I suck at blogging; sorry I haven’t updated in forever. I’m not actually that sorry, it just means I’ve been busy, which is good, right?
The boys (Josiah and Edgar) are so great. We are BFF’s and perfectly comfortable around each other so class goes by fairly quickly and we all have a pretty good time. Time has awarded me their respect and with that comes the authority I need to keep them focused on the task at hand without too much lolly-lagging. (If that is not a word bring it up with my mom) Of course, teaching is still challenging, but I am figuring out what works and seeing a lot of progress with the boys.
There is a group of eight girls from Toronto staying at my (Leonie’s) house right now. They seem fine, but I’ve not seen much of them because I’ve been hanging out with the PROJECT SERVE team instead! It was so so great to see some familiar faces and spend time with some of the most amazing people I know. It was absolutely unreal to see the team get to know and love the kids that I have so much affection for. To see them experience the exact moments I experienced a month ago, knowing the exact emotions flowing through them at that second in time was incredible. I am ecstatic that they got to taste the joy I feel every single day I spend with these kids, and have them share and understand this part of my life.
They came to the children’s home for the first couple afternoons they were here. They played at the park, spun kids around and around… and around and around, allowed themselves to be dragged by the hand all over the place as the wee ones showed them any and everything, took thousands of pictures, raced laps around the building (usually losing to their speedy counterparts) and attempted to absorb as much as they could in the short time they would spend as Belizeans. They adored it.
My church had a barbeque on Saturday so I helped bring lunch to the team at the YWAM base and got to be an adopted member for the day. We came back into town after lunch, shopped a bit, tested out a favourite café of ours in Belmopan, shopped some more, had dinner, and headed back to the base for the evening. The night was relaxed, getting reacquainted with good friends, and getting to know the rest of the team as well. I am pretty sure Belize dropped to Canadian temperatures that night because it was definitely the coldest I have been in over a month. Brr. Around 5am we were awoken by a beautiful serenade from about a thousand howling dogs, and for some reason it was the funniest thing I’ve ever experienced and I about died laughing. I am still laughing about this actually, as I relive this moment again. Anyway, we headed to church a bit later that morning, (the church I’ve been attending, actually – it’s great… the pastor is American and quite engaging, and the majority of the worship is all familiar, which is nice) and led a Sunday school program for the kids. The regular Sunday school lady had a bit of a ‘bee in her bonnet ‘(this little gem in my vocabulary can also be accredited to my mom) but other than that everything went really well! After church we split off into small groups and were taken into the homes of some of the members of the church. Wow. This was one of the most humbling and amazing experiences of my life. People who’ve got next to nothing sacrificed so much in order to serve and bless us. Belize has quite a few sub-cultures – Creoles, Garifuna, even Mennonites all over the place! Laurelle, Kaitlyn and I headed to Las Flores (a region in Belmopan) to spend time with a Mayan family. It was unbelievable. I’m sorry, Canadian cooking has NOTHING on Belizean cooking. Rule #1: no meal is complete without rice. Lunch was amazing, and we got to spend the afternoon with some of the cutest kids in the world, and get to know the amazing ladies that raised them. I often forget that I live in Central America. I live in a fairly well off neighborhood, considering, and don’t always realize how much of this country is consumed by poverty. It is incredible to be slapped in the face with the reality of how lucky we truly are. We take everything for granted on a daily basis: electricity, running water, clothes, finished houses, security, food to get us through the day, health, family, education, and SO much more. The house was little more than a concrete shell, and the family made sure we each sat on a rickety chair at the tiny table while the adults ate outside and the kids sat on the floor. After lunch I got to know the ladies a little better as we watched a few of the boys play with their homemade basketball net. We wandered around the neighborhood a bit (there were chickens all over the place!) and before we knew it, it was time to head back to the base. I feel so privileged to have spent time with people who truly know how to serve and cherish the opportunity to do so. I hope to one day be half as selfless and full of joy as they are.
On Monday the team joined me at the home once again, and treated the entire Children’s Home to a fried chicken dinner! The kids were SO happy and excited, and the team was quickly infected with their smiles as well. We headed back to the base to rest up for the next day’s road trip to… Caye Caulker!
The Belizean coastline is scattered with tropical islands that are absolutely GORGEOUS! We drove to Belize City early in the morning, and spent an hour on the open Caribbean sea, arriving on the first Island, Caye Caulker, around 10am. We then grabbed some equipment and hopped in another boat to snorkel in the worlds’ second largest barrier reef! It was awesome. The salty ocean water was crystal clear as we meandered our way around the coral checking out fish and getting freaked out by eels and barracudas. We moved to a second spot and hung out with some stingrays for a while. They were completely harmless, and quite slimy! After soaking up a bit of sun (a little too much for some people… this girl not included, woo!) we headed back for lunch and afternoon shopping. It was so cool to walk along the street and see the beautiful azure ocean on both sides of us! We headed back to Belmopan a sleepy bunch after a day of sun and snorkeling.
Back to work Wednesday; the team, leading chapel and kid’s club and me, home schooling. Today (Thursday) was kind of a sad day. The team visited the Children’s Home for the last time, saying goodbye to the kids that will forever occupy a place in their hearts, and getting ready to head home. I met them again in the evening at Perkup, my favourite coffee shop, for Open Mic night to wrap up their time in Belize. Lucie and I arrived early and were thankful when the team made it there so we didn’t have to suffer through any more awkward poetry or tone deaf squeak- I mean, singing. (It wasn’t thaaaat bad, only a couple of the performances were painful). Gill Walker braved the crowd, grabbed a guitar and sang a couple beautiful songs with her beautiful voice. Everyone was captivated; she did absolutely amazing!
Much too quickly it was time for the team and I to go our separate ways. It was hard to say goodbye, and I wish they could have stayed longer, but the time had managed to slip through our fingers, as it always seems to do, and Canada needed to steal them back. Au Revoir!
My life is reverting back to normal now, but I feel very fortunate to have been able to walk through this life changing experience with the team. You are all amazing people and have sooo many wonderful things waiting for you in the future. Miss y’all already!! Thanks for hangin out.
Annnnnnnd that is what I’ve been up to lately! Phew, congrats if you made it through all that writing!
I promise not to make you wait so long for the next update this time!
XO
Steph
