What a weekend!

We had a storm come through here on Thursday that knocked out our cable and our internet connection.  It was a short but powerful storm filled with thunder and lightening and a heavy rain.  There were even reports of hail in part of the country.

We didn't hear any reports of damage anywhere like in the US and we are most grateful for that.  And our prayers are still with those who lost loved ones and suffered any ill effects from all of those storms in the States.

Before the start of the Royal Wedding the cable was restored... Belize being a former British colony there were many here who wanted to see the wedding and perhaps catch a glimpse of the Governor General of Belize and his wife among the guests.  And by the close of business on Friday our internet was back up and running after a few trips to Belize Telemedia and the purchase of a new modem.  Like many of our neighbors our modem was blown out by the storm.


On Saturday we went over to the show grounds for the annual Agriculture and Trade Show.  It was much more than we expected it to be; we were both thinking rodeo or maybe a carnival.  But it was all of that and more... like the state fairs we attended in California or Kansas.  Complete with a concert stage and booths from different organizations and businesses promoting awareness for their product or causes.  

The crowd was a little overwhelming... it seemed as if the entire country was here!

Tom checking out the Harley display was a highlight!

At the United Kingdom booth you could get a bite to eat and enjoy a replay of the Royal wedding!

I will post more pictures during the week... it was a great cultural experience and we are so glad that we took the time to brave the heat and enjoy it!

Thought for Today

As you can see we have another bird in the nest outside our bedroom window... 

what a treat it is to hear the cooing.  May we graciously accept all things in season as precious gifts from His hand. 

Tasty Tuesday

I am planning to make these for Sunday after church... don't they look yummy! I would make them sooner but I am afraid that I would eat them all...It will be safer for my hips if I take them out of the house for all to share.

You can find the recipe here at The Skinny Chick Can Bake

Impressions of Easter in Belize

The little fellowship that we are a part of didn't meet for service on Easter Sunday... most of the people are from other towns and villages so they went 'home' to spend the holiday with family.  We had friends staying with us from Canada so we all decided to go and visit a local church to get a glimpse of what Easter Sunday looks like here in Belize.

We went over to Ontario Christian Church... they meet in a tent visible from the highway.

The pastor had a young man lift this little boy up on his shoulder as the men gathered close to pray over him.

Ms Diana Shaw from the Child Development Foundation gave the opening address.

Dance to Nicole Mullen's My Redeemer Lives

I love the hairstyles of the little girls...

and of course the shoes on some of the women...

When the pastor dedicated this little girl he could not say her name correctly... he made the comment that one day this little girl will ask her mother "What were you thinking when you named me?"

this is just one of four pastors who spoke during the three hour service!

This young lady moved with crowd with an original song of hers...
by the end she had everyone singing along on the chorus.

The youth dancing to close out the service.  The young lady in the black t-shirt and red pants is Verlie, and she also works with us at the Child Development Foundation.

A man and his dog...

Tom is chilling while Harley stands guard. All is safe in our yard.


Linking up with:
This is My Father's World

Five loaves and Two fish...

Recently I received an email from a young blogger that began this way:

Hello!  My name is Brianna.  I am fourteen years old.  This year God opened my heart and eyes to the needs of orphans in this world.  I am wanting to do everything I can to obey Him. 

 Her passion grabbed my attention so I am providing the info here to help her get the word out about her fundraising project.   She is currently raising money for Teri Lynn from Reece's Rainbow and for the Bible Orphan Ministry in Ukraine.

Just click on the graphic for her fundraising blog:

Grab This!

Belize News

Just read this news online this morning...I am hoping it means we will see coverage of the wedding here in Belize on the local tv stations.  


Apr 20, 2011

Governor General to attend Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate

There is other news from Belmopan; it involves the head of state, the Governor General Sir Colville Young. News Five has learnt that the G.G. and Lady Young have accepted an invitation to the royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. The G.G. will be among other heads of state of the Commonwealth who made it on Buckingham Palace’s guest list to the April twenty-ninth wedding in London. The P.M., we are told was also invited, but there is no confirmation that he will attend.

Thought for Today

May all who call on the name of the Lord be as one body

 and may God be glorified by our love for one another.

Tasty Tuesday

I made this dish last week it's from the cookbook U Toucan Cook Belize.  It was a winner!  I will be making this again soon.  I served it over a mixture of white and brown rice cooked in coconut milk...Yummo!

TACARRY (Yellow Ginger Chicken)

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs chicken (or one small chicken)
1 1/2 tsp yellow ginger powder
3 TBS flour
2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1/3 cup cold water
1 tsp. lime juice

METHOD:

Cut chicken into small pieces.

Fry onion in coconut oil until brown.
Add chicken and yellow ginger.
Brown chicken pieces.

Add boiling water and cook for 45 mins.
until chicken is soft.

Mix a thick paste of flour and remaining water.

Add to chicken and stir in lime juice.

Cook gently for 30 mins. longer.

Serve with white rice.

Palm Sunday

 Ralston came over from another church to be our speaker.

 He spoke on love this morning... who to love and how.

hanging out after the service... snacks, music and lots of laughter. 

2 year old Destiny striking a pose...but the best part was her reaction at seeing the picture of herself.  

slowly coming together...

We had to go to several different stores before finding something we both liked that was affordable... some of the patterns that we saw just felt a little too old or formal for us. This particular one says Kohl's on the tag. I am always amazed when an American product finds its way into a Belizean store and is reasonable in price. The rule of thumb here is 'if it is imported it is expensive'.  We  found it in a supermarket in Belize City. 

Furniture is very expensive here so we decided just to go with a mattress and box spring set with a simple frame underneath.  No headboard or anything like that.  There was a handcrafted bed that we both fell in love with but to spend 1200 US dollars on a bed frame with no mattress just seemed like poor stewardship over our limited resources.  Instead we decided to invest in a high quality mattress with firm support.  We chose a Sealy Posturepedic.  The bed we slept on for five years in Russia had a horrible mattress and we didn't want to repeat that mistake!  

  

These curtain rods were an exciting find. The window coverings are blackout curtains.  They make the room much cooler and block out the strong rays of the sun.  There were only a few colors to choose from so we went with the tan.  It all works to together with the wall color and the colors in the bedspread.  

We don't have anything on the walls yet... the walls are made of concrete so Tom has to drill into the wall and place anchors in so that we can hang things.   Once we start to collect what we want on the walls we will need to chart out where each piece will go.  Slowly but surely we are turning this house into a home.

problems are universal...

We are finding that no matter where we are families still have problems.  Teens and parents struggle to understand one another... butting heads and hearts in the battle of daily life.  One parent feeling stuck in the middle of a conflict between their spouse and their child.  Although our client load is still light the issues we are dealing with in the office are not.

Pray this week for families struggling to love each other in a healthy way.
for teens who feel responsible for the family honor and reputation.
for children who crave the love of a father.

and for all those who are willing to walk through the process of counseling seeking wholeness.

Thought for Today

Tasty Tuesday

This is not an official Russian salad... I call it my "tastes like Russia" salad.  There are as many salads in Russia as there are creative cooks.  Oh, there are some standard not to be missed salads like the Olivier, which every Russian woman knows how to make.  But, there are also new ones cropping up in the deli sections of the European supermarkets.  We used to go into Tabris just to see what new combinations they had come up with. 

I decided to use red cabbage, apples, tomatoes, feta cheese and cashews.  And of course a huge dollop of mayo for the dressing.  I almost ate the whole bowl by myself.  It really did taste like Russia to me!

glimpses of Sunday

View of the front of the church...

This is part of a factory so each Saturday night they clean this room and get it set for Sunday morning.

Ritchel welcoming everyone to the service...

His zeal for the Lord is contagious!

Tom speaking from John 12

Tom talked about the three different kinds of people found in John 12.

a) people who will stand by you

b) people who stand against you

and

c) people who stand by you when it is convenient

an interpretive dance...

These young ladies are both 12 years old... do you remember being that young and full of energy?!

hanging out after church

This little baby was passed around from person to person and never once cried

 or showed any discomfort with being around so many people.  

After the service was over we all stayed together for a time of fellowship.  There was a BIG pot of rice and  beans, just enough chicken for everyone to have a taste along with coleslaw. We women got to work right away filling plates with food, cups with juice and carefully rationing it all out to make sure it would go around.

Ritchel has challenged us all to know one another's names so this get-together was also a time to go around and make sure that you are familiar with everyone... apparently he is going to start testing us soon on how many people we know.

This little church does not have name as yet... but it is growing in numbers.  Last week we had 24 people present and this week there were 28.  Two new families showed up while some from last week were missing due to work schedules. It was exciting to meet a couple that had not been in church for many years venture back into fellowship with other believers.

This time last year Tom, Spencer and I were in Turkey facing Easter in a Muslim country and missing out on our Russian church family celebration. Now, Tom and I are excited to be facing the impending holiday with this new fellowship and eager to bond with them as family too.

So how was your Sunday?  And are you looking forward to Easter where you are?

stages of growth

After the eggs we saw these fuzzy little nestlings

Not long after that we noticed that the birds already had their feathers

 In this shot if you look very carefully you can see the mother with one of the young ones fairly clearly

... there is a second baby bird that is harder to see.  

Not long after this photo was taken we saw the birds taking short flights and coming back to the nest. During these stages of growth Tom was painting in this room.  It was fascinating to us that the nest or the eggs were not abandoned due to the stress of humans being so close.

The mother bird would sometimes fly away if one of us startled her but she kept coming back.  Right now all that remains from this circle of life is the nest and we hope to see it used again and again.

new day... new office

Today we are in the office at the Child Development Foundation.  We will be here two days a week from 10-4 providing counseling services.  Since the bulk of clients will be women and children I will be sitting in on the sessions.

We did this in Russia too.  It began when a woman asked to see Tom for therapy.  At the time I was not yet comfortable translating so we hired someone... a man.  She did not want to be in a room alone with two men so she asked me to sit in.  I was her security blanket.  Over the course of time I was able to serve as Tom's translator but my true role didn't change.  Oftentimes tearful women would reach for my hand and we would sit on the couch together facing Tom.

So here we are again.  I am by Tom's side to provide a measure of comfort and safety to those women and girls who may not feel at ease pouring their heart out to man.  Tom called me a paraclete.  A helper.  I marvel at the process.  Tom is able to see and hear into things that are said or unsaid and through time healing comes.

Would you pray for us in this new endeavor?

Pray for families who are in pain.
Pray for the women and children who feel no hope.
Pray for those still trapped in sexual slavery.
Pray for the exploited as well as the exploiter.
Pray for justice.
Pray for healing.

just pray.