Today is cultural day. We woke up to a corus of dogs, which is not uncommon. As soon as things start stirring in the morning, the dogs, which there are plenty of, like to do their protective duties of informing their masters that there are things moving around.
God's beauty has been bestoyed on us every single day. This is evident every single morning as soon as we wake up. A beautiful and regular sight has been the sunrise along the ocean. The boys (and girl) especially enjoy this by sitting on the break wall, taking it all in.
We said goodbye to the nursing team that was here. They come from Loyola University in Illinois to help provide medical services to the local health units here. They have been doing this for several years.
After breakfast we headed to Orange Walk to catch a boat to Laminai, which is the location of an ancient Mayan town. To access the Mayan ruins in Lamanai, a 24 mile boat ride was necessary. This proved to be a highlight of the trip as we were able to observe God's creations everywhere along the natural (and narrow) canals along the way. We were able to see bats, iguanas, lizards, crocodials and Howler monkeys! We also saw numerous termite nests high in the trees. These structures house thousands upon thousands of termites, and one nest lasts about 30 years. Interestingly enough, most structures in Belize are built from concrete, not wood. This is to resist termite infestation. Back to the boat ride, we were all impressed that our captain found his way to and fro. There were many 'interesections' along the way, and most of us were completely lost! Another thing of note along the way, we came upon a Menonite community that spans 100 miles with three regions. There are 3000 memonites with german roots residing here. They are very industrious and extremely hard workers as they produce most of the beef, sugar, fruit and vegetable harvest. They are also 100% self-sufficient. These people are affectionately reffered to as the "Mechanites", as they can repair anything. If you can't fix it, they will. We later learned that there is another menonite community in Belize that are very good at making money, and they love to flaunt it by driving hummers and living in huge mansions. The locals refer to this group as the "Moneynites"!
Our tour guide, Wilfredo is a local with Mayan blood. He delivered an excellent and extremely detialed tour of the ruins. After the first 10 minutes of the tour, we realized that Alfredo's english vocabulary may have been limited. He opened every single sentence with either, "Now folks", or " evidence suggests". None-the-less, he is an amazing person with vast knowledge and a huge passion for these ruins and his culture. It is amazing to think of a civilaztion that resided in such a remote and harsh environment for such a long time. These ruins have been dated from 600 BC to 1500 AD. Some of these stone buildings were as high as 25 stories. Over time with hurricanes and general erosion they have been reduced considerably, but still impressive none the less. We were able to climb the High Temple, and the views from 120 feet up were simply stunning, overlooking the entire Mayan ruins, and the New river. Initally Lori didn't think she could make it up, however not wanting to miss the oportunity of a lifetime, she gathered her strength and with Will and Nathaniel at her side, she made the ardous trek up with ease. It was definately worth the effort, and we all gave her a standing ovation from the bottom.
If anyone thought this trip was going to kick start a personal weight loss program, they were severly mistaken. Were have been treated like royalty with spectacular meals and abundant meals. Today was no exception. We were treated to a traditional Belizian meal of chicken, rice and beans, coleslaw and potato salad. However, there was a new twist today - the "Tummy warmer". For those who enjoy spicy food (Kate, Tammy, William and Kent), this was a beautiful treat, a nice blend of pickled onions and habanero peppers. For those who don't, let's just say they were adequately warned. Joel notably got the most "kick" out it.
The boat ride back was more like a fair ride, not a boat tour. Our guess is that our captain must have been late for another engagement. He hit the throttle full blast the entire way home. It was awesome weaving in and around all the corners through the narrow channels. Despite the boat rocking back and forth (sometimes violently), William still managed to fall asleep face down on the gunnel, arm hanging outside the boat. The heat of the Belizian sun got the best of him. For consideration, the boat ride to the ruins took about an hour and a half. The boat ride back took 15 minutes!
Today's devotion was on forgiveness. We learned a few new thing about forgiveness. First that you need to understand that we are "The forgiven". Second that we must forgive ourselves before we can even think of forgiving the other person. Next we need to forgive the other party, whether they have asked for it or even deserve it. We use Christ as our lead, he has forgiven us and love us first and we definitely don't deserve it.
We went to the real Art in the park this time. Missed it by a day the night before. This time there was music, food and lots of people hanging around and having a real community moment. This was really neat to see. Some of us bought some gifts to bring home, so those at home, get ready for some traditional Belizian gifts, they are Unbelizable.
Lights out for now. Hear us later.
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