Helping Hands in Belize

                                 

The church in Belize, working with the Mennonites, donated about 500 student desks to 5 primary schools in 4 cities in Belize: Belize City, Ladyville, Crooked Tree and Orange Walk Town. We had a wonderful day.  The church contracted with the Mennonites to construct the desks and the missionaries and leaders of the District distributed them.  We were able to wear the LDS Helping Hands shirts which was fun since people all over the world recognize them.  Unfortunately, Elder Tague and I didn't get our shirts because when they were handing them out, we were shuttling missionaries to and from the church distribution center.

The distribution center had been stacked to the ceiling for a few weeks with desks.  It was so full we couldn't even have any meetings there.  We started preparing to load the trucks on Thursday evening, February 20, 2014. The elders made an assembly line from the upstairs rooms down to the front yard.  It was quite a project.

                              

                              

                              

                             

But, as all good plans must sometimes go awry, the trucks didn't show up.  They got the times and dates mixed up so all the chairs that had been brought down had to be repaced inside the building.  

Luckily, they had only brought about 120 chairs down and they were able to find space downstairs to store them overnight.  

The next morning at around 6:00 am, the trucks were there and all the loading was completed.  Some desks were going to a school in Ladyville which is just outside Belize City on the Northern Highway.  One truck and several missionaries went there first.  

We were assigned to take 65 desks to Crooked Tree.  This was quite an adventure.  Crooked Tree is a very small village about 50 miles north west of Belize City.  We took Elder McCleery and Elder Fowler with us in the car and the truck followed.  To get to Crooked Tree, you go on the Northern Highway for about 40 miles and then turn off on a dirt road and go west for another 10 miles or so.  The interesting thing about Crooked Tree is that it is along the banks of a lagoon.  You have to cross the lagoon to reach the town.  The town is surrounded by marshland which has been designated a wildlife refuge.  

During the rainey season, the road actually is submerged from flooding and the only way in or out is by boat across the lagoon.  Last month the road was submerged and there was still some areas with large puddles that we went through.  

                                  

                          We stopped to take pictures of the lagoon on our way into town.

                                  

                                  

There was a white egret on the road and I got some good pictures of it.  There was also a boat out on the lagoon as we passed.

                                  

                                  

When we drove into town, we passed a quaint thatched roof building and a cute sign.  Cashew trees practically grow wild there.  We found the school and the principal was really happy to see us.  They really needed the desks.  It was a cute school and the students were very helpful and polite.  The boys formed a line to unload the desks.  

                                  

       

                      

                                                      Some pictures of the campus.

     

      We got a picture with the principal and President Jaime Chi, our district president, who was coordinating the donation. 

After we finished at Crooked Tree, we drove on another 30 minutes north to Orange Walk to meet the other trucks and missionaries and help unload the rest of the desks.  Three hundred plus desks were delivered to 2 schools in Orange Walk.  

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

It was such a great experience to see how excited these schools were to get these desks.  Many of the children had been sitting on benches with no backs or on little stools.  The children were so excited to have a real desk.  We saw some beautiful areas of Belize that we probably wouldn't have had an opportunity to visit, as well.  All in all, it was a wonderful day.  We made the hour and a half drive home tired but happy.

  

Visiting the Mayan ruins at Lamanai

                               

We had the opportunity to go to the ruins at Lamanai which are several hours from Belize City via some really awful roads but well worth the long hours and discomfort. Our mission president, President Hintze, his wife and two of their daughters and son-in-law, came to Belize from the mission home in San Salvador to bring their family to Lamanai  They invited the missionaries in Belize City to come with them.  We, of course, jumped at the chance.

The day started early since it would be an all day excursion.  We met at the Belize City Distribution Center for the church.  The elders rode their bikes to the Zone leaders apartment where we picked them up in the 12-seater van.  Then we went to the distribution center to meet President Hintze and his family.  They had rented their own car.  We were pretty packed into the van.  There were Elder and Sister Moulton, (Elder Moulton was driving), eight young elders and us. We also had Igloo containers filled with picnic goodies for all of us and plenty of water.  

We set out on the Northern Higway in good time and it was pretty crazy with all those elders cooped up in a small space for so long.  One of them had received a harmonica for Christmas and started to play it but Sister Moulton and I had to put a stop to that.( Arrrrgh!!) We just couldn't handle that for two and a half hours.  It was fun, though.  The roads, as I may have mentioned before, are pretty bad.  This is the main highway that goes north through Belize all the way to the Mexican border so you would expect it to be maintained a little better than most.  Actually by Belizean standards it is a good road.  However, the Belizeans have a strange way of preventing speeding on their highways and roads.  They put speed bumps and "pedestrian crossings" every few miles on every major road.  They are anywhere from 6-8 inches high and a foot or more wide that go from one side of the road to the other.  The pedestrian crossings are actually poured cement raised about 8 inches and flat across for about a yard.  Needless to say, every car that wants to retain their axle has to slow down from a cruising speed to almost stopped to go over them.  It's pretty hard on the transmission and shocks to say the least.  It also takes a toll on the passengers' backs and necks.  Pedestrian crossings are placed at bus stops and in villages along the way.  There are buses that cruise the highway taking pasengers to and from Belize City and outlying towns and cities such as Orange Walk Town and Corozal Town.  

To get to Lamanai, you have to turn west off the main highway after crossing the Macal River just before Orange Walk, onto a rural road that is basically dirt.  This road is a nightmare.  It had been raining for several days prior so the potholes were horrendous and in some places almost impossible to navigate. We could only go about 30 miles an hour at best.  A lot of the time we could only go about 15.  It took almost as long to go 28 miles as it did to go all the way to the turn off which is just a little over 60 miles.  We literally bounced all the way.  Several of the holes sent a few of us almost to the ceiling of the van more than once.  

                                 

    

The best part of that road was the part that went through the Mennonite settlement.  The road was still awful but it was interesting and even entertaining at times as we worked our way through the horse and buggies.  We actually encountered a traffic jam consisting of about 5 buggies going in various directions, a truck coming the opposite way and our van.  It was iinteresting to see young boys driving their buggies with their younger siblings as passengers.  Frequently we saw a mother with two children (always two for some reason) drving the famly buggy.  The usual configuration was two men, a man and his wife, a mother with two children, or a young boy with one or two siblings.  They couldn't be classified as particularly friendly although several men did wave.  The women were more likely to have an expression that I would have to characterize as a scowl.  We also ecountered children walking along the road often barefoot, which was quite reasonable since the road was muddy and they probably had better traction barefoot.  The little girls were particularly eye-catching with their pure white headress that looked as if they were starched and pressed to perfection.  They had extensions in the back that crossed and extended to about mid back.  It was amazing how white they were.  

                             

                               

                           

Not long after the Mennonites, we made the final turn into Lamanai.  We were excited to finally be there.   

     

The actual archaeological site is a short walk on a path through the jungle from the parking area.  There is just a little sign with an arrow indicating the direction to go so we plunged on into the unknown as it were.  As we emerged from the jungle path, it became a brick paved walkway which led to a small museum/office where you pay the fee along with some thatch covered areas with picnic tables and some souvenir shops built like native huts with thatched roofs.  It was very picturesque.  We were anxious to get right to the excavated temples, etc. so we didn't stay in that area very long.

                                  

We were very lucky that it didn't rain at all while we were there.  The pathways were already muddy so it would have been really bad if it had rained.  The elders and President Hintze's kids were already climbing up the first ruin, the Jaguar temple, by the time we older folks got to the clearing.  It truly is amazing!!  Absolutely breathtaking.  Elder Tague and Elder Moulton climbed up to the top of the first one.  It is not as high as the biggest one that we came to later but still a good climb.  President, his kids, and all the elders got to the top for pictures. 

                                 

                                 

                                                       

                                 

      

 We wandered through some of what they have determined were houses for the leaders of the community and also the recreational ball court.  Suddenly we turned down a corridor of low walls and before us was the magnificent Lag temple rising 125 feet from the jungle floor. What an impressive sight!! Of course the elders were scrambling up the stairs as fast as they could go. People climbing up looked like ants.  It was amazing.  Elder Tague climbed to the first level but not any farther.  The stairs are very difficult to climb because they are about half the width of a normal foot.  In order to climb you either have to do it sideways to get your whole foot on the step or climb just using the front half of your foot, essentially climbing on your toes.  It's exhausting.  

                                  

                                  

While we were there contemplating the immensity of it all, we started hearing the most unbelievable sound.  It was loud and almost terrifying coming from the surrounding jungle.  We were told it was Howler Monkeys.  They were howling all right.  It was deafening at times.  Here is a picture of one. 

                                            

We continued on through another patch of jungle to the Temple of the Mask.  This is a picture that many will find familiar.  We had to take the requisite portrait of us with the mask.  

                                  

                                  

We finished our expidition and made our way back to the picnic areas for lunch and relaxed for awhile before heading back to the cars.  Elder Tague went to the little market and bought a shirt with howler monkeys on it. 

                                 

We all headed back to the van and piled in.  It was a quieter ride back.  We were all pretty tired but it was a wonderful and memorable day.

After we got home, I found a book on one of our shelves called "Book of Mormon-Mesoamerican Geography: History Study Map" written by V. Garth Norman.  It is quite interesting.  It presents a map that connects Book of Mormon cities with archaelogical sites in Central America.  It suggests that Lamanai was the land of Jershon in the Book of Mormon.  Very interesting.  

Christmas time

    

This was our first Christmas completely away from family.  It was a little bit emotional for us especially when we Skyped with our grandchildren.  We really miss them.  But let me start at the beginning of the season with our Belize Mission party.

All of the missionaries in Belize gathered together at the Radisson Hotel in Belize to have a big Christmas dinner and party with our mission president, President Hintze, his wife and his assistants who all came in from San Salvador for the occasion.  There are 50 Elders and Sisters and 5 senior couples serving in Belize.  We sang Christmas carols for which I played the keyboard for accompaniment.  They had prepared a video presentation using some of the church videos of the Christmas story which was really nice.  We had a very nice meal and then played some games which the AP's had prepared.  The Hintze's had made up gift packages for all the Elders and Sisters and they had brought packages from the missionaries' families that had arrived in El Salvador.  They also had made up special T-shirts for all of us.  After the program and dinner, most of the young Elders and Sisters were allowed to change into P-day clothes and put on their T-shirts to play games.  The seniors didn't change, however.  It was a lot of fun with all the exhuberance practically exploding from that many young missionaries, kind of hard to contain in a small area.  Each district prepared a skit or other talent that they presented after dinner.  They were pretty funny.  Some had quite a bit of talent.  One elder wrote his own song and sang it while accompanying himself on the guitar.  

                            

                            

Later that week we attended the Belize City Branch's Christmas Party.  There was quite a turnout.  The Primary had a special dinner for the children before the adult party so they wouldn't have to wait so long to eat.  

                            

At the official party, Elder Moulton, the Second Councilor in the Mission Presidency, gave a short Christmas message. The Moultons are the other senior couple here in Belize City.  Every auxilliary prepared a talent.  The RS did a really cute version of the 12 days of Christmas, several others sang (even a set of missionaries) and the Primary had a cute song and skit.

      

                               

On Monday before Christmas, the Moultons took all of the Belize City District to lunch for our own party.  We went to a local chinese food restaurant because Elder Yim (who is of chinese ancestry but is from Hawaii) can speak chinese and he wanted to talk to the owner to try to set up a time to teach him and his family.  I think he had a good visit with the owner in Chinese and it was productive.  The food there is quite good.

                       

                                            

Christmas Day was a busy one for us since we had invited two of the missionary couples to come to our house for dinner.  The Moultons had gone to San Pedro on Caye Ambergris to be with the four elders on the island to give them access to their computer so they could Skype with their families.  The Mendenhalls are assigned to the Belmopan area which is about 60 miles inland from us and the Rinderknechts are in San Ignacio which is about 40 miles farther west from Belmopan very close to the Guatemalan border.  We were at the MTC with the Rinderknechts.  

We had a really nice dinner.  Sister Tague made a wonderful sweet potato souffle that is becoming a traditional Tague family recipe that Danielle makes. It was a super hit with everyone.  We also roasted game hens with stuffing, our family tradition for Christmas.  They were fabulous if I do say so myself.  We also made mashed potatoes and gravy.  The Mendenhalls brought vegetables, corn and fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and cranberry sauce.  The Rinderknechts brought homemade bread and chocolate cake.  Sister Tague also made a Ho Ho Cake that is just like Hostess Ho Ho's.  It was an amazing meal with great company.  They all had to leave fairly early since it is a long drive to their homes but we will definitely be doing something like this again.  

                                   

Most of the morning was spent cooking and Skyping with our family.  It was kind of emotional for us to see the kids and not be able to be with them.  We were a little teary-eyed.  We do miss them, especially at times like these but what a blessing that we are able to Skype and actually see them.  They showed us all their presents and it was a lot of fun to share their excitement.  

                                    

                                           Here's our little Christmas Tree in our house

So we made it through our first major holiday all by ourselves out here in Belize.  The Belizeans love Christmas and decorate thier houses quite profusely.  Here are some pictures of Belize at Christmas.

First impressions

                                

It has been quite a challange becoming acclimatized to our new surroundings.  Belize is another world. The sights, sounds, smells, ROADS, traffic, people and general ambiance is sometimes a little overwhelming but it is still wonderful.

The perception that people have of Belize, produced from ads for travel and investment, is that Belize is this tropical paradise where people lounge on beaches under palm trees and sip drinks of varying kinds from coconut bowls.  While there are some places like that, the truth is that Belize is a very poor, underdeveloped, third-world country. Most of the people are poor having only a bare subsistance income.  Even so, they are a happy people, very friendly and helpful.  

                                           

The mixture of languages heard in the street is interesting.  It is technically an English speaking country but the English that is commonly spoken has an accent and lilt that is rather musical but at the same time practically unintelligible.  When they break into Creole, we're almost completely out of luck.  Most people can speak "proper" English ,as they call it, and have no problem understanding us but we have to get our ears accustomed to them.  Then there are the Spanish speakers.  Sister Tague can actually understand and converse with them more easily but that kind of leaves Elder Tague out.  

Speaking of streets, the streets and roads are TERRIBLE!!!  There are multiple potholes in every "paved" street (and paved is a very optimistic and overblown description).  Many are a foot or more deep.  It is like driving through a maze to try to navigate between them or, when impossible to avoid, choose the most shallow.  (It is my considered opinion that the franchise for car shocks is owned by a relative of a powerful political figure. heh heh).  The alley behind our house in Midland would be considered a pretty good road in Belize.  There are a few cement streets but most, if they are paved at all, are a thin layer of poorly mixed asphalt and gravel.  They get washed out constantly and the holes are filled with sand and/or gravel which are promptly washed out in the next rain. (It has rained nearly every day since we arrived). Driving through the city can be very hard on the back and spine.  The roads are shared equally with pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, buses, and trucks.  It can be quite confusing and many times hair-raising.  

Here are some typical scenes from Belize City. Notice the potholes in front of the Church building.

                               

                         

                                   

                                         The Belizean answer to Wendy's