Heart of Service

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of [living] water,

that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;

and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3)

This past summer several volunteers who had time off for summer break came from the States to help LTA on the property.  Most recently volunteers have come from local Belizeans who have seen the need for a school as well as the vision for LTA. 

Last Sunday a Belizean who has befriended all the previous volunteers of LTA constrained to help us on the property on his day off.  With his expertise in construction, property management, and landscaping, he was willing to do whatever work was needed.  During the course of the day, he made two separate trips to the property and supplied his own materials needed to complete the requested work. 

Today the first yellow coconut was planted on the property after reading Psalm 1 and praying with volunteers and workers.  One worker said, “It’s the first ‘Living Tree Academy tree’ on the property.”  Unlike green coconut trees, yellow coconuts can be harder to find on the island.  (We have been told yellow coconut trees don’t attract bugs like the green coconuts.)  One of our volunteers (who occasionally works with us) discovered a yellow coconut tree that was available to transplant and move to the LTA property.  With the help with others, he dug out the tree, transported it to the property, built a retaining box out of cinder blocks, and planted the tree with much care knowing that this tree will help supply coconuts to students and staff in the future.  “We plant and water but God gives the increase,” he said. 

We believe this heart of love and service which has been demonstrated over the past 6 months will be reflected on the Living Tree Academy campus for years to come.

Visiting Chetumal

Visiting Chetumal was productive in terms of learning the process of traveling to Mexico, however it is not a trip that representatives want to make on a regular basis.  First the sea was choppy therefore the hour and a half boat ride ended up taking two hours.  Then upon arrival to Mexico all passengers were greeted by the army with not a word spoken as they searched the luggage.  All the luggage was lined up (including personal items) as the dog sniffed his way down the line.  We then proceeded to the immigration office where we were informed we had to find a local bank and pay an immigration fee even only being there for one day (5 hours).  After that we were assigned a taxi driver who spoke only Spanish.

On a search for supplies we visited a local Sam's Club which was only a five minute walk from the terminal.  Everything was in Spanish but the environment was the exact same as you would find in the US.  We then stopped by a local hardware store to see what tools and supplies were available as well.  Our last stop was the bank where we spent almost an hour in line to pay the immigration fee.  Afterwords we traveled back to the terminal to wait for the boat to San Pedro - how refreshing it was to arrive in San Pedro! 

Boat to Chetumal

Chetumal, Mexico border

Dog searches luggage/bags

Taxi drivers await tourists

Checkout at Sam's Club

Inside Sam's Club

Mexican flag in the background

Waiting in line at the bank at Chetumal

Man sweeping the concrete with natural broom

Local Chetumal hardware store

Inside hardware store

Building for the Future

Preparations for the construction of the Living Tree Academy campus continued to surge ahead. Currently, several members of the LTA Board of Directors are in Belize to update plans for the first building, accommodate building site preparations, and further improve the road to the property.

The first building will provide several vital and central functions for the campus, and design plans are being modified to best accommodate those purposes. Considering the cost of building materials, the addition of a second story will be the most cost-effective design. The fact that the foundation as originally planned has already been approved for additional stories makes the new plans even more advantageous. The second story of the building will be designed to house educators and other workers of LTA.

In order to accommodate construction materials for the larger building, the building site needs to be expanded to cover more square footage. Plans are already in place for these preparations to the site, and workers will execute these changes within the next 30 days.

Before construction materials can be brought onto the building site, the road to the property needs to be further developed, as well. Being on an island with limited resources, the work on this road has so far progressed to the point of allowing only travel by golf cart. Now the road will be widened and improved to support the trucks and heavy equipment needed to bring in materials and begin construction.

We will continue to update you as the work progresses on the construction of the Living Tree Academy campus. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Together we are building for the future.

Site for building materials when construction begins

Corner of building site - stakes represent where the building will be located (2 shown)

 

 

Adding fill to the building site from the LTA trailer (rebuilt and donated parts)

Headed down our road from the property (worker has LTA shirt on)

Paving the Way

Wow, after arriving back in San Pedro what a delight to find smooth roads. (For those of you who volunteered in San Pedro with LTA this past summer, you will have a greater appreciation.)  Since our departure in September, the concrete road through town now extends almost to the bridge.  What does that mean? An amazing smooth ride in and out of town plus less traffic on the beach (making it smoother as well).  Also the road north of the bridge that is not paved was grated almost a mile, making the trip to the property easier as well.  Without the rain the roads are better and most importantly no mosquitoes!  This is the San Pedro we know and love!  See you soon!

Children at Play

This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

(Our verse of the day while in Belize)

Still rainy season, the picture above was recently taken.  What a joy to see a rainbow on the property and to understand the promise behind that rainbow.   The updates will not be as frequent for the next few weeks, however work slowly continues on the property. 

Cisterns on the island are overflowing with an abundance of water these days that a few months ago were dry.  We look forward to the day that our cistern is built and utilized by students, staff and volunteers.

The rest of the pictures are a great inspiration to see children at play on the campus (even in the mud right now).  Keep the vision of an amazingly beautiful campus with the students having the same smile and enjoyment for learning on their faces as you see here.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support to see this a living reality.

St. George Caye Day

Last Saturday was St. George Caye Day.  (The Battle of St. George's Caye was a short military engagement that lasted from 3 to 10 September 1798, off the coast of what is now Belize. However, the name is typically reserved for the final battle that occurred on 10 September.)

The town had festivities over the weekend.  A couple of events included students from the local schools in a parade, as well as the traditional "greasy pole".   The object of the "greasy pole" was to climb up to the top of a greased up telephone pole where a flag was waiting to be successfully retrieved.  Many Belizeans tried as one person stood on top of the other.  Several fell like dominoes in their attempt.  At last, in the evening, a group of about 10 were successful. We knew one of the guys near the bottom who had worked on the property with us in the past.

Next Wednesday, September 21, Belize celebrates it's 30 year anniversary of independence!

Students marching

Getting ready for the parade

High School students ready to march

Ready to go!

The "greasy pole"

Cheering on the "greasy pole" contest

Cistern Plans and Pics

Plans for the cistern have been completed.  Our draftsman updated seven pages to our building plans for the cistern.  Meanwhile it has been raining continually for the past several days.  If the cistern was complete already, we would probably have a full cistern!   

Water is very costly on the island during dry season therefore building a cistern is cost effective in the long run.  On a side note, San Pedro had little to no rain for several months during dry season.

Two building sites have been very helpful for our understanding of cisterns and construction in general.  Below are some of the pictures from those sites to help you see what we will be experiencing in the near future when the building begins.   Notice the amount of plywood, rebar and concrete that goes into the work.

Site One with rain water during construction

Site One with lots of rebar

Site Two - rain water has been drained

Site Two

Site Two - building materials (gravel and sand)

 

Barge and Trucks

We met with a barge company yesterday to learn more about materials being purchased for building.  Wanting to be good stewards of the funds being allocated for building, we have been diligent to understand the cost of materials, how things are built in Belize and how contractors work on the island.

The barge company informed us that effective September 1st, large trucks such as dump trucks, are no longer allowed to pass over the bridge to the north side of the island.  We have not had any materials delivered on site for a while therefore we were unaware of this change.  Because of this change, all materials delivered north of the bridge currently have to be barged.  The barge company suggested that we purchase materials from Belize City for quality and cost purposes when we are ready to start the process.  The meeting was very informative and helpful.

 

Pizza Challenge - Next Section Complete

Workers were promised a pizza when the next section of the property was filled with mud. (The mud hardens so that we can walk and drive across the property.)   

Working diligently for a few weeks on this section, this week was an exceptional week of accomplishment for the property.  We anticipated this section would be finished by the end of the week but everyone pitched in to see it completed today. The property's horizon continues to broaden. 

Last week - section being filled on the left

Beginning of week - spreading the mud

Half way finished

One corner left in the section to fill

Section filled on the right - pizza on the way!