I arrived on Monday 21st November and was met at the airport by Fr Chris and Derek, (another volunteer from Buckden) who has been out here since August.

I got a chance to look around Belize City for a while, as we had to look for some brakes for the vehicle that has been off the road for 12 months. It can now only be fixed because the third vehicle was damaged and parts were used to fix it, the brakes are all that needs doing now. We got them after asking in about 6 car part shops. Once the mechanic had the brakes it was ready within an hour.

It is a 2 hour journey back from Belize City to Dangriga, where the Claretians live. There was a lot to look at, near the coast it is flat and marshy with only a few beaches, further inland it is thick jungle and mountainous regions, it really is quite stunning. On the drive back I did see a tarantula the size of my entire hand, thankfully that is the only one I have seen so far.

The next day Fr Chris took me to a children's service he was celebrating in a school in a town called Bella Vista. This is a mainly Hispanic village as apposed to Garifuna as Dangriga is. The Garifuna settled here over 200 years ago when a slave ship from Nigeria sank off the coast of St Vincent and they were moved to Honduras by the British, they then migrated & settled in Belize.  The rest is history.

On Wednesday I met the two carpenters Fish and Felix who have worked for the parish for 15 years. They are converting an old convent over the road into about 12 rooms for the community and future volunteers. We drove to a town called "Spanish Lookout? to pick up a trailer ordered 6 months ago. Spanish Lookout is a Mennonite village originally from Holland they are the best workmen in Belize and are greatly respected. They had the trailer ready for us and wired it while we had lunch.

The work on the convent is, I think, what I will be working on most. They have cleared all the inside leaving just stud walls and we are waiting for a company to come and tear down a huge concrete water tank before remodelling can start, but as they have been waiting for 4 months already I am not holding my breathe.

Whilst clearing out the convent Fish showed me an asbestos panel taken out off the convent. I asked if he should really be handling it ? that it is supposed to be dangerous.  He just laughed and said it is not dangerous for Belizeans. He then told me that the roof of the water tank has asbestos in it, so no problem!!
 
Cheers for now, till next Friday.
 
Stephen

(Stephen is a parishioner from Hayes and volunteered his time and talents to work out in Belize, supporting the community there.)