Saturday at the River

As the temperature is quickly hitting over 100 degrees on a daily basis the river looks more and more inviting.  Our friend Enil has been trying to get me to go to the river with him.  So, we chose to be adventurous and headed for the Iguana Creek Bridge.  This is the same one that flooded four times last year.

It was actually not scary to jump!  That is Elil just hitting the water while looking back at Dennis.

Elil, me, Enil, and Geldin  Am I white or what???  We have to be careful of the cars and semis that drive
by about two feet behind us.

The boys taught me how to do a front flip off the bridge.
This was not my best landing.

Again, you can tell, not exactly what a flip should look like as you land.

Finally, by the fourth try I landed feet first.  It doesn't hurt when you do it right.  The guys were very proud!

Hmmmmmm.........not a lot of grace here.

The guys just played in the water for a while.

Elil is lucky, he is the smallest one.  He can do the best flips when thrown
off the shoulders of his brother.

Great action shot.  Look at his face!

This is looking down stream.  Yes, I thought about snakes but I figured God had this covered.

Swinging on a vine, such boys!

The water looks green because it is...

We all know how this ends.

So, we had a fun time at the bridge.  For those who have been here, this is the bridge on the way to Spanish Lookout.  The river is almost always this color.  It is supposed to be, it's the jungle.  We chatted with some other guys who were swimming and they said they have seen snakes but not the alligators I have heard about.  Dennis and I went in anyway.  We have decided to be "participants" and not just an "audience".  And we had the best time ever!  (I attribute my sense of adventure to my mother, she is kind of fearless like this.)

The hot weather is here and it is unrelenting.  The forecast says high 90's with a real-feel of 106 for the next couple weeks.  It is funny because at school everyone just sits and zones out.  It is how we cope with the heat.   Hmmm, really missing the AC.  

Love you guys!

Blue Hole

So, we are in our second week of Easter Vacation and having a wonderful time.  We are having company almost every day, enjoying food, movies, baking and of course, Uno.

We decided that we needed to get out of the house for a bit so we invited Gisella, Bremely, and their little brother Ian to go with us to The Blue Hole and St. Herman's Cave.

Gisella is in the orange shorts, Bremely is her younger sister, and Ian is three years old, and my new best friend.

If you go to Belmopan and keep heading south on the Hummingbird Hwy. you will come to this stopping place just off the road.  We walked on a trail for about ten minutes and arrived at the mouth of St. Herman's Cave.  Ian wasn't thrilled about going in but he held my hand and a flashlight and everything was fine.

Once you get down inside it is a nice path that follows alongside a quiet stream.  In this picture the stream is on the left.

The flash on the camera allows you to see how large the cave is!

My family knows exactly what I am doing here.

I am a collector of rocks, pinecones, shells, leaves etc...

Ian is now a rock collector.  Gisella was holding up the ceiling for us

Playing with the flashlights.

The entrance is amazing from the inside.  Gisella is on the steps.  Love the stalactites!

What a great "Three Year Old" picture.  Ian was a joy to be around!

Just down the road is the Blue Hole.  There is a stream that runs from the Blue Hole and disappears back underground about a hundred feet away. We are walking up the stream to the Blue Hole.  Doesn't it look like we are really trekking through the jungle?

Through the wide angle lens the Blue Hole looks very small.  It isn't really that large but it surely is blue.  Ignore the sign that says "No Jumping Allowed".  It is small, but it is up on the cliff.

Gisella and Bremely had never been here before.  They definitely enjoyed the water! 

No way was I going to not jump.  It's like going to the fair and not going

on any rides.  Where's the fun in that?

Besides that I didn't want to look like I was afraid in front of Gisella.  Of course she had to jump also!  Look how her toe is just touching the water!  What a great shot.  Dennis is sorry it is slightly blurry.

The water was amazingly clear!  Dennis had some swimming time also!  

Bremely is a very sweet girl.  She picks on Dennis just as much as the rest of the kids.

Dennis really liked how this picture of Gisella turned out.  She likes to draw and has

given us a few really nice pictures.

This was the first time we had met Ian.  And yes, he is as tired as he looks.  He fell asleep even before it was time to go.  I carried him back up the steps to the car.  I am pretty sure he had a great day. 

As we spend our days with the kids here we realize how blessed we are and we thank God for this time we have.   We are spending time with people we love.  Developing relationships and friendships that will last for eternity.  This answers the "Why" question.  Why did you move to Belize?  Why did you leave your family and friends behind?  Why do missionaries do what they do?

Love...

Love you guys!...too