Day 11: Thursday - Homeward Bound!!

Sunrise at San Pedro, Belize August 2, 2012

The Lord is my light and my salvation - 

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life - 

of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1-2

Come though house of Jacob,

let us walk in the light of the Lord

Isaiah 2:5

I am the light of the world.

 Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,

 but will have the light of life.

John 8:12

For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"

made his light shine in our hearts to give us

the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6

Day 10: Wednesday - San Pedro and Day 11: Thursday - HOME

This was a relaxing day for us all.  There were a couple excursions for some and a lot of pool, sea, and shopping time for most everyone.  After breakfast the bicycle group of 8 took off for the north island. We rode along the beach for several miles looking at the Caribbean Sea on one side and some impressive homes and condos on the other side.  Lunch was a a small seaside restaurant.
A couple pictures:

 The pier at our restaurant

Restaurant parking lot

Four of our group took advantage of an opportunity to go fishing at sea this morning.  Jake seems to have been the lucky one to land a five foot barracuda.  Lots of fish were caught (or so the tale is told) but no proof, the fish were returned to the sea after they were caught.

Pizza was delivered at the villas tonight and after devotions we walked for ice cream.  Packing and one last swim on the pool before bed.

The morning will be busy with checking out, eating breakfast and catching the 8:00 AM water taxi.  We meet our vans in Belize City then then transfer to the airport.  We will check bags, go through security, and wait for our flight which departs at 12:50.  Arrival in Charlotte at 6:12 PM.  It will take time to clear immigration and customs, get he bus from parking, load up and drive to Marion.  We will let the call chain know if we are ahead or behind schedule once we are on the road from the airport.  We are all looking forward to seeing family at FBC Marion tomorrow night.  

We know prayers for travel mercies are being lifted up.  Say a prayer for Markham Orange, he is been feeling sick this evening, but it is good his Mom and doctor is here.  We pray that he is ready to travel tomorrow.

Last post for this day and tomorrow.  By the way we have reached almost 7,000 page views on the blog.  Thanks for checking in.

Day 10: Wednesday - San Pedro

Our last full day here in Belize and the last day of R&R.  Sun and blue skies early this morning, so it should be clear today - and hot.  Looks like some pool time today.  A few are planning a half-day fishing trip this morning, some will bike up the coast if bikes are available to rent, and just general down time to relax.

San Pedro is a busy town with narrow streets.  Golf carts and bicycles are the main method of transportation, with some cars and minivans.  It all makes for crowded busy streets.

Traffic circle with the town's statue of its name sake San Pedro - St. Peter.  Notice the K-Mart or CayeMart behind it.

The beach is narrow, and in many places a seawall and walkway divide the land and water.  Scuba diving is very popular here due to the long coral reef off-shore and the many cayes.  Scuba outfitters line the beach and offer daily tours to many diving destinations.

Here is a view of the beach and waterfront near our hotel:

Most are sleeping in tis morning; breakfast is not until 9:00.  I know where to get a cup of coffee early.

Day 9: Tuesday - San Pedro (part 3)

Our day in San Pedro:

Breakfast at Lilly's seaside restaurant
Snorkeling
Lunch at Elvie's Restaurant
Some shopping
Pool time/rest
Pizza dinner by the pool
Devotions

Not a bad day!!

A small sampling of pictures from Matt:
SHARKS!!

There are lots more pictures to come.  A CD will be prepared with a collections of pictures from several of us who have been snapping away all week.  

Our last day of R&R tomorrow will have a later wake up in the morning, breakfast and a relaxing day around the pool.  Optional bike riding if we can get rental bikes.  Lunch and dinner at nearby restaurants.

Day 9: Tuesday - San Pedro (part 2)

Here are a few pictures of where we are "roughing it."

And a couple pictures as the snorkelers took off:

Does it look like island life agrees with them?

Day 9: Tuesday - San Pedro

The sun is up and soon everyone will be getting up and going to breakfast at a nearby restaurant.  After that most will go snorkeling.  Off to get early morning pictures.

Here is a link to the video of the youth singing at Belmopan Baptist Church last Sunday.  It was the fastest way to get the video uploaded.

Youth singing "Come Ye Poor and Needy" at Belmopan Baptist Church, Sunday, July 29, 2012.
http://youtu.be/HucZYGKIeHA

Sorry about the choppy start and slight movement during the video, I was videoing with two cameras at once.

Day 8: Monday - Marla's and San Pedro

We are in San Pedro ahead of schedule!!  The youth spent the morning playing with the children at Marla's House of Hope and had a group photo with the completed mural.  Melanie, Lydia,  Grace, and Felipe spent many hours on it, and the results speak for themselves.

The mural is on a wall where the children have their meals.  Imagine how it brightens the room and remind them that Jesus loves all children.

There were lots of hugs as we said goodbye to the children.  There were some thank-you notes and cards made by the children for our youth.  They left knowing that what they did mattered in the lives of the children there.

After a quick lunch at the BTC we checked out and drove to the Art Box, a nice gift shop just outside Belmopan.  A few more souvenirs tucked away and we were off to Belize City to meet the water taxi.  We arrived before the 3:30 taxi, so were bumped up our departure to 3:30 instead of 5:00; so we arrived in Sam Pedro at 5:15 instead of 7:00.  Everyone is checked in to the Paradise Villas (free Wi-Fi by the way) and relaxing until dinner at 6:45.  We will eat at a restaurant a short walk away and then return for devotions.

Pictures of the area tomorrow morning.  Tuesday is snorkeling in the morning and pool time in the afternoon.  Weather is nice, sunny with a sea breeze on arrival.

Everyone is well and ready to eat.  More tomorrow.