Belize - 2013 - Sewing Class
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Unitedville - Learning Center
Embroidery and Beading Class
They all loved the beads!!
One of the problems we ran into is that a lot of
the women need reading glasses. We were able to
purchase several pairs. Next year I think we will take
an assortment of drug store glasses.
Last day of class........group picture. Very nice
ladies and gentleman. We had a great time! Worship, fellowship
and beading.
show us their finished work. They were all very proud
of what they were able to accomplish.
Althea Burtran and her group of friends will
continue to meet once a week for prayer, fellowship
and embroidery and beading.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
On the way! Two seconds after the picture the
polar fleece jacket came out.
Had to get some supplies, fruit and vegetable stand in Spanish Lookout
Joe the shopper.
Drive way to Ms Tomasita's house.
Steep, rocky and not for this rental car.
Mr. Joe addressing the assembly.
Lots of children!! Good to see the smiling faces.
Ms. Doret, who is now the manager of the
Cayo school district. Very nice lady, thanked our
church for all the work that has been done to better
the school building. Also for the relationships we
have built with the children.
Anglican church in Selena.
A village with about 20 homes.
The morning view from our front porch at the
mission house.
Many mornings spent there with coffee and
devotions. The three weeks went fast but
we did get a lot accomplished.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
February 13, 20014 - Thursday
Yesterday..........Ok so that didn't work out very well, except for the fact that we are now back home safe.....which in the end is the only important thing.
We left Belize City at 2:30, and arrived in Atlanta at about 6:30, we were the last plane into the airport. We were scheduled to leave at 8:30, for Knoxville which was changed till 10:30, then the flight was canceled. Not good! We were able to get a hotel but cabs and shuttles were not running.
So we spent the night in the airport. Needless to say, We've slept in worse places but we are very happy to be home and looking forward to sleeping in our OWN bed.
Oh right, did I mention that most all of the food places were closed because they sent everyone home because of the bad weather. We did get in one place at the last minute and bought a sandwich. Also a pillow and a blanket for each of us.
So here we are today, they rebooked our flight for 10:30 this evening! All the morning flights had already been canceled and the one that should have gone at noon was canceled too. As I said, before most of the food places were closed because people couldn't get to work or they ran out of food. We did manage to find a Buffalo Wild Wings that was open. Breakfast was a bit unusual but it filled us up. We were able to get on a stand-by list and the next flight out would be 1:40pm. We sat and waited for them to call our names. We were the last people to board the plane!! WhooHoo!!! So excited! Get us to Knoxville, please!!!??? And guess what!? Our luggage made it too!!!!! How unbelievable is that! Nothing broken or missing, just a lot of stinky, smelly clothes. I will be soooo happy to wash those stinky, smelly clothes in my washing machine that I do not have to use a hose to fill and dry them in a clothes dryer instead of on the line.
Pictures to follow tomorrow...............I am sorry that we were not able to print the pictures along with the blog but unfortunately there were problems that we could not get worked out.
We love Belize and the simple life that we share when we are there but there is nothing like home sweet home Knoxville, Tennessee!!
Thank all of you for your prayers and support through this 3 weeks! God is good and we are truly blessed!
Yesterday..........Ok so that didn't work out very well, except for the fact that we are now back home safe.....which in the end is the only important thing.
We left Belize City at 2:30, and arrived in Atlanta at about 6:30, we were the last plane into the airport. We were scheduled to leave at 8:30, for Knoxville which was changed till 10:30, then the flight was canceled. Not good! We were able to get a hotel but cabs and shuttles were not running.
So we spent the night in the airport. Needless to say, We've slept in worse places but we are very happy to be home and looking forward to sleeping in our OWN bed.
Oh right, did I mention that most all of the food places were closed because they sent everyone home because of the bad weather. We did get in one place at the last minute and bought a sandwich. Also a pillow and a blanket for each of us.
So here we are today, they rebooked our flight for 10:30 this evening! All the morning flights had already been canceled and the one that should have gone at noon was canceled too. As I said, before most of the food places were closed because people couldn't get to work or they ran out of food. We did manage to find a Buffalo Wild Wings that was open. Breakfast was a bit unusual but it filled us up. We were able to get on a stand-by list and the next flight out would be 1:40pm. We sat and waited for them to call our names. We were the last people to board the plane!! WhooHoo!!! So excited! Get us to Knoxville, please!!!??? And guess what!? Our luggage made it too!!!!! How unbelievable is that! Nothing broken or missing, just a lot of stinky, smelly clothes. I will be soooo happy to wash those stinky, smelly clothes in my washing machine that I do not have to use a hose to fill and dry them in a clothes dryer instead of on the line.
Pictures to follow tomorrow...............I am sorry that we were not able to print the pictures along with the blog but unfortunately there were problems that we could not get worked out.
We love Belize and the simple life that we share when we are there but there is nothing like home sweet home Knoxville, Tennessee!!
Thank all of you for your prayers and support through this 3 weeks! God is good and we are truly blessed!
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
February 6, 2014 - Thursday
Back to Selena for classes. Both ladies showed up with their small quilt front finished. We worked
on putting the back on the quilt. Both Reyna and Sucely caught on quickly. We began embroidery instructions and Reyna already knew a lot about embroidery but didn't have any materials to work with.
Class ran from 9:00 to 12:00, both women had to leave to fix lunch for their husbands.
This is a nice little church with a beautiful view of the jungle. We had a very heavy rain while we
were there. Lots of noise on a tin roof!!
We have a contact to fix the machines so we will see what Rev. Olivia wants to do.
We stopped at Roselly's for chicken beans and rice and worked the rest of the evening on projects
for Faye.
February 7, 2014 - Friday
Sewing Classes in Los Tambos
Making bags today! We will see what they have learned. Some of the ladies are catching on very
nicely and some need more work. It is so good to see young ladies like Ada Miranda and Jessica Baiza participating in the classes. Ada is doing very well and really seems to enjoy it.
On the way back to the mission house we picked up two machines that were repaired at Spanish Lookout and we will deliver them to Ms Faye and Ms Shanique.
On to Cayo with Ms Tomasita and three of her children. She needs to shop and her husband will pick
the family up to take them back to Los Tambos after he finishes work.
We stopped while we were in Cayo to meet Mr. Chavez, he is a sewing machine repair man who is willing to go to Selena to check out the machines. He also owns a shop that makes clothing. We had the chance to talk to him about working with the ladies in Los Tambos to give them instructions on making uniform pants. Hopefully we will be able to make all this work.
Orange Gallery for dinner, long day.
February 8th, 2014 - Saturday
Coffee and devotions on the porch, relaxing and making plans for the day.
Ms Juanita was at her house next door and needed a ride to the market in Cayo. Packed up the 3 kids and took off about 9:30. Big market! Lots of people and VERY hot! Had to stop for ice cream! Back to the house by 12:00. Joe and Mark went to Spanish Lookout for hardware and I stayed back at the mission house to catch up on unfinished projects before Monday.
We took Ms Juanita and the kids to dinner then home. Back to the Learning center to blog.
February 9th, 2014 - Sunday
Coffee and devotions on the porch, rainy morning. Mark spent the weekend with us so he got up and started the coffee. We have known Mark since he was 4, he has grown into a wonderful young man! He is smart, respectful and really enjoys working. He is going to school at the National 4H Youth Development Center then on to high school.
We spent the morning in LosTambos, Joe and Mark at a community meeting and I spent a couple hours working with Ms Miranda showing her how to operate the sewing machine. We had to put a new battery system together for her machine. We also covered instructions for the frequency of charging the battery.
I had a sewing/quilting and machine instruction class at 2:00, while Joe and Mark went home to do Mark's laundry.
We left to take Mark back to school about 5:00, home about 6:30.
Now working to finish and organize everything, tomorrow will be our last day in LosTambos. Sad day to say good bye to all our wonderful friends. Soon we will be joining all of you in the cold weather.
Back to Selena for classes. Both ladies showed up with their small quilt front finished. We worked
on putting the back on the quilt. Both Reyna and Sucely caught on quickly. We began embroidery instructions and Reyna already knew a lot about embroidery but didn't have any materials to work with.
Class ran from 9:00 to 12:00, both women had to leave to fix lunch for their husbands.
This is a nice little church with a beautiful view of the jungle. We had a very heavy rain while we
were there. Lots of noise on a tin roof!!
We have a contact to fix the machines so we will see what Rev. Olivia wants to do.
We stopped at Roselly's for chicken beans and rice and worked the rest of the evening on projects
for Faye.
February 7, 2014 - Friday
Sewing Classes in Los Tambos
Making bags today! We will see what they have learned. Some of the ladies are catching on very
nicely and some need more work. It is so good to see young ladies like Ada Miranda and Jessica Baiza participating in the classes. Ada is doing very well and really seems to enjoy it.
On the way back to the mission house we picked up two machines that were repaired at Spanish Lookout and we will deliver them to Ms Faye and Ms Shanique.
On to Cayo with Ms Tomasita and three of her children. She needs to shop and her husband will pick
the family up to take them back to Los Tambos after he finishes work.
We stopped while we were in Cayo to meet Mr. Chavez, he is a sewing machine repair man who is willing to go to Selena to check out the machines. He also owns a shop that makes clothing. We had the chance to talk to him about working with the ladies in Los Tambos to give them instructions on making uniform pants. Hopefully we will be able to make all this work.
Orange Gallery for dinner, long day.
February 8th, 2014 - Saturday
Coffee and devotions on the porch, relaxing and making plans for the day.
Ms Juanita was at her house next door and needed a ride to the market in Cayo. Packed up the 3 kids and took off about 9:30. Big market! Lots of people and VERY hot! Had to stop for ice cream! Back to the house by 12:00. Joe and Mark went to Spanish Lookout for hardware and I stayed back at the mission house to catch up on unfinished projects before Monday.
We took Ms Juanita and the kids to dinner then home. Back to the Learning center to blog.
February 9th, 2014 - Sunday
Coffee and devotions on the porch, rainy morning. Mark spent the weekend with us so he got up and started the coffee. We have known Mark since he was 4, he has grown into a wonderful young man! He is smart, respectful and really enjoys working. He is going to school at the National 4H Youth Development Center then on to high school.
We spent the morning in LosTambos, Joe and Mark at a community meeting and I spent a couple hours working with Ms Miranda showing her how to operate the sewing machine. We had to put a new battery system together for her machine. We also covered instructions for the frequency of charging the battery.
I had a sewing/quilting and machine instruction class at 2:00, while Joe and Mark went home to do Mark's laundry.
We left to take Mark back to school about 5:00, home about 6:30.
Now working to finish and organize everything, tomorrow will be our last day in LosTambos. Sad day to say good bye to all our wonderful friends. Soon we will be joining all of you in the cold weather.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
February 3, 2014 - Monday
Happy Anniversary! 22 years! This is our second year celebrating in Belize. You would think I would give him the day off?? No way.
Out to Los Tambos to start the next sewing class. We are back to basics. Learning how to thread the machine, change a bobbin, change the needle and change stitch patterns. It kept them busy. We had 6 teams of 3 people and the project was to make one bag. It certainly was interesting to watch. We ran out of power at 2:00 pm so our sewing day is over and time to move on to something else.
We were invited to dinner at In His Will to celebrate our anniversary and Leroy's birthday. Very nice
evening.
February 4, 2014 - Tuesday
We picked up Ms Tomasita at 8:30 and on to Selena for our first day of classes. Rev. Olivia was ready and waiting for us. The building was unlocked and ready for us. The sewing machines were out and it looked like we were ready to rock!
I worked on the machines to see if I could find one that would work with out too much effort. The
treadle machines were received 2 years ago with little or no attention since that time. Unfortunately
like so many of the metal things in Belize the machines are rusted and tension disks are pitted. Where is the repair guy when you need one?? I can do general repair but all of this is above my pay grade.
When the first person arrived we abandoned machine repair and went into the teaching mode.
It was a little disappointing that we only had two ladies show up but we had a great time and we
were able to have a one on one class. Neither of the ladies had used a machine so we to started
with the basics of hand work. Class ended at 12:00.
After talking to the Rev. Olivia we found out that there seems to be a great deal of conflict between some of the people in the village. She felt we wouldn't be able to get more than a few there at one time. That is sad!
Shopping for supplies in Spanish Lookout for class in LosTambos tomorrow. Back to the mission house for supper.
February 5, 2014 - Wednesday
8:15 picking up Ms Tomasita. The Howler monkeys were making a lot of noise this morning. We left Ms Tomasita at the school to set up for class.
I would like to stop here and say that for those of you who don't know Ms Tomasita she is my interpreter, right hand person and a very dear friend. She is a wonderful lady who faces some unbelievable challenges every day. She has only one leg. She did have a prosthetic leg but it had some problems so now she uses a walker. Can you imagine trying to hike some of the roughest trails in the Smokey mountains with a walker? That is what she endures every day and is also raising 5 children. They do not have electric or running water. AND SHE NEVER COMPLAINS!! To see all that she does is such an inspirational lesson for me.
Back to class............things went very well everyone seems to have a good handle on operating the machines. We made 8 bags today using 4 machines. We had a few remakes but the ladies are in the learning stages. Finished at 3:00.
Just a couple updates from Joe - no particular order or date sequence -
- First attempted trip to the water pumping station ended - - - abandoned! Turned the corner on the road and found the road was washed out after only a hundred yards. Maybe later! Next day with boots as a backup - I drove to the first washout section and parked the car. With my new boots (Andy - I got the black ones) I was able to get through the 2 washouts and walk about a mile and a half to the pumping station. I heard a noise when I arrived and found the pipe was broken at the station and water spewing all over the place and the pump running continuously. Ran next door - quickly introduced my self to Mr. Cu and he shut the power off. I got in touch with Francisco Miranda (Harvey's brother) and he came out later in the day and we repaired the pipe.
- First day of sewing classes we found no power in the palapa hut. Wires had been pulled loose in the top of the hut. Ran to Spanish Lookout for repairs. And now the ultimate lie - - - - "I did not stop by western Dairy". Repairs done and the ladies are off and sewing.
- After driving in mud for the first few days I figured it was time to give the car a wash. Started working on it and had a couple little volunteers from the neighborhood. Ended up costing me 2 sodas, 2 candy bars and 50 cents BZE for a fairly good job along with playing in the water with them.
- We heard that Me. Juanita's son, Mark, has passed through Std 6 and is attending a 4-H trade school in Belmopan. Looked him up one afternoon and really was good to see him. Plans are for us to pick him up from school and he will spend this weekend with us. He is growing into a very nice young - 14 year old - gentleman.
- Returning from the water pumping station I met Reynaldo on his horse. We talked for a while and he went on his way. Later in the day I saw a car parked in the road in front of the school and once again it was Reynaldo - muffler dropped off his car. Spent some time helping him "repair" it and he was on his way.
- It rained pretty hard for the first few days we were here - keeping the roads a mess. After a couple days of no rain and hot weather, they have begun to grade the roads in Los Tambos. Glad to say the road conditions have now been upgraded to "TERRIBLE". The 3 mile drive from the school to Gonzales takes close to 20 minutes.
- Spent a couple days working with Daryl on the new addition to the Learning Center. Daryl asked if I knew Charlie (Espiritu) Told him of course I knew Charlie and he said - "That guy worked me like a dog!" He also informed me the gloves Charlie had given him had worn out. We got him a new pair on the next trip to Spanish Lookout..... Now get back to work! He told me to quit acting like Charlie.
Happy Anniversary! 22 years! This is our second year celebrating in Belize. You would think I would give him the day off?? No way.
Out to Los Tambos to start the next sewing class. We are back to basics. Learning how to thread the machine, change a bobbin, change the needle and change stitch patterns. It kept them busy. We had 6 teams of 3 people and the project was to make one bag. It certainly was interesting to watch. We ran out of power at 2:00 pm so our sewing day is over and time to move on to something else.
We were invited to dinner at In His Will to celebrate our anniversary and Leroy's birthday. Very nice
evening.
February 4, 2014 - Tuesday
We picked up Ms Tomasita at 8:30 and on to Selena for our first day of classes. Rev. Olivia was ready and waiting for us. The building was unlocked and ready for us. The sewing machines were out and it looked like we were ready to rock!
I worked on the machines to see if I could find one that would work with out too much effort. The
treadle machines were received 2 years ago with little or no attention since that time. Unfortunately
like so many of the metal things in Belize the machines are rusted and tension disks are pitted. Where is the repair guy when you need one?? I can do general repair but all of this is above my pay grade.
When the first person arrived we abandoned machine repair and went into the teaching mode.
It was a little disappointing that we only had two ladies show up but we had a great time and we
were able to have a one on one class. Neither of the ladies had used a machine so we to started
with the basics of hand work. Class ended at 12:00.
After talking to the Rev. Olivia we found out that there seems to be a great deal of conflict between some of the people in the village. She felt we wouldn't be able to get more than a few there at one time. That is sad!
Shopping for supplies in Spanish Lookout for class in LosTambos tomorrow. Back to the mission house for supper.
February 5, 2014 - Wednesday
8:15 picking up Ms Tomasita. The Howler monkeys were making a lot of noise this morning. We left Ms Tomasita at the school to set up for class.
I would like to stop here and say that for those of you who don't know Ms Tomasita she is my interpreter, right hand person and a very dear friend. She is a wonderful lady who faces some unbelievable challenges every day. She has only one leg. She did have a prosthetic leg but it had some problems so now she uses a walker. Can you imagine trying to hike some of the roughest trails in the Smokey mountains with a walker? That is what she endures every day and is also raising 5 children. They do not have electric or running water. AND SHE NEVER COMPLAINS!! To see all that she does is such an inspirational lesson for me.
Back to class............things went very well everyone seems to have a good handle on operating the machines. We made 8 bags today using 4 machines. We had a few remakes but the ladies are in the learning stages. Finished at 3:00.
Just a couple updates from Joe - no particular order or date sequence -
- First attempted trip to the water pumping station ended - - - abandoned! Turned the corner on the road and found the road was washed out after only a hundred yards. Maybe later! Next day with boots as a backup - I drove to the first washout section and parked the car. With my new boots (Andy - I got the black ones) I was able to get through the 2 washouts and walk about a mile and a half to the pumping station. I heard a noise when I arrived and found the pipe was broken at the station and water spewing all over the place and the pump running continuously. Ran next door - quickly introduced my self to Mr. Cu and he shut the power off. I got in touch with Francisco Miranda (Harvey's brother) and he came out later in the day and we repaired the pipe.
- First day of sewing classes we found no power in the palapa hut. Wires had been pulled loose in the top of the hut. Ran to Spanish Lookout for repairs. And now the ultimate lie - - - - "I did not stop by western Dairy". Repairs done and the ladies are off and sewing.
- After driving in mud for the first few days I figured it was time to give the car a wash. Started working on it and had a couple little volunteers from the neighborhood. Ended up costing me 2 sodas, 2 candy bars and 50 cents BZE for a fairly good job along with playing in the water with them.
- We heard that Me. Juanita's son, Mark, has passed through Std 6 and is attending a 4-H trade school in Belmopan. Looked him up one afternoon and really was good to see him. Plans are for us to pick him up from school and he will spend this weekend with us. He is growing into a very nice young - 14 year old - gentleman.
- Returning from the water pumping station I met Reynaldo on his horse. We talked for a while and he went on his way. Later in the day I saw a car parked in the road in front of the school and once again it was Reynaldo - muffler dropped off his car. Spent some time helping him "repair" it and he was on his way.
- It rained pretty hard for the first few days we were here - keeping the roads a mess. After a couple days of no rain and hot weather, they have begun to grade the roads in Los Tambos. Glad to say the road conditions have now been upgraded to "TERRIBLE". The 3 mile drive from the school to Gonzales takes close to 20 minutes.
- Spent a couple days working with Daryl on the new addition to the Learning Center. Daryl asked if I knew Charlie (Espiritu) Told him of course I knew Charlie and he said - "That guy worked me like a dog!" He also informed me the gloves Charlie had given him had worn out. We got him a new pair on the next trip to Spanish Lookout..... Now get back to work! He told me to quit acting like Charlie.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
1/29/14 Unitedville
Time went a little longer on the embroidery class, we were having too much fun. Last day we had 11, 10 women and 1 man. They didn't complete their projects but plan to stop by the house to let me see them this next week.
We left for Orange Walk at 4:30, only an hour and a half later than planned(Belize time). We certainly have been on Belize time since we have been here. Good trip up, stopped at Ms Tomasita's brother Camilo's house and met his family and their mother. Left there and went to her brother Bart's house and spent the night. Thursday morning, up at 6:00, her other brother Caytano picked us up to take us into Chetamul. I am glad she didn't have any other brothers we would have had to stay another day. NICE family! We had a great time and really appreciate their help in getting us in and out of Chetamul safely. We went to 3 different fabric stores and bought fabrics and notions. We came back across the border and they didn't charge us any duty after they heard how we were using the fabrics Long trip back. We were all pretty worn out. Ms Tomasita had to use her walker so it was pretty tough for her. But she is a real trooper/
1/30/14 Friday - Los Tambos
Sewing classes begin! It was great to see all the ladies again. All the same ladies were there except for two. We did have a few new ones in the class. The project we did was a big hit!!! We made little cloth bags. Really cute, they can be used for makeup or sewing supplies.
Thank you Dorothy! Dorothy made up all of the little kits(20) to be exact so it was easy for the
ladies to get them finished. I have some great pictures and hopefully I will be able to get things to work so we can post them. We faced a few issues with the solar power but I will let Joe tell you about those.
The work tables have been a great hit!!! We're even starting to use irons now too. Thank you Joe for all your hard work.
Friday evening, we stayed in Los Tambos with the Gonzales family. Supper consisted of burritos, ground chicken with mixed sautéed veggies. Home made whole wheat tortillas. Everyone participated in the food prep. All of this was prepared by the light of 2 oil lamps which are kept in the main area. Needless to say it is VERY DARK out there at night, no city lights, no street lights just a lot of dark. LOTS of stars! Beautiful! I have a flashlight on my phone which came in handy. I didn't get phone service but the light worked great. Needless to say everyone is in bed when the sun goes down.
2/1/14 - Saturday - Los Tambos
Beautiful sunrise seen from the top of the Gonzales' mountain. Needless to say early to bed early to rise. Today is their Sabbath. Church will be at 9:00 at their house so we don't have to travel far.
At 10:00 people start showing up. (Belize time) We sang, then had church school and then the sermon after which we had a huge meal!! I knew 5 of the 6 songs that we sang except they sang in Spanish and I sang in English. Very interesting. Pastor Dave translated for me which was very nice.
They always kneel when they pray. When I kneeled down for the first time, part of my prayer was about being able to get back up. Wonderful service especially the closing prayer. Joe will have to tell you about that.
Saturday afternoon - LosTambos
Spent the afternoon at the school sewing with some of the younger girls and working on a project for Ms Tomasita.
Saturday evening was date night in Los Tambos, packed up the family and the visitors and took off to the Dairy for ice cream. Night time in Los Tambo remember VERY DARK! Hard to say what you might see on the road at night. People, animals, motorcycles, cars? I think we saw all of them.
I had a great hamburger and the rest had ice cream. Back to the Gonzales house by 8:00, everyone in bed by 8:30. That was a late night.
2/2/14 Sunday - back to Unitedville
Back to the house, clean up, put things away. AND lots of LAUNDRY. We do have a wash machine, doesn't work real well because we have to fill it with a hose but it is better than going to the river.
Went to Cayo Twist with Carmen and Faye and now Joe is watching the Super Bowl. Soon heading back to the mission house to get ready for tomorrow.
Another chapter in the book...........sorry
Time went a little longer on the embroidery class, we were having too much fun. Last day we had 11, 10 women and 1 man. They didn't complete their projects but plan to stop by the house to let me see them this next week.
We left for Orange Walk at 4:30, only an hour and a half later than planned(Belize time). We certainly have been on Belize time since we have been here. Good trip up, stopped at Ms Tomasita's brother Camilo's house and met his family and their mother. Left there and went to her brother Bart's house and spent the night. Thursday morning, up at 6:00, her other brother Caytano picked us up to take us into Chetamul. I am glad she didn't have any other brothers we would have had to stay another day. NICE family! We had a great time and really appreciate their help in getting us in and out of Chetamul safely. We went to 3 different fabric stores and bought fabrics and notions. We came back across the border and they didn't charge us any duty after they heard how we were using the fabrics Long trip back. We were all pretty worn out. Ms Tomasita had to use her walker so it was pretty tough for her. But she is a real trooper/
1/30/14 Friday - Los Tambos
Sewing classes begin! It was great to see all the ladies again. All the same ladies were there except for two. We did have a few new ones in the class. The project we did was a big hit!!! We made little cloth bags. Really cute, they can be used for makeup or sewing supplies.
Thank you Dorothy! Dorothy made up all of the little kits(20) to be exact so it was easy for the
ladies to get them finished. I have some great pictures and hopefully I will be able to get things to work so we can post them. We faced a few issues with the solar power but I will let Joe tell you about those.
The work tables have been a great hit!!! We're even starting to use irons now too. Thank you Joe for all your hard work.
Friday evening, we stayed in Los Tambos with the Gonzales family. Supper consisted of burritos, ground chicken with mixed sautéed veggies. Home made whole wheat tortillas. Everyone participated in the food prep. All of this was prepared by the light of 2 oil lamps which are kept in the main area. Needless to say it is VERY DARK out there at night, no city lights, no street lights just a lot of dark. LOTS of stars! Beautiful! I have a flashlight on my phone which came in handy. I didn't get phone service but the light worked great. Needless to say everyone is in bed when the sun goes down.
2/1/14 - Saturday - Los Tambos
Beautiful sunrise seen from the top of the Gonzales' mountain. Needless to say early to bed early to rise. Today is their Sabbath. Church will be at 9:00 at their house so we don't have to travel far.
At 10:00 people start showing up. (Belize time) We sang, then had church school and then the sermon after which we had a huge meal!! I knew 5 of the 6 songs that we sang except they sang in Spanish and I sang in English. Very interesting. Pastor Dave translated for me which was very nice.
They always kneel when they pray. When I kneeled down for the first time, part of my prayer was about being able to get back up. Wonderful service especially the closing prayer. Joe will have to tell you about that.
Saturday afternoon - LosTambos
Spent the afternoon at the school sewing with some of the younger girls and working on a project for Ms Tomasita.
Saturday evening was date night in Los Tambos, packed up the family and the visitors and took off to the Dairy for ice cream. Night time in Los Tambo remember VERY DARK! Hard to say what you might see on the road at night. People, animals, motorcycles, cars? I think we saw all of them.
I had a great hamburger and the rest had ice cream. Back to the Gonzales house by 8:00, everyone in bed by 8:30. That was a late night.
2/2/14 Sunday - back to Unitedville
Back to the house, clean up, put things away. AND lots of LAUNDRY. We do have a wash machine, doesn't work real well because we have to fill it with a hose but it is better than going to the river.
Went to Cayo Twist with Carmen and Faye and now Joe is watching the Super Bowl. Soon heading back to the mission house to get ready for tomorrow.
Another chapter in the book...........sorry
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
This has been a lot like camping! Some days no electric, some days no water, some days no hot water. Joe is getting used to the element of surprise.! Joe will have some info on the water a little later.
January 26, 2014 - Sunday
Very Pretty morning, no rain! and we have water!!
Coffee and devotions on porch before church.
Carmen and Faye's church is at a lumber yard until they are able to build. Pastor Dave is a very dynamic person. The sermon was about just not sitting but to get off your "blessed assurance" and
follow Jesus.
After church, lunch with Carmen, Faye, Barb and Troy.
This was also laundry day and the day to work on sewing machines. In His Will donated their
sewing machines to Threads of Hope. We have them all cleaned up and ready to run.
We lost power for about 2 1/2 hours but made a run to Cayo Twist!!! YUMMY! Love their soy
ice cream.
January 27, 2014 Monday
Foggy cool morning.
Left for Los Tambos at 7:45.
Assembly at LosTambos school, all those kids are growing SO fast.
Ms Lily introduced the new manager of the Cayo area district. Ms Doret.
Very nice lady, she also seems to have a special place in her heart for
Los Tambos. She was very gracious and thanked FCPC for all the help
they have been over the years.
Visited Selena, talked to a few people we will have classes there on Tuesday, next week.
Back to Unitedville at for class at 1:00. Didn't have very many today but the word didn't get out but we did have a lot of fun.
Joe is working on the work tables.
January 28, 2014 Tuesday
Beautiful cool morning.
This was suppose to be all day in Unitedville but went to help out some people who had some problems. As always, when you get into Los Tambos it is never a short visit.
We planned to stop for breakfast on the way back but that never happened.
Stopped to get a few things at the Farmer's trading center and met a man from the Bio Sphere farm. His name is Stephen and this will be a story to tell when we get back. A interestingly strange fellow.
Invited him to the school.........we'll see if he comes.
Class again at 1:00, this time we had 7 ladies. Great group, lots of fun. LOTS of babies!
January 29, 2014 - Wednesday
A little rain this morning and now the sun is out. I won't say how nice because I understand most all of you are having very cold weather.
We are having the last class for the ladies of Unitedville. They have all learned to embroider and bead, some of them have done very well. They are a great group and have been a blessing to share their time with me.
Today at 3:00 we are leaving for Orange Walk to spend the night with Ms Tomasita's family, mom and siblings. In the morning they will take us on to Chetamul and across the border. We will be shopping for Thread's of Hope. Looking to purchase fabric, zippers and threads. Paying $1.50yd for fabric, .35 for a zipper and .50 for a spool of thread. We are returning tomorrow and will have our first class in LosTambos on Friday.
I apologize again for the "book" format but it is hard to get to the computer then there is the power and internet issue.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
January 22, 2014
Up at 3:00am, finish packing, on the road by 4:30am. Burrrrr it's cold! Of course we wore shorts which didn't seem like such a good idea @ 9 degrees.
We boarded the plane for Atlanta - BEAUTIFUL clear sky, sun coming up over the snow covered mountains....good bye snow!
To think 5 weeks ago and what was happening. By the grace of God and the help of all our friends and church family we are on our way.
Our travel was uneventful, thankfully. We arrived on time in Belize to a warm sunny 81degrees.
Our first stop was Cheers, yummy chicken, beans and rice. We had several people approach us that wanted to know about the mission, several very good contacts to have here in Belize. The one is from the Rotary and KNOWS people. Joe has the scoop on that.
Unloaded totes at the mission house and back to Carmen and Faye's for dinner with Troy, Barbara and Leroy. We sorted through quilts, dresses and shorts that we had brought for the preschool students.
Long day, to bed early and a good night sleep.
January 23, 2014
Morning brings rain and sunshine. Sitting on the porch.........coffee and devotions. Making plans for the day. Off to Spanish Look Out and on to Lost Tambos school to put the schedule together for the sewing classes.
We picked up Ms Tomasita at her house.......guess what.....the roads in LosTambos are WORSE than last year. Hard to imagine. It has been raining a lot and there has been a lot of flooding.
We met with Ms. Lily....she has 3 teachers who will be taking sewing classes between 12:00 and 1:00, everyday that we can work it in.
We also have 2 new women from the village who will be taking classes this trip with the other ladies of the group. Ms. Tomasita has kept attendance through the year and there has been the same 12 women who continue to come for every class. There has been a lot of progress made by this group and we are so very proud of them.
Ms. Lily is a great supporter of the sewing class, she helps by letting them use the solar power energy for the machines and allowing them to use the space in the palapa hut for classes. We are looking for projects to do to as a way to thank her.
We have a list of repairs for the machines and tables to build before we can start our classes. The group has finished numerous projects and they are anxious to show us their work. I am excited! It should be fun.
Classes in Selena still remain to be scheduled but I will now have Ms Tomasita's help with the class and we are hoping to have the instructor Louisa Escalante work with the ladies though out the next year. This will be wonderful for them to have someone to work with them every two weeks.
January 24, 2014
Up early, had a good breakfast at Cheers the hit the road for Chetamul.
Spent most of the day on the road about 2.5 hours drive to Chetamul with Carmen and Faye. Walked through a very expensive mall, went into Sam's Club and shopped the market district. The market district was the most fun.....A FABRIC store! Whoo hooo!!! Checking the pricing for thread, zippers and fabrics. Really good pricing on everything. We will be returning on Thursday with Ms Tomasita and Ms Louisa to purchase supplies for the sewing group.
Did I mention we didn't have water in the mission house??? Just like camping, it's a good thing Joe has had practise.
January 25, 2015
Raining this morning.
Did I mention that we don't have running water? (in the faucets) we have it everywhere else.
Faye and I went to market, it was raining a little.
Joe and Carmen left for LosTambos to set up the system to measure for the water in the spring.
That's where we are today.....................more to follow when Joe returns.
Sorry that we had to blog all of this together, certainly didn't want to write a book. Internet has been
difficult for some reason and we haven't been able to get on. Must be the rain??
Up at 3:00am, finish packing, on the road by 4:30am. Burrrrr it's cold! Of course we wore shorts which didn't seem like such a good idea @ 9 degrees.
We boarded the plane for Atlanta - BEAUTIFUL clear sky, sun coming up over the snow covered mountains....good bye snow!
To think 5 weeks ago and what was happening. By the grace of God and the help of all our friends and church family we are on our way.
Our travel was uneventful, thankfully. We arrived on time in Belize to a warm sunny 81degrees.
Our first stop was Cheers, yummy chicken, beans and rice. We had several people approach us that wanted to know about the mission, several very good contacts to have here in Belize. The one is from the Rotary and KNOWS people. Joe has the scoop on that.
Unloaded totes at the mission house and back to Carmen and Faye's for dinner with Troy, Barbara and Leroy. We sorted through quilts, dresses and shorts that we had brought for the preschool students.
Long day, to bed early and a good night sleep.
January 23, 2014
Morning brings rain and sunshine. Sitting on the porch.........coffee and devotions. Making plans for the day. Off to Spanish Look Out and on to Lost Tambos school to put the schedule together for the sewing classes.
We picked up Ms Tomasita at her house.......guess what.....the roads in LosTambos are WORSE than last year. Hard to imagine. It has been raining a lot and there has been a lot of flooding.
We met with Ms. Lily....she has 3 teachers who will be taking sewing classes between 12:00 and 1:00, everyday that we can work it in.
We also have 2 new women from the village who will be taking classes this trip with the other ladies of the group. Ms. Tomasita has kept attendance through the year and there has been the same 12 women who continue to come for every class. There has been a lot of progress made by this group and we are so very proud of them.
Ms. Lily is a great supporter of the sewing class, she helps by letting them use the solar power energy for the machines and allowing them to use the space in the palapa hut for classes. We are looking for projects to do to as a way to thank her.
We have a list of repairs for the machines and tables to build before we can start our classes. The group has finished numerous projects and they are anxious to show us their work. I am excited! It should be fun.
Classes in Selena still remain to be scheduled but I will now have Ms Tomasita's help with the class and we are hoping to have the instructor Louisa Escalante work with the ladies though out the next year. This will be wonderful for them to have someone to work with them every two weeks.
January 24, 2014
Up early, had a good breakfast at Cheers the hit the road for Chetamul.
Spent most of the day on the road about 2.5 hours drive to Chetamul with Carmen and Faye. Walked through a very expensive mall, went into Sam's Club and shopped the market district. The market district was the most fun.....A FABRIC store! Whoo hooo!!! Checking the pricing for thread, zippers and fabrics. Really good pricing on everything. We will be returning on Thursday with Ms Tomasita and Ms Louisa to purchase supplies for the sewing group.
Did I mention we didn't have water in the mission house??? Just like camping, it's a good thing Joe has had practise.
January 25, 2015
Raining this morning.
Did I mention that we don't have running water? (in the faucets) we have it everywhere else.
Faye and I went to market, it was raining a little.
Joe and Carmen left for LosTambos to set up the system to measure for the water in the spring.
That's where we are today.....................more to follow when Joe returns.
Sorry that we had to blog all of this together, certainly didn't want to write a book. Internet has been
difficult for some reason and we haven't been able to get on. Must be the rain??
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Happy New Year!!
Still on schedule to depart on January 22nd and returning on February 12th.
Our departure date is 17 days away with lots happening. We are now in the process of organizing our supplies for the 4 totes. A number of people have donated fabric, patterns and supplies. All of which are greatly appreciated and will be put to good use by the ladies in the sewing groups. We are looking for a few more things. If you have any small glass craft beads or embroidery floss that you have tucked away and are not using please consider donating them to Threads of Hope. We have planned an embroidery and bead project to help the ladies understand hand sewing methods.
Please keep us in your prayers for guidance as we prepare for the trip.
Still on schedule to depart on January 22nd and returning on February 12th.
Our departure date is 17 days away with lots happening. We are now in the process of organizing our supplies for the 4 totes. A number of people have donated fabric, patterns and supplies. All of which are greatly appreciated and will be put to good use by the ladies in the sewing groups. We are looking for a few more things. If you have any small glass craft beads or embroidery floss that you have tucked away and are not using please consider donating them to Threads of Hope. We have planned an embroidery and bead project to help the ladies understand hand sewing methods.
Please keep us in your prayers for guidance as we prepare for the trip.
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