetlamp base with their little girls. They wanted to know if I was lost, and I told them I knew where I was going at the end of my search, but I didn't know where the restaurant was. I think they were concerned about my safety, because after they told me how to find the restaurant they told me not to go down there because it is a dangerous place at night. I enjoyed the interchange, especially flirting with the little girls (about 2 and 3 years old). After I got back to the hotel I wrote this blog entry, but it didn't go through and I didn't think to save it, so I am writing it again. Silly me.
Peace,
Chuck
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Presbyterian Pre and Primary School of Orange Walk
We pulled up to the fence outside the courtyard/playground right at 9 Saturday morning and were greeted by lots of activity and about a dozen college kids. A sharp contrast to the previous afternoon, when we stopped by to get a water sample only to find no one around and everything locked up. The kids were from Vanderbilt University on an Alternate Spring Break mission trip through an organization called the Belize Project doing micro-business projects in Corazol on the northern border of Belize. We explained we were with Living Waters for the World, associated with the PCUSA, and several kids volunteered that they were also PCUSA. Small world. We were ushered into a classroom with about a half dozen Presbyterian lay pastors who were being “treated” to a lecture on Medieval Church History by a retired professor from the US. Interesting to consider what was happening in Belize during the Medieval period… After making introductions and small talk, it became apparent that we were needed elsewhere, mainly because there wasn’t enough room for us and the kids from Vanderbilt. That suited us just fine!
We rounded up some chairs and clustered into Ruth Ku’s office, actually much more spacious than the Earnest Banner’s government office in Belmopan on Wednesday. The conversation was a bit awkward at first. I suspect neither side expected much to come of it, since our conversation with Raphael Ku, Ruth’s brother-in-law on Wednesday had led both sides to the conclusion that a water system might not be feasible or appropriate at this time. Our concerns were primarily whether there was a real and demonstrable health need, and theirs was whether they could afford the costs in terms of both dollars and administrative time.
We began with small talk; I asked Ruth to bring us up to date on the history and progress of the school, so we could all be on the same page. As the conversation developed, it was as if a dark cloud began to lift. I began to realize that although our objective evidence indicated that the municipal water in Orange Walk was safe, the people of Orange Walk believed that it was not, and went to great lengths and expense to drink bottled water if at all possible. Perception is reality, and the school simply could not afford the perception that it wasn’t doing everything possible to protect the health safety of its students. Thus, they would continue to provide purified water whether we decided it was safe or not. This was further reinforced for me later in the conversation when we mentioned that although the very high hardness and dissolved solids in the Orange Walk water was not a direct health issue, it did create a bad taste, and was counter-indicated for people with kidney or gallstones. A light went on in Ruth’s eyes. She said everyone she knew had kidney stones including herself and Mario, her husband. And yes, the doctors did recommend that anyone with kidney stones avoid the hard municipal water. We had, in my mind at least, our medical justification.
Ruth’s first concern was cost. She had gotten the impression from Raphael that the expense of electricity for softening and reverse osmosis would be prohibitive. Add to that the fact that roughly half the water in an RO system is thrown away, and all would need to be purchased from the town, and it looked cost prohibitive. We did some back-of-the envelope calculations and concluded that the discarded water would only add a penny or two per gallon to the delivered cost, and even the high electricity costs in Belize would only add another nickel or so. Estimating wildly, we proclaimed that the school should be easily able to produce water for less than 50 cents (Belize!) per 5 gallon, far less than the $3 they were presently paying for bottled 5 gallon jugs. Ruth convinced us that the administrative burden wouldn’t be much more than the current process for buying commercial bottled water, and that her teachers and parent would volunteer to run the water system.
We were trapped on a virtuous cycle. The complications and objections seemed to melt away. Each side seemed to find more reasons why this could work and would be a good idea. Ruth recounted how the floods last fall had forced them to purchase large quantities of bottled water to bring upriver to the families who had been flooded out and left with contaminated wells. They were left for weeks without stable water supplies. She spoke emotionally about how a water treatment system in that situation would have allowed them to serve those needs at much lower cost.
Concluding our conversation, we settled back to reality and due diligence. Pat intends to bring this prayerfully to his congregation in Cody. We assured him that we would offer support in any way that made sense for future collaboration. Chuck promised a more detailed cost analysis, knowing her costs for electricity and water. I promised to provide some contacts from Presbyterian churches in the Yucatan where similar Living Waters systems were up and running.
As we stood to leave there were warm smiles around the room. Ruth extended her hand for a departing handshake. I couldn’t help it; I gave her a big hug. She returned it in kind.
To God be the glory.
Dan
We rounded up some chairs and clustered into Ruth Ku’s office, actually much more spacious than the Earnest Banner’s government office in Belmopan on Wednesday. The conversation was a bit awkward at first. I suspect neither side expected much to come of it, since our conversation with Raphael Ku, Ruth’s brother-in-law on Wednesday had led both sides to the conclusion that a water system might not be feasible or appropriate at this time. Our concerns were primarily whether there was a real and demonstrable health need, and theirs was whether they could afford the costs in terms of both dollars and administrative time.
We began with small talk; I asked Ruth to bring us up to date on the history and progress of the school, so we could all be on the same page. As the conversation developed, it was as if a dark cloud began to lift. I began to realize that although our objective evidence indicated that the municipal water in Orange Walk was safe, the people of Orange Walk believed that it was not, and went to great lengths and expense to drink bottled water if at all possible. Perception is reality, and the school simply could not afford the perception that it wasn’t doing everything possible to protect the health safety of its students. Thus, they would continue to provide purified water whether we decided it was safe or not. This was further reinforced for me later in the conversation when we mentioned that although the very high hardness and dissolved solids in the Orange Walk water was not a direct health issue, it did create a bad taste, and was counter-indicated for people with kidney or gallstones. A light went on in Ruth’s eyes. She said everyone she knew had kidney stones including herself and Mario, her husband. And yes, the doctors did recommend that anyone with kidney stones avoid the hard municipal water. We had, in my mind at least, our medical justification.
Ruth’s first concern was cost. She had gotten the impression from Raphael that the expense of electricity for softening and reverse osmosis would be prohibitive. Add to that the fact that roughly half the water in an RO system is thrown away, and all would need to be purchased from the town, and it looked cost prohibitive. We did some back-of-the envelope calculations and concluded that the discarded water would only add a penny or two per gallon to the delivered cost, and even the high electricity costs in Belize would only add another nickel or so. Estimating wildly, we proclaimed that the school should be easily able to produce water for less than 50 cents (Belize!) per 5 gallon, far less than the $3 they were presently paying for bottled 5 gallon jugs. Ruth convinced us that the administrative burden wouldn’t be much more than the current process for buying commercial bottled water, and that her teachers and parent would volunteer to run the water system.
We were trapped on a virtuous cycle. The complications and objections seemed to melt away. Each side seemed to find more reasons why this could work and would be a good idea. Ruth recounted how the floods last fall had forced them to purchase large quantities of bottled water to bring upriver to the families who had been flooded out and left with contaminated wells. They were left for weeks without stable water supplies. She spoke emotionally about how a water treatment system in that situation would have allowed them to serve those needs at much lower cost.
Concluding our conversation, we settled back to reality and due diligence. Pat intends to bring this prayerfully to his congregation in Cody. We assured him that we would offer support in any way that made sense for future collaboration. Chuck promised a more detailed cost analysis, knowing her costs for electricity and water. I promised to provide some contacts from Presbyterian churches in the Yucatan where similar Living Waters systems were up and running.
As we stood to leave there were warm smiles around the room. Ruth extended her hand for a departing handshake. I couldn’t help it; I gave her a big hug. She returned it in kind.
To God be the glory.
Dan
Pain in the...
What a great congregation you must have. Dan, Chuck and Dave were driven nuts by me for a week while they focused on the Yalbac water project with diplomacy and efficiency. I cannot imagine how relieved they were to have the pain from their ass evaporate after kindly taking me to the ariport yesterday on the way to check out LWW's first Belize project in Orange Walk. Overall I focused more on food, so perhaps there emerged some awareness of food security in the midst of water parting while we traveled from Gales Point area to the poor South of Belize [Toledo district] to Cayo and project prospects there as well as the Yalbac covenant and details that are largely settled.
In case anyone is interested here is our church's website; we are far behind in blog and website development however.
http://www.swarthmorepres.org/home.html
Yours in Christ,
Ray Hopkins
Presbyterian elder and Rotarian from Swarthmore.
In case anyone is interested here is our church's website; we are far behind in blog and website development however.
http://www.swarthmorepres.org/home.html
Yours in Christ,
Ray Hopkins
Presbyterian elder and Rotarian from Swarthmore.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday travels
Today we took Ray to the airport and ended up in Orange Walk. On the way out of San Ignacio Ray had to drop off a sweater at the Octavia Waight nursing home, and he had to deal with a half-million Italian lyra (worth maybe $300) that were useless to him but of potential value to the proprietor of the Italian restaurant. I'm not sure what deal he worked, but it was amusing that he had to come to Belize to get rid of Italian currency.
We got to Belize City early enough for lunch. After wandering around the city, which is crowded and has chaotic traffic, we found the Indian restaurant Ray was looking for.
Soup for lunch was tasty and agreeably light. Above the bar a cricket match was being shown on TV. the picture wasn't really clear, but I think it would have been incomprehensible anyway.
After dropping Ray at the airport, we came back into the city to try to meet with the operator of the government water laboratory. He didn't show up, but I did have a brief chat with the woman who does microscopic identification and diagnosis at the malaria lab. Because the other guys were eager to get on the road, I resisted the urge to stop in the Maternal Child Health office to see what they are doing.
Up the Northern Highway the houses along the road were in somewhat better condition than most in the little villages in Cayo District. We were passed by a fast-moving pickup truck that had a small sofa in the bed, up against the cab. In it were two elderly-ish plumpish ladies in long Mennonite dresses, holding their straw sunhats on their heads and chattering away. It was a photo-op that we regretted missing.
In Orange Walk Town we first found the school and then found our hotel. We teased Pat for driving the wrong direction on the one-way street in front of the hotel, as well as having run a stop light earlier, because he is a former police officer (Previously Pistol-Packing Police, Presently Presbyterian Pastor Pat). The hotel is on a river and is forested down to the water. It looked like something out of the Amazon or African Queen.
After supper I wandered around town for a while. There were shops of a variety of sizes, from a large appliance store to room-sized shops stocked with CDs, T-shirts, and jeans. I found a grocery store with five aisles and one-hundred-pound sacks of sugar stacked by the front window. These stores generally do not sell produce, which is mainly sold at the open-air market.
Orange Walk town, with its town square park and central boulevard, has a more open feel than San Ignacio and Belize City. The people seemed more inclined to gather and socialize in the park than I had seen before. I was definitely more comfortable there.
Peace,
Chuck
We got to Belize City early enough for lunch. After wandering around the city, which is crowded and has chaotic traffic, we found the Indian restaurant Ray was looking for.
Soup for lunch was tasty and agreeably light. Above the bar a cricket match was being shown on TV. the picture wasn't really clear, but I think it would have been incomprehensible anyway.
After dropping Ray at the airport, we came back into the city to try to meet with the operator of the government water laboratory. He didn't show up, but I did have a brief chat with the woman who does microscopic identification and diagnosis at the malaria lab. Because the other guys were eager to get on the road, I resisted the urge to stop in the Maternal Child Health office to see what they are doing.
Up the Northern Highway the houses along the road were in somewhat better condition than most in the little villages in Cayo District. We were passed by a fast-moving pickup truck that had a small sofa in the bed, up against the cab. In it were two elderly-ish plumpish ladies in long Mennonite dresses, holding their straw sunhats on their heads and chattering away. It was a photo-op that we regretted missing.
In Orange Walk Town we first found the school and then found our hotel. We teased Pat for driving the wrong direction on the one-way street in front of the hotel, as well as having run a stop light earlier, because he is a former police officer (Previously Pistol-Packing Police, Presently Presbyterian Pastor Pat). The hotel is on a river and is forested down to the water. It looked like something out of the Amazon or African Queen.
After supper I wandered around town for a while. There were shops of a variety of sizes, from a large appliance store to room-sized shops stocked with CDs, T-shirts, and jeans. I found a grocery store with five aisles and one-hundred-pound sacks of sugar stacked by the front window. These stores generally do not sell produce, which is mainly sold at the open-air market.
Orange Walk town, with its town square park and central boulevard, has a more open feel than San Ignacio and Belize City. The people seemed more inclined to gather and socialize in the park than I had seen before. I was definitely more comfortable there.
Peace,
Chuck
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Cristo Rey
Chuck and I drove out to Cristo Rey from San Ignacio just as it was getting dark on Thursday. It's not far; maybe 20 minutes. It felt much farther on a rough road in the dark. Especially since the news I knew we were about to deliver wasn't good.
Chuck, Peggy, Lynn Kszos and her daughter, and I visited Cristo Rey last spring. We learned that their well water was very hard, harder than Yalbac, with high dissolved solids. We also learned that both the well water and the river water are biologically contaminated. However, we had also learned that Cristo Rey had a government sponsored water delivery system with a tank and a chlorinator, but that they weren't using the chlorinator at present. I had decided in advance that we had to tell them we wouldn't treat the well water.
We met with Giovanni Montalvan the mayor, and Alfredo Guerra the chairman of the water board, and a few others. We told them what we had learned and that we wouldn't treat the well water. They confirmed that the pump had broken on the chlorinator but that they didn't like the taste anyway and were concerned about what the chlorine did to the concrete when it spilled, so they had never fixed it.
We then offered them a carrot and a stick. We suggested that we could put in a system to treat their river water to give them the same quality water as in San Ignacio or Santa Elena if they could locate or build an appropriate building. I handed them a blank Water Issues Survey and said we could meet again on our next trip and discuss things further. I also suggested that they could check out Yalbac to see if something like this would be appropriate for them.
As we were leaving Giovanni said that they were opening an internet cafe in the next couple weeks and he would have an email address. I smiled and said we'd keep in touch. On the way back through the hills to Santa Elena, Chuck's cell phone rang. Dale was calling. The contrast between our communication expectations and those in Belize was striking.
Dan
Chuck, Peggy, Lynn Kszos and her daughter, and I visited Cristo Rey last spring. We learned that their well water was very hard, harder than Yalbac, with high dissolved solids. We also learned that both the well water and the river water are biologically contaminated. However, we had also learned that Cristo Rey had a government sponsored water delivery system with a tank and a chlorinator, but that they weren't using the chlorinator at present. I had decided in advance that we had to tell them we wouldn't treat the well water.
We met with Giovanni Montalvan the mayor, and Alfredo Guerra the chairman of the water board, and a few others. We told them what we had learned and that we wouldn't treat the well water. They confirmed that the pump had broken on the chlorinator but that they didn't like the taste anyway and were concerned about what the chlorine did to the concrete when it spilled, so they had never fixed it.
We then offered them a carrot and a stick. We suggested that we could put in a system to treat their river water to give them the same quality water as in San Ignacio or Santa Elena if they could locate or build an appropriate building. I handed them a blank Water Issues Survey and said we could meet again on our next trip and discuss things further. I also suggested that they could check out Yalbac to see if something like this would be appropriate for them.
As we were leaving Giovanni said that they were opening an internet cafe in the next couple weeks and he would have an email address. I smiled and said we'd keep in touch. On the way back through the hills to Santa Elena, Chuck's cell phone rang. Dale was calling. The contrast between our communication expectations and those in Belize was striking.
Dan
Golden Corral
We retraced our steps from earlier in the week toward Yalbac. This time we stopped in Spanish Lookout, the Mennonite community south of Yalbac. Our destination was the Golden Corral, a restaurant, where Chuck and Mike Sale and I had eaten with Sheree and Aki last spring. This Golden Corral has nothing at all to do with any Golden Corral at which you may have eaten in the US. This one has Belizean rice and beans (not stewed beans and rice) on the menu, along with German pirogues. I ordered the regular sized beans and rice with beef, thinking that a $5Bz small portion wouldn’t be enough. My $8BZ ($4US) arrived stacked high on the plate and dripping off the edges. And on top of that, it was delicious.
We were meeting Harrison for lunch and further discussion of the Yalbac project. We showed up about 15 minutes early (US time) and he showed up about 15 minutes late (Belize time). Although we were eager for Harrison to sign our covenant agreement it became quickly obvious that he was not, setting it aside and changing the subject instead of saying no. Belizeans hate saying no. Harrison was much more interested in a conversation with Dave and Aki about having the company he works for, Belize Concrete, build the water building. Aki reviewed the proposal and decided it was about the same cost and much simpler than hauling concrete blocks up to Yalbac and building it with volunteer labor.
After lunch Harrison picked up the stack of covenant copies to bring back to Yalbac. They’re having a community wide meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss and hopefully approve the covenant. Signed copies will be delivered to Sheree and passed along to us, completing the preliminary stages of this project.
Dan
We were meeting Harrison for lunch and further discussion of the Yalbac project. We showed up about 15 minutes early (US time) and he showed up about 15 minutes late (Belize time). Although we were eager for Harrison to sign our covenant agreement it became quickly obvious that he was not, setting it aside and changing the subject instead of saying no. Belizeans hate saying no. Harrison was much more interested in a conversation with Dave and Aki about having the company he works for, Belize Concrete, build the water building. Aki reviewed the proposal and decided it was about the same cost and much simpler than hauling concrete blocks up to Yalbac and building it with volunteer labor.
After lunch Harrison picked up the stack of covenant copies to bring back to Yalbac. They’re having a community wide meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss and hopefully approve the covenant. Signed copies will be delivered to Sheree and passed along to us, completing the preliminary stages of this project.
Dan
Wildlife comment
One other note about the trip back from Spanish Lookout. While we were waiting for the ferry, we were visited by a warbler-sized hummingbird, which flew around the car, peering through each of the windows as though it wanted to come in and join us. It was a female green-breasted mango, a beautiful bird, gray on the front with a black stripe down the center and burgundy-violet colors on the underside of the tail. The beak was about 1 1/2 inches long. I guess it decided it couldn't get into the car, so after a tour all the way around, it flew off.
Although there is much poverty, Belize is blessed with much beauty.
Peace,
Chuck
Although there is much poverty, Belize is blessed with much beauty.
Peace,
Chuck
Encountering the Men on the Bridge
As we were standing around “debriefing” one evening this week I was struck that we may be in a situation analogous to the “Man on the Bridge” story from Pastor Kerra’s sermon on February 15. We are clearly in a situation where may accept someone else’s burden and be trapped in a long term dependency where we can’t extricate ourselves. (Okay, so maybe I’m a little slow on the uptake but I wasn’t even in church that week so cut me some slack.)
The analogy isn’t perfect but I’ve never met a metaphor that I can’t extend and stretch to the breaking point. Rather than accepting a burden unbidden from a stranger, we are seeking people already dangling from the bridge who we want to help. As in the parable, some want us untie their ropes from the bridge and accept their burden with no expectation of helping themselves back up.
Some are simply out bungee jumping and don’t need any help, thank you very much. (One of my favorite sayings during this trip has been “When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”)
Finally there are those who are truly in peril, are seeking assistance and are certainly willing to help themselves back up if we can help them (if you want to keep extending the metaphor, sometimes we need to convince them that they are in peril).
The trick is to discern which is which because it certainly isn’t always obvious. That’s where God’s grace and the ability to wisely use our God-given gifts comes in I guess.
Peace to All,
Dave
Rotary
The weekly San Ignacio Rotary meeting is held from 7 to 8 AM every Thursday in the elegant but slightly shabby (this is Belize) San Ignacio Hotel, owned and run by the wife of the current Rotary president.
I presented the standard Living Waters PowerPoint with embellishment to focus on our Rotary partnership and the Yalbac water project. The 20 or so attendees were interested and receptive, asking quite a few questions as I wrapped up.
Afterward, the president and I signed three copies of our three-way covenant agreement with Yalbac. Ray and Pat then headed off with John, the president, to San Antonio, a village south of Cristo Rey, while Dave and Chuck and I headed back to our rooms to prepare for a lunch meeting with Harrison Mocollock, the chair of the Yalbac village council.
Dan
I presented the standard Living Waters PowerPoint with embellishment to focus on our Rotary partnership and the Yalbac water project. The 20 or so attendees were interested and receptive, asking quite a few questions as I wrapped up.
Afterward, the president and I signed three copies of our three-way covenant agreement with Yalbac. Ray and Pat then headed off with John, the president, to San Antonio, a village south of Cristo Rey, while Dave and Chuck and I headed back to our rooms to prepare for a lunch meeting with Harrison Mocollock, the chair of the Yalbac village council.
Dan
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Ash Wednesday
The morning was pretty quiet. We had a leisurely breakfast and did paperwork until it was time to go to Sherree and Aki's to regroup. On the way we dropped Ray off at the Octavia Waight nursing home, which we have visited on previous trips, to take care of some business. He was on his own to walk back after that, so he got a bit of exercise.
Aki drove us to Belmopan, where we located the office where we were to meet. The office was not in the government compound, but according to Sherree was on a road a ways around the ring road in a building like the ones a block over but under the tall tree. It turned out the be the last building on the way out of the loop where the King's Children's Home is located. We had a very producutive meeting there, as I think Dan has described. I was pleased but somewhat boggled by being able to phone and set up a face-to-face meeting with the head of a government program in just a couple of days. Sherree made it a very relaxed meeting because she and the director were joking about various other projects and what a nuisance she had been. I'm convinced that if the director actually comes to watch the installation, he'll be hooked and really supportive. Maybe putting plumbing together is a guy thing.
We went immediately from that meeting to Raphael Ku in Santa Elena, the sister city of San Ignacio. Raphael is beginning to burn out from the load of school management, which he seems to do with no staff; church development, which worries him because church growth is not keeping up with school growth; and seminary concerns, which he didn't say much about but had talked about quite a bit when we saw him last year. Fortunately, a new general manager is coming and in a couple of weeks he will have three seminary graduates to share the load of pastoring. That will double the number of ordained Presbyterian pastors in Belize and increase the number of English-speaking pastors from one to four. He didn't specify, but I think the students are Belize-born, as he is, so he will no longer be the only one.
We went to Ash Wednesday service at St. Andrews Anglican Church, where Dale and I initially met Sherree and Aki. Dale and Ashley phoned me during the sermon, so I missed most of it, but it was given in Spanish and translated inaudibly by a teenager who had trouble with some of the words. I got the feeling she was also having a little trouble with the Spanish, which seemed really strange.
After the service, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant operated by an Italian. The food was excellent and certainly different from Italian food I have had in the States.
All in all, it was another very productive day. Thanks to Sherree and Aki for greasing so many skids for us.
Peace,
Chuck
Aki drove us to Belmopan, where we located the office where we were to meet. The office was not in the government compound, but according to Sherree was on a road a ways around the ring road in a building like the ones a block over but under the tall tree. It turned out the be the last building on the way out of the loop where the King's Children's Home is located. We had a very producutive meeting there, as I think Dan has described. I was pleased but somewhat boggled by being able to phone and set up a face-to-face meeting with the head of a government program in just a couple of days. Sherree made it a very relaxed meeting because she and the director were joking about various other projects and what a nuisance she had been. I'm convinced that if the director actually comes to watch the installation, he'll be hooked and really supportive. Maybe putting plumbing together is a guy thing.
We went immediately from that meeting to Raphael Ku in Santa Elena, the sister city of San Ignacio. Raphael is beginning to burn out from the load of school management, which he seems to do with no staff; church development, which worries him because church growth is not keeping up with school growth; and seminary concerns, which he didn't say much about but had talked about quite a bit when we saw him last year. Fortunately, a new general manager is coming and in a couple of weeks he will have three seminary graduates to share the load of pastoring. That will double the number of ordained Presbyterian pastors in Belize and increase the number of English-speaking pastors from one to four. He didn't specify, but I think the students are Belize-born, as he is, so he will no longer be the only one.
We went to Ash Wednesday service at St. Andrews Anglican Church, where Dale and I initially met Sherree and Aki. Dale and Ashley phoned me during the sermon, so I missed most of it, but it was given in Spanish and translated inaudibly by a teenager who had trouble with some of the words. I got the feeling she was also having a little trouble with the Spanish, which seemed really strange.
After the service, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant operated by an Italian. The food was excellent and certainly different from Italian food I have had in the States.
All in all, it was another very productive day. Thanks to Sherree and Aki for greasing so many skids for us.
Peace,
Chuck
Raphael Ku
Arriving about 15 minutes late (we’re now on Belize time) we greeted Raphael Ku in the courtyard of his small church in Santa Elena, the sister city to San Ignacio. Raphael is one of 3 ordained ministers in the Belize Presbyterian Church, and the only ordained Belizean. He’s also the general manager of 10 Presbyterian Schools in Belize. Raphael invited us into the preschool and showed us around while answering questions. Then he ushered us into the sanctuary where he hosted a long and frank conversation about the future of the Presbyterian Church in Belize and the situation in Orange Walk specifically. This was a valuable preamble to our visit on Saturday with Ruth Ku, Raphael’s sister-in-law and principal of the Presbyterian Pre and Primary School where a defunct Living Waters system resides. The focus begins to shift from our work in Cayo to future possibilities on the broader Belize landscape.
Dan
Dan
Earnest Banner
We all piled into Aki Fukai's Honda SUV for the trip from Santa Elena to Belmopan. All except Ray, that is, who spent much of the day at the Octavia Waight Retirement Home. We encountered a light rain on Western Highway, foreshadowing the deluge that poured down while we had lunch and conversation at Perkups in Belmopan. Pat and I had watermelon juice to drink - a firstfor me. I wonder how you squeeze a watermelon?
After lunch Aki and Dave dropped us (Sheree, Chuck, Pat and me) at the Government Rural Development Board where we met with Earnest Banner, Rural Development Coordinator for all of of Belize. He grilled us about our plans for Yalbac and showed a high level of interest in what we are doing there. He promised that if we called him in advance he would be there for the installation. He also wanted to send his people to learn about the workings of the system while we installed it.
When Sheree asked about other possible sites with water needs he quickly listed three locations in desperate need: St. Matthews, Biscayne, and Franks. All of these are desperate for clean water and located in the Belize City district to the east of Cayo. Sheree and I plan to explore these options during our next trip. It's amazing how one thing leads to another...
Dan
After lunch Aki and Dave dropped us (Sheree, Chuck, Pat and me) at the Government Rural Development Board where we met with Earnest Banner, Rural Development Coordinator for all of of Belize. He grilled us about our plans for Yalbac and showed a high level of interest in what we are doing there. He promised that if we called him in advance he would be there for the installation. He also wanted to send his people to learn about the workings of the system while we installed it.
When Sheree asked about other possible sites with water needs he quickly listed three locations in desperate need: St. Matthews, Biscayne, and Franks. All of these are desperate for clean water and located in the Belize City district to the east of Cayo. Sheree and I plan to explore these options during our next trip. It's amazing how one thing leads to another...
Dan
Pat's first post
Hi, I am Pat Montgomery from First Presbyterian Church in Cody, WY. First I need to compliment FPC, Oak Ridge on a number of things. Your commitment to the Living Waters program is tremendous. What you are doing in Appalachia and working towards here in Belize speaks incredibly well of your congregation and the faith. I also must say (at the risk of creating impossible egos for the rest of the week) Dan, Dave and Chuck are wonderful ambassadors for your congregation and for the Living Waters program. Together they form a beautifully balanced team to further your Belize efforts. Both I and all of FPC Cody are blessed through being invited along on this trip.
Thus far we have been in the southern and middle parts of Belize. New friends have been made and future work has been explored. My previous LWW work has been in Guatemala and I am struck by how similar…and yet how different the two countries are. Obviously they are at about the same latitude and the climates are very similar. Yet the differences are many.
Belize has much more ethnic diversity Mestizo, Mayan, Garifuna, Anglo, etc. Belize has much more tourism; Belize is much less densely populated, has much more wildlife and in general is much cleaner. The Belizean government seems to be much more “hands off” than that of Guatemala. We see far less police and military presence here than we did in Guatemala. It is far easier to drive one’s self in Belize and simple tasks are just easier here. In Guatemala our water tests revealed biological contamination about 95% of the time while here in Belize tests so far indicate biological contamination only about 50% of the time. Here in Belize there appears to be less litter. Even the poorest homes and yards appear a bit tidier, the cars appear less road weary, and perhaps most helpful of all, the majority of folks speak English.
This last point makes a huge difference when doing the relationship building part of the LWW program. Much more can be accomplished in less time with all parties having a far greater understanding. Even in the Yalbac situation where FPC Oak Ridge is working, many of the young and several of the village council members speak English. A translator still needs to be present, but it is much easier to form a relationship and come to an understanding. It also allows the LWW team to split up and work on multiple points at a time. When the people from Cody went to Guatemala for their early visits, the translating was great, but the process was just so much more slow and cumbersome.
The Yalbac community members Oak Ridge is working with are good hard working people. They know the creek water makes them sick, they know the well water is not pure, but they also have little ability to make significant change without the contributions and technical help of LWW (FPC Oak Ridge) and the contributions of Rotary. As an outside observer to what you all are doing in Yalbac, your project seems to be coming together very well and I believe your efforts will be well worth while.
Despite all the differences between Guatemala and Belize one thing remains the same. The key to success is not found in the purification system itself (good as it is); instead what is most critical is the cultural change that takes place through the educational efforts and the empowerment that happens when people are equipped to change their lives for the better.
After my crash course introduction to Belize over the past few days, today (Ash Wednesday) I start doing things more directly related to FPC Cody. We still have some details to pin down for the Oak Ridge folks in relation to Yalbec, but later today we meet with Raphael Ku who is the director of Presbyterian Schools in Belize. This should prove useful for our visit to Orange Walk on Saturday, where FPC Cody may have an opportunity to work with the local Presbyterian School there. Not only is Raphael the Director of Presbyterian Schools in Belize, but his sister in law, Ruth Ku is also director or principal of the Orange Walk School. (In Wyoming we like to say that the state is just a small town with very long streets. In that regard Belize is very similar.) I may get put to work on this trip yet.
I am constantly grateful to Dan, Chuck, Dave and Ray for bringing me along on this excursion. Without their allowing me to be a fifth wheel on this trip I could never have had such a good experience in such a short period of time. Thanks FPC Oak Ridge.
(P.S. One of your team members snores tremendously.)
Pat Montgomery
Thus far we have been in the southern and middle parts of Belize. New friends have been made and future work has been explored. My previous LWW work has been in Guatemala and I am struck by how similar…and yet how different the two countries are. Obviously they are at about the same latitude and the climates are very similar. Yet the differences are many.
Belize has much more ethnic diversity Mestizo, Mayan, Garifuna, Anglo, etc. Belize has much more tourism; Belize is much less densely populated, has much more wildlife and in general is much cleaner. The Belizean government seems to be much more “hands off” than that of Guatemala. We see far less police and military presence here than we did in Guatemala. It is far easier to drive one’s self in Belize and simple tasks are just easier here. In Guatemala our water tests revealed biological contamination about 95% of the time while here in Belize tests so far indicate biological contamination only about 50% of the time. Here in Belize there appears to be less litter. Even the poorest homes and yards appear a bit tidier, the cars appear less road weary, and perhaps most helpful of all, the majority of folks speak English.
This last point makes a huge difference when doing the relationship building part of the LWW program. Much more can be accomplished in less time with all parties having a far greater understanding. Even in the Yalbac situation where FPC Oak Ridge is working, many of the young and several of the village council members speak English. A translator still needs to be present, but it is much easier to form a relationship and come to an understanding. It also allows the LWW team to split up and work on multiple points at a time. When the people from Cody went to Guatemala for their early visits, the translating was great, but the process was just so much more slow and cumbersome.
The Yalbac community members Oak Ridge is working with are good hard working people. They know the creek water makes them sick, they know the well water is not pure, but they also have little ability to make significant change without the contributions and technical help of LWW (FPC Oak Ridge) and the contributions of Rotary. As an outside observer to what you all are doing in Yalbac, your project seems to be coming together very well and I believe your efforts will be well worth while.
Despite all the differences between Guatemala and Belize one thing remains the same. The key to success is not found in the purification system itself (good as it is); instead what is most critical is the cultural change that takes place through the educational efforts and the empowerment that happens when people are equipped to change their lives for the better.
After my crash course introduction to Belize over the past few days, today (Ash Wednesday) I start doing things more directly related to FPC Cody. We still have some details to pin down for the Oak Ridge folks in relation to Yalbec, but later today we meet with Raphael Ku who is the director of Presbyterian Schools in Belize. This should prove useful for our visit to Orange Walk on Saturday, where FPC Cody may have an opportunity to work with the local Presbyterian School there. Not only is Raphael the Director of Presbyterian Schools in Belize, but his sister in law, Ruth Ku is also director or principal of the Orange Walk School. (In Wyoming we like to say that the state is just a small town with very long streets. In that regard Belize is very similar.) I may get put to work on this trip yet.
I am constantly grateful to Dan, Chuck, Dave and Ray for bringing me along on this excursion. Without their allowing me to be a fifth wheel on this trip I could never have had such a good experience in such a short period of time. Thanks FPC Oak Ridge.
(P.S. One of your team members snores tremendously.)
Pat Montgomery
Yalbac Resort
We stayed Monday night at Victor Tut’s unfinished resort just outside Yalbac village. It’s on a hill within easy walking distance of the well site where our treatment system will be placed. The building is a pretty impressive poured concrete structure, with three stories embedded into the hilltop. The top floor is a big concrete slab bigger than a basketball court and covered with beautiful tile. There’s a kitchen at one end and a bar at the other end, and no walls with a railing all around. The hammocks suspended from the concrete beams were inviting and the views of the mist rising from the distant hills were spectacular. The thatched roof soared 30 feet overhead and created a wonderful jungle ambiance. All our rooms were on the floor below this community area, and none of this was finished and ready for “prime time”. We had the place to ourselves, except for Victor, his wife, and a handful of their staff. An interesting juxtaposition of wealth; the potential luxury of the resort, still in a raw and unfinished state; and a short walk away, the subsistence level living of Yalbac village. A country of contrasts.
Dan
Dan
Small Country
Belize is a small country. I was reminded again of this Monday morning at Jesus Guerra’s house. Jesus is on the Water Board for Cristo Rey. Chuck and I had been introduced to him by Atiliano Jones last March. This time we had just come from Victor Tut’s Crystal Paradise Resort, where Ray had negotiated prices for a stay at Victor’s unfinished resort within walking distance of Yalbac village. The only thing separating Jesus’ property from Victor’s in Cristo Rey was a 16 acre parcel owned by a friend of Ray, and some old and deep-seated animosity.
Yalbac is nearly an hour’s drive away from Cristo Rey, even though it’s only 25 miles or so in distance. Even so, Victor himself hosted us at the lodge in Yalbac, with his wife doing the cooking. I negotiated to stay again at the lodge in two months when we come back to install the water system. I wish I knew what price we’d agreed on!
Tomorrow, Wednesday, we head to Belmopan, about an hour to the east. Sheree asked if we might be interested in meeting with someone on the Rural Development Board. When we said yes, she promptly got on the phone. When she got off the phone, she said we had a meeting scheduled for tomorrow at 2 with Ernest Banner, the Minister of the National Rural Development Board. So tomorrow while Dave and Aki go on a scavenger hunt for water parts, Sheree and Pat and I will be meeting with a National Minister.
Belize is a small country.
Dan
Yalbac is nearly an hour’s drive away from Cristo Rey, even though it’s only 25 miles or so in distance. Even so, Victor himself hosted us at the lodge in Yalbac, with his wife doing the cooking. I negotiated to stay again at the lodge in two months when we come back to install the water system. I wish I knew what price we’d agreed on!
Tomorrow, Wednesday, we head to Belmopan, about an hour to the east. Sheree asked if we might be interested in meeting with someone on the Rural Development Board. When we said yes, she promptly got on the phone. When she got off the phone, she said we had a meeting scheduled for tomorrow at 2 with Ernest Banner, the Minister of the National Rural Development Board. So tomorrow while Dave and Aki go on a scavenger hunt for water parts, Sheree and Pat and I will be meeting with a National Minister.
Belize is a small country.
Dan
A few pictures
Here are a few pictures to help you envision where we've been so far. I hope they'll be in roughly chronological order (since I haven't played with pictures before on the blog I don't know how they'll turn out).
This was our first stop in the village of Gale's Point. This village appeared to be possibly the most needy of the various stops we have made but they also appeared to have access to water resources that they weren't currently utilizing. This was also different from the other areas we've visited because it's located along the coast.
Heading back in the other direction, this picture was taken at Hope Creek. This is situated at the junction of two major roads so although they didn't currently have a good supply of water, they potentially could get bottled water delivered easily. The village was devastated by a major flood that swept through last October. Based on the water marks we saw, the water in this location looked like it rose to about the height of the trailer bed in the picture. In the picture you can see the homeowner who's water we were sampling along with Ray Hopkins, Pat Montgomery, Chuck Hadden (back to you) and Dan Terpstra.
We then headed further south into the Toledo district. Unfortunately I don't have any good pictures from the Hope Mission in Mafredi. This picture was taken in the village of Santa Cruz which is located further south (west?) This was another unique location nestled in rolling hills and consisting mostly of thatched building. Here Ray is explaining what we want to do (test water) and negotiating over crafts they were trying to sell. I don't think they saw too many cars come through and all along the road the locals tried to get us to stop and buy their crafts.
We then headed north to our current location near Yalbac. This picture was taken in Yalbac and we're re-testing the well that we plan to use for our installation in May. The hand pump will be replaced by an electric pump powered by the generator that we need to install for the water purification system. In addition to Dan and Pat, Aki and Sheree Fukai are shown providing the "people power" for the pump. They are our local partners from the San Ignacio Rotary Club.
This picture was taken looking back toward the Catholic church and school. This is the spot where we hope to see the water purification building standing two months from now.
As the first visible sign that we plan to return and make something happen, yesterday we pounded some stakes in the ground to mark the approximate location of the new building.
To God be the glory!
Dave
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, Yalbac to San Ignacio
I spoke with the principal of the school this morning. His main question was when we were going to get started. He was very cooperative and agreed to use Living Waters arts and crafts in the classrooms. The children don't go to school on Friday afternoon, and he said he would ask them to come back after lunch on installation Friday, when we anticipate being ready to have the village adults teach the children. I noticed a poster on the classroom wall about hand-washing that could have come from Living Waters literature, so I was very encouraged about their receptivity to hygiene education.
On the way back, we saw many cattle egrets and some of what Dave insisted were horse egrets. I assumed the cattle egrets and horse egrets were willing to intermingle, but we didn't stick around long enough to see. (At the resort I saw a bird that looked very much like a wood thrush. When I Googled Belizean thrushes, I found that it was a wood thrush.) The trip back to San Ignacio included an essential stop in Spanish Lookout for Mennonite ice cream. Then to get back we had to cross a river on a hand-cranked cable ferry that held a maximum of three cars.
We made a fortuitous contact with a woman in the Agriculture Ministry pesticide control field office just outside of San Ignacio. We had been told in Yalbac that the villagers were concerned that pesticide runoff from rice farms upstream might be getting into their groundwater. The woman at the Ag office was gratified that the villagers were aware of and concerned about pesticides, and she promised to have one of her staff research what chemicals might be in use.
Dinner was at a Sri Lankan restaurant. My fish curry was really tasty, but what I thought would be Sri Lankan mild and Gringo spicy was really pretty mild. Their papadum was also very good, but much different in flavor from Indian papadum.
I am being dragged off to a meeting (I am actually writing this Thursday morning). More later.
Peace,
Chuck
On the way back, we saw many cattle egrets and some of what Dave insisted were horse egrets. I assumed the cattle egrets and horse egrets were willing to intermingle, but we didn't stick around long enough to see. (At the resort I saw a bird that looked very much like a wood thrush. When I Googled Belizean thrushes, I found that it was a wood thrush.) The trip back to San Ignacio included an essential stop in Spanish Lookout for Mennonite ice cream. Then to get back we had to cross a river on a hand-cranked cable ferry that held a maximum of three cars.
We made a fortuitous contact with a woman in the Agriculture Ministry pesticide control field office just outside of San Ignacio. We had been told in Yalbac that the villagers were concerned that pesticide runoff from rice farms upstream might be getting into their groundwater. The woman at the Ag office was gratified that the villagers were aware of and concerned about pesticides, and she promised to have one of her staff research what chemicals might be in use.
Dinner was at a Sri Lankan restaurant. My fish curry was really tasty, but what I thought would be Sri Lankan mild and Gringo spicy was really pretty mild. Their papadum was also very good, but much different in flavor from Indian papadum.
I am being dragged off to a meeting (I am actually writing this Thursday morning). More later.
Peace,
Chuck
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday in Cayo District
We got to Hanna's restaurant in San Ignacio shortly after 6 AM because Ray said it would be really crowded by 6:15. Actually, maybe four other parties had come in by 6:45. I had papaya and pineapple with homemade yogurt and granola. A nice change from eggs and beans.
We went up through Cristo Rey to the Crystal Paradise resort, where Ray negotiated with Victor Tut to set rates to stay at Tut's resort in Yalbac. We saw hummingbirds twice as big as those at home, brown jays the size of small crows, and a collared aracari, as well as several birds and flowers I couldn't identify.
After dropping off a present for Nadean Jones's grandbaby at Cristo Rey, we picked up Sherree and Aki and went up to Yalbac. I talked to one of the teachers about or education plans. He thought it was a good idea but couldn't comment on whether we could use any class time or whether he thought we could use the church, and he clearly did not want to stay after school to help with the teaching.
Meetings with the village elders were successful beyond our expectations. The folks at the evening meeting of the village council were enthusiastic and seemed savvy about what we were planning. We left feeling that we really would end up with a signed covenant. One of the council, a 17-year old who had interpreted for the afternoon meeting, felt this was so important that she came in her church dress and earrings.
Monday night we were treated to a howler monkey chorus and then a heavy rain shower. Another interesting feature was that after we went to bed the generator was turned off and didn't come on again until just before breakfast. It was very dark with the overcast and no city lights around.
Chuck
We went up through Cristo Rey to the Crystal Paradise resort, where Ray negotiated with Victor Tut to set rates to stay at Tut's resort in Yalbac. We saw hummingbirds twice as big as those at home, brown jays the size of small crows, and a collared aracari, as well as several birds and flowers I couldn't identify.
After dropping off a present for Nadean Jones's grandbaby at Cristo Rey, we picked up Sherree and Aki and went up to Yalbac. I talked to one of the teachers about or education plans. He thought it was a good idea but couldn't comment on whether we could use any class time or whether he thought we could use the church, and he clearly did not want to stay after school to help with the teaching.
Meetings with the village elders were successful beyond our expectations. The folks at the evening meeting of the village council were enthusiastic and seemed savvy about what we were planning. We left feeling that we really would end up with a signed covenant. One of the council, a 17-year old who had interpreted for the afternoon meeting, felt this was so important that she came in her church dress and earrings.
Monday night we were treated to a howler monkey chorus and then a heavy rain shower. Another interesting feature was that after we went to bed the generator was turned off and didn't come on again until just before breakfast. It was very dark with the overcast and no city lights around.
Chuck
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Cayo
We made it to Cayo. This is the name of both the largest district and the nickname of the largest town in western Belize. Formerly known as San Ignacio, it’s smaller than Oak Ridge, but the jumping off point for our adventures in Yalbac.
We attended the Anglican (don’t call us Episcopal) church in Placencia this morning, after which we all had brunch. Ray headed for a swim, as the rest of us headed back to the guest house to pack and dispose of some water samples. So far two of the samples we collected on our first day have shown positive for biological contamination: the creek near Gales Point at the old pumping station, and the spigot in Ramon’s village of Hope Creek. The second of those, Ramon’s village, may be a good possibility for a future water site.
On our way back up Hummingbird Highway, we decided to stop at Jaguar Creek and look around. As we drove down the dirt road in a light drizzle, we came upon Matteo and his wife walking toward camp from the bus stop. Matteo was a security guard during both of our previous stays at Jaguar Creek. He remembered us after a brief puzzlement, and asked if Sarah was still playing soccer. He invited us to look around, and since not much had changed, it brought back a flood of memories as we showed it off proudly to Ray and Pat.
We continued on to Belmopan and headed down Western Highway toward Cayo town. We rolled in about 5:30 and checked into 5 little stand-alone wooden bungalows in the back near the river. A flurry of phone calls was mostly unproductive, but I was able to talk to Lucy, the young daughter of the water board president in Cristo Rey to let him know we would stop in briefly in the morning to arrange a longer visit later in the week. We also set up an early morning meeting with Victor Tut, owner of a resort south of Cristo Rey and a camp near Yalbac where we hope to stay tomorrow night. As we prepared to walk to dinner, we were surprised to see Sheree and Aki, our local Rotary contacts roll into the parking lot. We took them to dinner and had a long and productive conversation over a good meal. They are a class act, and have everything under control. I’m more confident than ever that this trip will be a success.
I hope to post this entry if I can find a wireless signal. After that it might be a couple days before I get another chance.
It’s gratifying to see the comments on the blog and know that someone’s reading this. Keep commenting. And keep praying for us. So far this trip has been blessed with few and minor glitches. I’m grateful and confident that we’ll be able to achieve our major goals.
Dan Terpstra
We attended the Anglican (don’t call us Episcopal) church in Placencia this morning, after which we all had brunch. Ray headed for a swim, as the rest of us headed back to the guest house to pack and dispose of some water samples. So far two of the samples we collected on our first day have shown positive for biological contamination: the creek near Gales Point at the old pumping station, and the spigot in Ramon’s village of Hope Creek. The second of those, Ramon’s village, may be a good possibility for a future water site.
On our way back up Hummingbird Highway, we decided to stop at Jaguar Creek and look around. As we drove down the dirt road in a light drizzle, we came upon Matteo and his wife walking toward camp from the bus stop. Matteo was a security guard during both of our previous stays at Jaguar Creek. He remembered us after a brief puzzlement, and asked if Sarah was still playing soccer. He invited us to look around, and since not much had changed, it brought back a flood of memories as we showed it off proudly to Ray and Pat.
We continued on to Belmopan and headed down Western Highway toward Cayo town. We rolled in about 5:30 and checked into 5 little stand-alone wooden bungalows in the back near the river. A flurry of phone calls was mostly unproductive, but I was able to talk to Lucy, the young daughter of the water board president in Cristo Rey to let him know we would stop in briefly in the morning to arrange a longer visit later in the week. We also set up an early morning meeting with Victor Tut, owner of a resort south of Cristo Rey and a camp near Yalbac where we hope to stay tomorrow night. As we prepared to walk to dinner, we were surprised to see Sheree and Aki, our local Rotary contacts roll into the parking lot. We took them to dinner and had a long and productive conversation over a good meal. They are a class act, and have everything under control. I’m more confident than ever that this trip will be a success.
I hope to post this entry if I can find a wireless signal. After that it might be a couple days before I get another chance.
It’s gratifying to see the comments on the blog and know that someone’s reading this. Keep commenting. And keep praying for us. So far this trip has been blessed with few and minor glitches. I’m grateful and confident that we’ll be able to achieve our major goals.
Dan Terpstra
Placencia, Jaguar Creek, San Ignacio
Ray and I started the day with coffee at dawn at Yoli's restaurant on the pier. Sunrise over the ocean didn't really happen. There was a line of clouds on the horizon that rose as fast as the sun. I guess that means the clouds were moving east to west, which seems strange to me.
At church we were treated to a baptism, whose participants were not readily identifiable except the baby, Mom, and the priest. There were two other women and a man in the group, whom some thought were godmother, aunt, and father, but I thought were grandmother and godparents. I think Dad slipped in after the service for the family picture. The priest took the party to task at one point for not answering the questions loudly enough. The baby was wearing white slacks and jacket and a lovely ecclesiastical stole, which is not common in Belize but is in Guatemala, where the woman I thought was grandmother had bought it.
After brunch, at which I had a french toast sandwich filled with chocolate and topped with a white sauce containing a berry liquer, we checked out and headed back to the Hokey Pokey water taxi.
After stops in Jaguar Creek and then at Ian Anderson's to look for Ray's daily requirement of iron-in-Guiness, we arrived at our resort in San Ignacio. The resort comprises a number of cabins in a row of trees that have labels giving the scientific name, common name, habitat, and medicinal uses. They included avocado, almond, trumpet tree, and custard apple. It was a great surprise that my cabin had a large cable TV. There were at least six soccer channels, and channels 110-113 were in Chinese. What I heard later seemed to be that most of the cable service was pirated from somebody else's signals.
Sherree and Aki arrived just as we were contemplating supper. We walked up the street to a restaurant where the tables were under an open roof. We had great food and conversation, and also kids on bicycles and dogs running around among the tables.
It was really nice to catch up with Sherree and Aki again and incorporate Sherree's enthusiasm with ours. Aki's support is strong and quiet. He really seems to be key in getting projects done. We are blessed to be working with both of them and have them mentor us on the ways of Belize.
At church we were treated to a baptism, whose participants were not readily identifiable except the baby, Mom, and the priest. There were two other women and a man in the group, whom some thought were godmother, aunt, and father, but I thought were grandmother and godparents. I think Dad slipped in after the service for the family picture. The priest took the party to task at one point for not answering the questions loudly enough. The baby was wearing white slacks and jacket and a lovely ecclesiastical stole, which is not common in Belize but is in Guatemala, where the woman I thought was grandmother had bought it.
After brunch, at which I had a french toast sandwich filled with chocolate and topped with a white sauce containing a berry liquer, we checked out and headed back to the Hokey Pokey water taxi.
After stops in Jaguar Creek and then at Ian Anderson's to look for Ray's daily requirement of iron-in-Guiness, we arrived at our resort in San Ignacio. The resort comprises a number of cabins in a row of trees that have labels giving the scientific name, common name, habitat, and medicinal uses. They included avocado, almond, trumpet tree, and custard apple. It was a great surprise that my cabin had a large cable TV. There were at least six soccer channels, and channels 110-113 were in Chinese. What I heard later seemed to be that most of the cable service was pirated from somebody else's signals.
Sherree and Aki arrived just as we were contemplating supper. We walked up the street to a restaurant where the tables were under an open roof. We had great food and conversation, and also kids on bicycles and dogs running around among the tables.
It was really nice to catch up with Sherree and Aki again and incorporate Sherree's enthusiasm with ours. Aki's support is strong and quiet. He really seems to be key in getting projects done. We are blessed to be working with both of them and have them mentor us on the ways of Belize.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Transitions
I’m sitting on the veranda on the second floor of Dianni’s Guest House, enjoying the pleasant ocean breezes and feeling the slight glow of a mild sunburn. It’s late; 11:00 back home, but only 10:00 here. Dianni’s is in the town of Placencia on the tipoff a 17 mile peninsula about halfway down the coast of Belize.
Today is an early R&R day, between our commitments at Hope Mission in Mafredi last night and this morning, and our commitments in San Ignacio and Yalbac beginning tomorrow evening.
It’s been a pleasant day. We woke up to the sound of the ocean in Punta Gorda and trekked back to Mafredi for breakfast at Jerry Parham’s house next door to the Hope Mission Center at 7:30. We arrived right on time – very American. After breakfast we had a long and engaging conversation with Jerry and Valerie Osborne about future directions and opportunities. I’m optimistic we can together make something happen to God’s glory and the benefit of the people of this area.
Around mid-morning we headed deeper into the mountains toward the Guatemala border. Our goal was two-fold:
First, to visit a small Mayan village that Rebekah Pound mentioned to us yesterday. She said we would find it representative of the small poor villages in the area. It was. While collecting a water sample from the pumping station, we were accosted by 3 generations of Mayan women and children eager to sell us their handmade wares. Ben now has a new bracelet and Sarah has a brightly colored handbag.
Second, to visit a waterfall that Ray remembers from a visit over a decade ago. When it became apparent that Ray, the oldest member of our team, fully intended to jump off the bluff nearly 30 feet above the pool below the falls, Dave and I couldn’t let him be the only one. We stripped to our skivvies and joined him in the water. Thankfully no pictures accompany the event.
A long ride on rough dirt roads finally brought us back to the paved Southern Highway and north to Independence. On Ray’s insistence, we parked the SUV and took the Hokey Pokey ferry from Independence across the lagoon to Dianni’s place in Placencia. After some sight-seeing and fruit gelato, we wandered down to Yoli’s place on the beach. Ray wanted to know who was cooking dinner. Yoli herself came out and gave Ray a big hug along with assurances that she was the cook tonight. We had a couple rounds on a pier over the bay, watching some big catamarans reposition themselves, and talking to Yoli’s husband Ragan. He’s a Canadian ex-pat with some valuable knowledge about the goings-on around Yalbac.
Dinner was excellent; shrimp, grouper and black snapper. The conversation matched the meal, including a rollicking tale from Pat Montgomery about how he single handedly salvaged the merger of the Northern and Southern Presbyterian churches oh so many years ago. An after dinner walk took Ray and Chuck and me on a scavenger hunt to find the daughter and son-in-law of Jerry Parham. This morning his wife told us over breakfast that they both work at restaurants in Placencia. We found them, and embarrassed them at their work place by showing up as three old white guys they’d never met with a message from mom and dad. It’s a story they’re sure to repeat.
Now it’s late and time for bed. Tomorrow it’s off to Northwest Belize and another adventure.
Dan Terpstra
Today is an early R&R day, between our commitments at Hope Mission in Mafredi last night and this morning, and our commitments in San Ignacio and Yalbac beginning tomorrow evening.
It’s been a pleasant day. We woke up to the sound of the ocean in Punta Gorda and trekked back to Mafredi for breakfast at Jerry Parham’s house next door to the Hope Mission Center at 7:30. We arrived right on time – very American. After breakfast we had a long and engaging conversation with Jerry and Valerie Osborne about future directions and opportunities. I’m optimistic we can together make something happen to God’s glory and the benefit of the people of this area.
Around mid-morning we headed deeper into the mountains toward the Guatemala border. Our goal was two-fold:
First, to visit a small Mayan village that Rebekah Pound mentioned to us yesterday. She said we would find it representative of the small poor villages in the area. It was. While collecting a water sample from the pumping station, we were accosted by 3 generations of Mayan women and children eager to sell us their handmade wares. Ben now has a new bracelet and Sarah has a brightly colored handbag.
Second, to visit a waterfall that Ray remembers from a visit over a decade ago. When it became apparent that Ray, the oldest member of our team, fully intended to jump off the bluff nearly 30 feet above the pool below the falls, Dave and I couldn’t let him be the only one. We stripped to our skivvies and joined him in the water. Thankfully no pictures accompany the event.
A long ride on rough dirt roads finally brought us back to the paved Southern Highway and north to Independence. On Ray’s insistence, we parked the SUV and took the Hokey Pokey ferry from Independence across the lagoon to Dianni’s place in Placencia. After some sight-seeing and fruit gelato, we wandered down to Yoli’s place on the beach. Ray wanted to know who was cooking dinner. Yoli herself came out and gave Ray a big hug along with assurances that she was the cook tonight. We had a couple rounds on a pier over the bay, watching some big catamarans reposition themselves, and talking to Yoli’s husband Ragan. He’s a Canadian ex-pat with some valuable knowledge about the goings-on around Yalbac.
Dinner was excellent; shrimp, grouper and black snapper. The conversation matched the meal, including a rollicking tale from Pat Montgomery about how he single handedly salvaged the merger of the Northern and Southern Presbyterian churches oh so many years ago. An after dinner walk took Ray and Chuck and me on a scavenger hunt to find the daughter and son-in-law of Jerry Parham. This morning his wife told us over breakfast that they both work at restaurants in Placencia. We found them, and embarrassed them at their work place by showing up as three old white guys they’d never met with a message from mom and dad. It’s a story they’re sure to repeat.
Now it’s late and time for bed. Tomorrow it’s off to Northwest Belize and another adventure.
Dan Terpstra
Saturday PM, Punta Gorda to Placencia
First, my thoughts about Punta Gorda. The southernmost large town in Belize, PG was a disappointment when we visited Friday night. It was dreary, with dirty, shabby buildings packed close together. Other than political rallies by both the ins and the outs, nothing seemed to be going on. Ray seemed to delight in taking us up one empty street and down the next, pointing out all the shuttered shops and restaurants. Not a place to vacation or do much of anything else.
We started our Saturday venture with a search for bakery shops so Ray could get pastries. No luck, they were closed. We went back to the Hope mission for a delicious breakfast of beans, fresh fruit, fry bread and fried dukunus. Fry bread is something like a light fluffy large sopapilla made with wheat flour. Dukunus are a kind of tamale made from a lump of freshly ground white corn mush steamed in a corn husk. We had had fresh duconos Friday night, and the leftovers were sliced and fried for breakfast.
Our hosts, the local director of the mission and his wife, had ancestors from southern India. He is a rice farmer in addition to his duties with the mission and as the head of the village council.
After breakfast we headed up into the hills on roads that wandered through the forest and would probably have been twice as long if you measured up and down through the potholes as well as forward. We passed through the village of San Antonio, which had a paved road(!), and then on to San Marcos to take a water sample. Before the car had stopped moving at the San Marcos well, a young woman came running down the hill to be the first to offer us crafts to buy. She had a covered palm basket the size of a volley ball, which was lovely and probably a steal at $30 US, but it seemed too large to pack and bring home. Now I am wishing I had decided to find a way to bring it home. The woman had four small children and another on the way. She was barefoot but wearing a beautiful dress, apparently handmade.
On through the village we saw free range chickens, horses, pigs, and even a peccary (javelina in Texas). Also churches, a school, and a library. I think you have read about our adventures at the waterfall.
On the way back north, we had pavement briefly, then several miles of dirt-surfaced road construction, and finally pavement again. We went first through orange groves, then banana plantations, more oranges, more bananas, and back to oranges. There weren’t many kinds of flowers, mostly a yellow daisy-like composite on trees that were up to about 30 feet high. In the towns, however, there were many varieties of hibiscus and bougainvillea, all on large bushes. Most of the birds inland were grackles, but I did see a king vulture Friday, kingfishers at the waterfall, and a pair of yellow kiskadees today. Out on the beach at Placencia there were brown pelicans, gulls, cormorants, and a few magnificent frigate birds.
Placencia seems somehow disconnected from the rest of Belize, like Key Caulker did. People elsewhere have their own real lives, but in Placencia everything seems to be related to partying and shopping. It’s much less dreary than Punta Gorda.
Saturday night we had supper at a restaurant on a pier over the ocean. The proprietor and her husband were friends of Ray, as many people in Belize seem to be. We had a delicious meal of shrimp and fish with coconut rice and salad. Dan and Ray and I wandered around for a while finding the daughter and son-in-law of the Hope Mission folks, and then abandoned the hopping nightlife in favor of sleep.
Dave has been twitting me about how much I am writing, so enough for now. To maintain my record, my Sunday entry will come in on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Chuck
We started our Saturday venture with a search for bakery shops so Ray could get pastries. No luck, they were closed. We went back to the Hope mission for a delicious breakfast of beans, fresh fruit, fry bread and fried dukunus. Fry bread is something like a light fluffy large sopapilla made with wheat flour. Dukunus are a kind of tamale made from a lump of freshly ground white corn mush steamed in a corn husk. We had had fresh duconos Friday night, and the leftovers were sliced and fried for breakfast.
Our hosts, the local director of the mission and his wife, had ancestors from southern India. He is a rice farmer in addition to his duties with the mission and as the head of the village council.
After breakfast we headed up into the hills on roads that wandered through the forest and would probably have been twice as long if you measured up and down through the potholes as well as forward. We passed through the village of San Antonio, which had a paved road(!), and then on to San Marcos to take a water sample. Before the car had stopped moving at the San Marcos well, a young woman came running down the hill to be the first to offer us crafts to buy. She had a covered palm basket the size of a volley ball, which was lovely and probably a steal at $30 US, but it seemed too large to pack and bring home. Now I am wishing I had decided to find a way to bring it home. The woman had four small children and another on the way. She was barefoot but wearing a beautiful dress, apparently handmade.
On through the village we saw free range chickens, horses, pigs, and even a peccary (javelina in Texas). Also churches, a school, and a library. I think you have read about our adventures at the waterfall.
On the way back north, we had pavement briefly, then several miles of dirt-surfaced road construction, and finally pavement again. We went first through orange groves, then banana plantations, more oranges, more bananas, and back to oranges. There weren’t many kinds of flowers, mostly a yellow daisy-like composite on trees that were up to about 30 feet high. In the towns, however, there were many varieties of hibiscus and bougainvillea, all on large bushes. Most of the birds inland were grackles, but I did see a king vulture Friday, kingfishers at the waterfall, and a pair of yellow kiskadees today. Out on the beach at Placencia there were brown pelicans, gulls, cormorants, and a few magnificent frigate birds.
Placencia seems somehow disconnected from the rest of Belize, like Key Caulker did. People elsewhere have their own real lives, but in Placencia everything seems to be related to partying and shopping. It’s much less dreary than Punta Gorda.
Saturday night we had supper at a restaurant on a pier over the ocean. The proprietor and her husband were friends of Ray, as many people in Belize seem to be. We had a delicious meal of shrimp and fish with coconut rice and salad. Dan and Ray and I wandered around for a while finding the daughter and son-in-law of the Hope Mission folks, and then abandoned the hopping nightlife in favor of sleep.
Dave has been twitting me about how much I am writing, so enough for now. To maintain my record, my Sunday entry will come in on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Chuck
Friday, February 20, 2009
Day One
It’s been a long and busy day. I’m rewinding and trying to find an anecdote that captures the essence of the day. I’m not sure there’s one that will do it.
Might it be the conversation with the school principal at Gales Point who just wants clean water for her kids to drink? She couldn’t even provide us a sample because today there was no water. The pump was not working and she didn’t know why.
Or Karl, the operator who rode two miles on Ray’s lap to the pump house for the Gales Point well, and fired up the diesel generator to power the electric pump to pump the water so we could get a sample. Oh, by the way, since the pump is running, let’s go ahead and fill the water tank.
Or maybe the Nazarene lay pastors who hosted us for lunch (stewed chicken and rice and beans…or beans and rice). They listened intently as we outlined the role of Living Waters for the World.
Ramon, a former cop and bar owner, and a recent convert to Christianity, was impressive in his passion for his faith and his community. He’s setting up an internet café, the first in his community and promises to have his own email address on March 9. He wants very much for us to “approve his application” for a Living Waters system so his church can provide affordable clean water to the disadvantaged in his community.
Maybe Rebekah Pound, niece of a Nazarene “pioneer” missionary who came to Belize over 30 years ago. She came to Belize over 6 years ago to do recovery work for Hurricane Iris. She stayed and started a High School. She talked with us intently about wanting to do good for the people of the villages of southern Belize. She thinks water might be a part of that picture.
Or Jerry Parham, village elder rice grower and school bus driver in Mafredi. He opened his house to us for dinner, accompanied by four surprise (to us) house guests from Kentucky who we hadn’t expected to meet. Then he offered to let us sleep in the house with his wife and son and granddaughter (and Kentucky guests) when it was discovered that the killer bees living behind the church had migrated inside.
Or maybe Ray Hopkins, extravert extraordinaire, who hobnobbed with everyone in sight, brought a smile to many faces through the day, and pestered the innkeepers at a hotel in Punta Gorda (we couldn’t take advantage of Jerry’s genuinely gracious hospitality) to find us a place with rooms available. And who decided after we’d checked in to another hotel, to pay a visit to the owner when the night manager told us he couldn’t honor the 10% discount that the first innkeepers had negotiated for us. I still don’t know the outcome of that story.
The bottom line: if the remaining trip is as adventure filled as today, I’ll come home exhausted. With a big and satisfied smile on my face. God is good.
Dan Terpstra
Might it be the conversation with the school principal at Gales Point who just wants clean water for her kids to drink? She couldn’t even provide us a sample because today there was no water. The pump was not working and she didn’t know why.
Or Karl, the operator who rode two miles on Ray’s lap to the pump house for the Gales Point well, and fired up the diesel generator to power the electric pump to pump the water so we could get a sample. Oh, by the way, since the pump is running, let’s go ahead and fill the water tank.
Or maybe the Nazarene lay pastors who hosted us for lunch (stewed chicken and rice and beans…or beans and rice). They listened intently as we outlined the role of Living Waters for the World.
Ramon, a former cop and bar owner, and a recent convert to Christianity, was impressive in his passion for his faith and his community. He’s setting up an internet café, the first in his community and promises to have his own email address on March 9. He wants very much for us to “approve his application” for a Living Waters system so his church can provide affordable clean water to the disadvantaged in his community.
Maybe Rebekah Pound, niece of a Nazarene “pioneer” missionary who came to Belize over 30 years ago. She came to Belize over 6 years ago to do recovery work for Hurricane Iris. She stayed and started a High School. She talked with us intently about wanting to do good for the people of the villages of southern Belize. She thinks water might be a part of that picture.
Or Jerry Parham, village elder rice grower and school bus driver in Mafredi. He opened his house to us for dinner, accompanied by four surprise (to us) house guests from Kentucky who we hadn’t expected to meet. Then he offered to let us sleep in the house with his wife and son and granddaughter (and Kentucky guests) when it was discovered that the killer bees living behind the church had migrated inside.
Or maybe Ray Hopkins, extravert extraordinaire, who hobnobbed with everyone in sight, brought a smile to many faces through the day, and pestered the innkeepers at a hotel in Punta Gorda (we couldn’t take advantage of Jerry’s genuinely gracious hospitality) to find us a place with rooms available. And who decided after we’d checked in to another hotel, to pay a visit to the owner when the night manager told us he couldn’t honor the 10% discount that the first innkeepers had negotiated for us. I still don’t know the outcome of that story.
The bottom line: if the remaining trip is as adventure filled as today, I’ll come home exhausted. With a big and satisfied smile on my face. God is good.
Dan Terpstra
On the Mission Circuit!
We covered a lot of ground today. Most of the others did the heavy lifting. I’ll let Dan provide the gory details. The first stop struck me as the most frustrating. The poverty was significant and our primary task was to convince people of very limited resources that they needed to be concerned, and ultimately pay for, pure water (that’s why I’m a LWW tech person and not a people person).
We visited a number of villages, took many water samples and drove on miles and miles of dirt roads. We finished the day at the Hope Mission Center and were surprised to find our contacts from Kentucky came down here to work at the last minute (they say hi, Tim). Things took a further surprising turn when our lodging for the night, the local Methodist church, turned out infested by killer bees. Our host offered to put the five of us in his living room along with housing four from Kentucky but we opted to drive up to the nearest “big” city and get some hotel rooms for the night.
We’re on the coast so we should see another great Belizean sunrise tomorrow. We’ll hit a few more villages at the southern most end of our travels before heading up to the Yalbac area on Sunday.
Peace to all,
Dave
We visited a number of villages, took many water samples and drove on miles and miles of dirt roads. We finished the day at the Hope Mission Center and were surprised to find our contacts from Kentucky came down here to work at the last minute (they say hi, Tim). Things took a further surprising turn when our lodging for the night, the local Methodist church, turned out infested by killer bees. Our host offered to put the five of us in his living room along with housing four from Kentucky but we opted to drive up to the nearest “big” city and get some hotel rooms for the night.
We’re on the coast so we should see another great Belizean sunrise tomorrow. We’ll hit a few more villages at the southern most end of our travels before heading up to the Yalbac area on Sunday.
Peace to all,
Dave
We've Arrived
We've arrived safe and sound in Belize.
Deju vu all over again (see my first post during last years trip). Our flight was delayed out of Knoxville and we only had a forty five minute lay over in Atlanta to begin with. A rush through the Atlanta airport but we made it okay.
We met up with Pat in Atlanta (he actually spotted me, I guess I looked distinctly Presbyterian) and Ray was waiting for us outside the Belize airport with the car already to go.
Beautiful drive to our first night's stop. A little cramped with five guys plus luggage in a small SUV. We'll be drawing straws to see who drives, who gets shot-gun and the loser sits in the middle in the back.
We stopped for a late lunch in Belmopan. We all had "Cow's Foot Soup". Quaint name. I won when I discovered a good size bit of "hoof" at the bottom of the bowl.
We then stopped in Armenia. The water system wasn't in terrible disrepair. The brass faucets had been removed but not broken off. Unfortunately it also looked like the tanks hadn't been used in a while. They were empty and the tie-down straps were missing (maybe they disappeared when the faucets were taken). On the up side the last large tank (the one Ben climbed inside to clean) had been plumbed into the bathroom in the Community Building.
We proceeded through the mountains on Humingbird Highway south of Jaguar Creek (the direction we didn't typically drive). The last seven miles were on a dusty durt road and we ended up at a small church camp for the night.
Today we're off to investigate a few potential water sites.
Peace to all,
Dave
Deju vu all over again (see my first post during last years trip). Our flight was delayed out of Knoxville and we only had a forty five minute lay over in Atlanta to begin with. A rush through the Atlanta airport but we made it okay.
We met up with Pat in Atlanta (he actually spotted me, I guess I looked distinctly Presbyterian) and Ray was waiting for us outside the Belize airport with the car already to go.
Beautiful drive to our first night's stop. A little cramped with five guys plus luggage in a small SUV. We'll be drawing straws to see who drives, who gets shot-gun and the loser sits in the middle in the back.
We stopped for a late lunch in Belmopan. We all had "Cow's Foot Soup". Quaint name. I won when I discovered a good size bit of "hoof" at the bottom of the bowl.
We then stopped in Armenia. The water system wasn't in terrible disrepair. The brass faucets had been removed but not broken off. Unfortunately it also looked like the tanks hadn't been used in a while. They were empty and the tie-down straps were missing (maybe they disappeared when the faucets were taken). On the up side the last large tank (the one Ben climbed inside to clean) had been plumbed into the bathroom in the Community Building.
We proceeded through the mountains on Humingbird Highway south of Jaguar Creek (the direction we didn't typically drive). The last seven miles were on a dusty durt road and we ended up at a small church camp for the night.
Today we're off to investigate a few potential water sites.
Peace to all,
Dave
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Advance
Thursday evening
We made it to the Advance Mission at about 5:30 this afternoon. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but this is Belize. Ray encouraged us to take Hummingbird Highway instead of the Coastal Highway. Judging from the 7 miles we finally did travel on the dirt and potholes of Coastal, that was probably the right choice. Isidro and his wife cooked up a delicious dinner of chicken with rice and beans (or is it beans and rice?) while the five of us settled into a dorm built for 32. After dinner Ray Neu joined us to explain his role in teaching lay pastors to more effectively minister in the area and his interest in helping us with clean water systems. He provided us with a new tidbit of information: Barry Bowen’s Crystal Water is now available as refills for $2 BZ for a five gallon jug. That’s very cost competitive and raises the question as to whether we should try to compete with those prices. This may lead us to consider focusing on areas where Crystal is not readily available; too small or remote.
We learned a great deal of valuable and interesting information from Ray and Ray today. It’s kinda overwhelming to try to absorb it all. Tomorrw the plan is to visit a government school in Gales Point about 10 miles north of here. The principal filled out a Water Issues Survey and we want to complete the picture with a water sample. After that we’ll head to Mafredi, stopping in Hope Creek for another water sample and in Silk Grass to pick up a Survey to go along with it.
I’m looking around the room. Everyone else is asleep, or at least trying to. I suppose I should turn off the lights. Good night.
Dan Terpstra
We made it to the Advance Mission at about 5:30 this afternoon. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but this is Belize. Ray encouraged us to take Hummingbird Highway instead of the Coastal Highway. Judging from the 7 miles we finally did travel on the dirt and potholes of Coastal, that was probably the right choice. Isidro and his wife cooked up a delicious dinner of chicken with rice and beans (or is it beans and rice?) while the five of us settled into a dorm built for 32. After dinner Ray Neu joined us to explain his role in teaching lay pastors to more effectively minister in the area and his interest in helping us with clean water systems. He provided us with a new tidbit of information: Barry Bowen’s Crystal Water is now available as refills for $2 BZ for a five gallon jug. That’s very cost competitive and raises the question as to whether we should try to compete with those prices. This may lead us to consider focusing on areas where Crystal is not readily available; too small or remote.
We learned a great deal of valuable and interesting information from Ray and Ray today. It’s kinda overwhelming to try to absorb it all. Tomorrw the plan is to visit a government school in Gales Point about 10 miles north of here. The principal filled out a Water Issues Survey and we want to complete the picture with a water sample. After that we’ll head to Mafredi, stopping in Hope Creek for another water sample and in Silk Grass to pick up a Survey to go along with it.
I’m looking around the room. Everyone else is asleep, or at least trying to. I suppose I should turn off the lights. Good night.
Dan Terpstra
On our Way
We're in the air over Atlanta and the captain has just announced that we can use approved electronic devices. So out comes my computer. I've got a choice. I can write another entry for the blog. Or I can write an update on the Community Garden for the Banner. Blog sounds more fun.
Mary Mullins delivered us safely to the airport this morning, where we cooled our heels waiting for departure. We sat on the ground for a half hour waiting for clearance from Atlanta. A bit unnerving, since we only had a 45 minute layover. We made it, after a mad dash up the escalators to our gate. And we even got a chance to meet Pat Montgomery, albeit very briefly, before boarding.
I’ve got a window seat, and I must not be composing my thoughts too quickly, because I can see the Florida coast as I glance out the window. Soon we’ll be in Belize. I’m trying to focus on today and not look too far ahead.
An email yesterday from our host for tonight, Ray Neu, indicates that he’s been busy. He says he’s got several completed Water Issues Surveys from locations in our area, and recommends that we stop at a school on the way to Dangriga to talk with the principal who is interested in a water system.
Valerie Osborne, our contact for Mafredi, tells us that although there’s no café or restaurant in the village (just a church, a school, two shops and four houses), the local families are excited about our visit tomorrow and planning to cook for us. She says we’re in for a treat.
Another email message last night indicates that Ray Hopkins, our Swarthmore partner, is still negotiating a place to stay for Monday night. One of the families of Yalbac has a resort near Cristo Rey, and a camp near Yalbac. We’d like to stay overnight at the camp while we’re negotiating with the village about the water system, but so far the price we’ve been quoted for the camp is higher than for the resort. We’ll need to see what happens here.
We’ve picked up a solid cloud cover, so there’s nothing to see out the window. I hope it breaks before we get to Cuba. In the meanwhile I suppose I should write that garden article.
Dan Terpstra
Mary Mullins delivered us safely to the airport this morning, where we cooled our heels waiting for departure. We sat on the ground for a half hour waiting for clearance from Atlanta. A bit unnerving, since we only had a 45 minute layover. We made it, after a mad dash up the escalators to our gate. And we even got a chance to meet Pat Montgomery, albeit very briefly, before boarding.
I’ve got a window seat, and I must not be composing my thoughts too quickly, because I can see the Florida coast as I glance out the window. Soon we’ll be in Belize. I’m trying to focus on today and not look too far ahead.
An email yesterday from our host for tonight, Ray Neu, indicates that he’s been busy. He says he’s got several completed Water Issues Surveys from locations in our area, and recommends that we stop at a school on the way to Dangriga to talk with the principal who is interested in a water system.
Valerie Osborne, our contact for Mafredi, tells us that although there’s no café or restaurant in the village (just a church, a school, two shops and four houses), the local families are excited about our visit tomorrow and planning to cook for us. She says we’re in for a treat.
Another email message last night indicates that Ray Hopkins, our Swarthmore partner, is still negotiating a place to stay for Monday night. One of the families of Yalbac has a resort near Cristo Rey, and a camp near Yalbac. We’d like to stay overnight at the camp while we’re negotiating with the village about the water system, but so far the price we’ve been quoted for the camp is higher than for the resort. We’ll need to see what happens here.
We’ve picked up a solid cloud cover, so there’s nothing to see out the window. I hope it breaks before we get to Cuba. In the meanwhile I suppose I should write that garden article.
Dan Terpstra
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Back To Belize
It's Tuesday night as I write. Weather.com says its 47 degrees. In Belmopan, the capital of Belize, it's 73, On Thursday morning three of us, me, Dave Mullins, and Chuck Hadden, will be headed back to Belize. I can't wait. This will be Dave's second trip, Chuck's fourth, and my third. Our main goal this time is to make sure everything's in place for a water system installation in late April, but we'll be covering a lot of other ground as well. This is the third trip I've planned since 2005, and in many ways it's both the easiest and hardest. There are far fewer of us to worry about, but the agenda is far more fluid and open ended.
As in the past we intend to blog the experience as we go, and hope you'll follow along. Don't forget, you can also post comments so we can get a bit of feedback. This first entry will set the stage, introduce some additional players, and give you an idea of where we'll be when.
Come Thursday morning February 19, bright and early, we'll convene at the church, declare a quorum, and prevail upon Mary Mullins to take us to the airport. By mid-morning we'll be scanning the Atlanta airport looking for Pat Montgomery, pastor of 1st Presbyterian, Cody WY. He'll be our travelling companion for the rest of the trip. By early afternoon we'll be basking in the balmy Belizean air and scanning the arrivals area for Ray Hopkins, retired Political Science Professor from Swarthmore, and member of the Swarthmore Rotary. He should have our rental SUV and be ready to take us to our first destination.
In a little less detail, here's where we'll be spending the rest of our week:
Dan Terpstra for
the LWW Belize Team
As in the past we intend to blog the experience as we go, and hope you'll follow along. Don't forget, you can also post comments so we can get a bit of feedback. This first entry will set the stage, introduce some additional players, and give you an idea of where we'll be when.
Come Thursday morning February 19, bright and early, we'll convene at the church, declare a quorum, and prevail upon Mary Mullins to take us to the airport. By mid-morning we'll be scanning the Atlanta airport looking for Pat Montgomery, pastor of 1st Presbyterian, Cody WY. He'll be our travelling companion for the rest of the trip. By early afternoon we'll be basking in the balmy Belizean air and scanning the arrivals area for Ray Hopkins, retired Political Science Professor from Swarthmore, and member of the Swarthmore Rotary. He should have our rental SUV and be ready to take us to our first destination.
In a little less detail, here's where we'll be spending the rest of our week:
- Thursday night finds us at the Advance Mission north of Dangriga about halfway down the Belizean coast. We met Ray Neu at the car rental place last March and when we mentioned water, he asked us to come for a visit.
- Friday night, the 20th, we'll be sleeping in the church at Mafredi, a small village about 17 miles inland from Punta Gorda in Southern Belize. Wil Howie and Tim Myrick met Mitch and Valerie Osborne at a LWW Appalachia meeting last November and they insisted we needed to visit their Hope Mission in Mafredi to explore the possibility of a water system.
- Saturday afternoon and evening is early R&R in Placencia which, according to Ray Hopkins is one of the prettiest beaches in Belize. We'll let you know.
- We hope to stop in at Jaguar Creek on Sunday to say hi to Matteo, even though Mark and Adrienne, our hosts from last year will have left for the States on Wednesday. We also plan to stop in Armenia and get a few pictures of the water tanks and laundry facility.
- By Sunday night we'll be in San Ignacio where we'll be based for most of the upcoming week. It's the largest town in West Central Belize. From here we'll be working on finalizing plans for a water system in Yalbac, a village about 20 miles north. We also hope to have time to visit our friends in Cristo Rey, south of San Ignacio and further discuss a future relationship and possible water system.
- On Friday February 27 we head back to Belize City to drop Ray at the airport. From there the remaining four of us head north to Orange Walk. We'll meet with the principal of the Presbyterian Day School Saturday morning with the hope of laying the groundwork for restarting the Living Waters system installed there in 2003.
- Finally on Sunday, March 1, it's back to Belize City and then back to the States.
Dan Terpstra for
the LWW Belize Team
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