Celebrating Women In Belize

     March is National Women's Month in Belize.  I have been blessed to meet and work with many amazing women.  I want to introduce you to some of the women who have made my time in Belize a more fulfilling experience.

The Ordination of a Pastor

 March 2 - Nancy Marshall was ordained as a pastor in the Mennonite Church.  Nancy serves Jesus' Deaf Church in Orange Walk Town, Belize and has been serving as a teacher and pastor for the past 8 years.

      There were many Deaf in attendance who have benefited from Nancy's commitment to the Deaf in Belize.  Part of my mission in Belize is to help take care of the children during Women's Bible Study and Church Services.  Chelsea and I take turns on Sunday mornings  taking care of the children or voicing the sermon for any hearing participant/s who come/s to church.  The church service is presented in American Sign Language (ASL).

     Representatives from the Belize Mennonite Church came to perform the ordination.  We also needed a Spanish Language Interpreter to provide a Spanish Interpretation for visitors who only spoke Spanish.  This service involved three languages:  ASL, English and Spanish. 

      Nancy works with two mission agencies.  Representatives from Virginia Mennonite Missions; Glenn and Gloria Lehman and Martin Rhodes, came down to support Nancy for this special service.   I am sponsored through Virginia Mennonite Missions and Martin is my contact person.  Debra Hoffer, a long time friend and supporter of Nancy, also joined us for this momentous event.

Americans Visit Cerros Mayan Ruins

Cerros Mayan Temple - Pre-Classic

On Corozal Bay - Northern Belize

      On Saturday, March 1, we took a break from Ordination Preparation and took a day trip to Cerros Mayan Temple.  This was a much needed day of fun and fellowship.  We got to experience the beauty of Belize as we traveled to Cerros.  One of the highlights of the trip was two rides on the Crank Ferry.  On our trip over, Nancy's van shared the Ferry with a bus and several other cars.

     Galen Lehman and Martin Rhodes were outnumbered by this wonderful group of women.  I enjoyed the conversations with the older women and swimming with the younger ones.  Each woman here is a true blessing and inspired me during our time together.

     We each took a turn at cranking to help the ferry get to the other side.  It was a lot of fun:)  These pictures show girl power but we let the men do some of the work as well.

School Fair

      On February 28th, St Peter's Anglican School had their school/fundraising fair.  Olivia Mesh works as a teacher/interpreter in a classroom that has six deaf students.  She is helping several students set up their booth for the school fair.

     The success of the school fair depends not only on the hard working students and teachers but also wonderful parent volunteers.  This class rooms booth sold home made Nachos.  YUM!

     This baked goods booth along with a music request booth, supported the special education classes.  This day was a fun way to socialize with all the students in the school and enjoy Belezian food.

20,000 Women Strong Rally

     On March 6, the female staff at St. Peter's Anglican School attended a 20,000 Strong Women's Rally.  We all piled into Nancy's van and headed to Belize City.  The theme of the day focused on empowering women:  Imagine A Belize Without Women.

The Picture above is most of the female staff from school.  The picture on the right is Diany Medina (a special education teacher) and Francelia Cantun, the Assistant Principal at the school. 

     Rossana Briceno is the Principal at St. Peter's.  She presented at the Women's Rally.  She is a strong advocate for the students and has implemented a feeding program at the school.  No other school in Orange Walk has a feeding program for the younger students.

St Peter's School Fun Run

Diany Medina led the race with one of the students

     On March 12, St. Peter's School had their Fun Run.  This is a day to emphasize being fit and to support the Special Needs Students and Special Olympics.  We were joined by Standard 6 students at another local school, La Immaculada.  The run was lead by a police escort an the special education students.

Walking/Running past Town Hall and the Fire Station

 

 

 

 

 

   



 As much as some of the older students wanted to make this Fun Run a race, The run director was able to keep everyone behind the police truck until the last hill.

Women's Bike Rally

     On March 15, Chelsea and I participated in a Women's Bike Rally.  The ride was a little over 2 miles.  Nancy was kind enough to drive Chelsea and me to the starting point for the rally.  Many of the participants rode their bikes to the starting point and then participated in the rally riding back the same direction they just came from.

    The rally was supposed to start at 5:30 but in Belize, the true starting time was 6:00.  It was a foggy/misty morning as we watched the sun come up and waited for the rally to start.  Most of the participants were associated with the Police Force.  Riders were young and old, male and female.  We had a really good time and got to meet some new people and get exercise at the same time.

     The ride was beautiful.  We watched the sun paint the sky with  a tableau of colors.  The backdrop of colors added to the foreground of colorful plants and houses making the ride quite enjoyable.  No one was in a big hurry so we could take our time and enjoy a leisurely pace enjoying all the sights and sounds Orange Walk has to offer.