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.