There is a rat that visits Strong Tower every night. I’m almost always the last one to bed and this little rat and I have developed a kind of relationship. He wiggles in through some open window at the exact time as I’m walking to the bathroom, or going to get water. I freak out a little, he scurries away, I scurry away, and the whole thing starts over again the next night. No one believed that I had seen him until we came back from camp and he had left behind some evidence. I’ve set traps and I just can’t seem to catch the thing. When I realized that tonight will be the last dog and pony show with my little rat friend, I got a little bit sad. Not so much because I’ll miss the rat, but because I’ve come to love the quirks of this place. I like hearing the different animals at night (people included). I love the awkward, high pitched sucking sound that bats make almost as much as I liked learning today that that is not actually the sound that bats make but the sound that geckos make (I wish I had known that last night when I heard it in my bedroom and was sure that a bat was hanging under the bed). I like hearing the water and the rain. I like hearing Miss Sheryl sing Whitney Houston off key at the top of her lungs while everyone is trying to sleep. In the past few weeks I’ve had the chance to sing, to meet amazing people, to work out my faith, to make a sweet friend in Elly, to drive like a maniac through the decaying streets of Belize City, and to laugh and laugh and laugh…and laugh. All in all, three weeks wasn’t nearly enough time here. I feel like I’ve been here my whole life, and at the same time like I just arrived.
Yesterday I got to spend the whole day with a new friend. We didn’t do much, just went to a VBS, made fun of some of the videos and song that the kids were dancing to, and made lunch. I knew when we planned to get together on Friday that she was the reason that I came to Belize. I gained so much from everything that I did—driving people, being up at Strong Tower, going into the jungle, eating rice and beans—but something about the friendship we forged will really stay with me. It’s amazing how God can bring two people together from two very different places to encourage each other. I felt pretty Belizean too while we walked around downtown. Usually if I just keep my mouth shut, people assume that I’m one of them and I melt in a little bit better. I’ll miss that, and black people in general J
Pray for and support the ministry here. There are so many people who need the Lord and hope. Strong Tower has so much potential to help girls who have been abused and need to learn discipline and to be loved, but the funding and the staff just aren’t there. I know that the Lord has a plan for this city and I am so grateful that in some incredibly small way, I get to be a part of that plan. I love that I have made connections with some of the girls here and that I get the chance to keep in touch with them, to pray for them, and hopefully to visit them again soon. I know that the Lord works all things out for good for those who love Him and I look forward to seeing the fruit that comes from the church here. I feel like there is too much to say about everything that has happened to really get it all down. I’ll try to throw some pictures up on Facebook in the next few days before I head to California.
…and reluctantly, on to the next adventure. First Harry Potter, a little Bunko, and a little family time, then off to California for a few weeks. I’ll check in again soon.
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