'Just leave it on all night'

Those that know me well, know that I am not a squeemish, girly girl type.  Nothing rattles me much and even scorpions get little more than a glance before the shoe comes smashing down.

Monday night tho, was a little over the top for me.  I actually shivered down to my toenails!!

Right now we are inundated with mosquitos...I mean, if you slap your arm or leg to kill one, you've hit 3 or 4 with one slight slap.  They are up your nose if you draw too strong of a breath, in your ears, biting through your clothes...you get the picture...they are THICK!

Well, Ray decides that the way to maybe keep them out of the house is to draw their attention away from the door.  So to that end, he decided to put our Flowtron Insect Killer on the ledge at the end of the porch, thus drawing the pests to the glowing light and their certain death.

Then he left to go to the south of Belize to teach for the week.  And he said  'just leave it on all night'.  I thot, well, okay...if that's what he wants.  Me, I would have unplugged it to save the electricity.  Well, I wish I would have gone for the economical plan.  But...

I woke up at 1:30am with the dog whining to go out...typical.  I open the front door and WHOA!!!!!!!!!!

It was a total invasion...not mosquitos tho!   There were quite literally hundreds and hundreds of beetles,  hundreds of moths - every shape and size - and a plethora of flying, crawling and walking insects.  The 'Flowtron' was completely covered  with bugs...with others waiting in line for their turned to be zapped...it was ghastly!  I froze, stunned at what had happened while I blistfully slept.

My first thought, 'Oh yeah, RAY, just leave it on all night'  Ugh!!  I was unable to even think about going near the plug to shut it down!!  GROSS.  Things I hadn't even seen before were buzzing about my face and I quickly called the dog, went in the house and locked the door.  I stood at the window just staring at what was happening on and around my front porch...speechless.

I went back to bed, but it took a loooonnngggggggg time for me to fall asleep.  I kept feeling things crawling on me that weren't there.  Skin crawling....  I now know what that sensation is!

The next morning, not much had changed.  Fewer things were flying about, but not one beetle had left the porch.  Some were dead, most were not.  They were in and on and on top of and stuck to everything!!  And some of the wounded moths were still hanging onto the walls while other smaller ones just fluttered around on the floor.  I did get the nerve up to get close enough to unplug the killer light, but it gave me the creeps!!  By afternoon, much of the mayhem had blown away, been carried away by industrious ants, or eaten by the dog.  I made a small attempt at sweeping them off the porch, but there were so many stuck to everything...even the bottom of the broom.  So I just walked away.

I haven't ventured to that end of the porch again... thinking,  I'll just save the rest of the clean up for Ray when he gets home tomorrow.  And I KNOW he'll want to clean out the 'Flowtron' for the next time he wants to 'just leave it on all night'!!

Shivers and love from Belize!!  Becki

A Simple Mistake...

Belarus - Belize - 

   Belize - Belarus - 

Both start with B - e - l ...

A quick glance might easily explain this.

Or it could have been one of those state of the art computer driven scanners at a post office somewhere - that sent some very important papers we were waiting to receive, on this 'around-the-world-tour'.

We had been waiting for birth certificates to arrive here. We had paid dearly for them and were eagerly expecting them. And we waited...

And we waited...

And we waited...

Multiple trips to the Post Office in Dangriga, asking if anything had arrived for us. Waiting while the very nice lady with a one leg seriously shorter than the other, shuffles her way to the back of the office to see if our hopes have been met. Smiling, we say 'thank you'.

We'll be back again in a couple days or so, whenever we decide to drive into town again.

This repeats itself for a week, then another, then another, then another...

By now, we believe that our birth certificates have been lost - or worse - have been stolen and could very easily be being used in some identity theft scheme.

Seriously - that has worried us.

Until today. 

Today we received the much awaited mail. Finally. 

Becki looked at the postal stamp on the back...could it really be?

Closer inspection proved what her nearly unbelieving eyes were seeing - 

M-i-n-s-k,        Belarus.

Belarus!!!???

Isn't that like the other side of the world?!?!?! Yes, it is.

This package had taken an adventurous journey - to another part of the world 

AND back again, all for $1.95

Now, that is a bargain, you can't find anywhere else!

Yep, life in Belize - or even in Belarus, never boring!!

Blessings from B-e-l-...umm, where are we again?!

~ Ray & Becki

Your Prayers Are Felt in Belize !

That's right - your prayers - from the U.S., from the Philippines, from Great Britain, from India, from Sri Lanka and other places around the world, are felt right here in Belize.

On a recent Sunday, we went to church. No, that is not the answer to prayer! 

This particular Sunday I really did not 'feel' like preaching. I just wanted to go be a part of the congregation, sit back, enjoy the service...you know, as more of a spectator.

The thing is, here in Belize, whenever I go to a church, I usually am asked to speak. It doesn't matter if I am prepared or not. It doesn't matter if I taught for 8 hours straight the 2 days before going to church. It doesn't matter if the heat has taken a toll on me and I am feeling a bit weary. 

None of that matters.

It does not even matter that I am not here in Belize to pastor, but to train pastors. No, what matters is my response when asked to preach that morning. I did not want to - I knew I did not want to  - but I smiled and said    "Yes."

Then I began praying...again. I had already begun this conversation with God, anticipating being asked to preach on a day when I felt like I had nothing to give. I had asked Him while driving to the church, "What could I say?" "What could I preach on today, to this congregation?"

Fortunately, two things were on my side:

    1) God knows the people in that congregation 

    2) and others were praying for me.

Without going into details, can I just give YOU a huge "Thank you!"

and give God the glory for what He accomplished that morning?!

I prayed right up until I stood up - then began to open up the small idea I had for a message.

It was then that I "felt" your prayers...

Seriously, even as Becki and I have "felt" your prayers before when in South Asia, I realized in those moments as a wonderful message came together, that this was not my doing. This was the clear result of others doing the real work while I was simply a mouthpiece.

Thank you ---- and Praise our Father in Heaven for how wonderfully He worked. The Spirit of Christ within me was able to serve the people that morning just what they needed.

How refreshing to be reminded that it is not about me. 

That there is a much greater force at work here than any of us fully realizes. 

    Much more powerful, 

              much more loving, 

                        much more directly connected to the hearts of the people, 

                                    much more able to do all that is needed...

in any moment, 

in any place,

in any fashion,

whether I feel like it or not.

Praise God!

And seriously - "Thank you" for your ongoing prayers.

Ephesians 6:18 says it well: 

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

Ray & Becki