Freedom!

As I stood before my family, my church and my workplace I shared that this trip is (as my pastor guided me to think of it as) a scouting mission.  That being said, we had a few objectives that we must find out as we are scouting this potential next chapter of our lives and how to accomplish it all in just 33 days in country.  I didn't understand (in a real world sense) until recently that a journey of 1,000 miles starts with one step.  Yeah, the "one step" thing sounds cool and is easy to understand like "eat fresh" or "always deliver a quality product on time", but it's another thing to actually do it and understand what it takes to do it (whatever "it" is that you're doing).

One thing we all know we need in order to do anything is water.  Not just any water, but clean water.  Water that won't make us sick or dehydrated.  Pure clean water that we need in order to sustain life.  Along with water comes food, clothing, shelter and so on.  This list can go on for pages and pages and eventually will transition from being genuine "needs" to good ole plain and simple "wants".

This being our 7th time physically in the country of Belize, it's our first time that we actually have to figure out how to "do" life.  Where to find clean water, how to buy food, where to go if we get sick, how to find a bag of nails or dog food (might be the same Chinese store).  All of that stuff is a part of the adventure and praise God we have been able to figure out all of that stuff!

We came here with 3 objectives.

1. Find a local church
2. Apply for a missionary visa
3. Amy works remotely while I work on the property.

Objective 1 - COMPLETE
Objective 3 - COMPLETE

Just down the road 1.1 miles from our property is a church that showed promise.  To back up a little bit, I had been asking folks that live down here or know the area for a while about a church that they would recommend.  Keep in mind that the "official" language of Belize is English, but the language in the home is definitely Spanish.  Everyone in my support system came up with nothing they could recommend in an English speaking church.  I came into this trip with the working knowledge that it is my job to find a church that we could plug into here.  Keep in mind, going a couple days without water is possible, but for extended periods of time certain death is soon to come.

Nobody in our support system here had heard of this church

So we went to church the first Sunday we are here.  Arriving in typical 10 minute late fashion, we join the church just as they are starting their welcoming song to all who have come "to the house of The Lord".  The church body is small but incredibly welcoming to new people.  As we sat down, Pastor Dave asked us to introduce ourselves and then we got to see the first debut of Mr. Jefferson's wonderful song leading talent.

KJV Bible in the pew

So, as we are singing the old hymn's, I look at the provided Bible in the pew...an English King James Version Bible!  I'm not going to get torn with folks about versions of The Bible.  For me, it's simple, the KJV speaks to me where other versions don't, it's what I need.  Like pure clean water, it's what I need to maintain spiritual life.

Message today on Proverbs 4:23
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

So, I hope I haven't lost you...
I'm just happy as all get out that I've found a church that preaches in English!  Over the previous 6 trips, I've probably been to 25 church services and all of them have been in Spanish.  I could kind-of make out what it was talking about, and most of the time I would have one of the youths in the pew do a bit of translating for us but still, other than the fellowship, we couldn't get much out of the message. 

Pastor Dave gettin' after it

That being said, if we never found a church in Belize that spoke English, we would be getting the refreshment of fellowship (water), but no food.  Without clean water and food, certain death is to follow.  Some of you may not understand why this objective is so important to us and how it is an answer to prayer, I know this for certain because I used to be one.  Trying to do things on my own thinking "thanks God, I got it from here" type attitude or the even harder one "God you don't exist, I'll figure it out" and pound my head against the wall daily (then numbing it with alcohol or drugs to make it all make sense and temporarily help with the pain). 

It's plain and simple, finding a church that we can be spiritually be fed and also help feed others is absolutely imperative for us to live in Belize.  What a wonderful feeling it is to check this off the list...lets go to the beach!

After the church service, we were going to a local restaurant on the water "Blues of Corozo" to meet with some friends.  As it turns out, Pastor and a couple from church was going there too.  We all met and had a wonderful time of fellowship.

Proverbs 31:16 says "She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."  Proverbs 31 is known for the 'virtuous woman', heck there's even a line of bags that are sold under the "Thirty one" premise that has it's roots back to this chapter.  Being virtuous does not only apply to just one gender.  In this passage, it doesn't say "Rent the field" or "Borrow the field" it say to Buy it!  It also says that the field isn't going to do anything unless you work at it (planting a vineyard), in other words, them grapes ain't going to grow themselves!  The verse doesn't say how to make things grow.  We can't do that, that's not our problem, it's God's problem to make things grow.  It's our job to consider what God has put before us and commit to it "all in" as I like to think.  Sometimes I think we get caught up in trying to make things grow when we should just be committing to it's success and letting God do His job.

Say hello to my little friend (and my big ones)

No shirt, no shoes, no problem (for my new friends anyway).  If they ran restaurants, the rules would be No Paws, No fur, No kibble...

My previous job came with several hats, most of which will likely never be worn by anyone else as the transition from being a paper driven workflow to an electronic driven workflow is in full swing.  The hat I wear now simply protects my large skull from the sun during walks...

Excellent walkers, very well behaved

Part of my new (temporary) job is to take care of Mr. Jeff's 4 wonderful K-9 family.  They range in ages from (in people years) 105 down to mid teenager.  All of them, except for the oldest are rescue dogs.  The term "rescue" dog takes on a whole new meaning here.  The value of dogs down here couldn't be more opposite than the value in the United States.  Being exposed to village life in Belize and darn near hundreds of different people, you realize that the concept of "dog food" is one difficult thing to try to explain about the good ole USA.

Here in Belize, dogs are more of an employee (a hired gun is more like it) than a pet.  These guys that I take care of are no different.  Let me introduce you to the fab 4.  To protect their identity, fictitious names will be used...

Meet Grady, she's over 15 years old and tough as nails.  She instills fear in humans by being an example of just how long God can make you live on this cursed planet.

What did you say sonny?

Grady is deaf and partially blind.  She spends her day walking around and licking my leg.  She's pretty darn spry for a 105 year old lady.  She's not shy at all when it comes to letting you know she's hungry.  She still has the juice to jump up on the couch and jack around from time to time.  I don't suggest you let her drive a car though...

Meet Grax, he's only about 6.  Grax was found on the sea starving to death (litterally) eating a dead catfish on the shore.  Mr. Jeff took in Grax and nursed him back to health but the long lasting effects of malnutrition are taking a tole on Grax's hips.

Hello?

I'm ready to take a walk

 He can take care of business, has a heck of a sniffer to alert the crew of upcoming intruders and I know that in a pinch, would lay down his life for his master.  Wonderful disposition about him, an extreme introvert but one on one a wonderful personality.

Meet Graham, big tough and furry.  When I first met Graham I wondered how a dog with such a thick coat can bear the heat of Belize.  With smarts, you can do just fine.  She loves to play and has a weird thing about her to be a number counter.  She reminds me of me when I would go into Walmart with 5 kids, you are constantly counting kids and when you come up short one or two, you go searching.  Mr. Jeff believes that she was bred here, but let go because she eats too much.  Graham was almost dead when he found her.  Believe me, she appreciates her life now and will lay hers down to protect it.

Don't make me get protective

My A/C works just fine

Graham is the brute force of the fab 4.  I have no doubt that she and Grax would do some serious damage to any intruder or assailant to Mr. Jeff, Amy or I.  And as I mentioned, if somebody comes up missing, she will come looking for you.  The first and second day that Mr. Jeff was gone was the most confusing for her.  She gets it now, but was constantly looking for him until recently.

Meet "the teenager".  We have lovingly referred to the speed master as "the teenager".  She's so much fun to have around, but just like the other two dogs, when it comes down to her "something's wrong sensor" going off, she's all about business.  She's been known to wake you up with low grunting and licking of the face.  She loves meal time and walks.

Very healthy, sneaky little gal at night

The teenager

The teenager was found by Mr. Jeff at the dump that is a couple miles away from our property.  Starving to death, Mr. Jeff made her a deal (since he was on his motorcycle) that if she would follow him home (over 4 miles away) he would nurse her back to health.  As I mentioned, Mr. Jeff is the definition of integrity and hard work.  The fruit of that labor can be seen in this black lab's wagging tail and wet sloppy licks to the face.  She bounced back and like the other 2 rescues, is extremely grateful for the life they now have and would be willing to lay theirs down to protect others.

Jackin' around

A nice reward for the morning walk

How to stay cool with a fur coat on

Shaken not stirred

 In the Bible Jesus teaches us in John Chapter 15:13 that "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  It's been said that the dog is man's best friend.  When you run that truth through the subject scripture, it makes it easy to understand.  Make no mistake, I like the fab 4 and probably by the end I will want to take the teenager home with me.  Unfortunately, I would not lay my life down for these dogs who I know would lay theirs down for me.  We, as mankind, have been through several different dispensations of God's love toward us, all have ended in disaster.  We are in the last dispensation right now, the easiest one, the age of Grace.  All we have to do is acknowledge we need Jesus Christ and accept his free gift (a perfect sacrifice for your sins) and we have an eternity to thank Him... starting right now.

T.C.B. Corozal

Elvis called his band Taking Care of Business (T.C.B).  I'm not sure if Elvis ever came on down to Central America but if he did, TCB would take on a whole new meaning when it comes to finding supplies for his daily fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Corozal town, founded in 1848 by folks headed south from the certain death coming from the tyrants of what's now one of the popular American tourist spots, the Yucatan Peninsula, specifically Cancun Mexico and the like.  Traveling at highway speeds 5 hours south, you'll run into the last large waterfront city in Mexico, Cheumal.  I have not been there, but I have done some google earth street view (like in the USA) and it looks cool, but probably never go there since it costs $29 to leave Belize. Check out this nice report on the town https://www.belize.com/corozalhttps://www.belize.com/corozal

Nice bay area town

So, Mr. Jeff, Amy and I went into Corozal Town to do some running.  I found out that it was a for sure thing that the church in Copper Bank will be putting on the first (in a while) VBS in Halls Layout, in the northern area of Corozal, so I insisted that they take the truck back to help with the effort.  Mr. Jeff had a few things to get done and we needed to be exposed to how to get around so we all went together.  Amy had the opportunity to take some PTO, so her late morning / afternoon opened up free as a bird.

No parking this side of the road between the 16th and 31st of the month

Pictured above is the Ford Ranger that we sent down a couple years ago.  She's got over 225,000 miles on her now, but it still runs good and most importantly, the A/C works!  Last trip, we found out about the parking rules in downtown Corozal, darn near got a ticket.  Managed to use my negotiation skills I learned at PPT to get out of a parking ticket, next time I know I won't be so lucky.  This truck is used by the ministry in Copper Bank to service Progresso, Corozal and Santa Marta.  They have kept very good care of it.

So after Mr. Jeff showing me where to get purified water, we start off through the maze of getting things done in downtown Corozal.  To the expats who have been here a while, it's no big deal, but to us new-bee's it's kinda heavy to understand how things work.  You can't get 'everything' at one store, except for the food stores but even then, the fresh meat is not available there.  You go to the place that sells chicken for chicken, the place that sells beef for beef and the place that sells water just might have fresh bread.

Our first stop was to pick up the coil for the riding lawnmower that was burnt up.  This shop was setup about 4 years ago by a retiring gringo that saw a need for other folks down here to get anything and everything shipped.  Mr. Wendell is very friendly and eager to serve.  From what I understand, you setup a post office box type thing in The States and ship whatever it is you buy online to that address and number.

Gringo phrase for gringos

Nice storefront

Reasonable hours

Once a week, Wendell has whatever came in put on an airplane and shipped to Belize City.  Duty tax is paid on the stated value of the invoice.  It's pretty dang pricy, but when it's something you gotta have, price-less and worth-less become separated from price and worth.  As you can see, Mr. Wendell is not getting rich doing this service, just offering a fair service at a fair price.  Remember, Belize gets 45% of their GDP through customs.

Now that we have the riding mower part in hand, we are off to the lawnmower repair shop.  GPS works on the phone (data plan consumption) so I'll likely start turning on the App "Map my ride" so I know where stuff is in the future.  I've seen a couple expats do that on their blog to help other new-bee's navigate.  Anyway, we stop at the lawnmower shop and talk to the owner.  We got the right part, but in the translation, Mr. Jeff understood he only needed one, turns out we need two to get the mower running again.  So, the 2 weeks anxiously awaiting getting this mower running again will be delayed even more. 

Don't push the mowers in the creek

No need for neon signs, they close before dark

Lawnmower junkyard, I love the smell in here!

From what I've see and been exposed to, from the hospital to the mechanic getting the parts you need to get it running again (whatever "it" is) is your responsibility.  Yes, that means when you go into the hospital, your loved one is given a list of medications to get from the pharmacy and you also are responsible for their meals while in the hospital.  All the sudden free healthcare takes on a new meaning...what if you can't afford the meds?  What if you don't have any food at home to bring to the hospital?  Heavy questions that I'm not sure I'm ready to hear the answer.

After stopping off at the tire store and having a new tire put on the Ranger (fair price, very nice people).  We are off to lunch at a popular gringo spot right on the bay called Jam Rock.  This is where I finally had the national meal of Belize (stewed chicken, rice/beans, cole slaw, fried plantain).  It's just a nice place to sit, but just like every other sea side place in Belize as soon as you sit down, the vendors start hovering.  Michael, as we have met several times, thinks that we have a cash tree and a warehouse to store his carvings.  Nice guy, but a professional begger.  You get to meet a lot of those types here.  They let them come into the resturant and peddle their stuff, kinda weird.  It would be like us coming into an Applebees back home and going from booth to booth selling Boy Scout popcorn...  But, again, what a pastor told me the first time coming here, I'M A VISITOR, I will always be a visitor and I'm not going to change the way things work here.

Wonderful view, great food, cheaper than Micky D's

All outdoor seating, 24/7 Air-conditioning

Sign lights up at night (because they are open after dark, ya know)

 I heard it said by a Canadian a few years ago that was on the first few months of a whirlwind adventure of world travel planned for one year that he didn't feel like he left North America until he got to Belize.  The development (housing and general architecture) of the Caribbean side of Mexico (Cancun and the like) according to this traveler really didn't look that much different than Canada and the United States.  He said that once he got to Belize, he finally felt like he's left a different culture.  Everything that you know as normal back home is pretty much thrown out the window and done differently.  Not that it's bad, it's just different.  Again, don't think you're going to change Belize to be like downtown gringoville, that only works in gringoville.  Belize is known as the 'melting pot' of Central America, Corozal is the most northern town in the country.  I have to say, I love the town, and the way of life here.  I will have to do what I can to make the people reciprocate.

In the book of Acts, Chapter 10:34-35 says "³⁴ Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: ³⁵ But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."  Have you ever wondered why in a war zone, they allow "religious" workers and media to get right in the thick of it all?  When it comes down to it, way deep down in the basic wiring buried deep in the foundation of who we are we recognize that there is a creator.  Even the most devout atheist has respect for someone of "faith" because frankly, it takes more faith to be an athiest than it does to believe in God, let alone the simplicity of accepting what God did for us through his Son in this rapidly ending dispensation of grace.  Here in Belize, you are open to practice whatever 'religion' you want, you are free to shout it from the roof of a van through the village, you can be as loud as you want to be (until 10).  But when it comes down to it, every nation on this planet that allows the people to truely fear God, those who come to do His work will be accepted, no matter how pale your skin is.