Church in Belize

Saturday June 25

I woke up at 7AM this morning almost bursting out of my seams with excitement. Since this Sunday Dr. Corvin is returning to the U.S. the other girls have decided to take her to San Ignacio so that she can do an iguana exhibit and a homeopathic tour of medicinal herbs and plants. They will also do some shopping and visit a local pool that we discovered when we went to San Ignacio weeks ago. I on the other hand will be going to church with the couple I met yesterday. Because we had not shared the exact time that Chris would be coming with her family to pick me up and I didn’t know if church times here were different I decided to be up extra early and wait. After getting dressed, Sunscreen-ing myself and creating my bug barrier with my handy dandy Deet I was ready to go. Within minutes Chris called for directions, which I shared over the phone with her and waited. After about 5-7 minutes they pulled up and I headed to their truck. I introduced myself again and we made small talk about what I was doing here etc. This morning they are going to St.Thomas a small village outside of Belmopan city limits where the church is located. The landscape of Belize definitely reminds me of some parts of Kenya and I do appreciate the clean air and empty spaces. Within 15-20 minutes we were approaching the church a small stone structure with no windows but so many children and a few adults. The adult to child ratio was definitely large and I wondered where all the children had come from.

            Sabbath school was good, but I definitely felt like the outsider because I was stared at a lot. I guess I do look different and I also act very differently from Belizeans here. After the church welcome we began singing a few hymns. I noticed that there was no piano and so we sang a few hymnals that the children knew. It was very interesting, the children all seemed to know each other and the older children would look after the younger. When a break was announced Chris introduced me to a woman holding a newborn. The woman was definitely the reason for the children. She had an orphanage; I think the only one here in Belmopan that she had started in the 1980’s. Chris and Rich then told me that they along with many others were in the process of building a new and bigger orphanage and that they would take me to the orphanage both the current and new one this afternoon. 

I didnt have my camera and i wish i did but the orphanage is definitely bursting at the seams. They need space. When we got to the orphanage most of the kids were in their rooms taking afternoon naps and i was able to wander around and make small talk with the cook. I will return later with a camera in hand.