From our balcony this morning we had a beautiful view of the green country side of Belize filled with palm trees in the distance. We had a great breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast courtesy of Ben and Roger before heading out to church. We passed a couple of peletons, clusters of racing road bikes, along the highway to church. Cycling is the favorite sport in Belize.
What a wonderful experience we had at Lagoon Road Baptist Church. It was the first time that I had seen chickens attending Sunday School. Pastor Ed Mohabir came out to meet us and told us a little bit about their Sunday School program. The church was planted with the intention of it being an English speaking congregation, but they had Latinos who were coming, so they had started a Sunday School class in Spanish.
They were meeting in a school bus parked next to the church. The two children’s classes were in their new concrete block rooms where we were going to add the doors and windows this week. We are also going to run water to the new bathrooms to replace their outdoor latrine. Their young people were meeting in a shade arbor, roofed with palm branches, in the church yard led by Peter (which is where I saw the chickens) 
while there was an adult class held in the sanctuary. Pastor Ed asked us if any of us played guitar, because they have no music for their service. It would be great if they had a CD player.
Around 10:30, the pastor rang a bell and everyone brought their chairs into the church for worship. My, they loved to sing! Each of the SS classes “reported” by saying a Bible verse and singing a song. The youngest children’s verse was “God does great
things” (Psalm 136:9) – what a great thing to know. When it was our turn, we sang “Give me oil in my Lamp, Keep me Burning” and I shared my testimony. Then Hal gave his sermon on letting God change your life – by living out the song Jesus puts into each of us. It fit well with their theme for the year: “Let your light shine in 2009”. There were 97 of us praising God through the service. 
Their hymnals were battered, obviously donated by a church that was replacing their own. It was great that they had them, but some were missing pages and the backs were off. Neil was 
able to bond with some of the kids right away. We will worship again with them on Wednesday.
After church we took the van to St Ignacios and went across the river on a hand drawn ferry. This was our opportunity to visit the Mayan ruins Xunantunich which was abandoned around AD 950. These were amazing stone structures, and we climbed to the top and could see into Guatemala from there. There was actually a Belizian soldier, complete with machine gun, there watching the border. It was clear 
that the location was well chosen originally to be able to watch for intruders. We were very hungry by 4:00 PM when we reached Hodie’s Restaurant for dinner. The place was in the middle of an orange grove and the aroma was very sweet – like honeysuckle at home. The most interesting thing about these orange trees was that they were blooming at the same time they were bearing fruit. We had orange juice for 
lunch/supper that was fresh squeezed from the trees in the orchard. Ben and Hal had fun comparing all the hot sauces and picking the hottest to spice up their 
fajitas.
while there was an adult class held in the sanctuary. Pastor Ed asked us if any of us played guitar, because they have no music for their service. It would be great if they had a CD player.Around 10:30, the pastor rang a bell and everyone brought their chairs into the church for worship. My, they loved to sing! Each of the SS classes “reported” by saying a Bible verse and singing a song. The youngest children’s verse was “God does great
things” (Psalm 136:9) – what a great thing to know. When it was our turn, we sang “Give me oil in my Lamp, Keep me Burning” and I shared my testimony. Then Hal gave his sermon on letting God change your life – by living out the song Jesus puts into each of us. It fit well with their theme for the year: “Let your light shine in 2009”. There were 97 of us praising God through the service. 
Their hymnals were battered, obviously donated by a church that was replacing their own. It was great that they had them, but some were missing pages and the backs were off. Neil was 
able to bond with some of the kids right away. We will worship again with them on Wednesday.
After church we took the van to St Ignacios and went across the river on a hand drawn ferry. This was our opportunity to visit the Mayan ruins Xunantunich which was abandoned around AD 950. These were amazing stone structures, and we climbed to the top and could see into Guatemala from there. There was actually a Belizian soldier, complete with machine gun, there watching the border. It was clear 
that the location was well chosen originally to be able to watch for intruders. We were very hungry by 4:00 PM when we reached Hodie’s Restaurant for dinner. The place was in the middle of an orange grove and the aroma was very sweet – like honeysuckle at home. The most interesting thing about these orange trees was that they were blooming at the same time they were bearing fruit. We had orange juice for 
lunch/supper that was fresh squeezed from the trees in the orchard. Ben and Hal had fun comparing all the hot sauces and picking the hottest to spice up their 
fajitas.
Great ~ glad the day went well. Remembering you daily ~ Roberta
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