God is so good, part II

Well, I survived the big apple; a.k.a. Belize City! I left on Wednesday on the express bus(express because it takes 2 hours as opposed to about 3 or so) and felt like Madeline going to Paris or something; was all excited, a bit anxious and hopeful that my first hostess remembered to pick me up at the airport. The minute I got off the bus, several men came up to me, asking me if I needed a ride or where I was going, to which I responded “No, thank you—I’m fine.” Like clockwork, Clara, the Executive Director from the YMCA picked me up at the bus station and took me straight to the Y’s office. I had committed to spending the next 24 hours with her, learning all I could about the Y and offer whatever assistance I could provide. The Belize City Y has a relationship with the Middle Tennessee Y and according to Mac, the Nashville Y would like to offer up more assistance, has tried to communicate that, but keeps running into a little brick wall. Mac suggested I go spend some time with her to help break down that wall so all afternoon(and till lunchtime the next day), I heard about the Y: the frustrations she’s had, the hurdles she’s had to cross, the need for more help, all of the projects she’s had her hands in and I could go on. It seems that she could utilize my help, but would rather me spent the remainder of my 2months in Belize, with her in Belize City; she said a day was just not going to cut it. After work, we took some freshly caught fish (from a friend) by the water to have some men take off their scales and de-bone (and de-guts) them. I so wanted to get my camera out but Clara told me “let your eyes take a picture” and I told her that I wanted my family and friends to see this (because it was quite disgusting) but she forbade it. That night, she had offered for me to stay with her so Executive Director by day really started to share more about her life, her past relationships and some probing questions on her mind(about life). There were several of my friends who would have loved to have been there, sitting by the water, eating pizza and listening to her questions, but for those of you who know me, I do not necessarily always love being probed nor do I love confrontation (she wasn’t necessarily confronting me but with much of what I would say, she would challenge me). Let me clarify and say that I do not mind being “challenged” per say but by a complete stranger is not something I am neither used to nor entirely comfortable with. Nonetheless, I enjoyed getting to know her not only to learn more about the Y but also about the woman who runs the show.

The next day, after a beans & rice and chicken lunch, Clara dropped me off at the home of Carolyn & Ernest Betson, my next host and hostess. I am sure all of you have had the experience where you immediately feel welcomed, in an amazingly warm way. Well, the minute I walked into the Betson’s home, Carolyn gave me a warm hug and said “Presh, you have such a gentle spirit” to which I responded “wait, you don’t know me!” and she responded “I can already tell.” Whether they were words just to make me want to hug her or not, I was instantly drawn to this woman, like being drawn to a cup of warm, hot chai tea on a cold, winter day. She brought me to her kitchen table where we proceeded to get to know each other, and then from time to time, I'd throw out one of the questions I had brought to ask her about her school. Carolyn is the principal of Unity Presbyterian School in one of the poorest parts of Belize City. The houses in this area are dilapidated(picture above is one from the neighborhood), held up by plywood and sheet metal and on stilts (since it is in the swamp). Carolyn’s husband, Ernest, is the preacher at Unity Presbyterian church and the two of them together are bringing (and have already brought) SUCH incredible joy, inspiration, encouragement and love to that otherwise, desolate neighborhood. Carolyn and I sat at her table for several hours and throughout our visit, I found myself drawn to this woman and her warm and incredibly bubbly personality; she is like a mother who comforts you, a grandmother who imposes wisdom on you, a sister with whom you can cry and a daughter whom you simply want to hug—all wrapped up into one. She has been through a series of hardships and pain in her life (she now has lupus and until recently, has been laid up in her bed, unable to get herself out), yet she has the hope and energy you would not suspect in someone that is sick. She has such energy for life and for the Lord and one cannot help but to be instantly drawn to her warm spirit and overflowing joy. Throughout our visit, she repeated several times “God is so good”, a phrase, you might remember, that I titled one of my blogs (before I left for Belize). I couldn’t help but to smile as that phrase seemed to roll off both of our thoughts. Later that afternoon, I met her husband Ernest. If you can have one woman as abundantly warm like Carolyn, how could you, you ask, have a husband who is equally joyful, warm and sweet? Well, it is true; Ernest Betson was the perfect match for what he called his “honeybunches”, Carolyn. They took me to dinner in Old Belize, a part of Belize City that is unique in that the restaurant/museum has captured some history and culture of the country. After a delicious burrito and watermelon juice dinner, I told them about a jump/kick up your heels move that my mom used to do, when walking down the street (and if truth be known, she started doing it to embarrass us as teenagers); I now love to do it to celebrate, well, life and just to give off some energy. So, I told Carolyn and Ernest about it and said they had to do it, especially since Carolyn was not only no longer in bed, but was walking around spry and full of so much life. So, as we left Old Belize, we all did the jump and kick up your heels move that my mom coined and that made all three of us laugh, true in your belly laughs. I’ll have to show each of you this jump/kick up heels move (although I know I have shown some of you before); for when you do it, you cannot help to smile, no matter WHAT you’re going through.

So, after the burst of energy, they proceeded to drive me around the city for about 45 minutes, being better than any tour guide I could have paid. At one point, they drove me past the house they used to live in and Ernest got out of the car and got TWO coconuts from the tree in their old yard, all because I had said I’d never had fresh coconut juice. They were the kind of hosts that I hope to be now and one day , when I have a family; not only did they make you feel so welcomed (in every sense of the word), but they made you feel like you were a part of their own family. They have 3 kids, 2 of whom I met briefly before dinner, but it wasn’t until the next morning, that I got to spend time with their daughter, Nikki.

The next morning, they insisted that I sleep in(which was easy to do in the bunk bed room that faced the water; I felt like I was at camp and the beach, at the same time!) and then fixed breakfast of toast, incredible cheese and the FRESH coconut juice, which was delicious. Oh and Carolyn is a woman after my own heart as she doesn’t drink coffee(like yours truly) but loves green tea so she happily made two cups of green tea for both of us. Nikki was at breakfast and within a few minutes, she looked at me and said “Presh, I feel like you’re a sister” to which I responded “I feel like ya’ll are a second family.” She then proceeded to tell me that for years, she had had a negative impression of Americans, because of the cast of missionaries she had met over the years who were pompous, high maintenance, demanding and rude (several, when offered food and drink from her family, declined the offer as they were afraid they would get sick---but the manner in which they did it was quite offensive to the family). She told me that it wasn’t until she met Mac Kelton that she began to form quite a different impression of Americans as he was quite the opposite of what she had before only encountered; he was humble, extremely gracious and took the time to get to know her (and her family). Her lifelong dream has been to go to medical school and when she has shared that with Americans whom she has met, they have looked down upon her and given her the reaction like “are you sure you could do that; how could you afford that” and other such negative reactions. Hearing that seriously made me feel such strong emotion inside; I had seen rude, high maintenance, belittling Americans but the fact that these were “missionaries” made me really upset. Now, I know that just because someone claims to love God and serve Him by coming to another country to do work does not at all say that they are the type person that I esteem to be, nor one to whom I would look up or admire. No title or role can make you automatically respect someone; instead, a person’s inside truly shines through in situations, especially (I am finding out) in another country. The fact that Americans came down here (and are still coming down here) and acted like that makes me upset but I am thankful that Mac was able to dispel their stereotype of Americans and at least allow them to see that missionary or no missionary, respect for someone’s culture is so important and once you show that respect, your true character and inside are then revealed. Since they already associated me with Mac before meeting me, I was already taken under their wing and loved, for which I was very grateful. So, back to Nikki. She is still pursuing her dream of med school (she has one more year of college) and is now considering, God-willing, to go to the states (and possibly Nashville) for her graduate dream. They cannot, however, afford to send her but they know that with God, all things are possible, so they are starting to pray.

As I rode away in the bus, leaving the dilapidated houses of the swamp and the life-giving family of the Betsons, I could not help but to join them in prayer for Nikki to follow her dream. No amount of negative comments or people looking at her like she is crazy to even want to look at med school could stop her; she is an extremely intelligent and driven young lady with a warm spirit that equals her parents’ and any medical school would be lucky to have her. Today’s psalm, fitting enough, is “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7) and I do believe that with some patience and prayer, if Nikki is meant to go to med school and God-willing, she will.

My bus ride back to Corozal was not the express so the loud hump-ity-bump music continued. There are times when I kind of enjoy the energetic tones but last night, after such an enjoyable visit with the Betsons, I decided a little Dave Barnes and Brooke Frasier were more the speed I was wanting. I feel confident that most of you reading this know Dave’s music, and if not, stop what you’re doing, go to the nearest CD store and purchase yourself some Dave Barnes STAT. One that you might not know, however, is Brooke Frasier. I recently was introduced to her music Australian(or is it New Zealand) voice and I have grown to really love her music—her words, her tune and her passion; I also recommend you get her CD. I couldn’t help but to smile, as Dave and Brooke calmly let my way home, because I looked in the seat in front of me and saw a girl who couldn’t be much older than 3, with her fingers in her ears. She needed some Dave and Brooke too, instead of the reggae music that was probably deafening her drums!

I arrived back in Corozal as the sky was getting darker and the full moon was shining down and I smiled, anxious to add several new things to my “hugs and fingerprints from God” poster. The other reason I smiled is because God is so good not only to have brought me safely back to home sweet home, but that He introduced me to a family who embraced me as one of their own and who I know, without question, that I will not only will I see again over the next 2 months, but that I want to keep in my life, forever. (Ernest even asked if they would be invited to my wedding one day when they asked if I was single; my eyes lit up as I told them “OF COURSE!”) God IS so good and full of such rich surprises!