Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Hello From The UBC Group
Hello to all of our friends back at home in the United States. Our work team consists of the following members: Grace Crouse, Delores Shindle, Holly Strait, Martha & Ken Myers, Arlene & Larry Hissong and myself, Cherie Kiner. Darlene & Bob Eberly accompanied the team as well.
We arrived in Belize on Saturday afternoon and were met by our bus & driver at the airport. Our first stop was Cheers. Cheers is a local restaurant in Belmopan area along the Western Highway. They had great food and everyone tried something different. The atmosphere was wonderful. We ate outside on an open air patio with ceiling fans whirring above our heads.
Upon our arrival to Hosanna House around 4:30pm we were greeted by the children. After we got our luggage unpacked and got things settled in the house off we went to Dangriga for groceries. Our first glimpse of the Caribbean sea was amazing.
Learned about something called a sleeping policeman, the road is built up so that you are forced to slow to almost a stop or you would be air borne while driving.
Back to the Hosanna House for a late dinner of ham salad sandwiches. To bed after a long day of travel and excitement of seeing new places and people.
Sunday morning began at 5:30pm when we awoke to begin the day. After breakfast we traveled to Springfield Mennonite Church where we attended services. The men sit on one side of the church and the women on the other. The services were very different from UBC.
After church we traveled to Belmopan for lunch. We ate at Diamond Restaurant. Again everyone tried something different and all the food was yummy.
After lunch we met a local woman everyone called Grandma. She invited us into her home and showed us some of the crafts she makes. Several of the team bought baskets, bags or jewelry.
Then we headed back to Hosanna House for dinner. After dinner the team returned to church at Hummingbird Mennonite. Everyone loved the services. The music was unreal. I remained behind with Darlene and we spent time with the children at the house. They love to watch movies.
We made it an early night as a full day of work was planned for Monday. After breakfast in the morning the team set to work. Some of the ladies painted the common room in the teams quarters. The remainder of the women worked on cleaning and organizing the kitchen. The men worked on wiring & electrical work. At the end of the day the common room was completed with new paint, lights, furniture and pictures on the walls. The change is amazing!!! Now future teams will have a nice area to rest after a hard days work. The only thing left to complete the room is installing an air conditioner and drop ceiling. Myself and some of the other ladies spent several hours squeezing fresh orange juice for the team.
After all that work the team cleaned up and headed to Hosanna House for devotions with the kids. It is amazing how bright and engaged they are when learning. They love to sing and have great voices.
Tuesday morning we began another early work day. The ladies painted the outside of the teams quarters and all the exterior doors. Other ladies worked on preparing food and continuing to clean and organized the kitchen. The guys continued with wiring projects and they built a set of shelves to place in the kitchen for extra storage spaces. By afternoon all the painting was completed outside, so the team headed for Dangriga for more needed supplies and groceries for Hosanna House.
We had the opportunity to meet some new people. Ken & Larry love to talk and met a pastor and his family who were fishing for their dinner on the beach. These guys have never met a stranger. It is great to spend time with them.
Today, Wednesday the 16th was the teams excursion day. We had a wonderful time. After breakfast we got on the road early. Our first stop was the saw mill at Springfield Mennonite Community. We had the opportunity to see their horse driven saw mill in operation. Their set up is amazing.
The next stop was Mayan ruins, Xunantunich Archaeological Site. This ruin is located in the Cayo/Mountain Pine Ridge Area. Several of the group climbed to the top.
Spanish lookout the Mennonite Community was our next stop. The terrain and homes look so much like home it's unbelieveable. It was enough to make you homesick. We met one of Bob's friends Corney and spent a bit of time with him and his wife. Kenny & Larry our dairy farmers were having ice cream withdrawal so we got ice cream before leaving Spanish lookout. A John Deere distributor called out to the guys, so we drove through the parking lot so they could take a closer look. Kenny tried to think of a way he could get a new tractor home, but decided he better wait.
We attended services at the Hummingbird Mennonite Church tonight. The music was spectacular and after the message the youth sang for us just for fun. Tonight was the first time I ever heard the 25th Psalm sung. It was absolutely breathtaking. They sang it as a responsive harmony with the men beginning and the women responding. It was unbelieveable. Maybe we should do more singing at home.
Well it is now 10:30pm and the kids will be up early and the team is standing in for the Hosanna House staff tomorrow. They need a day off once in awhile and tomorrow is one of them. More later.
Sorry to say, none of the cables here are compatiable with my camera, so I'll have to add photos later.
We arrived in Belize on Saturday afternoon and were met by our bus & driver at the airport. Our first stop was Cheers. Cheers is a local restaurant in Belmopan area along the Western Highway. They had great food and everyone tried something different. The atmosphere was wonderful. We ate outside on an open air patio with ceiling fans whirring above our heads.
Upon our arrival to Hosanna House around 4:30pm we were greeted by the children. After we got our luggage unpacked and got things settled in the house off we went to Dangriga for groceries. Our first glimpse of the Caribbean sea was amazing.
Learned about something called a sleeping policeman, the road is built up so that you are forced to slow to almost a stop or you would be air borne while driving.
Back to the Hosanna House for a late dinner of ham salad sandwiches. To bed after a long day of travel and excitement of seeing new places and people.
Sunday morning began at 5:30pm when we awoke to begin the day. After breakfast we traveled to Springfield Mennonite Church where we attended services. The men sit on one side of the church and the women on the other. The services were very different from UBC.
After church we traveled to Belmopan for lunch. We ate at Diamond Restaurant. Again everyone tried something different and all the food was yummy.
After lunch we met a local woman everyone called Grandma. She invited us into her home and showed us some of the crafts she makes. Several of the team bought baskets, bags or jewelry.
Then we headed back to Hosanna House for dinner. After dinner the team returned to church at Hummingbird Mennonite. Everyone loved the services. The music was unreal. I remained behind with Darlene and we spent time with the children at the house. They love to watch movies.
We made it an early night as a full day of work was planned for Monday. After breakfast in the morning the team set to work. Some of the ladies painted the common room in the teams quarters. The remainder of the women worked on cleaning and organizing the kitchen. The men worked on wiring & electrical work. At the end of the day the common room was completed with new paint, lights, furniture and pictures on the walls. The change is amazing!!! Now future teams will have a nice area to rest after a hard days work. The only thing left to complete the room is installing an air conditioner and drop ceiling. Myself and some of the other ladies spent several hours squeezing fresh orange juice for the team.
After all that work the team cleaned up and headed to Hosanna House for devotions with the kids. It is amazing how bright and engaged they are when learning. They love to sing and have great voices.
Tuesday morning we began another early work day. The ladies painted the outside of the teams quarters and all the exterior doors. Other ladies worked on preparing food and continuing to clean and organized the kitchen. The guys continued with wiring projects and they built a set of shelves to place in the kitchen for extra storage spaces. By afternoon all the painting was completed outside, so the team headed for Dangriga for more needed supplies and groceries for Hosanna House.
We had the opportunity to meet some new people. Ken & Larry love to talk and met a pastor and his family who were fishing for their dinner on the beach. These guys have never met a stranger. It is great to spend time with them.
Today, Wednesday the 16th was the teams excursion day. We had a wonderful time. After breakfast we got on the road early. Our first stop was the saw mill at Springfield Mennonite Community. We had the opportunity to see their horse driven saw mill in operation. Their set up is amazing.
The next stop was Mayan ruins, Xunantunich Archaeological Site. This ruin is located in the Cayo/Mountain Pine Ridge Area. Several of the group climbed to the top.
Spanish lookout the Mennonite Community was our next stop. The terrain and homes look so much like home it's unbelieveable. It was enough to make you homesick. We met one of Bob's friends Corney and spent a bit of time with him and his wife. Kenny & Larry our dairy farmers were having ice cream withdrawal so we got ice cream before leaving Spanish lookout. A John Deere distributor called out to the guys, so we drove through the parking lot so they could take a closer look. Kenny tried to think of a way he could get a new tractor home, but decided he better wait.
We attended services at the Hummingbird Mennonite Church tonight. The music was spectacular and after the message the youth sang for us just for fun. Tonight was the first time I ever heard the 25th Psalm sung. It was absolutely breathtaking. They sang it as a responsive harmony with the men beginning and the women responding. It was unbelieveable. Maybe we should do more singing at home.
Well it is now 10:30pm and the kids will be up early and the team is standing in for the Hosanna House staff tomorrow. They need a day off once in awhile and tomorrow is one of them. More later.
Sorry to say, none of the cables here are compatiable with my camera, so I'll have to add photos later.
# posted by Hosanna House @ 10:32 PM 
