Thanksgiving and Beyond

The last several days have been spent with the Baumgartner family. They have been such gracious hosts and our time with them has been filled with lots of fun memories! I'm banking on the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words." and will let the following ones do the talking for this update :D But keep in mind that they only give you a small peek into our lives; the full story will probably only ever be known to those who live it.

Lewis tutoring Trevor. (Lewis and Julie helped him and his twin, Travis, several times) 

Dad, the handyman, did some maintenance and misc. things around the place. 

One day, we took a picnic to Blue Creek, then hiked back to the mouth of a large cave. 

The boys loved jumping off this platform into the deep water of Blue Creek. 

There were some cool 'treehouses' with rope ladders way up in the tops of some of the trees by the creek. 

Vivian, Julie, and Rosanna

The rope swing became a fast favorite!

Hiking back to the cave.

The mouth of the cave. 

Vivian and me

Julie making mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving Day. 

Trevor, Billy, and Mom carving the chicken! 

Susan manning the stove. 

Lewis 'guarding' the pies ;)

We had quite the feast that night! 

Practicing music

Julie, Lewis, and I were invited to teach a few songs to the local worship team. 

This morning (Friday Nov. 29) we were also invited to lead a short devotional at TCA. This was my group.  

This was Julie's group. She specifically wanted the little kids! 

Bontragers and Baumgartners 

  

Recent Activities

On Monday morning, Nov. 18, we headed to southern Belize to visit several ministries and connections Dad and Joe made while here last year. We took Lazarus with us because he wanted to take a look at some of the missions that are already established to get a feel for what might lay ahead for the vocational school, and ministry, In His Footprints, in Armenia. Our first stop was at TCA (Toledo Christian Academy) to let them know that we were in the area. We would be parking our bus there for the following week, but before settling in, we went to visit Lazarus’ brother-in-law and family (Allicia’s sister’s family) who lived in a nearby village.

Our plan was to stay there overnight then head back to TCA sometime the following morning. One thing we’ve learned on this trip, more than ever before, is that plans are really subject to change! As it turned out, Tue., Nov. 19, was a national holiday and the Cox family insisted that we stay for the traditional meal of caldo (a chicken soup very similar to what we’ve had in Guatemala) and corn tortillas, so we ended up staying til mid-afternoon.

They live right next to and are the caretakers of a large orange grove, and we ate a LOT of oranges and drank freshly squeezed juice to our hearts’ content :) For dinner on Mon. they also served us boiled plantains; we were used to the fried ones but all agreed that the boiled ones are just as good! It was also the first time in a long time that we’ve play soccer (or football as everyone but Americans call it); slippery grass and mud and all, we had a blast!

On Tue. the boys went out to forage some root vegetables to go into the caldo. They came back with a food new to us – the coco root. Not to be confused with cacao, which is where chocolate comes from, the coco plant looks like it belongs to the rhubarb family while the roots taste kind of like a potato when boiled. Before we left, Diego (Mr. Cox), who is a pastor and musician, wanted to play some music with us. So, out came the instruments and we stayed a good hour longer than expected! Needless to say, the day spent with the Cox family has been one of my favorites so far because it was like being back with our friends in Guate. (In Armenia, we didn’t get out much, and from then on, we haven’t been working one on one very much with Mayans, which is the culture we’re used to when coming to Central America.)

Instead of going right back to TCA Tue. afternoon, we went to visit the Baumgartners. When Dad and Joe were here last Dec. they met an American lady outside a Christian bookstore about 10 min. before they left the country. Susan and her husband, Dean, have been fostering children for the past 20-ish years, and have now adopted 2 girls and 3 boys. Dean is in the States right now, so Dad offered to help out with some maintenance stuff while we’re here in the area. We stayed for dinner, and also overnight (I mentioned something about plans, right?); we did get to TCA on Wed. morning!

At TCA, we did a LOT of weed eating. The school is made up of several different buildings, most housing one or two grades. On the grounds in the back, there are also several houses available to rent for families temporarily living in the area. And they have lots of showers set up for groups that come down; trust me, we made GOOD use of them! There are several acres of lawn and quite a bit isn’t accessible with the mower they have, so the weed eater is the next best thing. We also tore down a dilapidating veranda in preparation for a team coming down in Jan. who will put up a new one. Since the curriculum they use at TCA is the same as what Billy and Ansy use, the boys were invited to attend classes one day. They loved it and came back wishing that there would be a small private school at home!

Emerson, the principle at TCA, invited us to come to his place to help plant corn on Sat. morn. At 6 he picked up Dad, Lewis, Julie, and Billy and by 10 they were home again, with stories about having helped plant several acres of corn by hand. We were also invited by the Baumgartners to sing and share at the local church, located right next to the school, on Fri. eve. at their youth meeting; then the youth leader, who is also the worship leader, invited us back for the Sun. morning service to play again.

After church, he told us that he wants Lewis, Julie, and I back on Wed. eve. at their music practice to teach them a few of the songs we sang, including one of Julie’s new ones!

Yesterday, we came over to the Baumgartners to stay with Susan and the kids for a few days and help out (and make use of their internet connection :D)

The two youngest boys are close to Billy and Ansy’s age and the two girls are between mine and Julie’s age, so we also have the recipe for fun! We’ll be spending Thanksgiving with them and visit several places, maybe go swimming, one day.
We plan to leave on Sat., but I’m hoping to get one more update on before then – hopefully with more pictures, but with the slow internet connection – we’ll see. As always, thanks for all the prayers and stay tuned!

The boys found an iguana on the road. After the neighbors cooked it with lots of seasonings, the meat was a little rubbery, but delicious! 

Psalms 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; I will guide you with my eye.

Belize - The First Week

Blazing a trail; yes, that is a path behind Ansy 

Belize: the land of lush palm jungles, lots of water, more mud than a brick maker would know what to do with, multiple rain showers a day, more kinds of bugs than the average American knows exist (each with a thirst for human blood – so it seems!), elusive snakes, short but heavy rain showers at regular intervals every day, all kinds of colorful birds, a huge variety of lizards, lots of mud, hot weather, cool breezes when the rain showers come, huge spiders, loud toads and frogs that make weird but awesome noises after dark, did I mention rain and mud? cuz there are at least half a dozen downpours a day, no joke – at least, these are the conditions in which we found ourselves the first week of missionary life! 

Where we’ve been:

Travel to Armenia (located 7 miles south of Belmopan, the capital city), drive thru the village, go over  the last 3 rumble strips, keep your eyes on the west side of the road, and just outside the village you’ll see an opening into the jungle; take the two-track into the lush green beyond, over the bumps, holes, and a steep-ish hill you’ll find a beautiful clearing with a tin-roofed building in the process of construction at the far end and a ‘cabana’ (pavilion with a thatch roof) beside it. Sitting at the end of the driveway, just a small distance from the cabana, you’ll find our bus! The building is going to be a dorm and is the first of, hopefully, many buildings that will be built here for a vocational school. It has a room on either side for the future students and a kitchen in the middle.

before and after 

Over the kitchen is now a second floor for the future house parents to live in. This second floor is the main project we’ve done here. Well, ‘we’ is mostly Dad and Lewis (along with Lazarus – the native in charge of the place), BUT I did help carry boards and hammer a few nails on Tue!

Interesting notes:

the tin roof worked great
when the sun shone

On Mon. Mom and I did a bunch of laundry. We brought the first dry ones in on Wed. – it was so wet the clothes didn’t dry till then (some stuff had been hanging out all week)! And, some of it didn’t smell the best cuz of being wet too long – kinda like when you leave a batch in the washer overnight.

On a cool night the temperature goes down to the mid-70s, F.

We sang and Dad preached at Lazarus and Allicia’s church on Thurs.

Sat. was our first sunny day, and it was gorgeous! There was a blue sky (basically the first we’ve seen) dotted with clouds and sunny, breezy weather all day. We got all our laundry washed (some rewashed) and dried in one day (after almost giving up hope of ever doing that here!). Dad wasn’t sure how the bus was gonna get up the steep-ish hill if it was so slippery, but thanks to the sun, and to God for answering prayers, it dried out in time for us to pull out on Mon.

We’ve seen –

amazingly colorful butterflies, especially brilliant blue ones native to here

brightly colored birds, one that almost looks like a cardinal

a poisonous lizard sitting on one of our oranges

beetles half the size of my hand

a huge tarantula sitting on one of the posts in the cabana  

One of the biggest lessons I have learned here is to be content in every place I’m in. It happened the morning that we found some maggots (yes, little white worms) crawling on our toilet. Disgusting, I know! Mom was sick that day, so any guesses on who got the job of cleaning and disinfecting our tiny little bathroom? We figured out that they prob. got in cuz we left the window open for ventilation and we had a leak in the water pipe behind the toilet which made the wood floor…well, not pleasant! Somewhere in my complaining to God about His creation of the little nasty white things and a whole list of other things (getting bitten by fire ants while taking out the trash cuz I forgot to switch my flip-flops for shoes, all the mud everywhere, finding the shower drain plugged, having laundry that doesn’t dry or smell very good, being here at a time when even the natives say there’s more rain than normal…), He gently reminded me of what I had prayed for that morning – a servant’s heart. Yup, it had to be that very same morning! Why not the day before? It had gone well. The boys had put down big planks thru the muddiest parts of the main walkway and out to the water hole. I had been finding out things I liked about being here, like all the birds’ chirping and other cool animal sounds native to the jungle, the awesome little path leading a few feet into the jungle that Julie and I had discovered on our way to burn trash (with the thick undergrowth, being able to go more than a few steps into the jungle without a machete is a big thing), the constant sound of rain (I do like that sound!), the coolness under the cabana. It’s easy to have a heart of content on days when I feel like it – but when ‘disgusting days’ hit, that’s when the challenge of ‘giving thanks in all things’ really hits home. I’m sure my whining had God chuckling at me for a bit, but when He reminded me of this, I also remembered that I’m always up for a challenge! My attitude didn’t change right away, tho I did try hard. The spraying and scrubbing still had to be done, and without rubber gloves (somehow I thot those would make things a bit better!). But I did learn that it is possible to give thanks in all things (I have a good pair of thick-soled shoes that keep the mud from soaking my feet, I found a spray bottle for the bleach that made it easier to sanitize, I have a great sister who helped clean the rest of the bus without complaining, we have a plentiful supply of water…). As an added bonus, after 6 days of rain we had  2 gorgeous, sunny days for our weekend, with only one downpour Sun. morning; and we pulled out of Armenia with blue skies and sunshine overhead – almost a novel thought for us :)

We are heading on to our next stop in Belize! S o far, the entries I’ve made while out of the country have been at short stops at places with internet access, so I haven't been able to add as many pics as I'd like to. I will have steady access in Jan. (as previously mentioned) but till then, if you don’t hear from me in a while, you’ll know that we haven’t fallen off the planet :) Continue checking in; I might be on again sooner than I expect!

A Daily Log (of traveling thru Mexico)

Sorry that there are no pics. I was gonna upload some, but internet is slow.

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TUE, Nov. 5, ‘13

Today, our last day (of 2013) in the USA, was spent with missionary friends we had spent time with in MX in other years. These reunions with ones who have become like family to us were so special and sweet - definitely a great way to spend the last day, of 2013, that we had in the USA!

WED, Nov. 6, ‘13

Normally at border crossings, an hour to process all the necessary paperwork and get everything checked out is a pretty good time for us. There have been occasions that it’s taken less or more than that, depending on how busy it is at the time, the officials’ attitudes, etc. However, never in our past experience has it been as easy to get into MX as it was this morning! We never even got out of the bus, never filled out visa forms, never used our passports, or anything else we were expecting to do - things that are normal for entering most foreign countries. At the main building, one of the officials motioned our bus to the side, checked out our bus registration and Dad’s license, asked where we were going, then directed us on to the military check-point. Two of the soldiers there asked where we were going, one of them walked thru the bus, checked out things at face value but never opened cupboards or extra doors, then, they motioned us on – never asking for anything else. About half an hr. down the road, there was another check-point where the official, once again, asked for the bus registration, Dad’s driver’s license, and where we were going, but nothing else! We, very much, felt God’s guiding hand and protection with us. We don’t know if we’ll run into trouble at the Mexcio/Belize border for not having our passports stamped, but there really was nothing else we could do, and God has promised to direct our path as we follow Him.

We had a little police incident in Tampico. They tried fining us for driving thru downtown with a commercial vehicle, even after we showed them all the proper paperwork proving that our bus is a private vehicle. We’ve run into police problems in times past for things that don’t make sense. A lot of them are out looking for bribes; it’s a very typical problem that many ppl we know have run into, as well.

We also saw our first mountains today. 

THURS, Nov. 7, ‘13

We stopped around 10, this morning, for a brunch of biscuits, sausages, and eggs. Problem: we found out our oven isn’t working; bring in the creative juices and you get fried biscuits! I think food in his stomach helped mostly cure the headache Dad had.

It was raining till noon, so today was nice and cool as opposed to the stuffy heat we’ve been in since we got to TX. We reached the east coast a lil’ before noon and have been catching glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico. Pools of water and semi-flooded fields are not unusual to see as a result of the rain combined with being at sea level. At the same time, we have also been driving thru small mountainous areas with some curves and ups-and-downs.

We stopped early, mid-afternoon-ish, at a large Pemex station. Dad decided to call it a day and start out early tomorrow morning. (The government owns “Pemex”, which are basically the only gas stations available in MX; most of these stations also have water, air, service ppl to pump your gas for you, and a place for large vehicles to park overnight.)

FRI, Nov. 8, ‘13

Because of stopping so early yesterday, Dad was up and ready to take off at 3:30 this morn. Our muffler came loose about an hour later, but thankfully it didn’t break off completely before he stopped, so we didn’t lose the part. Around quarter after 6 we got stuck in a traffic jam… and sat there for 4 hrs! They were working on the bridge crossing a big river and only let one lane, out of the four, thru at a time.

A lil’ before noon, it started raining again, giving us breezy and cool traveling weather – something we are always grateful for. As we’ve been traveling we’ve seen a lot of actual flooding in nearby fields and streets. We’ve been going thru mostly low-lands and flat terrain since yesterday.  

Very early afternoon, we ran into some backed-up traffic (because of work on a bridge again!), which forced us into a city, so Dad started looking for a mechanics place to get our muffler fixed. He found a small shop that got it all welded back on within an hour.

Because of the unforeseen expense, we needed more money exchanged, so after finishing up at the mechanic’s, Dad and I headed off to find a bank we’d been given directions to. Two banks, 2 “techy” places, and about 10 blocks of walking later, we finally found an advanced electronics/techy place that exchanged our dollars for pesos. That done, we bought some MX sweet bread (pastries) and some bananas (especially for Mom) cuz you just really can’t visit MX without getting some of those!

We only have one more day of driving left till we reach the MX/Belize border, Lord willing!

SAT, Nov. 9, ‘13

We had another day of breezy, cool weather, and lots of rain. The closer to Belize we get, the more serious flooding we see. Today we saw several small huts submerged in water almost to their roofs.

While at a gas station early this afternoon, Dad noticed that one of the tires was getting pretty low in air pressure. After checking it out farther, he found a leak, so he and Lewis had the ‘fun’ job of changing a tire. The process is a bit more involved than changing a normal car tire! Thankfully, this Pemex station was fairly new and even had a bunch of showers, which we made good use of :)  

We found some Mayan ruins in a town located right on the road we were on, so we stopped for several hours and had fun getting soaked in the occasional light showers while climbing all over the large structures (in ways that would never be permitted in the States!)

We could have gone on to the border tonight, but Dad opted to pull over before dark and then head out in the morning.

SUN, Nov. 10, ‘13

We’re in Belize! We got stamped out of MX by 8 this morning; they said we were supposed to have an entry stamp from when we got in, but didn’t give us much trouble about it. Customs into Belize went great. They speak English here, so the communication thing is a lot easier. They also wondered why we didn’t get stamped into MX, but since we had the exit stamp, there wasn’t anything they could do about it. We went thru the normal procedure: getting our passports stamped (they also took our pics), getting a visa for the bus, getting it fumigated then searched (they almost took our hotdogs but let us keep them after all), and finally, getting insured for the month that we plan to be here.

This stage of the journey is over, yet on we go! 

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I had almost forgotten how normal it is to see all the trash on the sides of the roads; how normal it is to drive on toll roads that are like our two-lane state roads back home; how normal it is to drive thru lots of  ‘cities’ that smell, look, and sound like Mexico; how normal it is to go thru mini-towns with all kinds of roadside stands and mini-stores with lots of fresh fruits and honey from bees that roam thru the orange groves; how normal it is to see houses painted all kinds of colors; how normal it is to have ppl standing in the middle of the street trying to sell their wares or jumping on the hood of your vehicle to clean your windshield; how normal it is to see all the palm trees and lush green along the coastal areas; how normal it is to see ppl with food stands on the side of ‘highways; and so much more! but all this has definitely brought back a lot of memories and given new ones to add to the collection :)       

   

{Psalms 91:11} For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

{Proverbs 3:6} In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

{Psalms 37:23} The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way.

On the Road Again

We are in TX right now - will be in McAllen tomorrow to visit some missionary friends who used to live in Mexico. If all goes well, we'll cross the border into Mexico on Wednesday!
I'm using wi-fi at a rest-stop right now, so I don't have time to write an extended blog about the tons of fun we had with our family in ND and Ft. Worth, but the pictures should give you a small glimpse into why I didn't have time to sit down and write till now!
I don't know if we'll have internet access again till January! at least prob. not more than just quick email check-ups.
We should be in Belize next week sometime. We're praying that the bus doesn't break down in Mexico, or it'll go longer.
Thanks for all your support and prayers. 

Me, Joanne, Kezia (best friends since childhood!)

Fun with Aunt Julie

Riding (or trying to ride) the "Pocket Rocket"

Family and friends

Can't go to ND without walking the train tracks!

Julie and I went along to work with JoenGina and Kezia

Dylan and Kara - Cutie pies!

Dad :D

We celebrated an early Thanksgiving

at Joe n Gina's house

Joe n Gina Miller - Goofies!

Sister love <3 - Julie, Me, Gina, Rachel

On to TX

A shot of an original Bontrager homestead in Kansas

Justin loved playing with his uncle, Billy

Alexis absolutely loved riding in the bus :D

I love my niece!

Proud papa, Marty, and lil' Annie Jo

We visited the Nature Center in Ft. Worth and saw the prairie dog town that was there

lil' stinker!

Picnic at the N. Center with some of MartynDeborah's friends from church

Justin and Anthony looking for fossil rocks

Going for a walk to work off the delicious sub-sandwiches

Marty n Deborah Bontrager

Till next time!