Wow, what a truly awesome opportunity it was to travel to Belize to give of our time, talents and treasure! On June 23rd, we were given an inspirational send-off starting with Mass in the St. Joseph Cathedral Chapel. Then it was time to load up. We did some very creative packing as each person was allowed one bag for their personal gear and one bag full of donated items, along with sleeping bags and pillows. We caravanned to Omaha, NE praying a Rosary on the way for protection. St. Peter Parish in Omaha graciously allowed us to stay in their religious education center for our first night of “roughing it” on the floor. The first night was a short one anyway; we were up at 3 a.m. to make our flight.
Getting off the plane in Belize, we were a little apprehensive because we weren’t sure what to expect. The heat and humidity hit us like a wall as we left the plane. We went through customs, got our luggage, then had to have the luggage checked by customs, and finally we boarded a school bus for Hattieville, where we visited a nursing home. The nursing home was one of the hardest things for us to see: compared to our nursing homes, the conditions were deplorable. Most of the residents didn’t have shoes and their rooms consisted of a bed, maybe sheets, and a fan. The floor was concrete. The residents were hungry for conversation and excited to have us there. We prayed with many of them and listened to their stories.
Getting back on the bus, we traveled two hours to a town called Orange Walk where we stayed for the rest of the week. We were very blessed to be at the St. Christopher Hotel because the rooms were actually air conditioned! What a blessing! We could only turn it on while we were in the room, which was, for the most part, only at night. Our days started at 6 a.m. and ended at 11 p.m. Most days we attended the 6:30 a.m. Spanish Mass at La Inmaculada Parish.
One of our favorite things was to visit an orphanage and two Catholic schools. It was the last week of school in Orange Walk and the children had just finished their standardized tests. Belize is an English-speaking country and we often saw banners in the schools that said things like “English is cool, at home and at school”. Many Belizeans speak both Spanish and English. There are no public or government schools, so they must pay tuition to educate their children. If parents can’t afford the tuition, their children simply don’t go to school and are educated at home. Our group had some playground balls that we took to the schools and played soccer (they call it football) and kickball with the kids. It was a lot of fun and was a great bonding experience. We were told there are approximately 300,000 people living in Belize, but that there are actually more Belizeans living in the U.S. than in Belize.
La Inmalculada Parish asked us to wash the statues, pews, floors and Stations of the Cross in their church. We also painted a concrete fence that was part of the church property and the pastor, Father Leo, asked us to tear down a wall to prepare for a new church office.
San Francisco was another Catholic school we visited and were invited to speak to the classes to tell them about life in South Dakota. We talked about our weather and farming and our schools. The older kids who were 13-16 were shocked that it was legal for 14 year olds to drive in our state. They can’t drive until they are 18. However, most people can’t afford a car and either walk, ride a bike or travel by bus. The students there treated us like celebrities and often asked for our autographs (which felt a bit odd), but then we started to take paper along so we could ask for their autographs in return. We really wanted them to know that we were as excited and honored to meet them as they were to meet us. Our challenge was to share our spiritual story with them. At San Francisco School, their school prayer is the prayer of St. Francis. Some in our group had fun teaching the kids the song “Father Abraham” with all of the actions. Others in our group taught them songs like “Reign Lord” with sign language.
Our trip was not all work: we did get to visit Lamanai, which is a site of Mayan ruins. Our group was particularly lucky to get to see and hear the howler monkeys in the jungle. The last full day in Belize was our “fun” day, when we went snorkeling at Caye Caulker which is an island near the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world. For many in our group, it was their first time snorkeling. Seeing the stingrays, barracudas and colorful fish was a big highlight.
Our July 1st return date was pushed back a day because our flight from Atlanta to Sioux Falls was cancelled, which led to a whole new adventure in airport navigation, but also extended our time together for one more day. However, it didn’t make our goodbyes any easier once we arrived back in Sioux Falls. The experience and the friendships we developed with the Belizeans as well as those in our group are ones we will never forget.
Our family is planning to continue to donate items as well as money for school tuition. We plan to send them back to Belize through the Praying Pelican organization. Praying Pelican is based out of Duluth, MN and they take different groups to Belize almost every month. By sending our items and money to Praying Pelican, we can be assured that they will reach their destination. We were told that sending it through the mail isn’t very reliable because it goes through customs. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, personal care items (shampoo, soap, lotion, ibuprofen, Tylenol, baby care items, combs, brushes, hair ribbons) educational items (for the families that can’t afford to send their children to school) are all items can be sent to Belize and will be given to Fr. Leo at La Inmaculada Parish. The Wolfs are planning to send some boxes to Praying Pelican by mid-October so if you have anything you’d like to include, please feel free to contact Dawn or Lauren at 362-4007. Lastly, Lauren and I would like to thank St. Katharine Drexel Parish for their prayers and support! We are so blessed to be part of such a faithful vibrant community!
