CDF at work and play...

Here are a few shots from our time in Dream Valley this morning.  CDF was asked to do a training on Child Abuse for a group of preschool teachers as part of their Teacher's Day retreat.  

 

Shelly started off by explaining who CDF is and what we do...

 

There were close to 50 for the training...

 
Tom teaching...

And then it was time for a break before lunch.  There was so much to see and do there.  Some of the teachers went for a boat ride, some visited the butterfly farm, others enjoyed the pool, while others just soaked up the sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grounds were beautiful, birds were singing, various flowers are in bloom, oh what a wonderful day!

Where do you find your joy?

 

I'm finding it today among the simple things...

What's for dinner?

Baked Spicy Mango Chicken Wings...yum!

Memories from Mother's Day...

Mother's Day gifts from church...

praying together...

Chinese Torches from Lem and Vivet's farm...

all the moms who were in attendance...

along with Pastor Han and Pastor Dan!

enjoying a meal together after the service...

one year ago this little one was being dedicated...

 sisters sharing dessert!

You know you're in Belize when...

Woodpeckers hang around the plantain trees in the yard...

One of these days I will get a better picture of this guy...He's a fast one!

Thought for Today...

If we can surrender to God's guidance,  it will cost us our self-will, so precious to us who have always thought we could dominate.  It is up to us to decide whether freedom from our despair is worth all this.
~One Day At A Time in Al-Anon

Mangoes and bluggos and plums...oh my!

Mangoes

Bluggos (tastes like a cross between a banana and a plantain)

Plums

All the fruit bearing trees in the yard have green fruit right now...

and we are not so patiently waiting!

Memories from the National Agriculture & Trade Show

 

Thousands of people came out to the showgrounds this year.  And there was a greater security presence than we've ever seen before. We had lunch, made a few purchases and toured the grounds.  It took a few hours to make our way through it all.

One of the things that stood out for me this year was the behind the scenes action.  The trash, the clotheslines hanging from the trucks, the police, security guards, and Defense force personnel walking the grounds.

In spite of the long  line of cars waiting to park and enter the showgrounds, the throng of people we had to navigate through to get from one end of the grounds to the other,and the horse droppings we had to be careful of,  it was exciting to experience and we're glad that we took the time to enjoy this slice of Belize culture!

Healthy Relationships and Sexuality at UB Central Farm

This afternoon CDF went out to the University of Belize's Central Farm Campus.  It is the agricultural school of UB. We only had an hour so we just used three speakers and I went along to snap a few pictures.  Shelly, our Administrative Assistant, and Tamara, one of our volunteers, and Tom did such a great job.  Despite some heckling and general giggling that comes with the discomfort of listening to a frank and open discussion on sexuality the students were troopers and it turned out well. 

Tom, Shelly, and Tamara getting their PowerPoint slides ready

 The room is beginning to fill up...

Shelly explaining who we are and what we do.

Tom's turn...

This topic is an attention getter... 

 Tamara got the crowd going with her talk on abuse and trafficking!

 by the end of the presentations it was standing room only

Ending with students expressing their thanks and taking literature with them!!

Forgiveness...

a new painting by Tom...