Everyday life

I have done several posts with reference to how life is different in Belize. I actually am working on one that talks about the smells that entice and turn up our noses, how we wish we could share that with you!

Family game night

The "different" is not what I am focusing on today.  I had the privilege of reading All the News that's Fit to Tell, and How to tell it.  by Amy Young of the Messy Middle blog. It was a help to me, and I intend to continue to return to it. I believe I have a lot I can improve on in both the blog and newsletters I write.  Amy explain the lengths she had to go through to wash her clothes.  I fully understand as I had similar experiences in Mexico 20 years ago.  I won't describe it as she does a much better job than I do. I will, however, leave you with a video.  Although this was taken in the US, and the Youtuber makes it sound cool, imagine doing your wash this way every day. ( or doing wash for 6 people)

Amy uses her washer woes to explain that the majority of what we do, even on missions is mundane, everyday activities.  After posting a picture of Zion hanging wash for a chore one day a  friend serving in Honduras had a response. Her mission Org told them 80% of what one does on the field is "life". As a part of the Velvet ashes book club, I have been reading Liturgy of the Ordinary: Scared Practices in Everyday Life.   Even in this book, the first chapter talks about a man in India who found that the majority of his time was things he would be doing at "home".

Zion and Ni at a park while we wait to see if the used washer will work. (this one didn't work)

To me this is a relief. I recognize that I am pretty normal. I make dinner, wash clothes, homeschool our kids, remind them (constantly ) to do chores, wash dishes, pick up discarded items, ect. Yet in this ordinary, we can meet with a Sacred God. What a privilege we have!

We went to the bush with the dogs to have a picnic, and this happened. It is rainy season

I thought this week it would be good just to share some photos of our everyday life.

one of the supermarkets we frequent always has a "photo booth".  This one was to mark the 3rd anniversary

Zion and Zephaniah do a mural for art 

Zion and Zephaniah ride their bikes to go to the workout place with me. Our sky almost always looks this amazing! 

Abigail works on math

By the way in the process of writing the blog, our washer broke. It took a process to find someone to look at it. We were told it's broken and would cost 600$ to fix, or 700-900$ for a new one. This past Monday we went on an excursion. Tuesday we finally had a washer. I discovered in the process that the Shipyard Mennonites aren't allowed to have a circuit board in their washers. We seriously considered getting one of theirs. I had to face the reality of the type of person I am. If I had that type of washer, I would be dumping gallons of water on the floor. I did it in Mexico 20 years ago when I didn't have a home of my own or children. We finally found a used one from the US. We are hoping and praying it holds up for years to come!

Thanks for joining on this amazing yet ordinary journey with us,

Spring

One of our dogs had 8 puppies. We kept one and gave 7 away. It was fun but I don't want to do that again!