Belize Update #3 from Nancy Merrick

Letter #3

Hello again.  Today is March 15th.  The water has been off so that gives me time to write.  Pablo Saravia Sr. is busy outside my back door laying block again today.  He has been the main block layer and supervisor of the project.  A young man named David, who is from El Salvador, also lays the block.  Then there are two young men needed to mix the cement for the block layers.  We are so excited to see this rainwater collection project moving forward toward completion!

On Saturdays, there are a number of local people who come to help out for the day.  I always make a large meal for lunch.  Eating together promotes fellowship between the different workers.  Newcomers are often shy at first, I think they are afraid that I will serve some strange North American food, but I have learned how to make things Belizean style which keeps everyone happy.

On Saturday, March 13th, we packed up at 3 pm and headed to southern Belize.  The Medina Bank Mayan Church has started a church plant in the village of San Isidor.  This Sunday was their third service and we were invited to come and encourage the new church brethren.  This was a real adventure and blessing for us.  We traveled down to Hopkins in an old Ford F150 crew cab pickup truck with David Eichert and Jacob.  The bed of the truck was full of things David was transporting down so we all had to ride inside the cab much to the disappointment of the young guys who like to ride in the back of the truck.  Andy and I stayed overnight with a delightful couple, Robert and Barbara Richard, who live in Hopkins.  They are originally from Louisiana.  He turned out to be the guest preacher for the church service.  We traveled onto church with them in the morning driving about another hour south.  We passed through some very desolate areas.  At San Isidor, the pastor met us so that we could follow him to the new church.  We soon turned off the road and had to follow a dirt trail.  Robert said we should turn in our minivan for a couple of horses.  I was okay with that idea.  The dirt trail was very bumpy and eventually, we turned into a place with a small wooden house and a shelter built of palm branches off to the side.  There were rough wooden benches and about 50 plastic chairs had been added for the special occasion.  The local people walked to church and by the time the preaching started most of the seats were taken.  I enjoyed their style of worship music and we were able to recognize most of the songs and sing along.  The message was good and then we had a long time of prayer for the needs of the people and the new church. Again, I was reminded of how great and diverse the body of Christ is.

March 19th.  This past week the weather has been hot and dry.  The burning of the sugar cane fields has started making the air smoky.  It is a common practice here to burn off land that has overgrown in preparation for planting when the rains come back.  These fires can get out of control and cause more damage at times.

Both Isaiah and Andy have had days this week when they did not feel well.  So far I am doing okay.  The block laying has continued but the heat has slowed the progress down.  Meanwhile, at the shop, the backhoe is in the process of having its hydraulic cylinders rebuilt with the new seals that I brought down.  This piece of equipment is a great asset to us here.  Maintenance work is also being done on the farm tractors.  There is mowing going on but with the dry season approaching that will slow down soon.

Estella Saravia continues to improve.  Her medications are expensive and so Pablo Sr. has sold two of his young bulls.  This will pay for most of her bills so far.  They live off of their farm and are very hard working.  Please continue to pray for them and for us too.

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