So long Belize! It seems that after 4 months of living here in Belize we will be heading back the good ole US of A. I have to say, I love my native country, but I am really going to miss Belize. After all the prayer and confirmation we had, I thought this was going to be a permanent move, but I guess God has other plans. So why are we moving back? Well because, although we researched heavily, and not only did we have a plan, but we also had a back-up plan before coming to Belize. Yet we just couldn’t foresee everything. There are certain fees for starting the business and getting our residency that are more than we thought, and we simply don’t have enough. I know that God can provide no matter how bleak the situation looks, but we prayed long and hard about this one too. I trust God to lead my husband Cassidy in the right way, so that he can lead this family in the right way. God has never let me down, and I know He never will. Though I don’t always understand His ways, I trust that He knows best, and I have peace in knowing that He will bring us back. This is only temporary! In the meantime, I will try my best to make the best of the time I have left here, and I will continue to post pictures and videos.
[video]
[video]
Today we had to go renew our passports for the 3rd time. I can’t believe we’ve been in Belize for 3 months already! The guy at the immigration office asked us how we like it here. I said “It’s beautiful. I love it!” He asked me what makes it so beautiful. I said “I love the weather and the water.” I explained that where I’m from back in the states I was cold all the time and I hate being cold, but here it’s constantly warm and beautiful. He asked, “Don’t you have heaters and things like that?” I said “yeah, but…” and he said “It’s not the same huh?” I replied, “No, it’s not. I like doing things outdoors and being able to enjoy it without it taking an hour to warm up.” He sort of laughed and reminded us that after 6 months the fee to renew goes up $100 BZE instead of the $50 we’ve been paying. He handed us our papers and we walked down to the Treasury Office to go pay. After we paid the fee, we were given a receipt that we then had to show them back at the immigration office before they would stamp our passports for another month. The two offices are not part of the same building. In fact, they aren’t even close to each other. It was a really warm day today too, so we counted that walk back and forth across town as the cardio part of our workout for today. While walking to the Treasury office I was thinking about everything I read before coming to Belize, in regards to how business runs here, and those things were true. I then compared it to how it is back in the states. Although the U.S. has a lot of conveniences like certain services that work together are placed in the same building; I also realized I didn’t care for that convenience, because back in the states there are usually long lines. Even though they have several people open to help, the lines still usually move pretty slow. I read things are slow going here in Belize, but the lines are so much shorter. You usually only have one, maybe two people in front of you; if any at all. I also don’t think they go any slower here than they do back in the states. Not in the government sector anyway.
Stray dogs are a problem here Corozal. Many of the dogs have mange and are very emaciated. Apparently the health department and the police department teamed up to do something about this, because it is a health issue. So yesterday we heard an announcement come from a bull horn on a truck, and it was a warning for people to keep their pets inside to avoid accidental eradication. I wondered how they would go about getting rid of these dogs; hoping they would humanely euthanize them, but realizing we are not in the states. I’m sure they don’t do things like that here. Then this morning, as we were leaving to go work out, we noticed a trail of blood crossing our gate and leading around the corner. My first thought was the eradication of stray dogs. I asked some of the ladies from church today if they knew what they do to get rid of the dogs. They said the dogs are poisoned. I can’t help but feel so bad for these dogs. I feel bad for them starving and full of mange, and I understand it’s not much of a life; but to have such a horrible end to an already miserable life! It’s so sad.
I haven’t posted in a while because we’ve been busy with Easter and making plans to go down to the Placencia area next month. We’re hoping to live there for at least a month to have time to check everything out. We also want to take a trip out to snorkel with the Whale Sharks. They are in the area right now and I would absolutely love to swim with the Whale Sharks! The place we found to live, is in Maya Beach. It’s a few miles north of Placencia and it looks like a nice place, but the lease agreement they want us to sign is ridiculous! They are actually asking us to sign away certain rights; which is illegal for them to do…and yes I looked it up in the Belize laws. I’m not going by what I’m used to back in the states. We emailed them with our concerns, and God willing they will rectify the situation and we will move in next month. If God chooses to close this door, then we must keep looking, ‘cause we already put in our 30 day notice here. I know it will all work out for the best though! Oh, and I’ve been wanting so badly to start working out again. There happens to be a gym across the street from us, on the opposite end of the block. How convenient is that! So we signed up and started working out a couple of days ago. It feels so good to do something positive and healthy for yourself!
[video]
[video]
[video]
[video]