Happy Anniversary!

Last week Assie and Bronwyn celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

Jess and Nikita threw a lovely surprise party for them, on the roof of a local brother's apartment.

Just as the sun was setting, they walked up the stairs to find a tropical/beach themed party with lots of friends waiting for them.

Jehovah helps us build strong marriages, and to reach 25yrs whilst you are serving where the need is greater is a fabulous way to say thank you!

We're very happy for you, Assie and Bronwyn! Congratulations!

The mainland; Jungle, animals and adventures!

As you may have guessed, we left everything to the last minute! This time we we took a 2 night trip to San Ignacio, Cayo.  San Ignacio sits right on the Guatemalan border on the opposite side of the country.  Fun fact for us Brits ... Only 3 roundabouts (traffic circles) on the road that spans the width of the entire country!

Anyway, on to more interesting things ...

We picked up a hire car in Belize City and whilst we were doing the paperwork we spoke with their travel advisor (we think that's who she was, she never introduced herself!). When she realised we were going to wing it and had no plans and no hotels booked, she stepped in. She managed to get 30% discount on a our hotel, which turned out to be amazing!!

Set in the heart of the jungle, next to the Macal river, DuPlooys was the perfect place for us.  It is an eco-lodge, so no plastic anywhere (this means that drinks straws are large dried pasta tubes!).  The nightly rate included use of canoes, bicycles and entrance to their botanic gardens.  The bar opens up into the jungle and there is a wooden walkway through the tree canopy to a viewing platform over the river.  There are a few resident vampire bats in the viewing platform!!

Our room ... 'Jungle Lodge'

Inside - basic but brilliant!

Phil of the jungle

Bar area

Jungle walkway 

Every morning at 6.30 the staff put fresh fruit onto a tray in the bar and toucans, squirrels, motmots and other creatures appear from all over to get their breakfast. This was a real treat to watch!

Toucans eating breakfast

Activities

Belize Zoo

The first thing we did on the mainland was go to Belize Zoo.  All of the animals in the zoo are rescued and native to Belize.  They have a number of big cats, birds, crocodiles and other animals. It's not the best zoo in the world, but its nice to see the animals rescued and well cared for.

Crocodile!

Mot Mot

Spider Monkey

Pelican

Tapir

Jaguar!

Xunantunich (Shoo-nan-to-nitch)

Next we went to Xunantunich, which is a Mayan ruin on the Guatamalan border. It was amazing!!  We paid for a tour guide to take us round - and it was so worth it. We didn't really know anything about the Mayan culture before going, so have someone explaining everything to us was really helpful.  Note that all facts to follow came from our guide and have not been verified!!  :-)

The site was discovered in the late 1800s is still only 30% excavated.  The oldest part of the ruins discovered so far dates back to 600 BC!  Like the Egyptian pyramids, the architecture is well ahead of its time - and almost impossible to work out how they would have built it without modern day technology/machinery.

It is believed that the site took 200yrs to build, with each ruler raising the buildings another level as a show of their power.  The common people were not allowed into the squares, other than to go to the market. It is believed that there were up to 10,000 people living in the Xunantunich community.

Xunantunich is one of the largest Mayan ruins in Belize, but it is not unique.  There are Mayan ruins of some description approximately every 1km on the mainland!

The landscape to the far side of the ruins is Guatamala, and Mayan ruins are just as common there too.

Definitely a sight worth seeing and a culture worth investigating whilst in Belize!  Particularly because the Mayan culture is still alive and can present significant challenges to overcome on the ministry.

What a view!

And again!

Guatamala in the background

The old Royal residence

Excavations still under way

The size of the buildings are incredible

Canoeing

The next morning we canoed down the Macal river.  With steep banks of rock and trees on both sides, it was an experience we will never forget.

We didn't see another soul on the river, it was so quiet. We did, however, see lots of fish and birds! And the noise coming from the jungle was amazing ... Birds, crickets, frogs, howler monkeys - incredible!

A few miles downstream we reached the next hotel where we got out and waited for a lift back to our hotel.  Whilst waiting for our lift we made the best use of our time and had rum daiquiris!

View of the river from the hotel walkway

Walking through the jungle to our canoe

Canoe is ready and waiting

Empty river ready for exploring!

Horse Riding

The final activity of our trip was an afternoon riding through the jungle.  We had a guide who was born and raised in the local area and was able to point out all the poisonous plants and dangerous insects!

The horses were Arab x Quarter breeds, and as a result very lively ... Not your average riding school horses!

The terrain was fairly tricky, and on a few occasions I had to close my eyes! A fear of heights is less than ideal when riding up and down super steep muddy tracks on the back of a horse.  That aside, it was an awesome experience, and good to be back on a horse!

The view was amazing!

Look closely ... The hill was soooo steep!

We had a great time.  The mainland is totally different to the island and definitely worth seeing.

A day on Caye Caulker

We took a day off and went to Caye Caulker, the next island along from Ambergris Caye.  Together with Shane and Stacey, friends from the local congregation, we caught the 10.30 water taxi.  We may or may not have missed the 10.00!

Caye Caulker is a small island. Pretty much sand/dirt tracks throughout, no cars - just golf carts and bicycles. It's a real 'destination' island - very much set up for tourists, and very laid back! No one is in a rush on Caye Caulker!

We managed to find the Kingdom Hall after much wandering around. In fact, we asked for directions from 2 older Polish men who were cycling around.  They told us how to get there, and whilst we were there taking our tourist shots (below), they came back to tell us how much they respect Jehovah's Witnesses, and that they regularly read our literature.  They are both return visits at home in Chicago - and both get the literature in Polish. A great start to the day!

We looked around the island (took about an hour!) and then headed to the split - a channel through the island which is good for swimming.  We grabbed a Lizard Juice on our way down ... See pic below.  No idea what's in it, hoping it's not actual lizard, it tasted good!!  Whilst by the water we saw some rays jumping out of the water - that was a first for all of us! 

We had lunch in the Rainbow Grill, and as we sat at our oceanside table we watched the weather roll in.  And man in it roll in!!  For the rest of the afternoon there were tropical rain showers - rainy season should have ended 2 months ago, but its a late one this year!

After a bit of wandering along the beach between showers, we went for coffee ... Which fully deserves a mention on the blog because it was epic coffee!  And they also served Belize Chocolate Company chocolates ... Which are just like Hotel Chocolat.  The perfect antidote to a rainy afternoon on a paradise island!

We got some beautiful shots as we waited for the ferry on the way home - also below.

A great day with good friends!

Caye Caulker is south of Ambergris Caye

Phil and Shane wandering the streets

Assessing dining options for later in the day!

Shane and Stacey in front of the Caye Caulker Kingdom Hall

Phil and I taking our turn!

The Island's fire station

The boys enjoying a Lizard Juice

Us girls finding a comfy spot to enjoy ours!

Lunch at the Rainbow Grill 

The weather rolls in!

Calm before the storm

The storm passes and we are left with a beautiful sunset!

A little bit about the ministry ...

We've been having a fabulous time on the ministry and thought we would share a few experiences with you.

Initially it was quite an assault on the senses.  In the territory that we work there can be up to 10 or so dwellings in one building.  There are usually dogs, children and mosquito's everywhere! Because most of the dogs are guard dogs it isn't safe to walk up to the door, so you have to shout "Morning!" (Or "Mahnin!" In Kriol!).  Eventually the householder will come outside of the property so that you can talk.

But there is no launching into a presentation at warp speed here ... Oh no! You exchange names, ask about the kids and their names, talk about whether they were born on the island or moved here, establish the language that they read, talk about the weather, any recent happenings on the island and then - then you bring it round to a presentation. Everyone has their own way; we have been asking whether we could share some positive news from the bible and then showing them Jeremiah 29:11.  From this we establish whether they believe in God (100% yes so far!), whether they have a bible, whether they believe that God is able and willing to help us.  Then we ask what causes them the most pain that they would like to see removed.  Most responses so far have been 'violence and feeling unsafe' - especially from the women and those with children.  From there we look at the first paragraph in lesson 1 of the Good News brochure.  The householder reads it and we have a brief discussion and offer a study.  We now have 3 studies and 1 RV.

2 of the studies have studied with Witnesses before in the past. One on the mainland, she used to attend meetings too. She's really happy to start again here on the island!  The other studied about 4 years ago and stopped when she had a baby. She is happy to restart now he is older - her sister is also studying!

We have learned so much from the local brothers and sisters we have had the privilege of working with. We feel very inadequate, the householders know their bible and this adds some pressure! In fact, one sister forgot where a scripture was after referencing it in a discussion, and the householder reminded her it was in Romans 8! It certainly keeps you on your toes, in a different way to ministry in the UK. Here you get no objections. Which is so strange, you're almost praying for one so that you have something to reason on!  We're using our bible like never before on the doors, and can honestly say that we have never enjoyed the ministry more!

We've been told that the challenge here is not getting studies; you could get as many as you can fit into your week with relative ease.  But it is maintaining a progressive study.  Householders are often out at the time you arrange, so you have to be persistent. And the culture here is very challenging for ones to step out of.  Add into that the constant flux in the local congregation with need greaters coming and going every few months, and local brothers and sisters already overwhelmed with studies ... And you can see why there is a real need for long term need greaters to provide some stability - for the territory and the congregation.

It has certainly given us a lot to think about!  And is like a breath of fresh air in our worship. What an awesome privilege to be here and be part of this congregation - even if only for 4 weeks!

Here are a few pics from a recent ministry day ...

Early morning street work along the beach

Nikita and Hayley (a local sister) walking to an RV

Our golf cart broke down and it was HOT! So a local brother squeezed us all in his jeep! (Check out Phil's face!!)

Still more comfortable than the golf cart!