Belize

We've been back from Belize for a couple weeks now. It was a wonderful trip. Our time was PACKED each day. We did not waste any time. We had breakfast at 7am every morning and then headed out for the day to do different things. We visited two farms. One was agricultural and had alot of citrus trees. The other was part of a school where they taught students how to grow food as well as raise animals like pigs and sheep.

Touring the first farm on a tractor.



Organic Cabbage.


Everyday we took a bus and a truck to all the locations we visited.


We visited a lumber yard, Mayan ruins


The national park (which was really cool and jungly and reminded me of home).
I feel like this photo should be named "Armor"





We also went to a chicken hatchery in the Mennonite community of Belize.


We visited a butterfly farm and toured a medicine trail.
The butterflies were Blue Morpho and we got to see their life cycle.



We also traveled to a refugee village where some missionaries had previously completed a water project, bringing water from the hills down to the village for them to have clean water. We were told that the community had been very involved in the project. They felt part of it, therefore they valued it and so the system was still function and being used correctly.

At the water tank.


Though mostly our trip was educational and we were able to see what the people of Belize were doing to build up their very young (only 30 years old) country, we also did some ministry while we were there. We prepared a fun night for children one night and later in the week we prepared a youth meeting filled with testimonies, games and worship for those in the church.

One of my favorite activities was painting the mission building that we were staying at. Our group painted the dorm rooms and I headed up a mural in the dining area. It was really fun for the creative people in the group to be involved and we all worked together to paint a tree with the scripture
"I am like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever I do prospers." -Ps. 1:3



The finished product








It was fun staying at the mission house and also kind of strange because it was an upgrade from the housing we've been living in. We had electricity and fans and real toilets and showers (although we were all too lazy to turn on the water heaters so we just took cold showers). We also ate really well, with an array of different food including lots of fruit (which we don't get at HEART).

There was alot of beautiful scenery. Belize is a small country with a slow pace of life. It only has a population of about 321,000. The official language is English but alot of the people speak Spanish or Creole. There is a big Caribbean influence as well as Hispanic from the surrounding countries but it is interesting that the money has Queen Elizabeth II on it.













Thankyou to all those who supported us!