Fleas in Belize!

So it's been a few days since I last posted. And the last few days have been jam packed!!! First thing to update you on....I think the dog that was sleeping on my balcony has fleas.....actually...I know he has fleas. Why, you ask? Because I've been suffering from flea bites around my ankles. They bite me and then I scratch them like crazy. My ankles have definitely seen better days. I'm happy to report that I have figured out a way to keep the dog from getting up the stairs and I don't think he's been there the last 4 days. I will also be wetting down the balcony and bleaching it like crazy so to kill the fleas, keep the dog off the balcony and so that I can spend my mornings in the sun.

The weekend was super busy and so much fun. So here it goes:

Saturday evening I caught the last Hokey Pokey Water Taxi over to Placencia where I stayed the night. One of the parishioners asked me if I would be willing to lead a service for them every other week, as the other student from Canada who was supposed to be placed there needed to go back to Canada because of a family emergency. I was a bit hesitant as I didn't want to overwhelm myself, but said yes, and I'm so happy I did. The congregation at St. John's is amazing!! I got to Placencia and was taken straight to the rectory. I was a bit taken a back as I thought Miss Sonia would be having me stay with her. I got into the rectory and my mouth dropped to the floor. They had a couch, and comfy chairs, a bed that didn't have springs popping out of it, a big kitchen and an ocean view, as it sits right on the beach. I stayed up until 10 with every door open and read while I listened to the sound of the waves!!! I've never fallen asleep the sound of the sea before....what a lullaby!!

Woke up Sunday morning, led an 8am service at St. John's, Placencia, had some breakfast which included fresh squeezed Orange Juice, (OverEasy's O.J. in Toronto has nothing on the O.J. here!) Miss Sonia's son Bruce then boated me across the Lagoon where I was picked up and taken to Mango Creek to lead the 10 am service. And as always the service in Mango Creek was wonderful. I love the congregation here!!! After the service at Mango Creek I packed up some of my stuff and headed to the bus stop where I caught the James Line Bus. It's an old School bus that has been fixed up that runs from Punta Gorda in the south to Belize City in the north. It's basically equivelent to a city transit bus except it runs on the Highway and not in the city. It has designated stops to pick up people and drop people off. The trip was about 4 hours and cost me $19 Belizean dollars. It was worth every penny, the country side here is beautiful and diverse. At one point we were driving down the highway with orange trees on my left and banana trees on my right. We then headed into the mountain region which is lush green with palm trees and all sorts of different vegetation!!

Lorna and Joe Sampson met me at the Bus Terminal in Belize City, we hung out at their place for the evening, it was wonderful!! Lorna's little grandson Kayvaughn is quite a shy little boy, but all night wanted to play with me, the family was blown away by how friendly he was being...it made me happy!! On Monday morning, Lorna and Joe took me on a road trip up to Mexico. It's only about a 2 hour car ride from the City. It was lovely. I found out from the trip that I need to renew my visitors permit every month by leaving the country. My new one expires on June 18 so I'm hoping to make my way across the Guatemalen border next month. During our drive to Mexico, we drove in the Sampson's SUV that has A/C. And about 20 minutes into our trip, I had to ask them if we could shut it off and open the windows I was FREEZING!!! I guess that means that my blood is officially getting thinner :) We arrived back in the city in the early Monday evening and we crashed.

I woke up early Tuesday morning and hopped the James Line bus at 9am, destination, Mango Creek. It was another long trip, and when I got off the bus all I could think during my walk to the rectory was "I'm home." I never thought I would hear myself saying that, but it was so nice to be back in Mango Creek where life was peaceful and ......familiar. I dropped off my stuff and headed to IPS where I taught a class about the parable of the Good Samaritan. It was wonderful to be there again. On my way out, all I could hear was "Hi Miss Chelsy" coming from every direction, and children running up to me for their daily high fives!!

This next week is proving to be busy as well. I head back to Placencia tomorrow morning at 7:30 to lead the Anglican School in a Morning prayer service. Then I spend the rest of the day at IPS. Thursday and Friday will be spent around town and writing a sermon. Saturday Miss Lorna and I will make a trip to Monkey River for their annual village festival. I will meet the school administrator, check out the church and the school, talk about services at the Church and hopefully make my way down a couple times this summer to lead a service for them and also talk about working with the school. Sunday will be service in Mango Creek at 10, and then Miss Lorna and I are going to take the bus to Punta Gorda for the night. I'm really really looking forward to it!!

I'm starting to feel more at home. My weekend away, helped me to realize how much I love Mango Creek and the people here. I was pretty bummed a week ago as I was feeling lazy and bored. But coming back to a community where people wave at you and greet you on the street and everyone knows who you are is really reassuring and affirming. I'm super excited to be doing God's work here!! Thank you for your prayers, please continue to pray for me and the congregation of St. Michael's as we minister together this summer!!

peace,
Chelsy