McKenzie Belize Adventure

I hope those of you from the US had a nice Memorial weekend. As you can see from Craig's blog we had a very busy one. Teaching at the Mayan conference was quite an experience. I taught the women from Titus chapter 2. These precious people sat on wooden benches with no backs for 4 hours at a time for 2 days. Before the conference started on Saturday, they cooked 4 pigs. They served a free dinner to all who came to the conference. They must have served at least 350 people. This is a real sacrifice for these people to do this in this third world country. May God richly their sacrifice. The service was held outside under the pavilion as the church was too small. It was so hot and everyone was soaked. This did not stop the people from fervently worshiping the Lord however. There were two brothers from Guatemala that did an amazing job preaching the conference. One preached in Spanish while the other translated in Cache. The main speaker, Noe Barrientos, is originally from Guate...

Carolyn had the opportunity to minister to the ladies at the Toledo District conference on Sunday, May 28th.  There were over 150 ladies in attendance.  There was a young sister, Darlene who helped translate into the Mayan language for those who did not understand English.  Many of the ladies came to pray during the conference services.

During the Toledo District conference, a bus load of us went to the river to baptize four precious people in Jesus Name.  There was a river just a few miles away from the San Felipe were we could baptize.  It was an exciting time for all.

Saturday May 27th and Sunday May 28th, we attended the Toledo district conference in San Felipe.  About 400 people were in attendance with 34 receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, 11 reported miracles and 4 baptized in Jesus Name.  We had two guest ministers from Guatemala who blessed everyone there. We elected to spend Saturday night in Punta Gorda, a coastal town near San Felipe.

I'm not sure I have ever been so hot for so long. It was 92 in the house yesterday. We try not to run the air conditioner during the day if we can stand it because it is so expensive. It only lowers the temperature to about 86 anyway. When I woke up this morning it was down to 82. Amazing how comfortable that is compared to 92. Tuesday night at the cabana, we removed the last few items from when we lived there. Two guest ministers from Guatemala will be using it the end of this week so I wanted give it a good cleaning. The Aberthanys, Craig and I will be attending a conference about 2 hours from here. I will be teaching the ladies during one of the Sunday sessions. This type of conference is something Craig and I have not attended here before. This should be interesting. I'm sure Craig will tell you all about it with some good pictures after Sunday. We got to FaceTime with both our boys and their families this week. They are very good about keeping in contact with us ...

Below are some pictures from the Cowpen village where the church is that we have been helping with.  The top picture is a 'home' we pass by going to and from the church in the village.  When we first started going into Cowpen, we would wave to the mother and children in that home. Recently, they began to attend the church.  Also pictured is one of the boys there with his machete. We meet one of the village residents, a 94 year old man, pictured in the middle. Right behind the church is a well used by the village residents.  Just drop the bucket and pull.

Travel log Wednesday, May 17th, we took the 2-1/2 hour trip from the Placencia peninsula to Belize City.  The only paved road connecting southern Belize with central Belize is called the Hummingbird Highway which covers a beautiful part of Belize.  The Hummingbird Highway is only a two lane road and has seven single lane bridges to cross. In Belize City, we had government business to attend to and many retail outlets to visit in preparation for an upcoming anniversary celebration at the Cowpen Village church this Sunday.  We have been in Belize City before but this was the first time we were able to see most of the city.  Below are pictures taken from our visit.

I thought I'd give you a little insight into a normal day for us just puttering around the house. It's hard to sleep in here as the sun comes up about 5:30. Craig got up about 6:00 and I got up about 6:30. Early morning is about the only time of day it is cool enough to do anything. We decided to go into the village so that Craig could make some copies and so that I could take a walk on the boardwalk before it got too hot. Craig made his copies and then we walked about 1/4 mile on the boardwalk before it started to get too hot to walk any further. Then we stopped at a road side fruit and veggie stand for some bananas. The lady that runs this is very nice and always tries to give us the freshest produce.  We then stopped at the Chinese grocery store to get some cream and sweetened condensed milk. I had seen a recipe for homemade ice cream and that were all the ingredients you needed to make it. Then we made the 20 minute ride home. As soon as we got home our cat, Bobby, gre...

We were privileged to attend a Mayan wedding.  The young couple attends the Cowpen Village church so we've been able to get to know them.  Ana and Manuel were married on Sunday, May 14th.  Relatives came from other villages, up to and hour away.  A very exciting day for this young couple and their families.

Happy Mother's Day to my favorite mothers. Here is a list of a few of them and why they are my favorites. Mari Campbell.   She was there the day I was born.  She gave me a love for music and has taken care of me when I could not take care of myself.  Thanks Mom. Donna Thompson. I was there the day she was born.  In fact, we shared the same pre-birth space. Donna is one of the finest mothers I know. All her children have grown up to be kind, hard working, Jesus loving adults. Does it get any better than that? Kathy Bouren. Kathy is one of the most passionate, fun, creative mother's I have ever know. You didn't have to love us, but you did. Thanks Kathy. Janice Reed.  My adopted Mom. She took me under her wing as a teenager and taught me how to be a Godly women.  See, I did make it-----so far. Patty Dourjalian.  I have often told her I wish I'd had a mother like her. I have never seen a mother do a better job training her children than Patty....

We came across a 'Banana Farm' today and were able to get some pictures.  In order to protect the mature bananas, they are wrapped in blue plastic bags.  In one of the picture you'll see a very tall pole with a marker on it.  It is a flight line and altitude indicator for the crop dusters to use. Also, a point to note, bananas are grown 'upside down'.

We were blessed to baptize a young man in 'Jesus Name'.  He has been attending regularly and expressed his need to be baptized.  There was a pond near the church which required we go past a 'banana farm' and thru some dense vegetation.  There is a picture of both the road we traveled and the baptism.  An exciting day.

Good and bad news today. Craig finally finished framing the window in so that we can use our new air conditioner today. This is just in time as the temperature and humidity have risen again. The not so good news.  Craig took Dwayne to Big Creek today to have a pastoral training session and to get Dwayne's truck fixed.  Craig drove our car so that the truck could be left in the shop. Unfortunately the car broke down Again! It seems to be the same problem we just paid $1,500 BZ ($750 USD) to have fixed.  They had to call the pastors waiting for them to come and tow them to a repair shop. The shop will not even have a chance to look at the car for another week. Bummer. I have a suspicion someone else is feeding our wild cat, Bobby. He used to eat anything set before him. Now he is super picky. He didn't even eat the ground beef I set out in his bowl. He naps all day under the bed, so I think he still loves us.  Wait, maybe he is just using us now to have a cool plac...

Sorry it's been so long since I have added to the blog. The weekends are usually crazy busy for us. We have been living back and forth between the cabana and our tree house because of the extremely hot weather. The cabana has an air conditioner so we have been there for a little over a week. Our air conditioner finally came in a couple of days ago. It's a floor unit as we don't have any windows for a window unit. The one window we can use to vent the floor unit has to be framed in and a piece of plexiglass with a vent hole cut in added before we can use it. Thankfully it has cooled off here. We had a huge rain storm come in 3 days ago and the temp dropped from the 90's to the 80's. That makes a huge difference when you are in an area with very high humidity. Now that we are back in the tree house Craig has started on installing the air conditioner. What a difference this will make. Can't wait. We also got our car back after 6 weeks in the shop. It cost us $1,50...

One of the challenges we had was getting our medications filled.  When we first inquired about this, we were told that two of the medications we needed were simply not available in Belize unless you were admitted to the hospital in Belize City (i.e. 3 hours away). One night at a local restaurant, our neighbor told us about a clinic in a town about 40 minutes from where we were who could probably help us.  His name is Dr. Rao, originally from India, who has a clinic in Dangriga.  His clinic is open 7 days a week from 7am to 7pm.  Previously he was on the medical staff at Tulane University but felt he needed to open a medical clinic in Belize. After meeting Dr. Rao, we found he had all the medications we needed and that we could come to his clinic anytime we needed medical care or our prescriptions refilled. He is one of the few medical professionals in the country who have access to nearly all medications. He is very knowledgeable and we are blessed to have found ...

Bella Vista, one of our bigger churches in the Stann Creek district held a series of services.  Attached are photos from the Sunday evening service.  Many of the people from the village came along with church members from surrounding villages.  Buses of people came for this event. There was about 200 inside the church and almost as many outside the church.  A tent was set up next to the church providing food and drink for all those who came.  There was a good move of God and many came forward for prayer. Missionary Dwayne Abernathy ministered about the need for the Holy Ghost in each of their lives. It was hot inside the building but more tolerable outside which may have been why many elected to stay outside but close enough to hear the message.

When I was little I always wanted a Suzy homemaker oven. (This is Carolyn and not Craig by the way).  I never did get one. (Why was that dad--mom?). But God is good and gives us the desires of our hearts. I now have a Suzy homemaker washing machine! It does real laundry--kind of. It's so light, that even with my bad back I can carry it out of the room it is stored in, out to the hose area where I wash the close. I use the term "wash" loosley. Here's what I have to do. 1. Carry the washing machine outside. Find an extension cord and plug in the machine. 2. Fill the tub with water from the outside hose. 3. Put in one towel, two shirts,three pairs of underwear and six socks. (We are now at full capacity) 4. Turn the dial to 15 minute agitation. 5. Unhook the little drain hose from the side of the machine and lay it on the ground. 6. Turn the dial to drain. 7. Take the hose and refill the drum with water for the rinse cycle. 8. Unhook the little hose again and d...