Day 2: Tuesday - Workday (part 2)

We rolled out of the Baptist Training Center at 8:00 AM to travel to Marla's House of Hope. Just out of the BTC we met our third van being delivered to replace the one that overheated yesterday.  Soon we were all on our way for our first day of work.  Marla's House of Hope is an orphanage that houses around 20 young people - mostly girls - who have been victims of abuse.  They were mainly elementary and middle school age.  We found that several of the rooms had been painted recently, and the rain was threatening so starting on the outside walls was not an option.  The paint we thought would be on-site was not, so we worked with the house mother in selecting paint colors for a girl's dorm room and a living room and hallway.  In the U.S., a trip in and out of Lowe,s for paint is pretty quick.  In Belize, a trip to Builders Hardware is another story.  Being waited on, checked out, and then paying at a separate window all takes time.  Even so, by mid-morning our youth were painting walls inside.  You should know that EVERYONE worked very hard today and the results are readily visible.   A team working with Melanie Orange has started a mural and several worked on lettering Bible verses over the doorways throughout the house.

After lunch the clouds began to give way to sun, which means that we will be painting the exterior of the building over the next couple days.  Late afternoon found us washing down the outside walls readying them for paint.  We also have a small group who will be painting a couple dorm rooms at the Kings Children's Home in Belmopan.  Our youth are working so well we felt they could spread their work to another place.

We returned to the BTC a little before 5:00.  Some local ladies had jewelry and baskets spread out at the entrance to the BTC, so some shopping was done.  A warm or cool shower, depending on the status of the water heating units felt good after a long hot day.  Our dinner of spaghetti, salad and cake disappeared from plates rather quickly!

Devotions are at 8:00 tonight followed by a tarantula hunt on the BTC grounds led by He-man, the camp caretaker.  Not to worry, these are tame tarantulas, and He-man knows the grounds very well.

God has been good to us on this first day of work.  A slow start turned into a day of great progress.  Fresh paint livens up a room, and we hope will brighten the lives of the girls who sleep in the dorm room at Marla's.  The weather seems to be changing from clouds and rain to sunshine - thanks for the prayers for good weather.  The youth have been dedicated workers and have also been very supportive of one another.  We anticipate a good night's rest and a fulfilling day of work tomorrow.

Your comments have been shared with the group, thanks for them.  Uploading pictures from this end is difficult; Internet speed is slow.  I will try tomorrow morning to post one or two.