Tuesday, January 27, 2009

B Is For Belize


It's time again For ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun. This week the letter is B. My favorite place to visit is Belize. Belize is a small country in Central America. I first went to Belize in 2004. 17 members of my church went to San Pedro, Belize to build a church. You can read about the project here. The San Pedro Sun article about the project is here. Below are photos of the completed church.

After Church
NEW HORIZON SDA CHAPEL

Woman In Red
BICYCLES AT CHURCH

New Horizon SDA School Classroom
NEW HORIZON SDA SCHOOLROOM

During our stay in Belize we learned to love the people, the culture, and the natural beauty. We have returned 3 times since our first trip, and we have had friends from Belize come visit us in Arkansas. We have made so many friends while in San Pedro. You can read the story of our friendship with the Amaya family here.

San Pedro Angel
ANGEL AMAYA

The story of little Jeffery is here. We talked to him and his family last night. His mother, Felicia is ill and the doctors can't find what is wrong. I would appreciate prayers in her behalf.

Jeffery and Felicia 05
JEFFERY AND FELICIA

During our visits to San Pedro, we have become good friends with Rigoberto Roches and his wife Shirley. They are wonderful friends who have invited us into there home. During the summer of 2008 they came to visit us in Arkansas. The story of their visit was published in our church paper. You can read it here.

Visiting with Rigoberto
MY DEAR FRIEND RIGOBERTO

One of our favorite things to do when we visit Belize is to go snorkeling. Belize has the second longest barrier reef in the world. Inside the reef, the waters are shallow and calm, and the amount of wildlife is amazing. Besides many kinds of fish and coral, there are stingrays and sharks. One of the tour guides that we made friends with was Eddie. He likes to play with the sharks, and had Gina help him bring this one to the surface for a photo opp.

Gina and Eddie hold a Shark
GINA AND EDDIE HOLD A SHARK

Belize is a beautiful and interesting place to visit. If you are a scuba diver, it is one of the premier diving locations ion the world. I loved getting up every morning to photograph the sunrise. There just happened to be some fisherman out on the water as I was taking this shot. It is one of my favorite photos from Belize.

Fisherman Sunrise 2
FISHERMAN SUNRISE

29 comments:

  1. It seems to be a wonderful place to visit, and that last picture was a winner!

    Alas, a bit far off...

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  2. You have here a nice sunrise photo too - and an interesting post. Thank you so much for the comment on my blog, Richies!

    Sue's Daily Photography

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  3. Lovely, and interesting, Richies. Bet it's warmer there right now than where you are. :)

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  4. You have increased my knowledge of Belize about six-fold - thanks.

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  5. Your pictures are lovely. It nice to look at some warm scenes. Both the climate of Belize and the wonderful church project warmed my heart. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  6. Lovely photographs, but holding a shark? No way! =o)

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  7. Before a friend of ours, who is a scuba diver, went to Belize I had never heard of it. She loved it too. It looks like a really beautiful and friendly place. Love the photo of Angel. Great face! And the one with the boat: great colours.
    (By the way: if you wear the same boots every day....don't they smell? ;-))

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  8. Thank you very much for taking us whith you on this trip to Belize :) Great photos :)

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  9. Great photos, I love pictures of people. Belize looks like a great place to visit. Thank you for tour/ Tyra

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  10. The last one is the most beautiful one !
    Greetings !

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  11. He likes to play with the sharks?!

    What a great project to be involved with.

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  12. I envy you this journey just for the incrediblel sunset alone

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  13. Looks like you were able to make a difference - and have a great time too! (Excellent combination...)

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  14. Wow a great entry for this week! That last shot was so pretty!

    My "B" entry is posted here and here. Hope you'll take a look as well. Thanks!

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  15. I've only been there once, but sometimes I wish I'd stayed. :) Warm and charming post - and yes, I'm sending prayers.

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  16. Short term mission trips are a wonderful way to learn about a country and its people. Great photos and information about Belize.

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  17. What a wonderful place to visit. Love your photoes too:)

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  18. Very beautiful photo. Wow, the shark has sharp teeth. I like the sunset photo. Love the colours of the sky.

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  19. I love your nature photos. Joining missionaries and giving help to those in needs are just the best good deeds we could ever do in this life.

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  20. Great photos! I also enjoyed the iced trees from the post above!

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  21. I love the work that you have done here. I love the friendships you have made! Rigoberto looks like he would have a great face for I heart faces! So much character. LOVE that!
    Did you see your picture in the mural the first week?

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  22. Wonderful photos, I especially like the close ups of people, so beautiful. I also like the next post of ice on Mena Street. The rust of the ground against the icy trees is very nice.

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  23. That is a beautiful photo! Have you gone out as far as the coral reef near the island of Helene?

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  24. Beautiful post! That last photo is superb!

    I'm also here on behalf of the ABC Team to thank you for posting.

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  25. Thanks for sharing your experiences and your love for Belize....that little Angel is adorable! And the last photo is awesome!

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  26. You make me wanna go to Belize right this instant.. :)

    Thanks for stopping by my ABC earlier.

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  27. Hello, Richie or Richie's or Richies (I'm not sure how you want to be addressed). I'm a first-time visitor here, arriving from "Pat - An Arkansas Stamper"'s blog. What a great blog you have. Everything I've read so far is just great. I'm sure I will enjoy spending a lot of time catching up on things Arkansasan.

    I may be one of the few of your many readers who is old enough (68 in six weeks) to remember Lum and Abner, how funny! And if you and Pat are both from around Mena, how fortunate that little town is!

    Bob Brague
    Canton, Georgia

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  28. Oh, I forgot to say that Belize used to be called British Honduras and our church (not SDA) has gone to the big Honduras (not the formerly British one) several times to the area around the city of San Pedro Sula. What a coincidence! I have no idea what a Sula is, though.

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  29. Richie, could I have your permission to use your photo FISHERMAN SUNRISE (in your Jan. 27, 2009 post about Belize) in a post I want to add on my website? It is perfect for what would be a God-honoring post. I would credit you as the photographer or source. But I won't use the photo at all if you don't tell me that I may.

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