R&R

After a long and productive week with stories to numerous to count or blog, we find ourselves peacefully ensconced on Caye Caulker. With the exception of Esther Kirk's two tank dive expedition this morning, the rest of us are too much in need of decompression for anything too aggressive.

We hope to share with you some of the outcomes of this trip through minutes for mission and maybe Wednesday night dinner presentations in the coming weeks. Meanwhile we're resting up for our homeward bound travels tomorrow.

One lesson learned on this trip is that we found it much harder to blog than to post to Facebook :)

Unfortunately, none of us had thought to make sure we could post to the church's facebook page. Given the vast quantity of comments to our (few) blog posts, it looks like much of the congegation feels the same. I suspect that in the future the blog will be put out to pasture and our communication will be thru Facebook.

So if you want more current pictures of our trip, visit Peggy's Facebook page.

-dan

Setting up the clinic

Today, Tuesday, will be day one of our medical clinic in Armenia, Belize. Dale (our nurse practitioner and the one with actual medical expertise), Ashley, Mary, and I spent yesterday setting up for the clinic. We anticipate seeing up to sixty patients per day. The clinic has been advertised with fliers, and a few curious people showed up in Armenia to say hello. This family enjoyed having their photo taken. Ruth, the mom, is expecting her fourth child. The little girl in the back, Rela, remembers Ashley very well from Ashley's last visit to Belize. They are good friends, as you can see by the photo below. I like being in Belize with Ashley, because she is very popular here, and helps us all get connected with the children of Aremenia.

Worshipping as Presbyterians in Belize

At the Bethany Presbyterian Church in Santa Elena, Belize, the sermon was delivered by Pastor Raphael Ku in fluent English and Spanish (line by line translation as far as I can tell) for a true multicultural worship experience. I had to wonder if we had not been there, whether the service would have been entirely in Spanish, and maybe a bit shorter. The hymns were also in both languages. Afterward, we were warmly welcomed by congregation members. Dale got right to work when a member asked if we had a medical professional with us, so she could examine a little boy. Living Waters business was done too, and we talked about possible purification of water for the preschool. Work and play on the Lord's Day!
Later in the day, we saw Mayan ruins at Xunantunich, for a bit of pure fun. Our tour guide, Dino, was very knowledgeable about the history of his people. We enjoyed a tasty dinner in San Ignacio with Sherrie and Aki Fukai -- such a pleasure but also a time to focus our plans for the rest of the week. God has blessed us all with this opportunity to be in this beautiful, warm country.

We're Here

It's a bit late, since we've been here for a day and a half already, but we're all back in Belize and ensconced in the cabanas at Jaguar Creek. We met our new friend and teammate, Esther Kirk, from Wyoming Presbyterian in Milburn, New Jersey. Pat Montgomery, our old friend and teammate from Cody, Wyoming arrived later Saturday evening.

Yesterday we renewed acquaintances with Sheree and Aki Fukai in San Ignacio. We spent the afternoon as anthropologists at the Xunantunich Mayan ruins.

Today, Pat has already left for Arenal, Guatemala; Dave, Chuck, Esther and I are headed for Yalbac and Octavia Waight Nursing Home; Dale and Mary and Peggy and Ashley will be preparing for a medical clinic in Armenia.

We have a busy week scheduled, and the pieces all seem to be falling into place. More to come...

- Dan

From up north

Belize Gang:

We folks up north are awaiting confirmation that you have arrived and that all is, hopefully, well.

- Jim Tonne