Sunday

We came home yesturday, and it is weird being back. I will continue to post blogs about the trip with a bit more detail of certain things.

Thanks for all your prayers!!

Our Final Day... Friday

Today is a great day.  we woke and had breakfast with Rick giving a wonderful devotional reading and then sharing from his journal, it moved us all.

We made more sandwich's and went out to the streets to do the street ministry as a team again led by our new friend Paul.

It is an experience that I will never forget, because in just one week we have gotten to know many of the street people by name and so we walk everywhere and are able to tell them hello several times and all over the city.  What is amazing is they remember our faces.  They smile and wave and say "You are back".  I loved some of their names, I did my best to remember them and greet them with it each time
I have seen them around the City.

The swing bridge we walk over each day

Lou, Charles, Pat and Rick doing street ministry

Paul, Caroline, Laura and our guardian dog Caleb!

We then went onto Normas, where we installed the shower to check it and visit with her before leaving. 

We blessed her with groceries and a few new house dresses which she desperately needed and were thanked with hugs and appreciation.

Caroline, Laura, Paul and myself went to an elementary school near to our hotel called the "Wesely Lower School".  Laura went and and asked that we could come in and observe a class and see the school. We were showed a 3rd grade class, theacher Mrs. Helton.  They were in the middle of math.  What an amazing expierence for me.  We exchanged info and I am going to set up a pen pal exchange with the third grade at "Sherwood Forest Elementary" where I teach.

We then were shuttled of by our chafurre Heath on a city tour. He took us to the south side where gands and crime rule.  75% of crime happens in this distrcit.

We were then privilaged to see their home and Amanda seved us snacks and we fellowshiped.

What aq wonderful day so far.  We are off to help put on a youth rallie in the park.. more on that tomorrow.

Thursday ... Whew it is hot!!

We came back to Belize City this morning. 

It is a beautiful day, one of the first with a clear sky and warm warm. 

Clear skys and beauty beyond belief!!



A beautiful baby resting on the boat ride back



We went to tone of the Catholic Girls highschools today called "Saint Catherines".  Our new friend DJ Motivation was working at a school social there.  It is a day out of the year where all the catholic high schools boys and girls, gatherto socialize for the afternoon. It is like a carnival and Motivation was "DJ"ing music for them. His mother is the director there and it was wonderful to meet her.

St Catherines Nun's Quarters above, Motivation on stage below

Motivations mother Denise Lopez ... school director

Back of school grounds ... beautiful

Lorelle, Pauls cousin sang during the fair.

School children eating lunch we passed on a walk.

Wonderful Wednesday in Belize

Today is a very special day of our trip in which we pitched in as part of our expenses to come to a small island off the coast of Belize called Caulker Caye to give a treat to Heath and Amanda, rejuvenate our spirits and theirs in such an amazing way.  It is giving us all a broader picture of what this amazing country has to offer other avenues its people have to make a living and how they choose to live.

Lou and Charles Redden

It has been a amazing day and blessing for me to relax with these wonderful people I am getting to know so well and spend so down time with Heath and Amanda whom get more awesome each day we are with them.

Tuesday In Belize

 

Today is a wonderful day!!

We woke to a sunshine filled day.  Rick, Charles, Heath and I (Nannette) went and installed a shower unit in an elderly womans house.

 Her name is Norma, and Heath and Amanda met her thru her son that was visiting from the states a few months ago.

Norma lives by herself and helps care for her 2 great granddaughters Maya, and Alicia.

they have no running water in the house and she needed it to prevent her from having to go up and down stairs to access water.

We had help from her grandson Eldon.  He was amazing.  We got it done in about 5 hours and she is so happy and thankful.

The rest of the team Caroline, Laura, Amanda, Lou,and Pat visited with her and showed her love and kindness. She told us it made her very happy to know so many of us loved and cared for her.  It was  soooo great!!!

I learned about the school system here from the granddaughter.  They have to pay for the children to go to school, any school.

They start going to preschool at age 4.  It costs from $20 to $45 a month for them.  They all wear uniforms and the school day requires them to come home from 11:30 am to 1 pm to eat lunch and rest, then their day ends at 2:40 or so.  The elementary and upper age schools are run the same way with the cost increasing with the age groups.

We prayed for her and her family and it brought all involved great happiness.

After finishing the shower installation we went to lunch at a place called "Neries".  It has been on the travel channel and the Queen Mother came there to eat a delicacy called "gibnot", it is the largest of the rodent family.  Pat decided to order some on the side for us all to try, it was delicious - if you didn't think to much.


We walked a bit to see more parts of the city then headed back to clean up.  Caroline, Laura and I went to to internet cafes to do the blog and they caught up on email.  It was an amazing feeling to pass by some of the homeless we fed and have them call out to us and recognize us.

That evening went to a coffee house and were introduced to some of Amanda and Heaths volunteers that help them with their ministry here in Belize City.  they are amazing kids, young adults that work in churches with youth and have them to their homes and plan rallies for them and nights that they gather at their homes and just talk and have somewhere to go and belong.  They are amazing and inspiring to us all.

Coffee House

Mark, (DJ Motivation), Ian and Latrisha

Hank sitting with our new friend Paul!!

 We all enjoyed getting to know them and speaking with them, encouraging them,and letting them know how amazing they are for dedicating their lives to helping Heath and Amanda and the children of Belize City!!

They have become a geniuine support system for H&A and we thanked them for that!! It was nice to see how

Caroline and Lou

Caroline, Lou, Charles

Rick and Pat Peacock

And of course Heath and Amanda!!

Monday In Belize

I have lost use of my laptop so I am at an Internet cafe and doing my best.
On Monday we woke and ate breakfast then had Heath and Amanda come with 2 great guys, Paul and DJ Motivation(Mark). We formed an assembly line to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  We made 72 or so.  We the headed out into the streets of Belize City to do "Street Ministry". 

Heath and Amanda have a route they take each week to had out food and offer prayer or just talk with those living on the street.  We broke into teams of two and feed those that asked, and woke others the knew.  It was an amazing experience for us all.  It was about 95% or more men in all stages of health. 

Many of them count on them showing up and know who they are and what they do. 
I was with Heath and he has a rapport with so many was moving.  He works with the program I mentioned "Remar" and tries to help many of these men get into the program.  He remembers them by name and where they have been, and what they are doing.  We had the pric\validge to meet a man"George" whom has been sober 6 or more weeks and has not been around.  Heath was so amazed to see him and in the great condition he was in. He explained to us he is trying to work to raise money to get back to California where his wife and children are.

This was one of the many moving stories we heard.


We then rested and got ready to have a movie night in a public park on the north side of the city, on the water and near a casino resort that has the only movie house on the island.
The north side is a more affluent, and a different demographic then where we are staying.

It was a great night. We spoke with a woman that owned a food shack and she let us put a white sheet up on the side to project the movie.  We played Narnia and handed out candy and friendship to those that came.

The rain cut it short, but it was great fun, we met many missionary families from the states that live on the island, even one from Greensboro and Ashville.

Day 2 of Our Trip- SUNDAY!!

Woke up this AM to church bells at 6 am then at 7 am.  They were beautiful. Then we went down had breakfast and started our day with Hank reading us some neat devotionals and stories. 

 

We walked about 1 mile to church this morning and on the way I was overcome by the irony of what I saw. 

In the area of Belize City we are staying, there is beauty and devistation living side by side.  The buildings and homes are so diverse and you can have a beautiful new building/home right next to one that is in ruin..

The irony is below, as we walked it has been raining and some of the trash had been washed away, yet it is still everywhere we looked. Yet this one man was walking along cleaning the street. 

One man trying to make a difference, although none may notice, his heart knows. 

This is how I feel about what missionaries and each of us as individuals can do, in a world surrounded by trash, we are doing what we can to make a difference....

Even if no one else notices, our hearts know.

We went to Church at "Remar Belize"

remarinternational.org

"we work particularly in the areas of most poverty, with the most needy: abandoned children, children suffering from AIDS, single mothers who are homeless, young people without education, drug addicts, alcoholics, families which have been harmed or broken due to the effects of different addictions, the elderly, etc."

 We were privileged to be a part of the church service this morning. It was such a wonderful experience for many reasons.  It is a spanglish service. Which means if the preacher or person is speaking in Spanish it is translated by the pastors wife to English.  If they are speaking in English she translates it to Spanish. She stands in the back of the church and translates after each sentence.  It was amazing and easy to understand. 

Rick and his wife Pat spoke to the congregation. Pat shared an amazing life story that brought many tears and touched so many in the room. The music was amazing and was in English and Spanish!! 

We were able to hear peoples stories of struggle and pray for them. Many of  the congregation are in a drug/alcohol rehabilitation  program run by Remar, or are a family member of someone in it. 

It was really moving.

We stopped for lunch for a traditional Belize meal at "Dit's" 

Stewed Chicken, Rice and Beans and potato salad.. YUM!!!
We had coconut tarts for dessert!!

Relaxing on our hotel balcony sharing the stories we heard that day!!

Heath and Amanda our missionaries

We bought bananas for breakfast!

There are many stray dogs.  This one has been following us since our trip to town yesturday, where Amanda fed it some wet dog food. It was outside the hotel this am, followed us all the way to church and she fed him again, and it was remarkable, we came out of church and within one block he was there right along side us again.
We have named him  Caleb.

We went to a 7 pm church service at AGAPE church . It is a conge\regation of Belizians.  It was so fun.  The music was amazing, young girls sang for about an hour then, a few girls in theoir 20's went up and sang more.  The church was about 800 sq ft and packed to the rims, theybelix\ve in dancing and praising God out loud.  It was a great expierence.