Meetings with Council

 

LTA representatives meet with the local building authority next Tuesday, then Wednesday with the mayor and town council.  This meeting is to develop a relationship and partnership with the local government and San Pedrans.  

Rain, the Pros and Cons

San Pedro really needs rain.  Apparently it hasn’t rained for 2 months.  This affects the water supply since rain water is captured in cisterns for household use. 

On a positive note, the lack of rain has helped us be able to work the road to the property on dry land.  Today’s picture is after a morning shower.  The staff house is two miles away so we really are not sure how long it rained but the road we have been working now has water on it.  

Rejoice in the LORD

Today is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

Today was filled with arranging meetings for next week therefore we took the day off from working on the property.  Sometimes you just need a day to enjoy life in San Pedro; our Board member volunteers were thankful. 

Golf Carts in San Pedro

Parking next to airport

Most people in San Pedro travel by walking, riding bicycles, taxis or golf carts.  We rented a golf cart for a week to save time traveling north to the property and into town for daily activities.  After the week expired, we returned to the rental location thinking we could renew for the following week.  To our surprise, the rental location was booked for Easter weekend.  We asked if we could at least rent it until Friday since we utilize the cart to go to and from the property to haul supplies, etc.  We are continuing to look for a cart to rent long term or find one to purchase.  

Ready for the property

On a side note, there are things to learn regarding driving and parking in a golf cart around town.  Even though San Pedro only has three main streets (front, middle and back), some are one way.  Since we have walked up and down the streets in previous trips, we had an idea of which streets were one way.  Parking on the other hand is another issue.  A local told us not to park on a particular side of the street after we had been doing it all week.  Perplexed, we followed their lead and parked somewhere else.  At that point the “golf cart rules” were read which stated, “from the 1^st to the 15^th of the month, parking should be done on the right hand side of the street and from the 16^th to the ending of the month parking is done on the left hand side of the street.”  It’s a learning process.

Ready for anything!

Road Progress

Beginning

Roadway after a week of work

Calling Belize

In order to make reasonable priced calls to and from the United States, we are learning about different services available.  Rebel is a great resource for a reasonable fee.  After signing up, this service gives you a local number from your calling area in the States by using a particular State-side phone to call Belize.  See their website for more details: www.rebtel.com .

 

Another service is Skype.  We have not had the opportunity to utilize Skype, however we have heard some Belizeans do use the service.  The internet is not always high speed so communication is not always smooth from our current understanding. 

 

Generally volunteers will have the opportunity to purchase a calling card from Belize (an international calling card from the States will not work) to call the States.  These cards are prepaid cards.  Payphones are accessible but sometimes the service does not go through due to circuit restrictions.  The volunteer can try again at another time when the phone lines are not as busy. 

 

Overall internet access is the best mode of communication.  Most of our volunteers enjoy Pelican Internet on Front Street (right next to an amazing ice cream parlour). Internet cost $12BZ ($6US) per hour. 

Land Documentation and Caye Cauker HS

Yesterday LTA met with Alberto who has been assisting with the title deed for the three acres.  After months of waiting from the States, we finally stopped by his office where he had paperwork to give us.  We now have the receipts in hand of the payments made for the taxes on the property.  This is proof that the purchase was completed; however, we are still waiting on one more document.  The final document (caution form) will have a stamp from Belmopan (capital) that shows we are entitled to utilize the land as ours until payments are completed. 

Inquiring with Alberto about his home, he shared that he resides in Caye Cauker.  Interesting enough, he is also on the Board of Directors for a new high school in Caye Cauker.  He provided great insight on schools in general, the high school there and the island.  Their school began with one grade and each year thereafter added an additional grade.  He will coordinate a trip for us to visit the school next week. 

Central Park Fellowship

Living Tree Academy’s first open fellowship was held in Central Park for anyone who wanted to be involved.  Kevin Bell led the fellowship and Anthony Gilmore taught Biblical principles on the “Renewed Mind is the Key to Power” from the Power for Abundant Living book by Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille.  

Some local San Pedrans participated, and a local restaurant donated their chairs for the fellowship.  Afterwards, a group went to Sunset Grill for lunch which was suggested by our young neighbor who had joined us for the morning.  A local Belizean-American from the US who works in Belize as a teacher offered great insight on operating a school in Belize as we ate lunch.  Thank you for your continued believing, prayers and support.

Bridge and North Side

Cars can now go over the bridge north of the cut!  We didn’t realize it was available until the taxi driver told us he could take us straight up to our staff house.  The bridge is now paid-off but the community has decided to keep the toll to maintain the bridge.

Also a Sunday stroll to the property is very busy compared to 18 months ago.  The dry road and many new construction sights are keeping the road hopping.  Some days the road is smoother than others but the person up front in the cart warns those in the back of the “bumps”.