Day 6 Tuesday

To see pictures, be sure to log on the internet to http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmcmissionpictures/ Best to go to the right-hand column and view the pictures day-by-day; otherwise they are in totally random order. Give it a few minutes to load, then click on “slideshow”.
To read all of these e-mails, log on to www.rmcmission.blogspot.com.
You can view a map of Belize at http://www.progressoheights.com/location/belize_map.jpg . “Click” on the map and it will zoom in; we are working in the very northernmost tip in Corozal town (which is located in the District of the same name).


Here is what happened on Tuesday.

Tonight it was stated that as of tonight we are at the half-way point of our trip – 6 down and 6 to go. When this was mentioned to a few kids standing around, there was a collective groan. At least at this point they are not ready for this to end. Seems that everyone is having a really great time.

At least one day during our stay, each family group gets to do the “domestic” thing. That is the day where you help in the kitchen, do the day’s shopping, clean the bathrooms, prepare the materials for VBS, and hand out literature. We start off by going to market – the open-air style that sells fresh produce, clothes, meat, etc. There are a couple of shops that are owned by some “hermanas”, so we try to buy as much as we can from them. We also try to spend money in a number of different stands to spread it around. The market is a real study in tropical foods. More on that tomorrow, but let’s just say that the trip to the market is a real education. Most locals speak both Spanish and English, so the kids do very well.

Just before leaving, we go down the fish/meat row. There is a really nice guy (Javier) that runs a meat stall and always enjoys having our kids stop by and visit him. The meat is hanging out in the open air, and strewn about his counter top. The various organs are clearly visible and identifiable – pig’s feet, liver, lungs (with bronchial tube attached), kidneys. The most fascinating thing is that the local people do not like cow meat, they want bull meat. So Javier hangs the “Rocky Mountain Oysters” from the rack to advertise the fact that he is selling bull meat that day.

After market, we make several other stops at grocery stores to pick up non-fresh items. Then we try to make a stop at the tortilla factory to show the kids how tortillas are manufactured. The folk there have seen us come and go for years, and seem to enjoy us stopping by for a visit. The kids can taste what fresh, warm tortillas are like, and see what it is like to work in primitive conditions. Inside the oven area is very hot – probably 120 to 130 degrees. Then we go to the bakery where we buy all of our fresh whole wheat bread, rolls, buns, etc. Here again, one of our “hermanas” works there.

Each evening we try to take a group of kids in to town. Half of the kids are required to go help at VBS, and the other half have the option of going to town or VBS. Corozal is a typical Hispanic town, complete with central plaza with Catholic church attached, hygienically substandard, noisy, smelly, and lots of bicycles and pedestrians. But it is fun to walk around.

Besides the Catholic church attached to the plaza, this town has an Adventist church as well. It is located right next door to the town hall, near the taxi stand and post office. So on Sabbath morning when they crank up the song service, the entire downtown area gets in on it. Very cool.

There is a huge Chinese influence here in Belize. Many of the shop keepers are of Chinese ancestry. They own grocery stores, restaurants, hardware, building supply – just about everything you could imagine.

When a group kitchen responsibility, they also must do the VBS in the evening. So when supper is all finished, we head on over to the academy auditorium and put on the program. From 6 – 7:30 they are indispensable helpers in keeping scores of kids corralled. Tonight there were 68 in attendance. For most kids, this day is a welcome break from the heavy work out on the building sites.

By the time we finished breakfast this morning, clouds were beginning to gather on the horizon. It sprinkled lightly off and on during the morning. Then when we broke for lunch, it began to rain steadily. That continued for 2 or 3 hours. It did not force us to a complete halt, but it put a serious damper on our progress. We lost a lot of man-hours due to the weather. But even so, we made noticeable progress. The block is almost to the roof all the way around the chapel, and we will easily be finished with the painting by Friday.

Tomorrow we will take a day for recreation and go to the town of San Pedro on the island (Caye) of Ambergris. For some general info and pics you can log on to: http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS378US379&q=san+pedro+ambergris+caye&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&sa=X&ei=q_B-TfTOHsXi0gG10dCHCQ&ved=0CHUQsAQ&biw=1259&bih=499

And speaking of pics, we are trying to get a good many more pics posted. It is a work in progress, but you may now log on to http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmcmissionpictures/ . Right now we are about 3 days behind in getting the pics posted, but we will try to get it current by Thursday.

There are 2 pics of the day: 1) inside the chapel facing the back wall of the platform, and 2) inside the chapel facing the rear of the room. Both were taken in the morning before the rain hit. By quitting time the walls were about 1 course below the eaves.