The Road Not Taken

By: Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

Growing up my dad quoted this poem a lot of times to me. After spending a month in Belize and Guatemala and taking and ethics class I hope when I return home I am able to take the path less traveled by. I hope I can remember not to get caught up in the American cycle of greed and remember the people how live happy lives with a lot less things than I have. I hope I can bring justice and love to those who I come in contact with. I pray that God will allow me to show his love through my life daily.

Snorkelling

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Perfect way to end the trip was a snorkelling trip! We had a blast swimming around all the coral and especially at the Shark Ray Alley. We all were a bit nervous but we faced our fears and swam with the sharks and rays. The guide was so great and allowed us to pet the sharks and rays without being afraid. The snorkelling was a great way to end the trip and also a great way to spend the last day with our friend Pam from Guatemala. It is defiantly an  experience that I will not forget for a long time.  

Time Flys

The time has flown by so quickly, and now it is time to say goodbye to this amazing and beautiful country. This trip has made me question what it means to be a Christian in today's times. What does God's justice look like and his love? It has made me realize that I do not want to get caught up in the cycle that our culture is in. I want to focus on the important things rather than if I have the best couch or newest computer.

I mean these people may not have everything that we do, but at times it seems like they have more. They have family and a happiness that is contagious. I will appreciate what I have been given, but I also recognize that it is my job to give also. To whom much is given, much is expected.

I have experienced many different emotions on this trip. Some good, some bad, some fearful, some terrified, and some sad. I learned so much and experienced more than my mind can process! I will miss Belize and its people!!

Sharks and Sting Rays

Yesterday our group got to go snorkelling.  We had three different stops along the way.  The second stop was called "Shark and Sting Ray Alley".  I can assure you that we were all a little scared.  But in the end all of us got out of the boat and faced our fears.  I learned that the sting rays are really slimy when you touch them.  None of us got hurt and we all had a good time.

 

 

 

 

Internet at the Chinatown hotel

Mr. Karl and Dr. Skon are busy getting internet up at the Chinatown hotel, so we can submit the last of our class work...it is pretty rainy here at the moment but we are making the best of it, hopefully it dries up by tommmorow so we can enjoy our last couple days here!

Duck Run 3

Today was such a blessing. Spending time with all the children out at Duck Run 3 today was so wonderful. Their love for us when we come and just spend our day playing and talking with them is priceless. Just running around with them and playing games or sitting and talking to them about their day is a blessing that is unmatched anywhere else. The kind of joy you receive from spending time with them is abundant and so real. Though they run us until we almost pass out, every single moment of it is worth it. The children here have had an impact on me and I believe the each one of us in our group could say the same thing for themselves. 

Being back in Belize seems unnaturally quite.  Before we left we had all the classes here and there was always a lot of noise.  Sometime we could not even hear while we were having class.  When our class left for Guatemala I thought we would find peace and quite.  Boy was I wrong.  The island we were staying on was having a week long festival.  This meant hearing marching bands, fireworks, and music round the clock.  I never knew one city could party this much.  So coming back to the camp with no other kids here was a very big adjustment

 

This is a picture of all the left over fireworks in the street.

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Laughter and Friendship

"We can't forget the fun we've had
Laughing 'til our faces turn blue.
Talking of things only we find funny
People think we're insane- If only they knew!"

Help - I'm headless (JS)

Friendships make or break it!

"It's the times we're so crazy,
that people think we're high.
It's the times we laugh so hard,
we can't help but cry.
It's all the inside jokes
and "remember whens".
those are all the reasons
that we're best friends!" ~Unknown

Freezing Mid-day in a Guatemala?

Who would have thought that we would be freezing in Guatemala? Not us, yet here we are absolutely freezing. We didn't know to bring jackets the first day, but we learned quickly. The next day we wore pants and our thickest sweatshirts. We had a good two or three days where it was 45 degrees during the day. The natives were wrapping towels around themselves. Thanking God for sweatshirts, warm clothes, and a warm place to sleep.

The Next INDIANA JONES aka Doug

He really cracks us up!

Nets Up One Last Time

We made it back to Belize safely, and we are staying here at the campsite in Succotz tonight and tomorrow, and then we are headed for  Caye Caulker! Laura and I are pretty much professionals at putting up our nets now! lol! We are excited to be back in Belize, but we are really excited about going to Caye Caulker on Tuesday! Our trip is coming to an end, and we are starting to realize that we will be back home shortly! Hopefully, these next 5 days do not go by too fast!

 

This is a picture of the place we ate breakfast at almost everyday in Guatemala.  I loved eating here.  They had everything from eggs, pancakes, fruit.   In Belize we had our food made for us at the camp grounds and since we did not have that service in Guatemala we had to find good places to eat at on the island.  Also, since they only speak Spanish in Guatemala it was pretty hard to order the food.  But by the grace of God every time it worked out and everyone was able to eat happy.

Tikal

The time going we spent at Tikal was absolutely amazing! The amount of ruins that we were able to see was outstanding. There were ruins everywhere you looked and they were all magnificent. Being able to stand on ruins that are thousands of years was absolutely wonderful. I am very thankful that we were able to visit Tikal.

Last class in Guatemala

We are on our final day in Guatemala! Although it is sad to leave the people we met here, we are looking forward to getting back to Belize. It was great to open up a relationship with the schools here, we hope to see more come of that in the future. Here we are having class while eating brunch at a nearby cafe.

Tikal: from past to present

The ruins of Tikal were amazing. We had tons of fun climbing and exploring everything. It was an experience different from the other ruins that we have seen because it had a lot of of structures. There were some residential structures, some astronomical towers, and some other towers. The bad news was that we could not climb all the structures. It was also a great bonding experience for our group. Our guide was wonderful man named Antonio. He could speak many different languages including Maya, Spanish, and English.

 

Tikal - a magical place from the past!

Tikal - n ancient Mayan ruin in Guatemala, it just unbelievable! The pictures tell the story!

Today we went to Tikal in Guatemala! It was so incredible! Climbing all of the ruins was such a blast! We had a great day as a group, and we are growing so close! I am so sad that we are down to our final week in Belize/Guatemala! Only 6 more days, and then we are homebound! We hope that you are all enjoying our blog, and we are excited to share all of our stories with you! Thanks for the prayers and support!

Children in Santa Ana

 Today would probably be one of the absolute highlights that would stick out to me on this trip. Being able to have the opportunity to work with the children and to see their excitement about the computers was amazing. Working with them to get better with the games and just interacting with them was so wonderful. Afterwards when the teachers were giving an interview, each one of them was blessing us and our families for everything that we do for them. It was such a touching day and I am very glad we were able to come and help the school out!