All Saints Belize Mission Trip Blog

Time to Awaken

2012-01-30T11:40:00.001-06:00

Mayan leader speaks about 2012:

http://www.fwii.net/profiles/blogs/mayan-elder-speaks-about-the

"We need to work together for peace, and balance with the other side. We need to take care of the Earth that feeds and shelters us. We need to put our entire mind and heart into pursuing unity and unity now, to confront the other side and preserve life...Now is the time to awaken and take action. Everyone is needed. You are not here for no reason. Everyone who is here now has an important purpose. This is a hard but a special time. We have the opportunity for growth, but we must be ready for this moment in history."

27 pictures for you

2012-01-27T12:22:00.001-06:00

Hopefully these pictures will speak volumes of our trip to Belize.
We all were touched by the love, compassion and energy the Mayan
villages shared with us and each other.

You have been sent 27 pictures.

DSCN3686.JPG
DSCN3689.JPG
DSCN3690.JPG
DSCN3691.JPG
DSCN3692.JPG
DSCN3693.JPG
DSCN3694.JPG
DSCN3695.JPG
DSCN3706.JPG
DSCN3725.JPG
DSCN3732.JPG
DSCN3734.JPG
DSCN3735.JPG
DSCN3737.JPG
DSCN3749.JPG
DSCN3754.JPG
DSCN3760.JPG
DSCN3762.JPG
DSCN3771.JPG
DSCN3780.JPG
DSCN3790.JPG
DSCN3793.JPG
DSCN3817.JPG
DSCN3826.JPG
DSCN3831.JPG
DSCN3866.JPG
DSCN3869.JPG

These pictures were sent with Picasa, from Google.
Try it out here: http://picasa.google.com/

You better Belize It

2012-01-16T03:56:00.000-06:00

Ann had asked everyone to pack their sense of humor in addition to teamwork skills and lots of supplies. This group certainly used all of the above!

A story to sample some of the humor experienced:

Trying to visit the Directer of Human Health Services, Mr. Vernon:

In the villages dogs were everywhere, roaming in and out of schools, in everyone's homes and even at church. So we became very used to dogs around.
As Ann, Jill and Rose walked on to Mr. Vernon's walled porch in the city they paid no attention to a sleeping, chained pit bull dog at the opening. Unfortunately Mr. Vernon's sister had died that morning and there were black ribbons on the front door. Though they had been assured by a neighbor he was home no one answered, so the ladies prepared to leave the porch. Jill stepped right over the Dog's chain and Ann looked at the dog as she passed him and said "oh I think that is a guard dog" - she must have reminded him of his job because on cue the dog stood up, started barked and growling and leaping toward them. Ann and Jill made it safely through the gate but Rose was now stuck on the porch. If one knows Rose one knows that our little, short, spunky Sicilian does not climb walls since she entered her 7th decade. Thank goodness there was a plastic chair on the porch. As Jill 'distracted' the dog Rose climbed the chair and Ann carried her over the wall to safety.
You better Belize it!

Sent from my iPhone

Be the Heart and Hands of God

2012-01-16T03:31:00.000-06:00

Being on the beach of the Caribbean Sea allowed all of us time to rest, relax and process our thoughts and feelings.
Mass on the beach Sat. evening was a great culminating celebration. Dorla- the leader of the Socio Economic Group and Mario a villager from Santa Theresa joined us.
'Here I am Lord' as a responsorial psalm connected our experience to the readings of the day.
As Judy traveled from village to village with her instruments she taught all the children the song "Be the Heart and Hands of God" which we used as our recessional song. San Lucas made a paper quilt to hang in the classroom with each child's hand outline and their name. Corazon students adopted the 'keep a pinch and pass it on' philosophy by holding their thumb and forefinger together and touching Carolyn's arm each day. Otaxha put the philosophy into action as Karen brought supplies to an elderly man who lived next to the school. Our construction team used their hands to build the bookshelves at Corazon's library as well as helped Punta Gorda's Pallontine Sisters continue their dream of building a community center for the elderly.

Sunday was a day to create our own experiences. Some chose a day in the hammocks and lounge chairs on the beach, others continued their shopping therapy, a group took a tour in the jungle on Monkey River to see and hear the holler monkeys, and our fearless organizer Ann set up a time for sailing and snorkeling.

An early wake up call on Monday will bring us back to all of our loved ones by Monday evening.

Sent from my iPhone

A day to rest and relax

2012-01-14T11:19:00.001-06:00

This morning we had a more leisurely time to share breakfast and thank the Pallotine sisters for their hospitality. After a group picture we loaded onto the bus for a one hour ride to the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi which took us to the beautiful beach front motel on Placencia

Mission Trip says Good Bye or Xik Kue

2012-01-13T17:36:00.001-06:00

Friday is always a most special day. The teachers and students in each village want to thank us and we feel so indebted to the gifts of sharing and growing from our experience.

Meals at lunch prepared by the teachers were shared in each village. The traditional lunch of a Mayan village is CALDA, a broth and herb soup with a meat (chicken or gibnut). This new experience warmed our hearts as well as added new flavors to our palates.

In San Lucas the principal and teacher traveled to the next village last night to get a village chicken for our meal. He would settle for nothing but a village chicken for his guests.

The El Caldo or mayor of the village in Corazon invited all of our volunteers for CALDA and tortillas. Our construction crew left the house by 6am (yeah VERN!) and traveled the 2.5 hours into Corazon today to make book shelves for the library that they helped build last year. It was amazing to witness the successes of the day, especially because the building project was not even on our original plan! The middle grade teacher, Martin was so passionate about the shelves and so confident in our teenage volunteers' skills that he left them in charge of class to help the construction workers. Bobby and Matt worked well with the children and then enjoyed the children's performance of singing Happy Birthday to Bobby.

Bobby turned 18 years old today! There is no one that could ever compare their birthday celebration to the love that was truly felt through the songs that were sung to him. He has it on video on his phone.

Otaxha is such a distant village that our friends have not yet returned for us to hear about their day's adventures.

Each village met with the local artisans to check out their crafts, hand woven bracelets and purses. Carvings of wooden bowls, forks and spoons, cups or even Mayan writings; Baskets woven from plant strands into beautiful baskets and purses are wonderfully intricate. Several people were presented with gifts from the locals who were especially touched by our visit. The most humbling gift came from Santiago-keyboard player at Mass-who presented Father Don with a hand carved wooden tear shaped bowl made from Hoobio wood with an inscription about his love of our mission and connection with his village. He asks that it be used for the Body of Christ. We are all looking forward to celebrating Mass on the beach in Placencia this weekend with this precious gift.

I can not wait to add photos to this blog site--- but that will come with a high speed connection. I know it will end with a photo of one of our vans where the children wrote with their fingers on the dirt of the van door:

THANK YOU SIRS

Thursday in Belize

2012-01-12T20:04:00.001-06:00

One of the most memorable experiences we have had was meeting with the scholarship recipients at the Corazon High School. The children were introduced to our team. Ann took pictures of them in their uniforms with their new back packs filled with supplies.

They were so excited to recieve the gifts. As the bell rang they all left to go back to class and we were saying good bye to the principal. One young man tapped Ann on the shoulder and said "Miss, Miss" "I need to tell you thank you again for everything you are doing for us. It means so much." As Judy watched this scene she was reminded of the parable of the 10 lepers. She put on her sunglasses so no one could see her cry. We have been so blessed to touch the lives of these young people.

Fourth day on the job site and the teenagers (Bobby and Matt) were working with us (Jay, Bill, Vernon, Gordon and Belizian crew of Alberto and Pedro.) We were finishing up the cap on the middle wall of HOPE community center. That involved four courses of brick about 8 feet high. Our scaffolding has been jerry-rigged at best. We continue to use it to add 50 lb. blocks to the wall, and no one has been hurt yet! Praise God.

Tomorrow we will travel to Corazon to build and put in shelves in the library that we built last year on the trip. The principal, Shantall, was elated to know she was finally going to use the library.

In Otaxha the students received pen pal letter from St. Louis students. They were excited to see the photos and read the letters. Mike, Karen,Laurie and Beth were challenged to work with the littlest students in pen pal drawings because so many of them do not yet speak, or read English. They speak only Q'Etchi and are just learning a little bit of English.

The school in Corazon also completed pen pal letters. Rose, Derlene, Carolyn and Ann also challenged the students to an Egg Drop Challenge. Students and teachers had a great time and we are happy to report there was one successful, intact egg. Kathy and Colleen spent time in each classroom discussing penning the pigs. It would be much healthier for the children who wear flip flops, or no shoes at all to walk in the grass without manure.

Play Doh was a new experience for the Infant class (K-2nd grade) in San Lucas. The children were so adept in rolling the doh because of all their experience in grinding corn, and rolling balls of dough which they flatten in a circle and cook on the fire to make tortillas. They were great at creating shapes and letters with their colorful play doh. And no one ate it ! Jill and Judy taught them how to use the parachute on the field. They enjoyed pulling and bouncing the balls high in the sky.

In San Lucas the older students enjoyed music with Miss Judy and Father Don. They sang songs and played instruments. So many of them are interested in string instruments because of the guitars at Mass. However, they have had very little exposure to cymbals, tamborines, triangles, recorders, and the like. They laughed when Father Don pretended to cry so that Judy could talk about caring for our friends who are sad. They especially enjoyed when their teacher and Father Don acted like they were fighting so Judy could try to get them to be friends again. Every group of student in all schools have been enjoying singing "Be the Hands and Heart of God" with hand motions.

The vinegar and egg experiment is almost finished. Mary and Father Don have been using the scientific process as they guide the children in grades 4 - 8 through observations and recording data. Tomorrow we will see the final results. Playing Bananagrams with the students allowed Mary to share with them a donated dictionary and increase their vocabulary.

Already we are thinking about the sadness we are going to feel as we say Good Bye tomorrow.

Mission trip update

2012-01-10T17:41:00.001-06:00

Hello parishoners and family,

We are doing well and certainly getting soaking up the sun.

Saturday was a full day of travel by car, plane, and bus.

Sunday we shared Mass in San Lucas with the Mayan citizens. It was a wonderful blend of the cultures and the "new roman missal" additions.

Monday our construction workers (Bill, Vernon, Gordon, Jay and Laurie) gained muscles by building a wall of 50 pound concrete blocks.

Each village had a group of teachers who worked in classrooms of various ages.

At Otaxha (Karen, Mike, Judy, and Beth) the classrooms have been upgraded and the teacher even has a few donated computers.

Open air classroom in Corazon was quite an experience for Matt and Bobby, Rose, Carolyn and Ann. They worked with students while the pigs and dogs walked through the classrooms.

In San Lucas Don, Mary, Jill and Derlene met the new teacher and principal. They are a husband and wife team who work with 42 students. Derelene shared wonderful books and activities on prayer.

Our day on Tuesday was the warmest yet with quite a bit of humidity, but we are all still enjoying our work and each other.

Judy shared her music instruments, songs and dances with Corazon and was a big hit!

Rosaries, flip flops and personal hygiene filled the day at San Lucas. Otaxha teachers had another exciting day with the overlooking scenery, lunch at the teacher's house and wonderful students.

We are enjoying our stay each evening at Nazareth Center. Especially, since the showers have added hot water from last year.

More to come as we share our faith, our hopes, and our lives.

Meet our third blogger...Mary DiMercurio

2012-01-09T10:38:00.004-06:00

We were fortunate that our first attempt at blogging about our mission trips to Belize in 2009 was so well received that we have been asked to continue it for the past few years. We are also fortunate to have several contributing bloggers. This year, for the 2012 January trip, I would like to introduce our newest blogger, Mary DiMercurio:

I am Mary DiMercurio, a retired teacher after 33 years in Missouri. This January I am excited to be teaching in a different environment and getting to know some Mayan families. We will be based out of Punta Gorda, where Bill Kren and I will try to update these wonderful
experiences every other day.

All Saints Parish is traveling again to Belize to share Christ's love and learning with our sister villages. In January 2012 we will be going to: San Lucas, Corazon and Otoxha, where we will build, paint, teach and share medical care with the villagers.

God Bless You for your prayers as we begin our journey.

Leaving the country

2012-01-07T08:13:00.001-06:00

Made it through one flight and our construction workers are ready to go international.

Jan 2012 on our way

2012-01-07T04:59:00.001-06:00

Just a few confused but excited parishioners on our way to Belize

Upcoming Belize Trip

2011-12-14T21:44:00.001-06:00

Hello All

Another All Saints and friends team of volunteers are preparing for a January 2012 trip to Belize.

We have been packing many donated items for schools that we will visit, and items for the families

we will meet in three villages: San Lucas, Corazon, Otoxha. We appreciate all of the donated

items and funds for our scholarships and micro loans to the villagers. More to come....

Friday

2011-01-15T18:36:00.001-06:00

We are already at the beach in Placencia! The computer in Punta Gorda
were so slow last night that I could only update for Thursday before
they kicked me out of the Internet Cafe!

On Friday in Blue Creek the teaching group made monkeys and lizards
with the kids. While Mike D was there he noticed a pipe cleaner person
hiding up un the rafters from when he made them with the kids two
years ago! The kids got their rosaries and enjoyed a lesson about the
five senses! Peter read stories to the Infant class which they all
enjoyed.

In Corazon, Rose had practiced two Reader's Theatre type plays which
the older students performed for the younger ones. All the village
leaders, including the Alcalde (basically the mayor), and many of thee
parents showed up for the festivities. The children performed
traditional Mayan dances and brought samples of their local favorite
dishes and explained how they were prepared. School was dismissed
early so the teachers and construction crew could enjoy a delicious
home cooked meal. They were served cal do and chicken.
The library is almost finished, half of the roof is complete and
supplies were left so the men in the village will be able to complete
it.

Ann and Shannon visited the high school to present backpacks full of
school supplies to the four students who receive scholarships from All
Saints. The students were thankful for the visit.

In Otoxha the students had a presentation for the teaching team. They
started by singing the national anthem and then did some Mayan
dancing. They wanted Jerry, Anita and Kathy K to dance with them and
then show everyone their dancing skills! At the end of the
presentation they were given small gifts as a thank you for the week.
The students were dismissed early so the team could enjoy lunch in the
home of one of the teachers. They were served rice and beans and
chicken, and a delicious cacao drink.

The rest of the construction crew visited San Marcos so they could see
the finished library, they were glad to get to visit with the
principal and students.

The whole group took a field trip on Friday afternoon to Mr. Eladio
Pop's cacao farm. We all walked through a rainforest and were shown a
variety of interesting. Plants and herbs including ginger, lemon
grass, sugar cane, cilantro, fresh coconut, bananas, helaconia (wild
bananas)and limes. We also saw a gibnut (looks like a giant guinea
pig) in the the forest. After that we went to Mr. Pop's home and saw
the processing of cacao from the roasting of the beans to the mixing
of a delicious chocolately drink! The perfect end to a perfect week!

We got to Placencia this morning and spent the day on the beach. It
was a little cloudy, but very relaxing. We celebrated mass together
and are headed out to dinner. Some folks are sailing and snorkeling
tomorrow. And some of us are just planning to hang out on the beach.
We geared Atlanta is snowed inn, so we may never come home!

Thursday

2011-01-14T20:26:00.001-06:00

On Thursday part of the construction crew went back to San Benito Poite. They bult a sand sifter then sifted sand, and made grout for between the rows of conrete blocks. There are two rows of blocks in place.

The rest of the construction crew went to Corazon Creek to work on a wooden library building. They made and installed roof trusses and put up batten boards to cover the gaps in the siding. They also framed out the window openings. They needed a trip to the local hardware store for supplies to finish the project.

In Blue Creek the teachers had lunch with the family of one of our scholarship students. Octavia leaves the house at 4:30 am to catch the bus to the high school and does not return home until 4:30 pm. She is ranked first in her class of 26 students. This family has two girls in high school, which shows their committment to education.

The teachers played frisbee with the students and made cookie color wheels (a big hit!), the students were wearing more icing than was on the cookies, but everyone loved the activity. Bridget got bit twice, first by a student and then by fire ants!

In Corazon Creek,Ann, Shannon and Rose had fun teaching the children about volcanoes by helping them build a volcano out of mud from the garden and then using vinegar and baking soda to make it erupt! They also made pipe cleaner monkeys and played math games with the students. There was a village meeting at the end of the day where the village leaders and principal presented a wish list for the school, at the top of the list was the completion of the library!

In Otoxha the teachers got one computer running-who would have suspected that the missing password on the donated computer was "password?" The principal fired up the generator and we tried to get the other computers running, but they must have different passwords! Where is a computer hacker when we need one. The teachers were lucky enough to particpate in a school mass with the students. The prayers and songs were in Ketchi. Father Murray celebrated the mass with the students. After mass they were treated to lunch in the home of the principal-delicious Caldo (chicken stew) and hand made tortillas. Jerry had some fun teaching a geometry lesson to the oldest students in the afternoon.

On Thursday night we were treated to a little party at Dorla's house (she runs the Socio-Economic Outreach program) and then had a delicious dinner in Punta Gorda in a restaurant overlooking the water.

Wednesday

2011-01-12T20:08:00.001-06:00

It is hard to believe it is Wednesday already!

The construction crew split up today and some of them went back to San Benito Poite to help pour the foundation. When they arrived, about 10 men from the village had started mixing and pouring the concrete. Hard work indeed! The other construction guys went to Corazon Creek. They helped the men of the village work on a library that has been under construction for two years! The were able to put up some trusses and add a front porch area to the library. On the way home, they had to stop at the hardware store for hinges and other supplies, they are wishing they had a Home Depot close by!

Rose and Mary went to the health clinic in San Antonio. It is a beautitul, fairly new facility. They were prepared to use their nursing skills to assist the doctor, but it was a very slow day and they used their amazing bandage rolling skills all day! They are looking forward to a more exciting day tomorrow!

Mike D, Peter and Bridget spent another day in Blue Creek. Peter was excited to be subsitute teaching and had been promised lesson plans for the day. When the plans only said to work on page 27 in the math book, he knew he was in trouble! He has developed a new appreciation for elementary school teachers. In addition to the absent teacher, the principal was also absent today-so it was just a bit crazy! They worked with the students to read the letters from students in St Louis and helped them write letters back to their new friends. They also made pipe cleaner monkeys with the students, which always seems to be a big hit!

In Otoxha, Jerry, Kathy K and Anita had a great day! When we drove up, Anita realized that she had worked with the principal three years ago at another school. They brushed teeth and washed hands with the Infant 1 & 2 classes-Jerry was a good sport and brushed his teeth for the full two minutes as a demonstration. Then they took pictures of each student, distributed flip-flops and school supplies and read/wrote penpal letters-quite a lot in one day! Mr Manuel, the principal wanted them to set up the six computers that had been donated to the school, the problem was that he had not been given the passwords for the computers! Oh, there is also NO electricity in the village. He plans to have a generator brought in tomorrow so the computers can be fired up, should be an interesting day!

Ann, Shannon and Father Don worked in the village of Corazon Creek. They did the health and hygiene lessons, worked on penpal letters, made cookie color wheels and pipe cleaner monkeys. One of the teachers remembered Ann from when she visited another school several years ago-it is amazing how many people we run into that we recognize from previous trips. The teachers in Corazon are excited that the library finally looks like it will be finished.

We are all tired from a busy week-and a little sad that it is going so fast. We know you are praying for all of us despite the fact that we are here in paradise and you are snowbound!!

Tuesday

2011-01-11T19:56:00.001-06:00

The construction team worked all day to put the horizontal rebar in the foundation and then put rocks back into the hole to support the rebar. They plan to pour the concrete tomorrow and will be assisted by about 10 men from the village. They had fun with the kids at lunchtime and recess.

Mary, Shannon and Rose spent the day working at the hospital in Punta Gorda, they worked with Fran in the ER. They were impressed with the new computer system in the hospital that makes charting the patients easier. They had a slow day and only saw three patients all day, including a four month old baby with pneumonia. They all have a renewed appreciation for the medical care that we all have in the USA.

Cathy, Father Don, Jerry and Anita all went to San Marcos. The children and teachers were so welcoming and remembered us from last year. In a school of over 220 children, it is a challenge to get all of the pictures of the children taken in one day, but Cathy did a great job and finished them all. Right now she is back at the retreat center getting the pictures printed so we can deliver them later in the week. Last year the kids loved the pipe cleaner people/monkeys that we made so this year we made pipe cleaner lizards with several classes.The library in San Marcos is complete (we put the walls up last year) and Father Don got to spend the day in it working with small groups of students. The library looks great, will post some pictures after we get back. Jerry worked with the oldest students all day (Standard 6-our 8th grade), teaching a lesson on the continents and mapping out the planets by pacing across the soccer field.

At Blue Creek, Bridget, Peter, Mike D and Anne got the pictures taken and taught the health and hygiene lessons. We will be in Blue Creek for the rest of the week, and the principal asked Peter to take over for a missing teacher and teach the Standard 3 class (about our 5th grade level). We have given him lots of fun suggestions to try, including musical chairs!! We will be waiting for pictures of that!

Kathy and Ann spent the day working with Dorla. They took pictures of the basket making process from harvesting the jipi-japa palms to the weaving of baskets for the SocioEconomic Outreach program.

While you were all snowed in today, we enjoyed beautiful 85 degree weather, although it was a bit cloudy. Some of us got a little bit of rain around lunchtime, and then the sky cleared and it was perfectly clear after that. A few people are even a bit sunburned!

Monday

2011-01-10T20:02:00.001-06:00

It is Monday evening and we are all tired from a hot and busy first
day at our work sites. The construction crew was in the beautiful
village of San Benito Poite, an amost two hour drive from where we
stay, truly at the END of the road! If we walked another three miles
we would have been in Guatemala.The team will be building a library,
this morning when we walked up to the school, the site for the library
was an empty field. By the time we left there was a hole dug for the
foundation. The dimensions of the hole are 20 feet by 24 feet, about
18 inches deep and 20 inches wide. That doesn't sound too impressive
until you realize that this was dug through clay and MANY large rocks
with only shovels and picks. Tough work indeed. Tomorrow the team
plans to get the bricks laid for the foundation and the concrete
poured. There were many highlights of the day, but when a group
(gaggle?) of turkeys came up-three males and a female-I tried out my
turkey calling skills and every time I did the males called back!
Perhaps I have missed my calling as a turkey-whisperer.
One of the teaching groups went to the village of San Lucas. Ann,
Shannon and Father Don felt like they were going home-they taught in
this village two years ago-and report that the best part of the day
was visiting old friends. Many of the children remembered them and
they had a great day. They made edible cookie color wheels using
frosting and Vanilla wafers. They handed out flip flops to all of the
students, made pipe-cleaner monkeys with the children, and "walked"
the planets with the older children. Wow, that was all in one day!
Another group of teachers went to San Lucas. They had fun playing
soccer with the kids and Peter served as the toothbrushing
demonstrator, and after brushing his teeth eight times, we can truly
say that he has the cleanest mouth on the trip! One of the highlights
was when a pig ate an entire bar of soap!
Anne and Rose used their nursing skills to assist in the Health Clinic
in Santa Teresa. There is a doctor in the clinic during the week and
they were able to triage the patients and prepare them for a visit
with the doctor. They were impressed with the set-up and efficiency of
the clinic.

On Sunday we went to Mass in SundayWood. This was a special treat for
the returning team members as many of us worked on the foundation
several years ago. There was a visiting Jesuit priest saying Mass who
actually grew up in St Louis. We spent the rest of the day visiting
old friends in a number of villages and ended it at Muchaca lodge
where we actually could hear howler monkeys in the distance. Perfect
end to a perfect day !

For many of you who made donations, Father Don asked me to pass along
a special thanks from the children. The joy on their faces when they
receive new crayons or flip flops is something we wish you all could
experience first hand.

More tomorrow! By the way, it was about 85 and sunny here today!

Mass at Sunday Wood

2011-01-10T10:36:00.006-06:00

We had a surprise at the airport when a bus pulled up and it was not our usual blue school bus we expected, but a true charter bus with comfy seats and AC and a bathroom! The new team members now think we have been stretching the truth about how we rough it in Belize. Spent Sunday morning, our first day in Belize, by attending Mass in the village of Sunday Wood. This is a village where past team members have spent time working. Here are a few pictures to enjoy!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Arrived in Punta Gorda

2011-01-08T22:26:00.001-06:00

Just got word that the Belize team finally made it to the convent in Punta Gorda, Belize. They will for sure sleep well tonight. The convent is a lovely place to stay, very simple rooms, a community bathroom (one for men and one for women) and very good food, and the sisters are very hospitable. Here is a picture of the convent.

-Posted by Jaime Powers Ludwig

Safe & Sound

2011-01-08T14:23:00.001-06:00

Just got a message that they have landed in Belize and all is well. Stay tuned for more on their amazing adventure!

And, they are off...

2011-01-08T09:14:00.001-06:00

We have our first update from the Belize team. They made it to Lambert and through security, after a slight delay for de-icing of the plane (have to love St. Louis in January!), they boarded the plane to Atlanta. Now, they are waiting for a new gate assignment, since thier original gate ramp was broke. They have an hour before their flight leaves for Belize. Keep them in your prayers, this is a long travel day for them. After arriving in Belize, they have a 5 hour bus ride to the convent where they stay. And the roads are nothing like Highway 70, but gravel and very bumpy! Good luck team!

-Posted by Jaime Powers Ludwig

2011-The Mission Continues!

2011-01-04T09:29:00.004-06:00

On behalf of the 2011 All Saints Belize Mission Team, I would like to thank everyone whose prayers, encouragement and donations will travel with us to Belize in a few days. Since 2005, our annual mission trips continue to build life-changing connections between volunteers from throughout the United States and friends in Belize.

We are looking forward to attending Mass in a church we helped to build in 2008 at Sunday Wood village. Because men spend the rest of the week farming and hunting, Sundays provide a rare opportunity to visit with families.

As trust and friendship with the people of Toledo District grow, so do their requests for assistance. Our construction crew will help to build a concrete-block school library in the village of San Benito Poite and complete a wooden library in the village of Corazon. We also hope to find time and equipment needed to address repairs needed in six elementary schools!

Three nurses traveling with us this year will assist in the hospital in Punta Gorda Town, a clinic in San Antonio, and a few elementary schools. They will also see home-bound patients as needed.

Those working with Socio-Economic Outreach will visit small business owners who have received loans through the micro-loan program at All Saints Parish. Others will document the process of jipijapa basket-making for Socio-Economic Outreach presentations. We will deliver backpacks filled with school supplies to ten high school students sponsored by the All Saints Scholarship Fund.

Our education curriculum continues to grow and serve more students every year. This year we will visit nearly 600 elementary school students in San Marcos, Blue Creek, Santa Teresa, San Lucas, Corazon and Otoxha! Our curriculum includes lessons in math, science, religion, language arts, health and hygiene, art, P.E., and music. We will deliver health and school supplies, plus items requested by principals. Imagine a classroom of children jumping and cheering when you walk in carrying a box of crayons for each one of them!

Our mission team realizes that we are the lucky ones because we get to experience hugs and smiles firsthand, wishing that by some miracle, everyone we know back home could do the same. We feel blessed to represent hundreds of generous friends who reach so many needy people in Southern Belize. As always, we will return having received much more than we delivered. Thanks again for all of your support and prayers!

Ann Lacker

All Saints Belize Mission Team Leader

Map of Villages in Belize

2011-01-02T21:23:00.001-06:00

Please enjoy this map of southern Belize's Toledo District. This year the team will visit the following villages:

Sunday Wood
San Benito Poite
Corazon
Punta Gorda Town
San Antonio
San Marcos
Blue Creek
Santa Teresa
San Lucas
Otoxha

Thanks To Our Many Donors

2011-01-01T21:38:00.000-06:00

Each member of our mission team brings two suitcases full of supplies when we travel to Belize...that is 40 suitcases full of hygiene items, arts, crafts, school supplies, flip flops, teaching materials, sporting equipment...just to name a few items! We have so many generous donors who contribute to our work in Belize throughout the year. We appreciate all that each and everyone of you do to help us gather supplies. A special thanks to the following who have helped support our 2011 trip:

All Saints School
All Saints Parish "Shopping As Jesus Would" Program
All Saints Rosary Club
Friends and Family of All Saints Belize Mission Team
Marsh USA
St. Joseph School, Cottleville
St. Katharine Drexel School

Introducing our 2010 Blogger...Anita Dutrow

2010-02-09T20:11:00.002-06:00

Hi, My name is Anita Dutrow and I am the author of the 2010 Belize Blog. I am the Computer Teacher at All Saints School. This is my fourth mission trip to Belize, but my first with this amazing group of people! The best part about the trip this year was getting to visit old friends in villages where we all have worked on previous trips. Stepping out of the van and hearing those little voices yelling, "Miss Anita, Miss Anita" made me fall in love all over again with the beautiful children in Belize! It was great fun updating the blog for the 2010 trip and knowing that our family and friends were sharing in this incredible experience. Thanks, Anita

Deer Dance in San Lucas

2010-01-22T16:45:00.001-06:00

We were invited to a Deer Dance in San Lucas village on Friday. It was a spectacular ending to another memorable visit.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Deer Dance Celebration in San Lucas

2010-01-22T16:33:00.001-06:00

Here's a few more pictures of the Deer Dance celebration at San Lucas. We've all read about the Deer Dance, but this was the first time any of us were lucky enough to see it in person!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

San Miguel School Days

2010-01-22T16:06:00.002-06:00

New friendships blossomed throughout the week at San Miguel School.Our teaching volunteers had their hands full with 184 students in three buildings at diffferent locations in the village. Students returned soccer balls and frisbees after recess then jumped up and down after hearing that they belonged to the school. The Infant II class (First grade) clapped and cheered when boxes of crayons were given to evey student.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

All Saints Belize Scholarship Fund Recipients

2010-01-22T09:00:00.002-06:00

The All Saints Belize Scholarship Fund currently supports fourteen high school students in the Toledo district of Belize. Raquel, Alicia, Adelita and Octavia are attending Julian Cho Technical High School. Fehelio attends Tumul K'in High School. We visited the brand new high school in the village of Corazon. We are sponsoring eight students from surrounding villages at Corazon High School; Nehemiah, Daniel, Ophelia, Theresa, Amalia, Benita, Clarita and Samuel. The students were eager to show us their report cards. Mr. Bol, Principal at Corazon High School, expressed his gratitude for our support. He is pleased with the community's encouragement and hope for a brighter future.

The grey building is Julian Cho Technical High School, Corazon High School is the brand new brown building (with the white lattice railing), the other picture is the "snack bar" at Corazon (and the lunch lady!)

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Thank You (Bantiox!)

2010-01-22T08:44:00.002-06:00

Thanks to everyone who supported our mission to Belize with prayers, encouragement, donated supplies and financial contributions. Collections organized at St. Katharine Drexel School, St. Joseph School in Cottleville and All Saints parish provided health items and school supplies for 570 children in Belize!

Bantiox!

The 2010 All Saints Belize Mission Team:

Conde Canedy- St. Peters, MO
Jay Couch- St. Peters, MO
Joan Delabar- Southlake, TX
Carol Deveney- St. Charles, MO
Jack Deveney- St. Charles, MO
Anita Dutrow-St. Charles, MO
Ann Lacker- O'Fallon, MO
Shannon Lacker-O'Fallon, MO
Leslie Lihou-St. Louis, MO
Bob Mueller- O'Fallon, MO
Vernon Prinster- St. Peters, MO
Stephanie Saulet-St. Charles, MO
Make Schappe-St. Peters, MO
Tim Schappe- St. Louis, MO
Chris Schmid-Crestwood, MO
Jennifer Schroer-St. Peters, MO
Peggy Stamm-Overland Park, KS
Cathy Vivirito-Chesterfield, MO
Fr. Don Wester- St. Peters. MO

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

More Socio Economic Field Work

2010-01-22T08:39:00.002-06:00

Understanding all the steps of processing Cacao

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Socio Economic Field Work

2010-01-22T08:28:00.002-06:00

A few more pictures from the cacao production field trip

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Socio-Economic Field Work

2010-01-22T08:14:00.001-06:00

Message from Mrs. Dorla Bowman, Director of Socio-Economic Outreach:
"Thanks for all that All Saints parish does for St. Peter Claver parish and the Toledo District. I appreciate you and your colleagues accompanying Don and Mario on SEO field work on our coffee and cocao processing research mission. This is something I have been working on for months, especially building a relationship and partnership with the Maya people involved."

It is difficult to describe the spiritual bond between the Maya people and thier land.Local coffee and cocao producers taught us to recognize a scenic rainforest hillside as an assortment of fruit-bearing and healing plants growing among carefully-spaced and pruned trees. We treasure our days spent with Mario and Donisio. Mr. Pop suggested that we bring our entire mission team back next year to enjoy his cacao . It's a date!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Wrapping up the week

2010-01-19T13:27:00.002-06:00

We ended the week in beautiful Placencia. The sun came out and it was a perfect beach day! Mass on the beach at sunset was delightful.
The sailboat picture was from Sunday. Ann, Shannon, Chris, Mike and Tim spent a delightful day sailing.
The group who went on the Monkey Tour have lots of amazing photos-the tour guide was "talking" to the monkeys in the trees.
Sunday night found us all sitting out in the beach listening to the waves roll in, watching the stars and thanking God for bringing us together for a wonderful week.
Thanks to all of you for supporting us and praying for us.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Friday in San Marcos

2010-01-19T12:57:00.001-06:00

It's hard not to fall in love with the little cuties!

Library walls just about finished.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Construction

2010-01-19T12:52:00.002-06:00

Working hard at the construction site, and then relaxing!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Recess fun

2010-01-19T12:49:00.002-06:00

We all love recess! The principal told the kids not to mess around by the construction site, but you can see that they didn't listen very well.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Shopping for slippers

2010-01-19T12:42:00.002-06:00

The children were thrilled to pick out new "slippers" They would hold them up and say "I keep?"
Thanks for all of the donations :)

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Construction

2010-01-19T12:40:00.002-06:00

At the beginning of the week there was only a foundation and floor for the library. The concrete blocks started going up quickly. There was a crew from Marquette University there on Monday and Tuesday. It was cool and cloudy which was probably a good thing since everyone was working so hard.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

brushing teeth

2010-01-19T12:37:00.002-06:00

We started the week with toothbrushing lessons at San Marcos.
At Silver Creek and San Miguel the teachers had the students keep their new toothbrushes at school so they could be sure the children were using them.
Every day at 1:00 Stephanie and Conde supervised the brushing at Silver Creek.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Midway

2010-01-19T12:34:00.002-06:00

This is the church in the village of Midway. The 2009 team worked on it last year. The first mass was celebrated on New Years Day. Jay promised his little friend he would bring his picture back to him!
Right now the catechist is hoping for donations for shutters and a door, he puts a piece of roofing metal across the doorway to keep out the pigs!
The construction crew enjoyed visiting the people they met last year.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Corazon Creek and Sunday Wood

2010-01-19T12:29:00.002-06:00

The first picture is the brand new high school in Corazon Creek. Right now there are 95 students. Another class will be added each year. The school has no electricity. For students in the remote villages having a high school close by saves them the almost two hour bus ride into Punta Gorda.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

San Lucas

2010-01-19T12:27:00.002-06:00

Ann, Shannon and Father Don worked in San Lucas last year, so they were thrilled to spend the day visiting old friends.
The rooster was tied up inside a home.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Sunday Mass in San Lucas

2010-01-19T12:24:00.001-06:00

The women sit on one side and the men and visitors on the other. The singing and prayers were all in the native language of Kekchi.
Father Dick gave his homily in English which was then translated by the Catechist.
Ann Lacker helped build this church on one of her first trips to Belize.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Pictures

2010-01-19T12:22:00.002-06:00

Sunday, Jan 10
One of the projects from Socio Economic Outreach.
Shannon visiting old friends in San Lucas.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Placencia

2010-01-17T15:21:00.002-06:00

It is Sunday afternoon and we are relaxing in beautiful Placencia!
Took the water taxi over yesterday and were greeted by sunshine and warm breezes......ahhhhhh!
We relaxed on the beach most of the day and then celebrated Mass together.

Today a group headed out to Monkey River for a boat trip and hike while Ann and Shannon found a sailboat to ttake them out for the day along with Chris, Mike and Tim.
This might be the slowest internet connection on the planet-so know that we are well and looking forward to getting back to COLD St Louis -haha!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Friday Update

2010-01-15T18:18:00.002-06:00

Heres' a quick update from today.

The last day is always a little bitersweet, saying goodbye to our new friends.

The teachers at San Marcos prepared an assembly and presented gifts to all of the volunteers.
The volunteers at Silver Creek were treated to lunch at a home in the village.
I haven't chatted yet to see about the last day in San Miguel.

The weather was HOT which makes us all happy since we head to the beach in Placencia tomorrow.

Ann Mike and a few others got to visit some of our schoalrship students!! They they were able to participate in a festival in San Lucas.
Off to dinner at Dorla's home in PG.

Not sure about posting from Placencia-so assume no news is good news.
Looking forward to relaxing at the beach!!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Thursday and Friday Update

2010-01-15T18:14:00.002-06:00

Thursday was another busy and great day.
Mario, Donnisio, Carol, Cathy and Ann took a tour of a working cacao farm and saw all the stages of the process. They hiked up hills and through a rain forest. They saw both natural and hybrid cacao they ate fresh hearts of palm and limes and sugar cane straight from the plants. They learned about the medicinal properties of many herbs and foods.
The owner of the Cacao farm has 15 children (ages 32-2) so these things are keeping him plenty healthy.
Carol met up with some mud and took a little tumble down a hill, she was muddy but none the worse!
In Silver Creek Conde and Joan finished writing letters with the kids and did more geography lessons. They are invited to lunch tomorrow at the home of one of the teachers-and it is the 12th birthday of the teacher's daughter.
The construction crew thought for sure that they would get rained out today since it was pouring when they got to the site, but the day cleared and a l ot of progress was made. They are almost through the entire stack of concrete blocks. An additional load is ordered, but they don't exactly have Home Depot here! Steph joined the construction crew for the day and has probably decided that teaching is a lot less exhaasting! Sifting sand by hand is grueling work-you'll have to see pcitures to appreciate just how labor intensive this project has been. In the afternoon some serious sun finally came out.
In San Marcos Leslie worked with the youngest kids helping them draw pictures of themselves and their families to send to their penpals in the USA. Jack finished letters in the Standard 4 class (6th grade). Anita started a Reader's Theater project with boththe Standard 3 and 5 classes. The kids needed a bit of coaching to "act out" the parts, but seemed to have a lot of fun.
After lunch Tim joined in with the teachers to help the oldest kids pace out the planets. We started at one end of the soccer field for the sun and Pluto wound up at the opposite corner. We concluded the space lesson by flying two different kinds of paper airplanes.
After working all day, a group of people went to see the ruins at Nim Li Punit. Father Don reportd to us that he learned that the winner of the games was beheaded or got his heart cut out-talk about throwing a game! There are royal tombs at this site and views of Guatemala. This is one of the few Mayan Stellars still in existence.
In San Migeul Jan, Don and Shannon finished letters and read books to the Infant Class (kindergarten). The painted with the oldest kids and it was a huge, but fun mess! When Shannon broke out the bubbles there was a stampeded. The teacher was thrilled with the pictures books that were donated to the school.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Wednesday Update

2010-01-14T18:04:00.002-06:00

Wednesday was a great day! We started the day by heading to the Market Day in Punta. Farmers from the rural villages take their products on the bus into town and there are all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables for sale.
In Silver Creek today Conde and Steph taugh geopgraphy to the Standard 5 & 6 classes (about our 7th and 8th graders). They used atlases to measure distances and had the children identify city and countries on a globe. The children had NEVER used a globe before. Joan really enjoyed cutting out a paper model of teeth for the younger children to use. At lunch Joan and Steph got to visit the newly born puppies again and the puppies have been named Joan and Stephanie by the Grandma in the house.
In one of the pen pal letters that a student was reading a child in the USA had written that their chores include mowing the lawn. When the Silver Creek student wrote back they mentioned that they also mow the lawn, of course he mows the lawn with a machete!
Father Don spent the day with our friend, Dorla. He traveled all over the Toledo District meeting some of the people who may qualify for the Microloans program sponsored by All Saints. The possible projects include rice production, making bracelets, copying and label printing, cacao/chocolate production and basket making.
In San Miguel when Shannon, Ann and Tim walked into a classroom with brand new boxes of crayons for all of the children the kids actually cheered and clapped! Wow, how many boxes of old crayons do we all have in our houses??
It was Art Day in San Miguel and the pipe cleaner people were a big hit-especially when they turned into pipe cleaner monkeys! Tim might have a new career in teaching!
The construction crew got a lot done on the library in San Marcos. Jay, Bob, Mike, Jen, Leslie, Carol, Chris, Cathy and Peggy worked to lay and mortar several more levels of blocks. Vernon spent another day getting the bathrooms back in working order. This was a top priority of the principal and she keeps telling us that we are angels for answering all of her prayers for the school.
In classes at San Marcos we worked on the pen pal letters most of the day. The children were excited to get a photo of themeslf to keep, most of them had never had their own photo taken before.
Anita participated in a PE class with the Standard 2 class (about 4th grade). They were jump roping and it was great fun. We broke out the frisbees at lunch and the children had a blast.
The end of the day was a special mass in the retreat center. Father Dick came for dinner and presented each team member with a solidarity ring made from the Cohune nut. This ring is a special bond that all team members share. The personal mass after dinner was a lovely way to wrap up the day!
It was raining this morning (Thursday) and chilly, but the forecast for the next few days is great! right now some of our group is off visiting the ruins while the other half is hanging out in Punta Gorda.
All is well, all are safe!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Tuesday Update

2010-01-13T17:25:00.002-06:00

Here I am, a day behind again! Actually by the time I catch up with everybody's news for the day it is too late to go into town to post.
On Tuesday, the San Marcos teachers got to school and were surprised to see the children lining up and leaving the school builidng! No, it was NOT a natural disaster drill, but Father Dick had shown up, unexpectedly and would be having a school mass. So Jack, Cathy, Anita, Peggy and Chris got to participate in mass with the children. It was lovely. The singing was in English this time.
After mass it was back to school. Tuesday was art project day. The children made chalk facs, crayon rubbings, pipe cleaner people and created crayon resist pictures with watercolor paints. We discovered that you cannot paint outside and not expect every other child in the school to stand over you and watch the painting. We also realized that grown up fingers are way too big to try and glue tiny googly eyes.
The construction crew is making amazing progress in San Marcos. The walls are almost up to chest height. Bob gets his exercise every day when one of the little boys steals his hat and then Bob chases after him to get it back. We put Vernon's excellent plumbing skills to good use, six of the seven flush toilets were broken at at the latest count all but one is fixed. The teachers are thrilled!
At Silver Creek, Conde, Steph and Joan taught lessons about rain gauges and thermometers. Joan, of course, found a family who has four brand new puppies and proceeded to name them all! We will be checking her suitcase to be sure that NO animals are going home with her. The teachers there have really worked well with the team to come up with some great lesson ideas.
Father Don, Shannon and Jen worked in San Miguel. They completed the health and hygiene lessons and then set to work on a graphing activity. There school is in three buildings so it is a challenge to get to all of the classrooms. None of the children cried today, so it was a very good day. They are looking forward to art projects tomorrow.
Ann, Carol and Jay spent the day with Dorla's assistants, Mario and Donissio. They were able to see the coffee making process from the planting of the seed to the making of coffee. Quite amazing. Jay went along with Donissio to vaccinate some pigs. As Donissio wrangled a pig and it began to scream, some of the wild pigs in the area ran over to see what was going on to their porcine brother, Jay was a bit worried for his life.
Tuesday night was an interesting presentation at St Peter Claver Parish about the Garifuna culture.

Chilly here, but not raining. We heard that there were two earthquakes here on Monday night, but NO ONE noticed anything and we are fine!
We are having a great time, all is good, keep praying for us as we are praying for all of you at home.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Monday in Belize

2010-01-12T19:32:00.002-06:00

Here it is Monday and I am just now reporting about Monday's events! It has been a whirlwind of activities these past couple of days!

On Monday the construction crew headed to the village of San Marcos along with one of the teaching teams. The construction crew got off to a slow start because the needed to mortar up some concrete blocks and only had one trowel and one hammer! A group of students from Marquette University were working on the site as well. You really need to see pictures to appreciate that the samd for the concrete has to be sifted by hand through large frames covered with screening.
More tools were delivered by new, they were brand new and then the construction crew got rolling! They have about four rows of bricks put in place.
The teachers, Anita, Cathy, Peggy and Jack were aided by Leslie all day and taught the Health and Hygiene lessons and got the pictures taken of all 235 students! Quite a task.
Three teachers went to San Miguel, Father Don, Shannon and Ann. They discovered that the school is in three separate buildings and one is up the hill! When they walked in the three year old pre-school several of the children cried! They found out today that is because they were wearing scrubs and the children were afraid that they were there to give them shots!
Conde, Steph and Joan workd in Silver Creek. They noted that the children seem very advanced and about 3/4 of them seem to practice good tooth hygiene already. The principal seems to really push the children.

We were glad to see that the Alcade (Mayor) of each village stopped in to speak with the children at each school.
Again, we're great! Headed off to a night of Garifuna dancing at St Peter Claver Parish,
More tomorrow!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

Ants in Your Pants

2010-01-12T19:23:00.002-06:00

I forgot the best story from Sunday!
As we were leaving Midway, the last village on the tour, we were all loaded in the car and all of a sudden Jack jumps out of the van yelling "Fire Ants!!!!" He ripped off his boots and his pants as the ants were beginning to climb up his leg and bite him.
The people in the second van, of course, had no idea why Jack was in the road removing his pants!!!!

But don't worry, he had some shorts to change into and thanks to his quick actions, a warm shower and some Benadryl, and a good night's sleep, he was fine by Monday morning.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

We're Here!

2010-01-11T17:17:00.002-06:00

First off we want to let out friends and family know that we arrived safely! No one has had a chance to make phone calls so don't think we have forgotten!

The plane connections were all good and on time. Surprisingly, all of the luggage arrived in a timely fashion. Then we had the fun of getting through customs. We think it's pretty funny that only a few people looked like their luggage needed to be searched and Father Don was one of them! After paying a small fee, they decided that it was safe to let him in the country!
Our beautiful blue bus and wonderful drivers were waiting for us and loaded up the bus for the LOOONG ride to Punta Gorda. We stopped at a little store and bought some waters and then headed to a favorite restaurant called Amigos. It had been raining and chilly for the past couple of weeks here, and as we sat in the restaurant in was interesting to see some many of the locals wearing warm coats.
One of the big highlights of the trip down was when the bus driver noticed a dead gibnut on the side of the road. For those of you new to the blog, a gibnut is a large rodent (think of a guinea pig on steroids) that is considered a delicacy here. They backed up the bus to see of there was enough of it left to take home and cook-EWWWWWWW! There was NOT!
We finally arrived at the Retreat Center around 11:00 and the sisters were kind enough to wait up so they could put away the guard dogs!

We headed out first thing on Sunday morning to visit many of the villages were we have worked in the past. Our first stop was to drive through the village of Santa Theresa. Then we were able to see one of the pigpens that our friend, Dorla and her Socio-Economic Outreach program have built. We did discover that pigs make a lot of, well, shall we say, waste!! and it is hard to get off of your boots.
From there we headed to mass in the village of San Lucas. Ann, Shannon and Father Don worked in this village last year and were so excited to see their old friends. Every time we looked at Shannon she had a whole group of kids jut hanging on her.
The people all get to mass early and spent almost an hour just singing the beautiful songs for mass. Father Dick arrived and we felt so blessed to be able to participate in a lovely celebration. We tried to follow along with the songs, but the books were in
Qeqchi and that wasn't very easy.
We spent another hour or so visiting in the village. Peggy and JOan wanted to pet or take home every animal that they saw. We drew the line at letting them pet a wild turkey.
Some of the girls who have earned the All Saints Scholarships invited Ann to see their report cards! They are so proud to be in high school.
Next we drove to the village of Corazon Creek to stop in a Cool Spot (snack stop/picnic area) for lunch. Anita had taught in this village two years ago and got to see some of her old friends. There is a brand new high school in Corazon and it is great to see that more students are able to attend school without a two hour bus ride.
The next stop up the road was Sunday Wood. The frist Mission Trip from All Saints built a church there. This church is a long walk through MUCH mud from the road. It was great to see the finished church which even has two beautiful stained glass sindows (made by a man in St Charles).
We still had one more place to visit, the village of Midway. Last year's group started the church there and it was recently completed. They celebrated their first mass on New Years. Conde was happy to see Pedro, the catechist from Midway. Jay got to visit with Pedro's grandson and show him a picture he had brought from when they met last year.
Shannon, Tim and Jen played a wicked game of soccer with some of the children in the village. The kids seemed to be winning.
We finally headed down the road back to the retareat center and got there just in time for the delicious chicken dinner.
You would think we would have been exhausted by then, but we still had supplies to unpack and kid-bags to pack for 500 students!!
We formed a pretty efficient assembly line and got the work done and then called it a day.
Wow, day one was pretty exciting!
On to Monday!
Will post those highlights tomorrow!
The sun came out today, it was beautiful, the children are beautiful, the construction went well and everybody is fine and healthy!
Keep praying that it stays that way!

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

The All Saints Belize Mission Trip 2010 Begins!

2010-01-07T16:33:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the first Belize Blog entry from the January 2010 All Saints Mission Team!

Nineteen of us will be traveling to southern Belize this weekend to teach and work in the Toledo District. The team is evenly mixed with old members (oops I mean previous team members) and new ones.

For those of you new to this blog, here's some basic information about Belize and the trip (Jaime has a much more detailed description if you go back to the earlier entries).

Belize has a population of 275,000.

Belize gained its independence in September, 1981-for you history buffs, yes, it used to be British Honduras.

Belize is the only English speaking country in Central America.

We fly into Belize City in the northern part of the country and then make a five hour trip, by bus, down the ONE paved road, to the Toledo District in southern Belize. The "charter" bus is a lovely blue former school bus, but we are thrilled to be driven in such style!

We stay at a retreat center near the town of Punta Gorda (population 5000). The Pallotine sisters are our gracious hosts. They are lovely, spiritual, hard-working women and we look forward to their hospitality every year.

The Toledo District is often called the "Forgotten District." It is the smallest, poorest and most isolated district in the country.

In the remote villages where we work the people are mostly Mayan Indians who speak two different dialects, Qeqchi and Mopan.

The main occupation in the villages is farming.

The 2010 Team had a packing party on Sunday-well more like an hour and a half of confusion and camaraderie. We now have 40 bags packed (each one as close to 50 lbs as possible) with thousands of donated items, including soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, school supplies and flips flops for the 500+ students we will teach! Wow! Here's just a few of the bags waiting to be taken to Belize.

We will be starting the construction of a library and teaching in the village of San Marcos. We will also be teaching in San Miguel and Silver Creek.

We teach hand-washing, tooth-brushing and parasite prevention to the school children. We also have some fun art and science lessons to share with them. We may also tutor or teach other subjects at the request of the principals.

We are looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. Check back here during the trip for updates. Hopefully we will get to the Internet Café in Punta Gorda a couple of times to update.

By the way, it is raining in Belize right now L but it is 70 J.

-Posted by Anita Dutrow

2010 Blog for Belize Mission Trip

2010-01-02T20:30:00.000-06:00

Hello friends....as I noted in a previous post, I will not be attending the Belize Mission Trip this year (2010)....insert sad face....it is bittersweet for me...bitter because I am so sad I am missing it, but sweet, because later this year, I will be marrying a really fabulous guy. So because of my upcoming nuptials, I wont be traveling to Belize this year. (My plan is to go in 2011, and bring my new hubby with me!) However, the blog will continue to be updated and you will still experience through post and pictures the amazing work of our team. I am happy to report that Anita Dutrow will author the blog this year. Please look forward to Anita's posts and check back often.

More pics for Day 4 and 5

2009-12-06T21:00:00.000-06:00

Day 4 and 5, Jan. 6-7

2009-12-06T20:49:00.000-06:00

Day 4 and 5 were days spent in the villages. We worked with the children on arts and crafts projects...making "googly people" and had them draw and color their favorite things about Belize, and we had the older kids write letters to the students back in St. Louis telling them about life in Belize. We also brought them sidewalk chalk and bubbles and they had a great time playing with them. We also took pictures of each kid with our digital cameras and printed the pictures so each child could keep a photo of themselves...this is the first time many of the children have ever seen a picture of themselves....some don't even have mirrors and had no idea what they looked like!

The kids in our village loved to pick us flowers (which are gorgeous there)...they made me a "wedding bouquet" and asked that I come back to Belize and get married in the village...so sweet!

At lunch, Joanne and I visited one of the homes of the villagers, and the mother invited us over for lunch the next day (quite an honor)...as we were accepting the invite...her young son came into the house carrying a dead bird of some sorts and his mom took the bird and put it on the table. Later, one of the teachers told us it was a pigeon...and likely our lunch the next day! They boys of the village will set up traps to catch birds for meals.

The Doherty family made the very long trek to the villages of Delores and Oxtahas, which we spent time in last year. Delores had started an organic garden and the kids maintained the garden and did much of the farming. In Oxtahas....the school children were still using the rain gauge we had brought them last year....we were impressed.

The construction team worked on the foundation of the church, and poured concrete and added two layers of cinder block to the foundation.

Anne Schappe, a nurse, and Rebecca, a doctor, spent some time at the Health Clinic...it was only four rooms, and the most high tech machine they had there was an EKG machine. They seen 35 patients in 6 hours. The doctors at the clinic are from the US and are on a rotation program.

In our village, we visited a house with a corn mill where members of the village ground fresh boiled corn to make massa for their tortillas.

On Wednesday evening, we were invited to Dorla's home. Dorla runs the socio-economic group in Belize. She made us a lovely meal of fish balls, Kahune stew, tamales, fresh tortillas and split pea tortilla soup...it was a feast. We also had cashew wine...and even the wine drinkers of the group (Carol!) were not big fans...it had a strange taste, but we tried it!

When returning the the convent, we noticed another unexpected visitor on the front steps of the convent...this time it was a snake, not a tarantula...and yes, I screamed again! It was black with yellow stripes and scary!

Also on Wednesday, Fr. Dick presented us with solidarity rings...they are made from the kahune nut and are worn on the ring finger on the right hand as a sign of compassion for the poor.

More pics from Day 3

2009-11-22T21:09:00.000-06:00

Day 3 of 2009 Trip

2009-11-22T20:38:00.000-06:00

Monday, January 5 was day 3 of our trip and our first day to visit the villages where we would spend our week.

The day started on an interesting note for my roommate Joanne and me...we were getting ready that morning and had a surprise guest outside of our window in our room...a tarantula the size of a hand (not kidding!). We did what most girls would do...we screamed, then we took our camera and took photos of the furry little thing. Then, Dave, another team member came to the rescue and tapped on the window until the tarantula fell to the ground. The rest of the trip Joanne and I checked every nook of our room for spiders!

I was still feeling quite sick on Monday, so I stayed behind at the convent while the rest of the group headed out...but they came back with some great stories...here are a few:

The corn crops are planted in the shape of a cross, so that God will bless the crops...pretty good planning!

The construction team who worked to build a church in one of the villages had some pretty strong rain showers and had to wear their ponchos and even wait out the rain in the van. Then had to dig a trench to drain water the foundation of the church.

Several of our team members visited villages to vaccinate pigs to de-worm them...some of these pigs weighed 250-400 lbs!

And much of the team spent time at schools in the villages meeting and working with the children. Some of our team went to a village called Blue Creek where they are lucky enough to have minimal electricity and two computers...this is a larger village and not so remote. Other team members visited San Lucas, where our team has been several times. A funny story about some of the children here...when they learned Fr. Don was a priest...they were very amazed and impressed and asked him if he knows how to sing the "Holy, Holy, Holy"...very cute. And, the last village we worked with was Santa Teresa, another village we have previously worked in...one of the students quickly took to Joanne and brought her tropical flowers from the village.

The drive to the villages can be pretty bumpy because the roads are not paved...so Mike got a little creative and used a volleyball we brought for the kids to keep his head from hitting the ceiling of the van. As you drive through the villages, you will often see women doing their laundry, dishes and even bathing in a nearby river or stream.

I stayed at the convent and stuffed hygiene bags all day to bring to the schools later in the week. The bags were stuffed with the items many of you donated. A big huge THANKS!

Later that evening, we went into Punta Gorda to make a few phone calls and update the blog....and I finally got to call and talk to my Doug.

Later in the evening, we packed suitcases full of supplies to take to the villages.

More Pics From Day 2

2009-11-19T23:04:00.000-06:00

More pictures from Day 2...for a recap of Day 2...please read the next post!

Day 2 of 2009 Trip

2009-11-19T22:35:00.000-06:00

Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009...day two of our trip.

After breakfast (at 8am), we started our day with Mass in a village called San Antonio. San Antonio is a larger village, so the church was bigger and made of concrete brick...it looked like a cathedral compared to some of the churches in the villages. The church was decorated for Christmas...they even hung garland on the crucifix that made us laugh. Fr. Murray, a missionary priests said Mass (he is also from St. Louis). Although this is a larger village and a nicer church, there was still only an outhouse as a bathroom.

After Mass, we drove to a nearby village called Crique Jute...All Saints had raised money for the metal blinds that were being used at the village church through the Shopping As Jesus Would program.

Then we headed to the visit some of the Mayan ruins. This particular one has a legend of a crystal skull buried there. I had to take pics, as my beloved Doug is a big Indiana Jones fan. The young girls of the village were set up selling their items. They will say things like "Please miss, buy from me, I need money for my family." You want to buy from each of them, because they are so sweet. We started splitting up so we could each buy from each one of the girls...however, Ann Lacker and I seem to be the biggest suckers and can't seem to say no to any of them...so many bracelets later...

One particular lady had her baby wrapped in a swing hanging from a stick that was stuck in the ground...we are asked to take a picture of the baby, and the mother said yes...but for a tip! Smart business woman,

After the Mayan Ruins, we headed to a local tiki bar to visit our friend who runs the bar...we met her last year. Then it was back to the convent for dinner. After dinner, we headed to Punta Gorda to enjoy an evening of culture to celebrate the Garifuna culture and dance. Local Belizeans of Garifuna descent (Carib and West Africa descent) put on a show of traditional dance using drums and maracas. Very nice evening and they had many of our team members up dancing along with them.

A few additional notes from the day...Fr. Don was sporting his Bob Marley t-shirt! And, the church at the convent was celebrating the Epiphany and we could hear the kids in the choir singing Little Drummer Boy...which was interesting to hear considering it was 90-degrees outside!

First Day of 2009 Trip - Travel Day

2009-11-16T20:46:00.003-06:00

The first day of our 2009 trip...like most of the first days of the mission trips is a travel day. We are quite a site at the airports...20 of us loaded down with 40 pieces of 60 pieces of luggage and backpacks...trying to get checked in, show our passports, make it through security and lastly get on the plane.

Once we finally arrived in Belize, we boarded a bus and made the 5 hour trip to the Toldeo district. We stopped along the way and had lunch at a restaurant called Amigos...and then we were on our way.

Once we arrived at the convent where we were staying, it was time to unload, unpack and settle into our rooms. It is quite an exhausting day of travel, but one filled with lots of anticipation for the week ahead.

Almost that time!

2009-11-16T20:26:00.002-06:00

Hello friends of All Saints & Belize,

It is almost that time again...our next team will be leaving for Belize in a few months...January 2010. We have some team members returning, and some new people as well. Probably about now they are collecting supplies, making their list of items they'll need to pack and getting all of their vaccinations. Exciting stuff!

I will not be joining the group for 2010...and I am both sad and happy about it. sad, because I have gone for the past two years and it is such an amazing experience and I'd love to see all of my Belize friends. But, I am happy because the reason I am not attending is that I am getting married in 2010! Yep...my beloved proposed over Labor Day weekend, and we are very, very excited. I didnt think I could swing both a 10-day trek to Belize, while planning a wedding...on top of a new job...so I freed my spot up for another lucky person to enjoy the trip.

So, since I wont be making the trip...I still wanted to be able to share the experience through the blog. I an going to recap last year's trip...complete with photos...and hopefully work with someone on the new team to maintain the blog while they are there in January.

So, please continue to follow the blog and enjoy the experience.

Prayers to all,
Jaime

We are back...almost!

2009-01-12T18:40:00.001-06:00

We are in Houston and getting ready to head to St Louis. It has been another long travel day. We left Belize at 5 am this morning and will arrive in St Louis after 9 pm. We have been on a boat, a bus, a plane, train at the airport and now another plane just to get home. Quite the travel day for all of us. We had such a great week and sad to leave Belize, but we are also missing our families and friends and all of you! We have so much to share with all of you, so even though we are almost home, we will have many more updates on our trip posted on the blog in the next week, so keep checking to hear more about the mission trip.
We tried to bring back the warm weather, but they made us leave it at customs in Belize! :)
See everyone very soon. They are boarding our plane back to St Louis!
Love, Jaime

Sent from my BlackBerry...

What A Week

2009-01-10T16:13:00.002-06:00

Hello all our friends and family!!! What a week it has been, an incredible week that each of us has enjoyed and received so much from our experience. We are in Placencia now. And I have to send a message to all of you from our entire team....It is cold and snowy there in St. Louis and it is beatiful, sunny, warm and an ocean breeze while we have been sitting on the beach today....sorry, we had to rub it in!

Thank you all for your comments, I have read them back to everyone and we have all enjoyed them. Can someone please call Ann Lacker's husband and give him the link to the blog...with all her busyness before the trip, she forgot to give him the address.

We have so much to share with all of you from this week....here is a quick update on each project:

Mike Schappe and Conde Candey spent a day at the convent where we stayed helping the sisters with small handyman projects...they were so grateful to have new shelves built in their storage room.

Anne Schappe and REbecca Mueller spent two days in the health clinic and PG Hospital assisting with medical care, seeing patients and really getting a better understanding of the diseases and illnesses facing the people in BElize and in the Toldeo District.

The construction team - Bob Mueller (who has some bruised up knees), Chris Scmid, Mike Schappe, Jack Deveney, CArol Deveney, Conde Canedy and JAy Couch finished their week by laying more brick on the foundation of the church....they worked with Frankie the Foreman in Belize who oversees the church construction. Let me tell you how kind and generous this group is....Frankie who needed some repairs done to his work truck and has been saving up money to get that to happen was quite surprised and touched when the construction team presented him with a donation to make that happen...such a true spirit of giving and helping someone who really needed it.

KAthy KAne and Colleen Doherty continued with the work on vaccinating the pigs in various villages, working closely with the socio-economic group of Belize.

And the School Teams - Ann and Shannon Lakcer, Fr. Don, Joanne Turek, Anne Candey, Anne Schappe, Mike Doherty, Bridget Doherty, Dave, and me...finished our weeks in teh schools...each school prepared a special lunch for us and put on a presentation with their culutural song and dance. It was so emotional to say goodbye to the kids and teachers. We were there to teach them, but each of them left an impression on us that we will forever hold onto.

I will have lots of toucjing and funny stories to share with you when I get back and can post updates on my own laptop without a dial up connection!

We are now heading to Mass on the beach with Fr. Don at sunset....how wonderful is that!

Much more to come as we share our exciting adventure.

Doug - I was so glad to talk to you today! Miss you lots! Will you call my mom and tell her you heard from me, I forgot to mention that on the phone??? Love ya!

Give Griffey a kiss for me...I miss my dog!

Love to everyone!

Jaime and teh team

All Is Going Well In Belize

2009-01-07T19:47:00.004-06:00

Hello all our friends and family. All is going well here in BElize. We had another great day in our villages. But, boy is it HOT here...today was the hottest day so far. We have met many people in our villages and it is amazing to see how hospitable, friendly and happy they are to see us. The children especially!

Today, our construction team finished the outer concrete of the church floor and laid two levels of cinder blocks...that is such great progress for three days. They are hard workers and apparently Jay Couch has a new nickname...Sledgehammer!

Anne Schappe and Rebecca Mueller visited a health clinic today and seen over 34 patients in about 5 hours....everything from scabbies to burns to coughs and diabetes, but they both enjoyed putting their medical skills to work by asssiting at the clinic.

Our team members that worked in the schools also had a great day...we continued to do an arts and crafts project of making little boy and girl figures out of pipe cleaners and gluing on googly eyes, we also gave them crayons and sidewalk chalk...they were so excited to play with these. We also had them write letters to the school children back in St. Louis. The kids are very curious of our lives and families back in the US. We are teaching them and they are also teaching us.

Some of us had the opportunity to visit the homes of some of the village people...what an incredible expereince, you feel like you are in a history museum. We even tasted some local etnic foods. Very yummy.

Fr. Dick, a missionary priest here came by today and presented us each with a solidarity ring made out of kahune nut (a local nut tree). It is worn on your right ring finger to show compassion for the poor. It was a very special gift for us.

Well, that sums up our day...we are back to it tomorrow.

Fr. Don says to send a thank you to everyone who helped us make thsi trip possible. All the supplies we bring are so useful here...and he also said to be preapred for when we return, beacsue we will be back at it for next year! I think we have him hooked!!!

All for now. We hope you all are doing well.

Love, Jaime

Hello from Punta Gorda

2009-01-06T17:50:00.000-06:00

Hello all....we are here and safe!! Sorry it has taken a few days. We traveled all day on Sat. and then Sunday almost everything is closed...they still honor Sundays here! And yesterday we were busy in the villages. We are having a great time and great experience.

I will write as much as I can now, and keep adding updates...and I am finally feeling better (I was sick the past three days)...so no worries now Mom!

Like I said Sat was our travel day, it takes a 5 hour flight and 5 hour bus ride and we arrived at the convent at 730 and we were exhausted. But so glad to be in this beatiful country. It is WARM....85-degrees at least with humidity! HOT.

Sunday, we went to Mass in a village called San Antonio - it was the epiphany celebration and the church was decorated so lovely for christmas...pictures to come on that. Then we went to visit some Mayan ruins, and then in the evening we went to a culture night with local dance and music from some of our Belizian locals. It was so much fun. Fr. Don wore his Bob Marley t-shirt!!

Monday and Tuesday we were in the villages. Today at the schools we taught the kids about bruching their teeth and handed out the flip flops...they loved them. We did an arts and crafts project and taught them Red Rover. The Mayan children are very sweet and are having so much fun with us.

The construction team is working hard, hard, hard. They are working on the foundation of the church...pouring concrete (by hand) today.

We also have a few team members going along with a local group to vaccinate pigs to prevent worms...these are 250-pound pigs!

Tomorrow we are back in the villages and construction site after we check out a local farmers market in the morning. Tomorrow night we have dinner at the home of one of the friends we have made here in Punta Gorda. We are excited about this too.

Everyone says to tell their families hello and they miss everyone. We are all helathy and safe.

Joanne and I did have an extra guest drop by our window...a trantula the size of a hand....we screamed to say the least. Thankgoodness it never made it in.

Sorry for any typos, I had to type fast.

More to come.

Jaime

PS - Love ya Doug!!! :)

Life on your PC is safer, easier, and more enjoyable with Windows Vista®. See how

On our way

2009-01-03T08:57:00.001-06:00

We made it to Houston and are now on the plane to Belize...everything is going just fine except yours truly has a stomach virus. Yes I am sick, it hit me on the plane. Yuck...but after a pretty terrible flight I am feeling a little better. Now I know why they put those little blue bags in the seat pockets. Ugh.

Anyway - more when we get there. We are happy we are this far and we had no problems checking in our luggage and all our supplies.

More soon.

Sent from my BlackBerry...

Less than 12 hours

2009-01-02T16:55:00.002-06:00

Less than 12 hours and we will be at the airport.

We arrive at Lambert at 4 am then we head to Houston to catch our flight to Belize City. Then we have a 5 hour drive to Punta Gorda. We are in the air a total of 5 hours....so our total travel time tomorrow is 10 hours!!!

But we make the most of it and it gives our team a lot of time to get to know each other.

I am all packed and amazingly enough it all fits in my carry-on and backpack! That is a relief!!!

So... I am off to spend my last evening with Doug and Griffey before I leave them for the next 10 days. I am so excited to go, but I will miss them both LOTS along with my family, my nephews, my niece, my friends and all of you!

More to come. Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers. And keep our families that we leave behind for the next 10 days in your prayers too and that God keeps them safe while we are away! And please say a prayer that our blog works while we are there! LOL.

Love ya all!

Jaime
Sent from my BlackBerry...

About Belize and PG

2009-01-02T16:44:00.002-06:00

I thought I would give you some background information on the country of Belize and specifically the area where we will visit:

Belize is in Central America, bordering Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea It has a population of 275,000 – about the size of Massachusetts. About half of the Country is Catholic, and English is the primary language. We fly into Belize City (popular for tourists) then we drive about 5 hours to a town called Punta Gorda (also called PG) in the Toledo District of Belize. PG has about 5,000 people and the Toledo District is the poorest and most isolated district…often called “The Forgotten District”.

PG is an ethnic mix of people with Garifuna, Creole, East Indian, Mayan and Mestizo (Spanish-speaking natives). The villages we visit are almost all Mayan and they speak in two different dialects…Kekchi and Mopan. There are 32 villages in this region of Belize, this year we will visit four villages. The villages are very conservative, so we will wear scrubs mostly during our trip – this shows we are there to work and serve, and part of a group – not rich tourists. Scrubs also are comfortable, lightweight and pack well.

We will work on the construction of a new church in Midway Village. And we will also work at schools in three villages names Blue Creek, Santa Teresa and San Lucas. I will personally be working at Santa Teresa. We have a few medical professionals on our team and they will work for a few days in the Hillside Health Clinic in PG.

We will be staying with the Pallotien sisters at the Nazareth Convent, and Fr. Dick Perl, a mission priest (from Missouri) who has been serving in Belize for the past 15 years will assist our team while we are there.

I checked the weather in Belize this morning and it is suppossed to be 85-degrees tomorrow when we arrive! We will try and bring back the warm weather with us!

About Our Blog

2008-12-30T06:48:00.001-06:00

This year, we are trying something new so that our family, friends and people of our parish can follow our trip and allow us to create an opportunity for those who can’t join us to experience a bit of our trip.

I have set up this blog and will update it throughout our trip. If you are not familiar with blogs and visiting ours for the first time…it is a website where you can post information and pictures…like an online diary. It is very easy for visitors to follow.

Now that you are here....WELCOME!!! But, here is my disclaimer….I am a beginner at this, so it is a work in progress AND…as you can imagine, updating the blog while we are in Belize will not be an easy task with no wireless access in these small villages. But, we think we have it figured out. If all goes as planned, I will be able to update the blog three of four times throughout the trip.

Feel free to visit it when you can, I already have background information on the trip posted. And, there is an option to add your name to the blog follower list…not necessary, but an option.

Enjoy!!!

Packing Party for our 2009 Trip

2008-12-29T18:06:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was the packing day for the supplies we will be taking to Belize with us in just 5 days! We have 40 (two for each traveler) suitcases filled with items, each suitcase has 50 pounds of supplies for a total of 2,000 pounds of supplies leaving St. Peters, Missouri and traveling all the way to the Mayan Villages in Belize. How exciting!!!

Here are some pictures showing our suitcases filled with supplies. WOW!!!!

We want to send a thank you to all of you have so generously donated items for our trip. I wish there was a way to list every single person that has contributed, but please know that your donation is GREATLY appreciated and will be put to very good use. We have had neighboring churches and parishes, school kids, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, women’s groups, neighbors, coworkers and many friends and family who have all kindly donated supplies, money and time for the supplies we will bring. It is amazing…it brings tears of heartfelt joy to witness so much generosity – especially during these tough economic times!! A big, huge thank you to all and we will be thinking of all of you as we drag these heavy suitcases through airports, customs, on and off buses and vans and then finally to the villages!!

A very special thanks to the following groups that helped support our trip by collecting a big majority of the supplies:

All Saints Parish

All Saints School Families, Faculty & Staff

Brownie Girl Scout Troop 631

Dunkman Family Reunion Collection
Save-A-Lot Food Stores

Friends & Family of our Mission Team

Marsh USA

Pheta Eta Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority

St. Katherine Drexel School

Check out the blog titled Supplies We Are Bringing for a list of items we are taking with us.

Also, if you were at 10:30 a.m. Mass at the gym at All Saints on December 28, you witnessed a special blessing from Father Chris for some members our group to have safe travels and a fulfilling trip to Belize. Thank you, Father Chris…and, please all remember to keep our team in your prayers as we make this journey to Belize and back…safe travels, good health and that we can make a difference.

I missed the Blessing and the Packing Party this year, I was in Chicago with Doug (my beloved….which sounds better than “boyfriend” when you are 32!!!) and we were celebrating a very lovely Christmas with his family. But I wanted to include a post about the Blessing and Packing Day…both special events for our team.

I promise a few more post before we leave.

Background Information on Belize Mission Trip

2008-12-19T06:35:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our Belize Blog. We have a group of 20 team members that will be traveling to Belize in January on a mission trip through All Saints Catholic Church in St. Peters, Missouri. Belize is in Central America, south of Mexico and east of Guatemala. It is a very small country with a population of 250,000....it is about the size of Massachusettes!!!

We will spend our days in the Toledo District, which is in Southern Belize and the poorest area in the country. Over 70% of the families are poor living in poverty with no running water, electricity, computers, television, refrigerators, telephones, cars and often even shoes.

Our team will be constructing a church in a remote, Mayan village and we will also visit the schools in three villages and teach the children about health and hygiene and bring them a bit of US culture.

Many of our friends and families have asked about the details on the trip, here is some basic info:

English is the official language of Belize, but many locals speak Mayan. In January, the average temperature is 75 degrees. We are staying at the Pallotine Sisters' Convent and Retreat Center.

We have to get vaccinations – Hepatitis, typhoid, tetanus and we have to take anti-malaria pills. Our last two days of the trip, we do get to visit the beach for some downtime and relaxing.

And, coming as a surprise to many of us, especially those going for the first time...we get to take three pieces of luggage. So, you think GREAT – 10 days, 3 suitcases, no problem! Well, nope, that's not how it goes. The two suitcases that we will check at the airline are filled with SUPPLIES that we will bring to people in the village. So, everything team members need for 10 days will need to be packed in a carry-on suitcase and a backpack.

Quite a shock, especially for someone like me who can two suitcases for a weekend trip!!!

But, we don't need makeup and jewelry and mostly will be wearing a hat or a pony tail, so no need to pack 5 varieties of hair product…so that eliminates close to one suitcase!

This should be interesting…anyone who knows me, knows that I rarely leave the house without makeup and jewelry on! I think this is going to be a humbling experience for me in many ways.

We are bringing supplies to the children of the village. We will be taking the following, so if you'd like to donate anything, please let me know: toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar soap, combs/brushes, crayons, pencils, sugarless gum, small paperback books, tennis balls, soccer balls, fingernail clippers and other classroom educational supplies.

We are also doing a Kid-2-Kid project. School-aged child at All Saints and surrounding schools that would like to reach out to the children of Southern Belize, can write a letter and include a photograph of themselves. And these letters will be delivered to the school kids at the villages we visit, and then the Belize children will write letters back to their American friends.

More information to come.....I will keep you posted as the trip gets closer. We leave January 3, 2009.

Meet our 2009 Belize Mission Team

2008-12-18T22:20:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of the 2008 Team that traveled to Belize in January 2008, and below is a list of people attending the mission trip in January 2009. We are sitting on Mayan Ruins.

2008 and 2009 Team Leader:

Ann Lacker

Returning Team Members:

*member of All Saints Parish

Ann Lacker*
Jack and Carol Deveney*
Mike and Anne Schappe*
Mike Doherty and Kathy Kane
Bridget and Colleen Doherty
David Rauh
Jaime Powers*
Chris Schmid

New Team Members:

Conde and Ann Canedy*
Fr. Don Wester*
Joanne Turek
Shannon Lacker*
Joanne Turek
Jay Couch*
Bob and Rebecca Mueller*

Photos of where we will stay in Punta Gorda, Belize.

2008-12-10T21:10:00.000-06:00

This is where we stayed during our trip. The building that is blue with the cross is the Pallotine convent in Punta Gorda, Belize where we sleep. The other picture is of the church at the Pallotine convent...it is beautiful.

Supplies We Are Bringing With Us

2008-12-05T19:00:00.001-06:00

Supply List for 2009 Belize Mission Trip:

For Volunteers:

Medical scrubs – we wear these in the villages so that we don’t look like tourists, and because the villages are very conservative in their dress.

Used Suitcases –we use these to pack the supplies and then leave them in the villages where they are put to very good use.

For the Catholic Parish in Punta Gorda, Belize:

Used First Communion dresses – the villages use these for the girls’ first communions and they are used over and over.

Fronts of used Christmas cards with religious scenes

Used Easter candles

For the personal health and hygiene bags and school supply bags that we give to each school child (about 300 kids, so we collect about 300 of each):

Bar soap

Toothbrushes

Standard-size tubes of toothpaste

Hairbrushes/combs

Pencils

Erasers

Pencil sharpeners

24 count boxes of crayons

Sugarless gum

Gently-used tennis balls

Items requested by Belizean principals and teachers for use in their schools – usually one or two room schoolhouses with one teacher teaching all grade levels, and they have VERY limited supplies:

Wall clocks

Protractors

Pens

Compasses

Scissors

12” rulers

Thumb tacks

Rectangular pink erasers

Colored chalk for blackboards

Chalkboard erasers

Antibacterial ointment

Band aids

Dictionaries (paperbacks, the smaller the better) – slightly used is okay

Wide-lined loose leaf paper

Graph paper

Multi-purpose (printer) paper

Permanent markers (black or colored)

Decks of playing cards (used for math games)

Plastic tape

Current world maps

Educational posters: Science, Math, Language Arts

Flashcards: Math, Words with pictures for little ones

Paperback books for ages 5-13

Books for early readers with words repeated frequently

Sports/Recess Equipment for Schools:

Frisbees

Sidewalk chalk

Chess Sets

Checker sets

Recap of 2008 Mission Trip

2008-12-01T20:59:00.000-06:00

Mission Teams from All Saints have been visiting Belize for a few years, I was fortunate enough to join the team last year (2008) and going again in 2009! I wanted to post a recap of my experience in 2008, since I had such an amazing time.

There aren't even words to describe the experience. I also have a ton of photos, but even the pics won't do the entire experience justice.The group that went on the 2008 trip had some fabulous people, when you spend 10 days with 20 people, you become as close as family. Each of us brought something unique to the group and we all feel connected by the experiences we shared. We had so many fun, touching, scary, hilarious, sad and heartfelt moments that I couldn't even begin to share them all.

The picture here is of me with a group of school children that I worked with during our trip. They are adorable!!!

After spending these days in the rainforest, it was quite an adjustment getting back to our normal everyday lives, I have never been more grateful for paved roads, my own car, a hot shower, electricity, drinking water, shoes – things we take for granted here, but are not available to everyone in this world. So many miraculous things happened while we were there, but I still think the two biggest miracles for me were that I survived 10 days WITHOUT my Blackberry ( I turned it off and left it at home!) and that I was able to fit everything I needed into ONE carry-on suitcase!!!

The people we met along the way were some of the most gracious, giving and compassionate people. The sisters at the convent, Fr. Dick Perl (missionary priest from MO who oversees the parishes there) and Peace Corp workers who have devoted their lives to being missionaries were incredible. They have truly given up so much personally to make a difference in Belize.

The children we met, worked with, played with and taught were best described by someone in our group as being able to witness God here on earth. They are so full of life, love and joy, despite conditions most of us would see as unacceptable. Children are children, no matter where in the world and they are so un-jaded and innocent and can see past language barriers and cultural differences.

They loved to learn new games, songs and hear all about the US. They laughed when I told them my dog's name was Griffey…a name they have never heard before…and then they asked me the names of my cat and pig!! Most everyone there has multiple farm animals, so they just assumed I too had a pet pig.

Some of our best moments were playing Duck Duck Goose, Pin the Tail on the Donkey and blowing bubbles with the Mayan children of the village – all new experiences to these children. They had so much joy in receiving a tennis ball and Frisbee, and asked over and over to play with the circle (what they were calling the Frisbee).

They loved the females that had blonde hair or curly hair – something they are unfamiliar with…at any given time, I had little hands running their fingers through my hair and playing with my curls (and believe me, I had some pretty wild curls with the rain and humidity in the rainforest).

Speaking of the rainforest, it was absolutely beautiful…unlike anything I have ever seen….so green and tropical, rivers, creeks, streams, waterfalls, hills, pineapples, bananas, coconuts, citrus, animals, birds, insects. There is one main road that leads through the rainforest into the villages, it is unpaved consisting of rock and gravel and MUD, LOTS OF MUD. Many days it took us two hours to reach the villages, and then a two hour drive back to where we were staying. Some of our scary moments were driving on the road – we had some close calls.

The weather was great…sunny and hot, very hot….80-90 degrees plus the humidity. Rainy season in Belize was just ending, so we did have a rainshower everyday for about 45 minutes…They receive about 160 inches of rain each year. English is the native language, but in the villages people also speak Keckchi. Usually the children are fluent in English by age 7 or 8, and most men in the village are fluent in English.

It is definitely not an equal rights community, the men are the most educated and go onto highschool and some even college. Women are only able to attend if their families can afford to send them. It costs about $450 Belizean dollars for higher education (that is $225 US dollars)…unbelievable, isn't it?

Most of the teachers in the schools are men, otherwise the men farm and make about $10 a day. Women cook, clean, laundry, care for the children, work on the farms and do some sort of craft work. There is no running water or electricity. They bathe, wash clothes and dishes and drink from nearby creeks, rivers and streams. It is very common to see the men walking around carrying their machetes…used to cut through the brush of the rainforest and with farming.

Some of us had the most unique experience of being able to visit the homes of some of the villagers. They live in very small houses with mud floors and thatched roofs. They do not have furniture, but sleep in hammocks. Most homes have just one room, with a shelf of cooking utensils and pots and an open fire in the middle where meals are prepared. Corn cobs are burned for the fire. When we had lunch at the homes, we sat in hammocks, and ate things like fresh tortillas with black beans and soup.

While having lunch in the homes, it is not uncommon for several dogs, cats, chickens, baby chics, partridges, turkeys or even pigs to walk in and out of the homes. Can you imagine having dinner with chickens and pigs at your feet?

In addition to teaching the children, part of our group spent the week working on constructing a church, and they got so much accomplished in a week. The day I spent on the construction site was so impressive. The people of the village come to help, they take much pride and a sense of ownership in their village, and to work side by side with them was the best way to truly experience their culture and get to know them. They understand that we, from the US, have much more resources than they have, but yet they openly welcomed us.

We often hear how so many other countries have ill feelings towards the US, but that is not true of the Belizeans we met, they always referred to us as their "friends from the States".

The supplies we brought and the many donations we received were incredible…we used just about everything we received and it was such a blessing to many of the villagers when we distributed the items.

Often throughout the trip, we were reminded of the scripture: Matthew 25: "Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me." This is an incedible way to serve Jesus, by serving his people...an dnot just his people here, but his people in Belize also.

God bless, Jaime