What a day! It started early and hot, and the morning’s work was heavy. A truckload of rebar and lumber arrived and needed to be hauled to the second story. Sion and Mike went head-to-head with Cor and Paul to see who could lift their piles faster (assisted by Megan and Juni, Keaton and Alicia). Others carried it to the storage room, where nearly everything has to be kept overnight to avoid it ‘growing legs’. Others continued to tie rebar together and make forms.
Emmanuel had told us we’d only have to work a half day, so yesterday we made arrangements to enjoy a famous local attraction, cave tubing. The morning’s heat and hard work made everyone all the more eager for it. The one hour trip inland was eye-opening. Vast tracks of lowland and uninhabited jungle are a real contrast to the busy compact cities.
After a bumpy ride down the last road, we rounded the last sharp corner and pulled into the parking lot. We got our tubes, life-jackets and headlamps and began the jungle trek upriver. The large Cahune trees and howler monkeys clattering nearby made the experience surreal. When we got to the launch pad we jumped in the river and were swept into the first of two very long, dark caves (ie. 20 minutes each). Slowly the light faded behind us and we switched on our headlamps. There was a fair amount of antics on the way, including Paul taking the liberty to flip a few people and Jacco tossing a small stick onto Alicia so would think it was something else. All in all it was an amazing experience, increasing our amazement and thanks to our great Creator God.
Before we left for home, Pastor Betson prayed to thank God for good safety and fun at work and play. He also curiously ask for “good tires and extra power for the bus” at the end of his prayer. We soon found out why. The hill is steep leaving the complex and the bus is old and not worth repairing to full strength. Sure enough it bogged down 50 feet from the crest of the hill, so Pastor Betson backed it down. The men got off to lighten the load and he took another run at it, but it only got within 20 feet of the top. So 10 of us laid hands on the back and pushed it the rest of the way. The prayer was answered!
God is good! We look forward to worshipping him on Sunday with our Belizean brothers and sisters. In the morning Pastor Daryl will preach at the downtown church (at Pastor Betson’s gracious invitation), and in the evening we’ll worship at the church beside Unity school. We wish each of you an equally blessed Sunday of rest and praise to our glorious, faithful God!
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