Phase IV Near Completion

With Phase IV almost complete, we will now provide an overview of the progress on the road since we began almost two months ago.  Some of the phases have gone quicker than others. 

Volunteers started on Phase I which was to build up the road so a golf cart could pass about 100 yards.  The Second Phase was to reach the River Jordan including a turn around before it.  Phase III was to make the Jordan passable and then cross over it by golf cart.  By this time the road is definitely looking like a road instead of a driveway.  Phase IV was to reach the property’s edge.  Phase V will be an ongoing phase for several years including widening and smoothing out the road as well as planting trees along the side. 

After reaching the property, we will begin Phase I of the LTA property development.  The joy of working on this project is believing one day at a time and seeing God supply the need.  

Phase III Complete and Prayer Answered

We drove over the Jordan today - Phase III is complete!  See link below for more details:

http://lta-construction.blogspot.com/

Crossing back over the Jordan

This past Sunday a scripture was posted:  Luke 10:2 - Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.  Today that prayer was answered with another fellow-laborer who worked by our side all day.  We have been able to share the Word with him this past week, and he (by his freedom of will) volunteered to help us today – what a blessing.   

The weather was perfect.  This morning it looked like it might rain, however we claimed a dry day (which it was).  In the afternoon the sun popped out, and it was much warmer.  Our new local volunteer didn’t bring a hat and found a palm leaf (not sure of the specific name) to use on his head for shade.  We all had a good laugh then he said, “God gave us a mind to use it”.

Shade from the sun

After working all day we were blessed with a local Belizean meal that was cooked on an outside stove known as a “fire hot” in Creole.  

Outside stove = fire hot

Belizean stew chicken and beans with rice

Interviewing Schools - Belizean Grades

We have interviewed two schools in the past couple of school days to learn from their experiences and to know more about the island education.  These schools are called Primary Schools (elementary and middle).  Below is a breakdown of grades in Belize compared to the US:

Infant I             =          Grade 1

Infant II            =          Grade 2

Standard I        =          Grade 3

Standard II       =          Grade 4

Standard III      =          Grade 5

Standard IV     =          Grade 6

Standard V       =          Grade 7

Standard VI     =          Grade 8

Most of the classes have a 25/1 (or higher) student to teacher ratio.  One school interviewed had 320 students in 10 classrooms.  The other school had more students with 17 classrooms. 

Most schools on the island are government funded schools and several have church affiliations.  Only one is considered a private school at this time. Both schools we visited are government funded which means the teachers salaries are paid by the government. The teachers generally come from the mainland; one of the schools had concern about the high turnover rate of teachers at their own school due to expenses. 

LTA has been informally invited to the Principals’ Meeting on the Island next week to get to know the some of the principals.  

Scripture and Picture

Luke 10:2 - Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

Under the Sea (Snorkeling)

Today was a first in many ways. It was the first day of the rainy season, and I snorkeled for the first time out side of a bathtub. 

Getting Ready to Snorkel

Snorkeling in the Rain

"Go Under the Water So You don't Get Wet!"

There is a lot of snorkeling and SCUBA diving on the barrier reef in Belize because of the marine life. Being the second biggest barrier reef in the world, it spans the entire length of Belize. It is a barrier that protects the islands from being sunk by waves. 

We snorkeled at 2 famous dive/snorkeling spots on the barrier reef: Hol Chan (which means little channel in Mayan) and Shark Ray Alley. Both are marine sanctuaries. Although I have seen many documentaries about marine life and reef life, there is nothing that compares to feeling the warmth of the water and being surrounded by fish and coral. 

Nursing Sharks

Hidden Ray

Snorkel Instructor Showing Us the Reef and Fish

Seeing all the abundance of life down under the sea made me so thankful to God for all of His abundance that He has made available to us, His kids. This was absolutely an Ephesians 3:20 experience for me. Although the detail that God put into these underwater creatures is so meticulous it doesn’t come close to the detail in His Word. He magnified it above all His name!

Gumbalimba Tree

Today was a blessed day.  We continued to work on the bridge then after stopped by a small bird watching sanctuary to visit a new friend.  He introduced us to a new tree called the gumbalimba tree that the locals call “the tourist tree”.  When we asked why it was called the tourist tree he replied “because if the tourists don’t stay out of the sun or don’t use sunscreen they look like the tree”.  (It looks like it is peeling). 

This tree is also used to make the antidote for the Belizean Poison Tree.  Farmers often use the tree for fence posts. When it is chopped down and placed in the ground, it sprouts roots and often becomes another tree which doesn’t rot.  Likewise the stump of the original tree continues to grow as well. 

While standing around sharing his knowledge of birds and trees, he also shared his heart on the difference between religion and having a relationship with God.   

Matthew 12:34b "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."

Matthew 7:20  "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

Bridge Builder Across the Jordan

The crossing of the Jordan continues.  As we continued working on the road/bridge today,  I was reminded of the following poem.  The road across is by no means a perfect bridge, but our goal is to cross getting to the other side.  Today we leveled it out as much as possible getting ready for the cart to pass in the near future, then later children as they go to school.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support!



The Bridge Builder Poem
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim, near,
“You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you a bridge at the eventide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head:
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followeth after me today,
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.”
Author: Will Allen Dromgoole