Belize

So I'm going to start out by saying that this is a really long post. But for sure one of the most memorable events i've experienced so it deserves to be long. Plus I'm not sure if anyone still blogs anymore (what with instagram being the hot thing & all - love it) but thats ok cause I think of this blog is something more for myself anyway. I started it way back before Chase was even 1. And now he is 6!

BELIZE

So a group of Pinnacle salesman & some wives headed down to Belize for a humanitarian trip. These boys & girl had to donate a certain number of their sales to the cause & then go down & work to build a home for some families with nothing. I have never done anything like this before. I had no idea what to expect. It was for me a huge eye opener. I feel like I came back with a whole new perspective on life. Which is why we can't wait to go back again. I need to be reminded of the blessings in my life. Especially the small ones like toilet paper.....cause the village of Chunox where we worked didn't even have much of that.

This is on our way to the village of Chunox. We had to take 2 of these ferries that were powered by hand to get to the village. We traveled on nothing but dirt roads. This is day 1 for Scott & I. I have many stories about our first night there but that may have to be a different post. It was an adventure to say the least.

There is someone doing this job 24 hours a day.

This is the village bar

That steaming pot of -who knows what - was our lunch for the day .....yummy, right next to the dirty clothes pile :)

This is Bri & Atom Webb. Atom was the one who organized this whole trip & did such a great job. And his sweet wife Bri......she is prego. She was such a trooper. I don't know if I could have done it being pregnant but she didn't complain or stop working once.

This is the front entrance to the Garcia family's home. You can see the poverty that they live in. It really offers no protection from weather or anything else really. They are a family of 8 living in this.

Dalia is the mom. She is such a hard worker. Always doing the laundry by hand or making her corn tortillas for their next meal. I really liked her. She always had a smile for us.

Here is where the kids play. I'm not sure how safe that teeter totter is.

I'm standing at the entrance of their home. You can see the mattress behind me with no sheets or blankets.

Megan is a fellow st. georgeian!! We all helped Dalia with making the corn tortillas.

This is how the dome (home) starts out. They blow up the large white contraption first & then cover it with cement. Inside is a kitchen, bathroom, etc. Super nice. YOu can tell I don't know much about the logistics of the whole thing.

The children were the sweetest things ever. I kind of really wanted to bring AnnaRuthie home with me :(

Jess with 4 of the 6 Garcia kids.

ok the food in the village was interesting. We were fed by a family in the village who helped us out during our whole stay. They were the more affluent people in the village. Their yearly income is about 4-6,000 belizian dollars which is about 3,000 US dollars. I didn't want to offend so I ate, plus i was starving but I'm not sure how I choked it down. I'm a wuss.

My hubby celebrated his birthday while we were there. Trapp's wife made him a giant birthday cake & we all sang to him. She was so proud. I thought it was the sweetest thing.

The Ladies

we worked mostly at the schools during the day since we couldn't do much on the dome. So this was the high school we helped paint. I loved the kids there. They were so shy yet wanted to talk to us so bad! School is expensive so not everyone goes. If there is a family with 4 kids usually just one goes. I can't imagine having decide which of my kids could not get an education.

The dome in progress.

We also worked at an Elementary School. Oh my goodness. The kids were darling! They all wear uniforms & act so polite. They speak English at school so we were able to talk with them. The little boy above loved the camera & i thought he was so handsome.

All the guys & the Garcia's

Another picture from the school

We had one free day before we left so the 6 of us (trey, jami, & the herrifords) hopped on a little plane to San Pedro. To catch a flight in Belize you only need to arrive 15 minutes before your flight leaves. & it is totally normal to have cell phone conversations while in flight. It was so crazy to me.

Aaaahhhh!

We stayed here one night before heading home. It was super nice.

And my most favorite restaurant of the trip. So good.

I have about a billion more stories & pictures but I'm done for tonight.

I am so grateful for my chance to do this.

As we head out for the Thanksgiving break, all I can think about is how blessed & thankful I am. It was great to help that family & another family had a dome started for them that will be finished later but I learned so much more from them.

They were kind & humble & loving!

The kids would hug us from the moment we stepped out of the van.

They were grateful.

We have way too many distractions here at home that I want to try to fix.

Home is so Sweet.

Our country is great.

My family is the most important thing!