life is good...

monday monday was another amazing day. It's crazy how fast time is going by here! We woke up monday morning to a pretty intense rain storm. Rain was coming through the windows and getting everywhere...we literally had to pause all projects for the morning cuz we knew every one else in the city was most likely staying inside until it was over too. So we got some more sleep time which I'm always a fan of then a group of us headed over to the Adventist school Hills of Promise in Benque for the rest of the day. It was gonna be my first bus ride of the trip and let me say it was EVERYTHING I hoped for and more. There were so many great people and it really is one of the only ways, besides a pool, to really cool off. And you can't go walking down the street anywhere in Belize without all kinds of men whistling or yelling to our group of american girls. Its always entertaining to see what kind of pick-up lines we hear. But weirdly there have only been a few times where the guys were a little too creepy. Most of the time we just laugh it off and keep walking and we're fine. Literally every man here calls us "babies" or "beautiful ladies"...just a little different from back home.

But at this school in Benque there were the most beautiful children I have ever seen! They were so friendly and they couldn't wait to have us come watch their song they learned for graduation. They also loved having us join them in some jump rope. Yes I had a lot of children laugh at me...these kids dominate and lets just say I need A LOT more practice. I seriously had NO idea jump rope is like the thing to do here in Belize. I also had my first red ant experience which was great. Don't worry it wasn't just one ant but I accidentally stepped on a whole mound of them while I was taking a picture so ya got about 30 bites at once. Those little guys kill! Ya live and learn right.

Then after our day at Hills of Promise we headed to dinner to have our goodbye meal as a group for all the first wave girls that were leaving. It was so sad to see the girls go. Its amazing how close you can get to some people in a week! We'll miss them!

Tuesday morning we had a meeting with the AWARD program about a project we would help them with at the end of June. It is going to be awesome! This program holds treks around the world for youth ages 14-25 who want to change their lives and live better. They have them in Jamaica, Italy, Florida, England...all over the WORLD. So obviously I immediately wanted to get involved. This particular trek is going to be around 40 miles in 3 days...which after I did the pioneer trek for church I thought I would NEVER do anything like that again, but here I am doing this and am so excited about it! We'll be hiking in the jungle for 3 days and 2 night and will leave on Monday and get back Wednesday. We'll be put into groups with a guide who knows the program and route well and with 7-10 youth. It seriously will be awesome! I can't wait!

That afternoon we went back to Hills of Promise in Benque, had a lot more fun with the kids and then headed back home to San Ignacio to have dinner with Raul's family. This cute boy's family is in the Spanish branch up the street and he has been wanting us to come over for dinner so we finally found a time that worked. He was seriously the most adorable thing in the world. I have never met a 14 year old boy who was as polite as he was. He was so excited to have us all there. We had this AMAZING baked pasta dish and tres leches cake that for real changed my life. It was the best meal I've had here yet. His mom was the sweetest woman and his family was so willing to have us over. Most of the homes here in Belize are pretty small so to have 10 girls come over could be really overwhelming but they were so excited to have us. Me being myself almost cried like 5 times while we were there...I just was so touched by this family and how loving they were. It was amazing to me at how giving they were of everything they had. Raul already started planning for a movie night to have us back. It was just the sweetest experience and will always hold a special place in my heart.

Wednesday was the day the 1st wavers left. We're gonna miss them so much! We tried to finish up the square foot gardens in the morning but someone hacked the hammers so we ended up comin back to find other projects to be a part of. We planned out our summer camp we're holding in Succotz in a couple weeks and then ended up going back to Benque for a meeting. We kind of like Benque a lot. We found out about some other potential projects we could be involved with and found the BEST panderia (bakery) in the world. This cute little couple has a bakery in their home and had so many good things so we of course had to try them all. I guess losing weight in Belize isn't happening. Oh well!

Life here really has been great! It's amazing how every day I learn something new and have these moments where I realize how blessed I am and how happiness truly comes from service. There are so many here who have so little but remain happy and are willing to share EVERYTHING they have to help. I love this place and can't wait for al the fun projects coming up! Creole phrase of the day: Ah mi gat wahn gud gud taim. (I've had a wonderful time)

Peace and Love!