The day started by watching Katie run at the track while I studied my scriptures, then a few hours of paperwork and research to prepare for the exciting phase of the Succotz Revenue Project which we launched this afternoon! It has become important for us to make an in-depth profile of all the businesses in Succotz so we've decided to basically "tract" the entire village gathering business information. At one-o-clock Emily, MacKenzie, Katie, and I set off for Succotz to begin this venture. Emily and MacKenzie set off as one "companionship" since they had to leave together after 45 minutes for the writing class they teach. Katie and I covered the newly named Queen Elizabeth St, Church St, and Cemetery Ln. Between our two "companionships" we found and profiled 20 businesses in Succotz and we've only scratched the surface! We're going back on Thursday morning with a much larger portion of the team to try and finish off this profiling portion of the project. We actually took pictures of all the businesses today, but they weren't on my camera, so I'll post some of them probably on Thursday. Meanwhile, here's a picture of Emily and MacKenzie walking off to start profiling businesses on Jose Luis St:
Later in the evening after dinner with Mama Kay, several of us headed off the the home of the Medina's from the Santa Elena branch for FHE. We joined them for FHE last week and loved it, so we went back again this week. It will probably become our Tuesday tradition the rest of our time here (we have a team meeting on Monday nights, so they are doing their FHE on Tuesdays while we're here to accommodate us). They have a wonderful home that is probably the best I've seen in Belize. Going there feels like being in America again, both outside and in. They are among the very few to be so privileged in Belize, but they put it to good use and are very involved in their community and trying to bring about positive change. In fact, Sister Medina is currently running for public office to help make a bigger difference. If she wins, as far as we know, she'll be the first Mormon woman to ever hold a government office in Belize!
The rarity of seeing homes like the Medina's has been especially underscored the more I've spent time in Succotz. The Medina family lives in San Ignacio where a more thriving upper-middle class and even some wealthy people are more common. You may wonder why the HELP-International team chose to set up camp in one of the more well-to-do locations in Belize. It's actually because it is safer here and is in a nice central location to a lot of other poorer communities like Succotz, which is just 8 miles west. Now, San Ignacio still has lots of poverty, but places like Succotz are simply much worse off and thus demand a lot more attention. For example, last Friday night when we had the birthday for MacKenzie in Succotz, we celebrated at the house of one of the village council members we've been working with, Jose Luis. Let me detail his living conditions to you. He lives with his wife and two children in a home much smaller than any apartment I've lived in at BYU; they have an outhouse instead of a bathroom, and also an outdoor shower; they are one of the most well-to-do families in all of Succotz. I must admit that back in the states I sometimes thought of myself as "poor." I will never make that mistake again. As foreign as this world seems to me sometimes, the world I come from with its laptops, movie theaters, subsidized education, indoor plumbing, smart phones, medical care including immunizations, running hot water, etc. is just as if not more foreign to people here. Just one of those luxuries alone seems to many of these people like one of those things they will only ever dream of without any hope of every having. I have felt guilty for ever feeling "poor" or complaining about the dumb things I complain about sometimes. I don't usually go to bed wondering if I'll eat tomorrow. When I get sick I can see the doctor and get reliable and useful help rather than just dealing with even very serious problems untreated my entire life. I didn't have to stop going to school in 1st grade because my parents couldn't afford the $20 registration fee and needed my help with the small family business or farm anyway. Next time you want to complain about having to wash dishes, thank God that you have dishes to watch. Next time you complain about having to go to school, thank God that you are privileged to have an eduction. Next time you complain about cleaning your room, thank God you have enough room to clutter up in the first place since you aren't sharing the floor space with the beds of your other 5 family members. Next time your computer freezes or you lose some file, thank God that you have a computer and the knowledge of how to use it. I've met people who don't have any of those things.
God bless and have a good night.
This was a great post. We all need to be reminded how extremely well off we are. I guess the hard part for us is in the comparing ourselves for the other Americans around us. In comparison to those in places like Belize, it's an entirely different picture.
ReplyDeleteThe Succotz project is huge! Having the map and identifying the businesses so tourists can find all the village has to offer has the potential, in its self, to be a major boon for the village.
If I wasn't reading your blog and talking to you on Sundays, I would have no idea that such amazing changes can be made, and are being made by giving people like you and the others you are working with. Major warm fuzzy time!!!!!