Zeebers Goes to Church... and other Sunday stuff...

Zeebers was a good boy at church this morning. He really likes people- especially ones who let him play and sing!



He couldn't figure out what all the knobs on the sound board were for, though, and the sound guy wasn't really happy about him trying them out!



He also went to Savannah's volleyball practice. I had to watch him pretty close around all the cute girls!



But Zeebers soon found out what happens when you get the attention of cute girls... they want to play dress-up with you. He is sporting a new, stylish earring!



He's such an attention hog, it didn't matter. Actually, I think he kinda likes it! He also got a new hair style. Savannah said she did it in the style of Deedee Pickles! I'm sure he wouldn't want to know that, though.

The internet is working, so I told him I'd post these pictures so everyone would know he is safe and having fun! We're going to bed now so that he can get up and have a good breakfast before we go to work tomorrow.

Zeebers is Here!!

Zeebers arrived in my mailbox on Saturday. He seemed really happy to be out of his box!



He wanted to get online and let his mommy and daddy know that he made it to NC ok. But I had to explain to him that the internet hasn't worked all week. AT&T decided to discontinue DSL in this area and replace it with U-Verse. It was supposed to be an easy "plug-this-in" kind of thing, but of course, nothing is ever that easy. Zeebers tried to help fix it, though.



So instead, he went exploring the house. Once he found Scary Cat (that Susan sent me one year) he decided to stick a little closer to me!


I was doing the dishes and he wanted to help...



... and figured out the dish detergent was the same color as his hair!



He also went digging in my purse. I guess no one ever taught him that wasn't a nice thing to do. He found some funny money! I had to explain to him that it is real money, but only if you spend it in Belize!



I made him put it away so we could get ready to go to my friend Paula's surprise birthday party. He heard the word party and was ready to go! He really liked her...



He also liked the booze that was flowing! But I reminded him that we were going home and going to bed because we had church in the morning. He was pretty good about it, but I think he kept trying to figure out how he was going to sleep in late! All in all, it was a good first day with Zeebers!

I think we have Belize brain...

Yep, there's more... wisdom from Wednesday...

- Hallelu-err... praise de Lurd!
- Sometimes we all need a time out
- Next time you're on a tour bus, look past the sights and see the people
- Beware the grande lizard
- It's a hicky day (humid and sticky, get it?)
- Sometimes I'm not a pretty plant, but I have nice fruit
- A man, no duh
- Just watch where you step
- I'll just have a granola bar
- Everyone can have my cooties
- You really can share the same spoon
- We're not in Kansas anymore
- It isn't surprise, it is awe.
- You've called the mental health hotline- for OCD issues, press 1 repeatedly
- Pride came before your fall, and I'm the one who tripped you!
- Who came up with this list?
- To Belieze or not to Belieze? That is the question
- Bad monkey!
- I'm gonna love on that fish- it's looking me in the eye
- It works when you serenade a girl and eleven of her friends
- There is no tomorrow
- I don't know what is in it- it just came that way
- I'm spontaneous!!! Well, ok, no I'm not.
- That moment when you realize you have body function envy...

More collected wisdom (really?) from Belize

- Thank you Mr. "My Mouth"
- Can I have a washcloth?
- Apparently, we all have cooties
- Behold the Beliezean Mona Lisa
- Hang that on your wall
- That's not going on the list
- You may get cancer, but the mosquitoes won't bite (speaking about Deet)
- It's like tomorrow today
- God loves God
- How did your hand fall in the sandwich?
- Smurfs or Care Bears?
- Honey, there's something in the water
- I do this every morning
- Let's be musical later
- Here, hold this, you can have it (the lady in the park who tried to give us her baby)
- This is what heaven sounds like
- They all have a name
- Encouraging others encourages you, too.
- You can make a difference to this one.
- Victory in Jesus!
- I do remember signing something, but I don't think I read it.
- I marked that part out.
- Do you want me to come hold your hand?
- Every little bit counts
- It goes around but it doesn't go down
- I have affected our toilet
- Tings already bettah.
- Oh, I think we're lost
- She's just airing out
- It's just like dating Taylor Swift
- Guys, we're so messed up!

And the wisdom from the coffeehouse wall:
- To do the impossible you need the best team.
- Everyone gets knocked down; what's important is getting back up.
- Consider no task beneath you.

Thoughts from Belize- Day Two

Believe it or not there is more...

- Candles make it all smell better
- Look, it's another lizard!
- Is that really an app on your phone?
- If only "pull my finger" really worked.
- Generic space bags DON'T work
- What is that scurrying bug I hear?
- Sure, I have room for your chocolate cake!
- Little lizards are still potent
- We love our Tender Heart Care Bear
- What happens at breakfast stays at breakfast
- The bucket only holds grace.
- It's the "J" word- and I'm not talking about Jesus!
- What would Paul say?
- Don't believe anything Paul says!
- Without Moses, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere
- Apparently, it's 24/7
- No worries, mon.
- There's a palm tree in the middle of that forest!
- It was a nice summer February day.
- Leave the crack alone
- The further down you go, the less you have to fall (said while descending the Mayan ruin)
- The Dirty Dozen- buy 12, get 1 free
- "Heck to the no!"
- Whatever floats your boat (or flies your plane)
- The feeling's passing
- It's the happy side of OCD
- God doesn't always want us to finish, He wants us to try.
- I laughed so hard tears ran down my leg.
- It's a beautiful ting
- Seeing Mike in Will's fishnet stockings... priceless

More of these seem to be inside jokes, but enjoy nonetheless! There are a few pearls of wisdom there!

Things I learned today...

Things I learned in Belize:
- Two male iguanas cannot share the same tree
- Don't flush the toilet paper
- Paula really doesn't always have everything
- Two or more bodies can share the same crypt
- Space bags really work
- Kids love worship!
- Is it burning coconut husks or cannabis?
- Give tanks for Heat!
- You must always have manners (even when grabbed)
- Racism is universal
- Sweets make friends fast
- Mission is messy
- It might be only half-done, but it is half-better
- Perfect worship doesn't always go perfectly
- If you want to shake it up, take a Belizean bus!
- You spend a lot of fishing time not catching fish
- Right now can be later
- Belizean napkins are the same size as a square of toilet paper
- "Swalloble" is a new word
- There are no bad words, only bad usage
- If you're eating together, it isn't fellowship, it's swallowship!

Belize- Day 1

I met Paula (with Ken and Luke) and Dava with David and the boys to go to the airport to catch our 10am flight to Belize City. Check in was uneventful and included the "I need to take everything out of your bag, ma'am" typical search I seem to get every time I fly! I think what triggered it was my flash drive. The guy took it out and turned it over, extended it, then put it back. I guess it looked like a pocket knife. Funny, but I missed a small hand sanitizer that should have been in my liquids bag and wasn't. They didn't find that!

The 3 1/2 hour flight was smooth and the flight crew was lots of fun. Flying in over Belize you get a good look at the blue ocean water, the scrubby tropical vegetation, and the marshy  areas that must breed malaria-carrying mosquitos! Landing you see it up close. The guy directing in the plane was in a casual white shirt, pointing with his fingers. No orange signal cones here! Of course the plane taxis up to this strip of a building and they roll the stairs out to meet the plane.

Customs was easy for me, but Paula (and her three bags) had a little bit of a hard time. We got our taste of the heat and humidity as we went out to meet our bus and our bus driver for the week, Moses. Moses has 7 children, two in college in New York and the rest here in Belize. We also met the other volunteers from Habit Missions, Ian and Letricia, Paul, and Shane.

Our first stop was in the mountains near the Guatemala border. As we headed to the mountains from the coast, the landscape changed along with the houses. Many near the coast are built to withstand hurricanes (or permanently damaged from hurricanes). We checked in our hotel, The Aguada in Santa Elena, which is beautiful, and had about 30 minutes to put things in our room before we had to be back on the bus to go to a youth rally.

People in Belize don't do things on time. They're not concerned with missing an appointment. Things start an hour or more later than announced. That's how it was with this youth rally. We were there at 6:45- others got there more like 7:30 or so. It was slow starting but it turned out to be so fun! There were youth from seven churches there. Some had prepared dances, skits, and songs to share. Paula had a suitcase full of candy and Dava had tons of silly bands that we handed out. There was one little 5 year old boy who stole all our hearts- he started out far away and came closer and closer all night. The rally ended with the youth calling out songs and us singing them, often a capella.

Some of my observations from the day:
- Youth are the same no matter where you are! They're silly, attention-grabbing, love candy, and want their voices to be heard. They're beautiful and individual and trying to find their place in the world.
- God is the same everywhere, too. He's the same in the USA as He is here. He'll do amazing things if we open our hearts to Him.
- Traveling with a group is fun. This group in particular is filled with characters! It is going to be fun to see what they'll find to pick on next!

We had a great night's sleep and I'm ready for day 2- heading to breakfast, and then I have to give the message at worship this morning. God is good- all the time, no matter where you are.

This is my last post before I wing off to the tropics- y'all be good while I'm gone!

Not Tuesday... and not Ten Thoughts either!

1. This week is flying by and I've got so much to do before Saturday! If you missed it, I'm leaving for Belize on a week long mission trip. We'll be working mostly with homeless youth. I'm excited and a little nervous, too. Leaving Savannah with my mom- and I'm not used to being gone from her that long!

2. I have to pack! I do have a good list, but haven't even cleaned out the suitcase yet. Considering I have something tonight, tomorrow night, and I have to take Savannah to a friend's (so they can take her to her volleyball tourney) on Friday, I'd better start using every minute. Guess I can rest on the plane!

3. So all my thoughts are Belize-related. For those of you who love geography, we'll be in Santa Elena, Belize City, and Caye Caulker. Luckily, it has been warm here (in the 60's) and will be in the 80's there. I hope it is still warm when we get back!

4. So that's it- no more thoughts. Which is ok... I guess I should be digging out the suitcase instead of writing blogs anyway! Have a great week!