A Somewhat Typical Day in Belize by Autumn
Hello!
Lately my siblings have gone into detail on more specific projects/subjects here on the blog. I thought that it might be fun to write my post about a typical day here in Belize, and what that looks like for us. Be warned, it was quite busy so this post is definetly going to be a longer one!
**Quotes from A Fine And Pleasant Misery by Patrick Mcmanus
Lately my siblings have gone into detail on more specific projects/subjects here on the blog. I thought that it might be fun to write my post about a typical day here in Belize, and what that looks like for us. Be warned, it was quite busy so this post is definetly going to be a longer one!
Our day started bright and early (or not so bright…it actually was still dark when we woke up) at 5:00am when mom woke us up. Quickly we rolled out of our beds (or hammocks) and did our devotionals, got dressed, and drank our smoothies. Then we all piled into the gold van we are using. In theory, the drive to church shouldn’t take very long. In theory. But there are two factors that make it so we have to leave extra early to make sure we can get to Mass on time.
The first is the van itself which, though it is a HUGE upgrade to walking, is very old and slow. For those who have read the Wingfeather Saga--we named the van "Nugget" because it is very large and is definitely going to die soon. The other factor is the route itself. In Belize there are speed bumps spaced alarmingly close on the main roads. This makes for quite the ride when we’re all still waking up and mom is busy trying to get the gears to shift. Also, here in Belize you have to drive past your destination until you reach a traffic circle and then backtrack to where you want to go. This adds a lot of time to our journey.
Anyway, we got to church in time for 6:15am Mass. After Mass we hung around for the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Morning Prayer, and a Holy Hour. For me, however, it was more like a Holy Forty-Five Minutes because nature called Gianna, and I was summoned to take her to the bathroom. Once relieved, Gianna and I discovered that Fr. Scott’s only hen had been killed by a cat, and laid in the pathway to the preschool.
Feeling somewhere between sad and disgusted, we headed back to the church. On the way out, our friend gave us a container of fry-jacks, which are these delicious puffy little tortilla things. I honestly could write an entire post about them, but I’m not sure how they would have anything to do with Missionary Discipleship. Then Fr. Scott came up to us and showed us how to grab marigold seeds off the plant for the garden we wanted to build (the flowers are supposed to help with the mosquitos). Of course, we had to tell him about his hen. He was very sad, and we all made our way to the crime scene, reflecting much about some of the greatest mysteries in the world. Life. Death. Irony. The irony part came as we gazed at the brand new chicken coop, and the four eggs that the hen had finally started roosting on.
After the alloted time for mourning was complete, Carson and Fr. Scott moved the hen out of the way of the soon-to-arrive preschoolers because, of course, none of them needed to be traumatized. Once that was done, some of us drove around to the back fence so we could load some cinderblocks into the van. As we did this, Fr. Scott talked with us about other mission projects we’ll be helping with. The blocks were finally all loaded, and we said a prayer that we wouldn’t stall out and we could get everything home without pushing it.
Very relieved, we made it back to the blue house and unloaded all the blocks. Then we got to work on our garden project. We built the border of cinderblocks and spread the dirt into four little beds. It was very hot, and we ended up taking a break around 10:00 am to eat the fry-jacks and discuss some logistics. I also drank some coffee which, admittedly, was not the most refreshing being that it was already an oven outside. The blue house doesn’t have air-conditioning (nothing really does here) and we were already all crowded around the fan. After that we went back outside and continued working on the garden.
Around noon I went inside and made lunch. We all ate and got back to work. Cameron helped me get a giant cockroach out of our seedlings, and then worked out an impromptu dance routine to the song, "The Goodness," by TobyMac. After a bit, mom left to get our 5-gallon water containers refilled and pick up our friend, Marcos. Marcos only speaks Spanish, so we got to practice with him and discussed what we read in our Bibles during our Holy Hour with him. Then he helped Carson build a planter out of an old staircase. The afternoon seemed to fly by, but, before dinner, we were able to get in a game of futbul at the park. A huge group of college people on a mission trip showed up and played with us and the local kids.
Feeling somewhere between sad and disgusted, we headed back to the church. On the way out, our friend gave us a container of fry-jacks, which are these delicious puffy little tortilla things. I honestly could write an entire post about them, but I’m not sure how they would have anything to do with Missionary Discipleship. Then Fr. Scott came up to us and showed us how to grab marigold seeds off the plant for the garden we wanted to build (the flowers are supposed to help with the mosquitos). Of course, we had to tell him about his hen. He was very sad, and we all made our way to the crime scene, reflecting much about some of the greatest mysteries in the world. Life. Death. Irony. The irony part came as we gazed at the brand new chicken coop, and the four eggs that the hen had finally started roosting on.
After the alloted time for mourning was complete, Carson and Fr. Scott moved the hen out of the way of the soon-to-arrive preschoolers because, of course, none of them needed to be traumatized. Once that was done, some of us drove around to the back fence so we could load some cinderblocks into the van. As we did this, Fr. Scott talked with us about other mission projects we’ll be helping with. The blocks were finally all loaded, and we said a prayer that we wouldn’t stall out and we could get everything home without pushing it.
Very relieved, we made it back to the blue house and unloaded all the blocks. Then we got to work on our garden project. We built the border of cinderblocks and spread the dirt into four little beds. It was very hot, and we ended up taking a break around 10:00 am to eat the fry-jacks and discuss some logistics. I also drank some coffee which, admittedly, was not the most refreshing being that it was already an oven outside. The blue house doesn’t have air-conditioning (nothing really does here) and we were already all crowded around the fan. After that we went back outside and continued working on the garden.
Around noon I went inside and made lunch. We all ate and got back to work. Cameron helped me get a giant cockroach out of our seedlings, and then worked out an impromptu dance routine to the song, "The Goodness," by TobyMac. After a bit, mom left to get our 5-gallon water containers refilled and pick up our friend, Marcos. Marcos only speaks Spanish, so we got to practice with him and discussed what we read in our Bibles during our Holy Hour with him. Then he helped Carson build a planter out of an old staircase. The afternoon seemed to fly by, but, before dinner, we were able to get in a game of futbul at the park. A huge group of college people on a mission trip showed up and played with us and the local kids.
Eventually, we cleaned up our garden stuff and I started making dinner. Cameron came to help and pointed out that an *iggle had made it’s way into the kitchen. Iggles, as we’ve nicknamed them, are little translucent geckos that always find a way into our house. They run about on the walls untill you get close enough. Then they do this little suicide-jump thing straight at you. Seriously, it’s super alarming, and has caused all manner of reactions from different members of our family. For instance, one time we were spending time together as a family and one decided to jump right onto the kitchen table--almost straight into a bowl of popcorn. We found out pretty quickly two things. Who had the loudest scream, and who had the most agility.
So Cameron and I chased this iggle around for a while until we lost track of it behind the refrigerator. And…we still don’t know where it is! So, with heightened alertness, we continued making dinner.
After dinner we worked together to get the kitchen clean and make smoothies for the next day. We washed up and got into our pajamas, very ready for bed. Then, we got a text from Fr. Scott that he was bringing a woman who needed support over. That was a surprise, but we took it in stride, and were able to have a nice conversation with both of them. We also showed Fr. Scott the garden and talked to him about all manners of things, including iggles. Turns out he’s had similar experiences.
Finally, we did our family read-aloud and made it to our respective beds (and hammocks). It had been a super full day!
This account is really just an example of how crazy things here are! Every day is different, but always busy and full. God is definitely giving us lots to do. In fact, I think we'll be taking steps to slow things down a bit in these next weeks so as to keep our family from being burned out. One thing we have learned is it's always beneficial to take a step back and look at the whole picture of the day to day business and see if it is all bearing fruit. Like Carson mentioned in his post about family first, all of our missions start with our families and in our own homes. If an overpacked schedule is causing harm to that mission, it's time to re-evaluate, or possibly add some margin for the unexpected.
So Cameron and I chased this iggle around for a while until we lost track of it behind the refrigerator. And…we still don’t know where it is! So, with heightened alertness, we continued making dinner.
After dinner we worked together to get the kitchen clean and make smoothies for the next day. We washed up and got into our pajamas, very ready for bed. Then, we got a text from Fr. Scott that he was bringing a woman who needed support over. That was a surprise, but we took it in stride, and were able to have a nice conversation with both of them. We also showed Fr. Scott the garden and talked to him about all manners of things, including iggles. Turns out he’s had similar experiences.
Finally, we did our family read-aloud and made it to our respective beds (and hammocks). It had been a super full day!
This account is really just an example of how crazy things here are! Every day is different, but always busy and full. God is definitely giving us lots to do. In fact, I think we'll be taking steps to slow things down a bit in these next weeks so as to keep our family from being burned out. One thing we have learned is it's always beneficial to take a step back and look at the whole picture of the day to day business and see if it is all bearing fruit. Like Carson mentioned in his post about family first, all of our missions start with our families and in our own homes. If an overpacked schedule is causing harm to that mission, it's time to re-evaluate, or possibly add some margin for the unexpected.
Thanks for reading this post! We are praying for you all.
Cinderblocks for the garden
Bed construction
Transplanting tomatoes/building a planter
'THAR'S AN IGGLE!*
**"I s'pose iggles have a right to live too"...
*Since the writing of this post, it has been discovered that iggles deserve a place of highest honor and esteem in our home. They eat cockroaches and all the nasty insects that bite us and make mom scream.
