Just thought you might be interested in the latest up-coming event here in Punta Gorda - the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Coronation of Haile Selassie - a Rastafarian high holiday. One of the local pastors was invited to open the day with prayer, but on reading Salassie's appelations, declined! I'm planning to be out of town on November 2, as the Central Park is more or less in my front yard.

On November 5 the Christians are planning their own little do, with an evening parade and concert with two sermons and altar calls. I guess I'll be around for that one.

Please continue to pray for Rudolph. He has regained consciousness after 4 days but has some damage to the head. We are praying for a full recovery.

Well, we are going through a rough time here at St. Joseph's, which is why I haven't made an entry for a few days. My computer having just died (!) we are now about to lose our Lay Reader and general Do-It-All. Lyle, who also has the only vehicle available to us, has been transferred to Corozal in the north of the country. He has been inspiration, guide and friend to me.

It's a real blessing that we celebrated Harvest Thanksgiving last Sunday. It was a standing room only crowd in a finely decorated church, and the sermon was based on Paul's injunction to the Philippians, "Have no anxiety about anything". So there!

Our performing of The Christmas Story may be in jeapordy - it will be a big challenge without Lyle and his vehicle. But maybe that challenge will encourage others to take a step forward to help fill the gap.

Aside from finding a nice gold tooth cap in my rice pudding, I continue in good health. Please add Rudolph (car accident) to your prayer lists.

Wilma!

Word just arrived from the Diocesan Office in Belize City that I should be aware that Wilma is brewing up a storm in the Caribbean and could cause some problems. “I would not want you to stay there in the event of a category 4 or 5 hurricane. Even if you do not go to Belmopan I would want you to move somewhere more inland.” It’s great that they care, but it’s really hard to get very concerned because it’s a beautiful day here with just a pleasant breeze.

But I have just downloaded the Tracking the Eye software which can give you all the information you might need on the storm’s progress, and I'll be ready to move at a moment’s notice. It makes me wonder about my neighbours. They would be in much more danger than I. Where will they go?

Not to worry at the moment. The expected route for the storm takes it well to the north of PG although very close to Cancun before crossing right over Florida and going up the eastern seaboard.

Today is a day for staying close to home. A fridge repair man is in and out and I’m expecting word of a parishioner’s arrival by bus after being discharged from hospital in Belize City (a six hour ride!). We’re hoping to get him admitted to the hospital here as he’s still not very well and his home situation would not be conducive to a quick recovery, or even a slow one!

Cookies and tired feet

Well, today was different! Different, that is, from what I expected. I spent the morning over a hot stove baking my first Belizean cookies. They were for the 30 or so kids coming to the youth meeting in nearby (5 miles) Eldrigeville. I was early, and while I was waiting by a stream a young lad offered to find me a crab. He found two, but they were pretty small! Then he caught a dragonfly. Big hunter!

1:30pm was the time for all the leaders to meet and 2pm for the meeting. Not a soul turned up. Oh,oh! Miscommunication somewhere. So I decided to walk back, visiting some parishioners who lived along the way (I hadn’t been to their homes yet) and sharing my cookies. Great success! Three families were having a community fish clean after a very successful catch. Another family, with next to nothing, took two lots of cookies and gave me some tangerines from their tree.

I took flower pictures (what else) along the way and arrived home, still with a few cookies and very tired feet (no picture).

Afternoon Storm Time

It’s late afternoon and we’re in the midst of a typical Punta Gorda tropical rainstorm – a great time to update the Blog. I knew it was going to rain because someone in the Bank parking lot washed his car, and because I had just finished planting some cuttings in the garden (the just shall live by faith) and because I saw the dark clouds coming from the west (we know the times and the seasons). So I decided not to go visiting on my bike but to stay home and…. I though of having a sleep but to do that I’d have to close both doors and all shutters. Otherwise, if the wind changed I’d have a lot of mopping to do. So here I am at the computer which is running on batteries because of the risk, small though it is, of a lightening induced power surge.

We counted the congregation yesterday and came up with 23 adults and 11 children. I’m sure there are one or two others, and am hoping they’ll turn up for Harvest so that we can add them to the list. If they knew they were going to be “added to the list”, perhaps they wouldn’t come!

This is my favourite Belizean flower yet. I don’t know what it’s called but it’s a beauty. Anyone out there know? And here’s a seed I found on the beach at Placencia. I’ll plant it and it might grow here, but in the meantime, anyone recognize it? Try answering in the comments or send me an email.


(Click on pictures to enlarge.)

Tragedy Next Door

In the neighbouring country of Guatemala the rains from Hurricane Stan have had tragic consequences. Here in the Toledo District of Belize the weather has continued to be beautiful. Were it not for the Internet one would never know that just next door…... A number of people have enquired about my safety. Thanks for your interest and prayers – stay interested, and just for now send your prayers via Guatemala!

Yesterday, on my day off, I visited with Deacon Tess at Monkey River, a two-hour bus ride north from here. We took the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi to Placencia, a completely different world from Punta Gorda. It’s a little community built on a sand-spit and more or less designed for tourists who want to relax and perhaps do a little sailing or diving (http://www.placencia.com/). This is a new side of Belize for me and I love it! I hope to return in a few weeks to do some shopping.

Back here in PG, the power has just gone off for no apparent reason. This isn’t unusual but means that a) the Bank’s alternate generator kicks in next door, adding to the general noise, b) the fridge, which isn’t working well anyway, doesn’t work at all, and c) no fans. Not that I’m complaining, mind you – or perhaps I am! Hey, it worked. The power’s back on. Actually, we haven’t had many more outages than at home.

Like at home, each church chooses when it wants to celebrate Harvest. Ours is on October 23, and the Preschoolers are practicing every day for their part. They are going to recite, one line per child, the first two verses of We plough the fields and scatter the good seed. They make quite a big thing of the Harvest Services here and all our Preschool parents will be expected to attend ours.

The telephone bill came this morning – I will gladly pay whatever the Internet portion is! It’s so great being able to keep in touch.

Christmas Isn't Far Away!

Yesterday Kathy sent me the whole script for The Christmas Story in the style I know from St. John’s, Port Hope. Those of you familiar with that production may wonder how we could attempt that here in little St. Joseph’s, PG. Never mind, I’m wondering exactly the same thing. In my mind things are starting to come together but there are little practicalities like: Who’s going to play the parts? What are we going to use to make costumes? Will a keyboard and a bugle work for the music?

But if we don’t start we’ll never find out the answers!

I’ve been doing some MSN Messaging which has been fun, partly because it just happens. There I am working away at the computer and up pops a message saying that YOU have just signed in. Quickly I try to think of something nice or smart to say and, if you feel like it, you answer and away we go. I’ve talked to Steve in Cobourg, Ren and Stephen in Port Hope, Eric in Cold Springs (all Ontario) and Joel in South Korea. Anyone else out there?

The pictures are of bushes in the church/rectory yard. We have started doing some work to make it look really pretty, and yesterday I planted an orange tree. There is already a plantain tree and I’m waiting patiently for its offerings to ripen.

Housekeeping matters

Some people like to spoil the fun! For the moment, anyway, I’ve blocked comments since some people, probably actually computers directed by people, have been adding advertising as comments. It happens within seconds of the post being made. I’ll probably try again later, but in the meantime you can always respond to my personal email address (if you know it).

The links to the right now include two resorts, one in Punta Gorda and one in the interior. Worth looking at if you’re thinking of coming for a visit.

Visit Punta Negra

One of my more interesting ventures, so far, was a trip to the “second point” of this Mission Parish. You take a ¾ hour boat ride on the Gulf of Honduras, passing a multitude of little keys, and eventually coast in to a small, sandy beach. You’ve arrived at Punta Negra, a community of maybe 30, where there is no electricity, or store or other “essentials”. But there is a church community, and an operating schoolhouse for the eleven school-aged children who call this home. The school, which houses the principal upstairs, is badly in need of repair, and there is hope that that might happen someday soon.

This is one of the many places in Belize that have community phones, one for the whole community. It works reasonably well it seems. Someone nearby answers the phone and arranges for the person you want to be there “in twenty minutes”. Twenty minutes later you phone back and voilá.

I’m not sure what the residents who are not teachers do, other than fish. A number of St. Joseph’s congregation here in Punta Gorda once lived in Punta Negra. The return trip costs about $100US so you wouldn’t want to make it alone too often. Take a group and you can split the costs.

I was tagging along with a building assessor so paid nothing, but only had a one-hour visit. Not that there is that much to see, but there are people to talk to. I’ve got to know the principal and enjoy his company when we do get together.

As I write this it is 9pm, time to go and lock the gate and close all the shutters downstairs in the Preschool. I look forward to the possibility of rain tonight; it tends to bring pleasant cool breezes.