How to Butcher a Chicken

Method #1

Kneel or step on the chicken's feet and wings.

Stretch the neck out.

Slit neck with sharp knife to drain blood.

Refrain from splattering blood all over you while the chicken spasms.

What not to do: cut the head completely off because the knife is freakishly sharp (blood will go everywhere)

Method #2

Place a pole on the chicken's neck.

Step on the pole while pulling up on the chicken's feet.

What not to do: Pull so hard the head pops off (its just gross)

Method #3

Swing chicken sharply around by the neck to break the spine.

What not to do: Be timid about it (you'll just have a poor flailing ALIVE chicken)

Mama and the Children's Home

"Many a complaining life could be changed into one of joy and happiness by constantly making note of God's blessings" -Middleton

One very impacting place we visited in Belize was a children's home. There were about 45 children of all ages. Most of them come from abusive homes and a few are orphans. The lady who started and ran the home was called "Mama". She told us her story. When she was little she was abused by her father and became pregnant by him. When she grew up and got away from her family she desired to help other children who had been in her situation. She is a Christian and her faith in God has brought her through the years. She started the children's home in a small house with another young lady to help her. Soon her home grew and they moved to a bigger house. One problem they had was that the house had stairs. The children would fall down the stairs occasionally and get bruises, causing authorities and others to think they were being abused. The house they are in now thankfully does not have any stairs. They have architectural plans to add on and rebuild the building for the children. Mama told us that over 400 children had come through her house. She still worries daily about how she will have money to feed the children and pay for their doctor's bill, but her incredible faith shone all over her face and it was clear she was full of joy.

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!