This is a long one . . .

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve given a very thorough update, so here goes:

First off, Chucho is now adoptable. A round of antibiotics, three square meals a day, and some vaccinations have made quite a difference. We’re looking for a family in VOP to take him in (but if any of you are interested, he may be able to get a green card). The first picture of Chucho below was taken on Sept. 30th. The second one was taken this week.



A couple of weeks ago now, Tim organized a workday for the Valley of Peace Partners. One Friday afternoon and Saturday, volunteers came to help the Pop (pronounced Pope) family improve the floor of their house. They had a brown dirt floor, and we put in a white dirt floor (it sounds funny, but it really is an improvement). Anyway, they are a Mayan family, very friendly and quick to laugh, and we really enjoyed working with them. While the men of the family + Tim + volunteers from local churches did most of the grunt work, Ginger got to take two of the women (one of the teenage daughters that speaks English and one of the elderly grandmothers that doesn’t) shopping at the market in Belmopan and help them prepare a traditional Mayan meal—Chicken Soup with these strange vegetables (one of them is called Cho Cho), rice, and corn tortillas, all cooked over a fire. Tim also had some fun working with rammed earth. The family had some dirt left over from the project, so Tim suggested that they make a rammed-earth bench in between the bedroom and kitchen. Tim recognized that the family uses this breezeway area to receive guests, and he wanted to create a nice place for them to do that. The family liked the idea, so he built a wooden form, mixed some cement with the dirt, and tamped it down. The next day, they plastered the outside. We think it turned out pretty cool, but we don’t think they thought it was quite as cool as we did. They kept saying "It's only a seat!" (in Spanish, of course) as Tim was going over the texture of the plaster for the third time, and they totally laughed at Tim when he took a picture of it. But, they were grateful and it was a good time. Also, this sweet family has agreed to take our cat, Bandito, off our hands whenever we’re ready to get rid of him. So, here are some pictures from the workdays:

The Pope Family standing in front of their house.

The floor work that was being done on the house.

Sharing a meal with the family and volunteers.

Tim and family members working on the rammed-earth bench.

The bench once it was finished.

One day recently, we took a trip to a nearby swimming hole in the river, known only to the locals. We know this because no one else would ever be able to find it—it’s about six miles off the main road, and after driving along through all kids of bush and overgrowth, you turn a corner and suddenly there’s a river going across the road! Tim was a bit tentative to drive across the road, but at the same time we were curious, so he went across the river and back very carefully. We got real excited about that and Ginger took some pictures of how cool our truck was (below). Then we took a dip.


About ten minutes later, another truck (similar to ours, though not jacked up as high and without the really big tires) came along and ever so casually put us to shame (picture below). Not only did they cross the river, but then they backed down right into the swimming hole so that the kids could use the back of the truck like a diving board. This gave us a good laugh at ourselves. One of these days, we might just throw our caution to the wind!


We’ve had our first taste of fall in our part of Belize this week, with temperatures getting down into the 70’s now for a couple of nights. We love having a break from the stifling heat, but many of the locals actually complain that it’s COLD! We’re taking advantage of the change in weather (fearful that it may not last) and indulging in some of our favorite fall treats—Judith’s chili, French hot chocolate (thanks to Mary Margaret), and Hello Dollies! We spent quite a bit of time gathering ingredients for these, and we had to use a friend’s oven, but it really is the small things that go a long way to appease homesickness.

This next week, Ginger gets a year older, and her mom is coming all the way from Mississippi to celebrate with us and see what we’ve been up to. We’ll be taking a mini-vacation with her and heading off to Southern Belize for a few days, to the town of Placencia and it’s white sandy beaches! Also coming up . . . the Contreras house project is nearing completion. This is the first house Tim started working on when we arrived here. He hopes to organize another volunteer day this week to put the roof on the house and see to a few finishing touches. Also, we hope to have the chance to add more pictures to our online Shutterfly album from the month of October, so give us a few days and then check back to see them by clicking on the link to the side that says “more pictures.”

We’ve crossed the two-month marker, which means we have a month-and-a-half to go. We’re hanging in there . . . some days are better than others. Some days we’re just in survival mode and we come home from a day of work to dote ourselves with reminders of home (eat an American meal and watch the Cosby Show). Other times, we walk around with a sense of wonder about the place and say to each other, “Can you really believe we’re in Belize, walking around?” We look at our surroundings and are a bit surprised that all the strange things around us have gradually begun to feel normal, like the chickens that are EVERYWHERE; the palm trees, rolling hills and thick bush that’s all such a lush green; the trash that litters the ground (no one thinks a thing about throwing it on the ground); kids playing marbles on the side of the road and yelling at us as we pass; and the dilapidated wooden houses with big sound systems blaring and heavy antennas dangling off the roof. It’s a different life. It really strikes us, as we walk around, that these people, many of them no matter what they do, will have no chance in life to pull ahead and make things better for themselves and their families. We try from a physical standpoint to imagine what it would be like to live in such poverty, to see our (imaginary) children in such poverty, and not be able to do anything about it, and we get distressed. The idea of The Word at Work (or Builders Without Borders, or Habitat for Humanity, or you get the picture…) stepping in and building houses for some of the poorest families here, besides being a remarkable humanitarian gesture, is really such an overwhelming demonstration of the way that God loves us. It’s pure grace—all gift. We do nothing to deserve it, and we could never begin to afford to pay for it. It’s quite a spectacle.

So, if you’ve been wondering how to pray for us . . .

We’re getting a little more antsy about wanting to know/decide whether or not we’ll be returning here after Christmas. People here act as if they’ll take it personally if we don’t return, and as we build more relationships the thought of not returning is a sad one. However, we still struggle with whether or not our talents and gifts are being used here as well as they could be elsewhere, and whether this place is really the right fit for us. But the bottom line and recurring question in our minds is “Does God want us to stay here?” because, if He does, those things don’t matter so much. So, please, ask God that for us. We’d be delighted to hear your feedback!