Jacob's Farm

This post is somewhat of a sequel to the earlier post labeled Women's Ministry.

Jacob's Farm is a farm for men in the community recovering from alcohol and drug addictions.

The farm is shepherded by Ishmael Vallejos, an elder in the Presbyterian church here, and brother of Lydia Vallejos.
The farm is run by Senor Mauro, a former alcohol and crack addict.
There are currently two other residents at the farm.

The farm itself consists of four tilapia ponds, numerous rows of fruits and vegetables (peas, cilantro, watermelon, etc.), a couple of pigs and some chickens. They attempt to be self-sufficient and sell many of their produce in town.

Their time is spent in prayer, bible study and farm work. This week the other two men are assisting in the renovation of the women's safe house already mentioned.

This would be a good ministry to pray for and support.

Women's Ministry

Lydia Vallejos, a lady in our church here, is involved in a pair of ministries in Patchacan.

The first is a store - it has been open less than 6 months. A local convenience store run by women who are part of an inter-denominational group in town. Pray that this would be a good source of income for these ladies and their family.

The second is a currently, as this is being typed, under-renovation women's safe house. There is an apparent need for this in this the community (like most around the world), often due to alcohol abuse by their husbands. Pray for safe, but sound, construction. Pray for effective use of this home. Pray for our Lord to come quickly so that this house will no longer be needed.

Snow in Belize

Just like in North America, we too are experiencing the effects of global warming ... er, I mean climate change.

Men are going to work in jackets, hats and gloves ...

We are having to wear long sleeve t-shirts during the day ...

A single bedsheet at night is no longer sufficient to keep us warm ...

I can no longer run shirtless, or with just a tanktop ...

I think thermometers are registering down to the high 50's ...

But I am just kidding about the snow :D

Neighborhood kids

We have been able to develop a good relationship with some of the local kids. As you may recall, this has stemmed from an invitation to Hudson's birthday party.

Anyway, they have been a real pleasure to be around.

They have been good to our boys in numerous ways. They have given them marbles, fed them fruit and made sure they are well-included in games to name just three.

We have had the opportunity to have a few movie nights and have watched Bolt, Kung Fu Panda and the new VeggieTales - Saint Nicholas.

They have been by our house to play and make crafts.

Tattoos my mom have sent me have been a big hit.

They have taught Charity how to properly fry tortillas and plantains.

They truly have been a blessing to our family.

Happy New Year's

We had the pleasure of celebrating New Year's at Jose's home.

Of course, we had pinata's.

We also burned a stuffed person (doll), which represented 2009.

We were given 12 grapes to be eaten at midnight, for 12 wishes for the new year - though this gringo didn't know you save the grapes until midnight!

There was an impressive fireworks display at midnight, too.

Cartera's

My friend, Rebecca Vallejos, works as a cleaning lady in the clinic three days a week.

On the side, she makes small purses (cartera's) out of old chip bags.

If you would like, I can get her to make you one.

They would come in whatever color you would like (red, green, orange, silver, blue, etc.), provided she can find the right chip bag.

Let me know if you would like one - they would cost you 10$ U.S., c.o.d.

Sugar Cane

As previously mentioned, Patchacan is a small village in a rural community.

Their major crop is sugar cane and harvest season has just started.

More info can be found here.

Here, sugar cane is a seasonal, labor intensive, inefficient means of living.

It also is associated with a host of work related injuries, both acute and chronic.

It is harvested by burning the field (I have no idea how they burn the field without burning the crop), cutting it down with machetes and loaded onto trucks.

Most of the people I know here either harvest cane or have cane fields that others harvest for them.

The cane is also good for kids to snack or teethe on!

School

I think I may have mentioned before that the outreach here is multi-faceted.

In addition to the clinic, there are several educational institutions that have been teaching the youth here. On-line info can be found here.

If anyone is looking for a ministry to give to, the Presbyterian Day School (PDS) would be one. Teacher salaries have been at least a month behind since I have arrived.

You can see some attached photos above. You will see a couple of pictures of school bus that goes through Patchacan to take children to PDS, and then PDS itself. There are then three of Cornerstone High School (CHS).

Of note, many of the cinder blocks that compose the second story of CHS were carried up the stairs by me in 2004!

Housing II

I had an interesting conversation with an 11 year old (Jose), who plays with my boys here.

He talked about the thin (only he pronounced it "tin") children in Africa - the ones who were starving and you could see their ribs, just like the neighborhood dogs and cows.

Anyway, this was interesting to me for a couple of reasons.

First, I didn't think it diminished the contrast in living conditions between here and home for the O'Neill's.

Second, poverty can be relative thing. Despite the lack of many material things here, there are definitely worse places in the world. I think Jose already has an idea that people like the O'Neill's have many material blessings that he doesn't have. But he also knows he has far more than others in the world.

It is good to be thankful.

Housing

I thought this might be a good time to give you an overview of some of the homes in the Patchacan area.

As a rule, the homes are at best very modest - but often dilapidated.

Running water is a relatively new thing - within the last three years.

Most properties contain at least one thatched building. These serve as either a leisure structure, cooking area or primary living accommodations.

Now, one might be able to find some similar structures in areas of North America. They may not even be too uncommon on Keel Mountain or New Hope.

I suppose the major difference might be that there is no comparable Hampton Cove or even areas like West Huntsville.

In the pictures, you will notice our home as a comparison. Also, there are several simple Mennonite homes - they look luxurious in comparison to the village homes.

Finally, it must be noted that these homes are just possessions, and provide no commentary on the character of the people, their values and especially whether or not they are content.

Scorpions

Charity used a fly swatter to smash this one.

It had been "lurking" underneath our kitchen garbage pail - unfortunately, Athan tends to hang out there!



A few other things, ...

I have been telling the boys to shake out their shoes before they put them on - maybe now they will listen.


This one doesn't seem so threatening, but I am curious where his mother and/or father are. Full-sized scorpions here are 4-6 inches in length.

And this leads me to my final point.

We have been told repeatedly that scorpions travel in threes - and this is only the first :(

Transport

As I have mentioned, we are located in a small town and the people live a mostly agrarian lifestyle.

Above you can see some of the typical ways the people here get around.

Church

We go to church twice on Sunday, once at 9.30am and then again at 6.00pm.

At our church in Alabama, Redeemer, we only have one service on Sunday.

This frees us up to either have a time of family worship (very important), or spend time with my family (also, very important).

However, I also miss having church twice on Sunday and we get to experience that here.

If only I could understand more than 25% (10%?) of what they were saying!

p.s. Charity says the picture only makes it look like women's bible study is in a dungeon
p.p.s. Charity also says to remember these photos next time you complain about your bathroom. We even bring our own T.P.

Village animals

We live in close contact with a wide variety of animals.

Here are just a few ...