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