Completion of two missions Thursday

Hannah's Gang of Four--Anne, Ellie, Ashley, and Caleb--completed building and painting 12 tables for kids, with the help of Jaguar Creek staffer Abraham. Table colors are green, orange, yellow, and purple. Similar colors ended up on the arms and legs of the Gang. School Principal Brian Watson, formerly of Colorado, sat on a table after its plywood top was nailed, screwed, and glued to the four legs. Wearing his quality assurance hat, he approved the construction job. At 11:30 some 400 students walked outside the two-story green school for an assembly. They lined up and stood quietly when Brian raised his hand (they raised their hands, too). Brian expressed his gratitude to Hannah and her Gang of Four, who were asked to stand in front of the assembly at an elevated level. Kids in their green uniforms brought large hand-made cards to the FPC team. Each illustrated card was signed by all the pupils in a class. Each little Belizean bringing a gift hugged the FPCer receiving it. Ashley said the hug was the highlight of her day. The FPC group also watched boys' and girls' soccer matches between the Armenia school teams and teams from a Belize City school. The Armenia school girls' team won easily and the boys' team lost by a shootout.

Dale held her third clinic in three days. She saw 15 patients at the clinic in the Armenia Development Center and 26 at the dilapidated but partially painted clinic in St. Margaret.
The indoor lavender paint had no noticeable odor. Mary signed up patients and took weight and temperature measurements. Teresa played pharmacist and again enjoyed having Elvis, the motorcyclist, as her Spanish translator. Carolyn, deemed recovered enough to work for rather than sign up for Dale's clinic, resumed her role as the Mean American. She pricked brown fingers and drew red blood drops for blood sugar measurements. Her patients smiled forgivingly at her if their results were below 160 when she said, "Buenos." She also learned to take blood pressure measurements with a sphygmomanometer, making her homesick for the automatic BP machine. Dale reported that she saw a lot of diabetics and patients afflicted with fungus. Teresa said the Mennonite couple, who have family in  Tennessee, paid her with bags of lettuce and cauliflower.

Tomorrow we are leaving the Jaguar Creek Mission and Conference Center. We will miss the jungle music, especially the birds. The howler monkeys were less appreciated; they sounded like a monster gasping for breath in the middle of the night! The food here was wonderful, and the Belizean staff members were gracious, kind, and accommodating. Carolyn especially appreciated the elevated boardwalk that allowed her to walk comfortably without causing discomfort to the snakes in the grass below.--ck