Buena Vista, Water Filtration, Thor, and Crawdads

Dennis and I got back to Buena Vista today!!  Oh my goodness, it seemed like forever.  There was still water on the bridge but we went over anyways.  The sun was up and it was a beautiful day.  We were greeted by smiles and many waves.  I am feeling good because some of the kids will shout from inside their houses, "Hi Ms. Vicki!".  Now that is a great way to start any day.

When we arrive we usually sit on the benches and wait for the teachers to arrive.  We just hang out and chat.  They laugh at my attempts at Spanish and Dennis pokes Jamila and then its on!  He can sit for hours I think and not say too much.  But there is always giggles and smacking and poking going on.  Some of the kids are the ones who start it now.

As we are waiting this large van/bus drives into the school yard.  I guess Mrs. Betty was expecting guests.  All these gringos get out and introduce themselves to Dennis and I.  They are from a big church in North Carolina.  They are an organization called RowKids. (Reaching Our World)  They are here to finish putting in a huge water filtration system that will service the whole village.  So now we are spending the day with this very nice group of people.  As the day progresses I let it slip that Dennis is an electrician and you should have seen there eyes light up!  Oops, sorry Dennis.   That's alright because Dennis likes to use his skills to help whenever he can.  He is going back tomorrow to help finish the installation.

At one point we are all sitting on the benches eating our lunch and having a fun time sharing stories.  Then Dennis and I realize that Thor has joined us.  Not kidding.  This young man in the group looks like a sturdy Thor.  He was enjoying showing the kids his cell phone cover with Thor on it.  His name is actually Neil and he is twenty five and has three different businesses and works part of every year at the Belize Zoo.  It is always surprising who you meet in Belize.

After school we went to pick up Loren, her name is acutally Blanca Lorena, but we have always called her Loren.  Our church is sponsering her through high school and she needed some supplies.  So we took her shopping in Spanish Lookout.  We had to go get ice cream afterwards at Western Dairy.  It was a fun time.

So we get back to Buena Vista to drop Loren back at home and there is a little comotion across the street.  Of course I have to look because the kids called me over.  They were scooping water out of a huge mud hole and pouring it though a screen.  They told me that they were catching lobsters.  I laughed because I knew that it was crawdads not lobsters.  They showed me their bucket and they had about nine smaller ones and a few good sized ones.  After jumping over the little stream I watched them as the boys stuck their hands into the holes on the sides of the mud hole and pulled out crawdads.  I was impressed.  Loren told me where a good hole was but I said I would pass on this one.

Lobster/crawdad!

Can't see his face but this is Diego.  He is always smiling!

Loren is in the jean skirt and Rayna is her older sister next to her.

They told me they were taking them home to cook them.

These are fire crackers which can be found just about anywhere here in Belize.
The little kids play with them all the time.  My boys would love it here!
Another reason to pray for the safety of the children in the village.

We are home now in our little bungalow.  Thinking about what a wonderful day we had.  God is good.

Love you guys!

More about the water filtration system in the next blog.