monkeys in Banana Bank

We took a field trip out to Banana Bank Lodge with Tom and June they wanted to show us all the animals and the grounds of the lodge.  Here are a few of the photos from our time out there:


Please pay attention to this sign if you visit John and Carolyn's place out in Banana Bank. We were out there a few weeks ago and just this Saturday we had a taxi driver tell us about a time when he went out there and got a little too close and yes, the monkeys do bite!

There are two spider monkeys on the property...this little guy was hard to photograph... he kept swinging around and around. It took about 15 shots to get one that was not completely blurry!

This second monkey was just chillin'. He was not really into paparazzi and would not face me no matter how long I waited for the shot.

But who could blame him when there were views like this one to take in...

not just sharp

But seriously sharp!!

The Haven

Last night was our first meeting on the new night.  We were not sure how people were going to respond.  The regular Wednesday service started at 7:30 and we were scheduled to start at 7.   Many of the people who attend the church are children.  They seemed to be the only ones not affected by the time change.  They were ready to go when the church van honked in front of their houses.

But, as it always happens the people who needed to be there were there.  We ended up with 9 adults in our meeting.   We had a great worship time as a large group, then the kids were dismissed to Children's church, while Tom taught the adults about how our emotional maturity affects our spiritual maturity, and then we had our small group time.  The sharing went well... it was great to witness people opening up and truly being vulnerable with their sharing.

We are not in this for the numbers.  Our desire is to see people get healthy and whole so they can grow in their relationships with God.

Keep us in your prayers... we truly appreciate them and need them!

thought for today

Is not the sky enough for the bird and the ocean enough for the fish?  The All-Sufficient is sufficient for my largest want. ~ Charles H. Spurgeon

it's all about perspective

This Guanacaste tree is just one of the many in this area.  There is a  Guanacaste National Park here just outside the city of Belmopan not far from Roaring Creek village.  We have not made it over to the park yet but we have seen from the street that there are a number of trees down from Hurricane Richard.   

This particular tree is near Pastor Jose and Carla's house out in Ontario.  We enjoyed spending the day with them last Sunday.  The exact age of this tree is not known but they think it is over a 100 years old.

Sunday evening at church we watched the Indescribable video of a teaching by Louie Giglio.  He uses photos from the Hubble telescope to give glimpses of the greatness of God and vastness of the universe that He holds in His hand.

Watching that video reminded me of this photo.  Standing in front of that Guanacaste tree gave me perspective on my place in the universe.  It is hard to feel full of one's self when faced with such a majestic piece of God's creation. 

And yet as small as we are He cares for us.  For that I am truly grateful.

put on a happy face

So far this is my favorite piece of graffiti here in town.

 

 The hardcore message "Thug Life" accented with a Happy Face symbol tagged on the side of this truck makes me smile each time I see it.  Who would have thought that a vandal with a sense of humor could brighten my walk to the market!

say what?

After we crossed the river on the ferry we went into San Ignacio. Our friends wanted us to see the sights on Bullet Tree Road. This sign got me to ask Tom W. to stop  the car in the middle of the street to snag a photo:

  It is not the Hyatt we are accustomed to in the states!

over the river...

One way to get across the river is this hand cranked ferry.  When we were out the other day with Tom and June they took us to experience the ride from Spanish Lookout over to San Ignacio.  The wait and the ride across were an adventure I am so grateful  we were able to have!

our first traffic jam in Belize... we had to wait in line for our turn across the river

 there was a bar and grill there in case the wait gets to be overwhelming

looking across to the other side you can see that there is a wait on both sides

 the hand crank

 only the driver is allowed to stay in the car...

 passengers chatting with one another

This passenger decided that the guy cranking was going to slow... so he took over

!

view from the ferry

fellow passengers...

Land!

 

 the passengers get off before the vehicles are allowed to drive off.  

We stood out of the way of the other cars and waited for Tom... 

We were fortunate in the timing of our little trip.  The guy who cranks the ferry will not go from one side to the without taking a load of people across.  According to Tom & June the same guy has been working on the ferry for 12 years.  And though it is supposed to be available for people to cross 24 hours a day... the guy goes home to sleep and will take the crank with him.  So unless you have your own crank you are out of luck!

thought for today

...how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Matthew 23:37b

During our ferry ride the other day we saw a young man with a bag of chicks... he carried them gingerly until he put them in the back of the truck.  When we leaned in to check them out we discovered they were huddled in little groups inside a tire.  These chicks will only be cared for until they are ready for sale.

I am grateful that we have a  Heavenly Father who is willing to care for us for all eternity.  What are you grateful for?

Crossing the hammock bridge

Yesterday Tom and June showed us around a few of the cities and villages outside of Belmopan. Our first stop was this bridge:

as we approached the bridge I was not sure I wanted to walk across it...
all I wanted was a photo and then I would have been happy to get back into the car.

June and I walked slower than the guys.
This was a mistake because the bridge was already swaying from their movements as we lagged behind.

we were on the lookout for iguanas but couldn't see any along the riverbank.

the bridge leads to YWAM property... they were the ones to put in the bridge many years ago.

Just to be honest with you all, I didn't go all the way across the bridge to photograph the sign... I stopped halfway. 
That was far enough for me.

My tummy and knees were ready for solid ground!

"guys, where are we?"

This bird is usually around in the mornings... and he does a great imitation of the monster from LOST.

take a picha!

I had to walk to the post office yesterday to pick up a care package that Tom's folks sent to us. I thought it might be a good idea to take my camera with me... you know just in case anything blog worthy happens along the way.

The first few shots are just a glimpse of all the activity I saw going on between our house and the post office...

As I got closer to the post office I had stopped taking photos because the area was fairly clear.  This guy was passing out flyers and seeing the camera around my neck he yells out to me;

"Take a picha!"

"of you?" I ask.
 "Yah!"
So I did.

 

.

Thought for today

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern

Pastor Jose and Carla own this building...

There are four units in the building but only the far corner

unit had any damage.

Here you can see that the eave is missing.

It was located in the yard of the house right behind the their

building.

When we went out walking around the neighborhood we met up with Pastor Jose. He took the day off from his job at the bank and was checking on their properties. He managed to get a crew out to fix the roof temporarily as he waits for a new roof that has to be ordered from another city.

Pastor Jose verbally reiterated what we were feeling:

Thank God no one was hurt. Thank God the damage was so minor. Thank God that He watched over us all.

The attitude of gratitude and the spirit of helping out one's neighbor has been a blessing to witness.

 And we continue to say...

Thank you God!

Hurricane Richard

On Sunday as we were watching TV to learn about  Hurricane Richard we heard the reporter say "Richard is not in the street, he is in our front yard and will be barging through the door very soon".

He was right.  Richard came barging in, cutting off power, dumping pounding rain on us, uprooting our trees and taking off neighboring roofs before he left.  He was not a welcome guest.  He came in uninvited and left a mess behind.  

The privacy fence suffered some damage

 This tree was not uprooted

but it was knocked over by the wind

my favorite palm was badly hurt

 our neighbor's tree

 Tom and I went up to our roof to check out

the damage on our street

 a helicopter was out surveying the city

 our cable tv line is down 

Tom and his machete... a happy pair.

We are very grateful that no lives were lost in this hurricane and that damage was minimal.  According to our neighbors this was the first hurricane they have actually experienced first hand.  Belmopan normally just gets the rain because by the time a hurricane gets this far inland it is usually downgraded to a tropical storm or a depression.  Richard stayed a hurricane with pounding rain and high powered winds. 

Like most of our neighbors we spent the night listening to Love FM news all night.  They were the only station with a generator so they were able to keep broadcasting all night long.   Neighbors were out on Monday checking in on each other and cleaning up.  I will post more photos this week.  It has been a long day of mopping up rainwater and hauling tree limbs out to the curb.  But we are able to say in the words of several of our neighbors...

"Thanks God!"