For my second post in the 2024 April Blogging Challenge, I intended to write about my trip to Belize in January. Then, Mom posted about Belize for her first April Blogging Challenge post. 

If you are the type of person who can’t stand to read the same story twice, from two different perspectives, I am very sorry. You’re allowed to skip this post. I won’t tell anyone.

Before

I had every intention of hunkering down in Texas this winter and not traveling at all. And although I ended up alone for the holidays, I really didn’t regret it, as I watched every person I knew get sick while I stayed healthy. 

But the Belize trip was different. Several women in Belize asked Mom to come speak at their women’s conference, and knowing it would be emotionally intense, she wanted me to come along as her travel companion. 

Once I realized that this was not just a fun vacation⁠—that I’d be supporting Mom as she did the Lord’s work, I agreed to go. And the Lord miraculously provided the funds, so yay!

The Journey

Imagine traveling to a foreign country without jet lag. We got on the airplane in Houston not long after 8 am and, three hours later, arrived in Belize just in time for lunch. There wasn’t even a time change.

After going through immigration, Mom and I exited the airport, where two friendly women greeted us like long-lost friends. Apparently, we were long-lost friends, as they’d been Missionaries in Canada with my parents back in the day. But I didn’t remember them, as I was merely a toddler back then.

They showed us around Belize City and took us to a lovely open-air restaurant for lunch, where I befriended a gentle iguana.

The Colony

We drove along feeling that foreign country feeling⁠—bright sunshine, unfamiliar plants, bright houses, and graveyards full of above-ground tombs. And then suddenly, things were a little different. More Mennonite. Mowed lawns. Large businesses.

This was Spanish Lookout⁠—a colony carved from the Belizean jungle by a group of Kleine Gemeinde Mennonites in the 1950s that’s morphed into the backbone of the Belizean economy. 

There would be plenty of time for exploring the colony, the ferry, the dairy/ice cream shop/fast food restaurant, and various local businesses and attractions later. For now, we went to our hostess Alvina’s house, met Anna who was co-hosting the Women’s Conference with Alvina, ate borscht, and then went to bed. 

The Women’s Conference

The next day was Friday, and Mom spoke in the evening⁠—the first night of the women’s conference. A very moving talk about how Jesus related to women. It’s interesting how even though Mom gives talks fairly often, I rarely get the chance to hear her.

She spoke again Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon, and in-between times we met new people, ate delicious food, and saw the sights of the colony.

The Mayan Ruins

Then, Sunday afternoon, we did our first truly touristy thing by going to some local Mayan ruins. I was fascinated. 

Apparently Mayan ruins are everywhere in Belize. Farmers find them in their fields. Even at the place we went, there were some mounds that were presumably full of ruins that hadn’t been uncovered yet.

Alvana told us that these were temples where Mayans did human sacrifices. Whenever I hear things like that, I always wonder, but how do we know that’s true? How do we know what Mayans of long ago did with their temples?

Well, it turns out that the Mayans had written language. And they wrote down details about the human sacrifices they performed.

The Beach

Mom gave her last talk Sunday evening, and Monday, our rest day, we headed to the beach. 

But first I gave a talk about writing to some local schoolchildren.

Then off we went to the wide and wonderful ocean, and I bobbed about in the warm waves for hours and hours, having the best time ever.

The End of the Trip

It was a wonderful trip. We left that Tuesday, munching on stewed chicken we bought from a vendor outside the airport. 

It truly was such a phenominal trip that I wish I could post something twice as detailed and three times as long about all we experienced. But the truth is, I traveled to see the eclipse this weekend, and just didn’t find the time to finish this post until right now, Sunday evening, the day it’s due.

So please enjoy the words I’ve managed to write, stare at the pictures, and then close your eyes and imagine some place very nice and sunny, full of wonderful smells and welcoming people, and you’ll get a small taste of what the trip was like for me.