Sunday

On Sunday morning when we woke up it was STILL pouring down rain! Many people attended church at a Catholic church in Corazal town. After church we headed to Raffi and Desi’s house for lunch. For lunch we had rice and beans with chicken. The chicken had a seasoning called ricado- a traditional Belizian seasoning. For dessert, again we had the delicious lime pie...it’s so good you could eat the whole thing!!!

After lunch many people worked on finishing up the computer labs. The lab at the Presbyterian school is now connected to the internet and the computers are working!! The computers in the lab at the Catholic school are now all connected and working, but the internet isn’t connected yet. We are thankful that they are all working!!

While some people worked on the computers, Dawn, Joni, Annette, and I spent time walking around the village of San Pedro. First we visited with Mattais and his children- Dhalia, Shayla, and Noelle. Dawn and Joni had met them last year and they were very happy to see us again. Mattais is a very talented artist- he makes gorgeous handmade hammocks, baskets, and clothing...all without electricity! They shared with us some fruit from one of their trees. It’s called Kenep and it’s a small green fruit with an inside orange seed that you suck on, but don’t eat. It’s very sour! They are a very sweet family! Second we visited with Oneida to deliver some baking pans that were donated. She was extremely grateful for the pans and decorating items. She shared some manzana (apple) pop and homemade yellow cake with us...it was delicious! We had fun talking with her about how she could sell some of her cakes to others in the village. After our time together she gave each of us a beautiful handmade cross-stitched towel. We were so grateful that she shared her talents with us! Third, we visited with Philamena’s family. Philamena is the librarian at the San Pedro Government School and she’s just like a grandma! As soon as we walked into her house she started feeding us! She gave us Coke and homemade Tamalitos (like tamales, but made only with corn and habanero). They were so yummy, but we were getting quite full by this time, as we had been eating our way through the day! :) Sometimes we feel like we eat something at every stop! We certainly won’t lose weight here- the ladies are so generous!!

By the time we ladies finished visiting with Philamena it had stopped raining!! Thank God! We quickly joined the rest of our group at the basketball court where they were installing back boards and hoops. We heard that the concrete basketball uprights had been there without back boards for almost 20 years!!! After much difficulty drilling into concrete (and some help from Resendo, the local contractor) the hoops and back boards were up! Dave G, Sean, David A, Glenn, and two Belizian teenagers played a game! It was very interesting because none of the boys knew how to play basketball. They said that they had watched the NBA, but they didn’t really know how to play. They had a great time learning and will definitely enjoy the court!

Although the day started out with pouring rain, it ended with nice weather! We are so grateful that the rain stopped and we were able to get some more outside work finished.

-Beth and the team

P.S: Feel free to leave some comments for us. :)