Settling In

Things are continuing to move along in Belize and I am sorry for my lack of communication but I have been working at really settling in.  Our things have been unpacked and settled in the house for awhile and I know the clinic and mobile routines but it is the mental adjustment that we really are going to be living here for at least the next 2 years.  It is one thing to spend a few weeks working in a strange place with inconveniences but at some point there comes a realization that you are not going back to the known, the comfortable anytime soon.  Even though I have moved frequently in my life, it has never been easy for me.  This move has also been particularly challenging both mentally and physically.  

It has not helped that Quinn has struggled in his new school.  Fortunately, a new couple arrived from the U.S. a week ago to work with us for the next year.  She is a pharmacist and they have three boys (the youngest is only 7 weeks old!). The older two boys are aged 6 and 4 and Quinn bonded with them immediately.  They enrolled in the same school as Quinn and even though are not in his class, it has given him a bit more confidence and security.   He is also not quite the novelty that he was and the other kids seem to be more accepting of him.  It is still a daily challenge to help him adapt to such different surroundings and culture.

This week I was upstairs in the kitchenette at the clinic and noticed something taped on the cabinet that I had not seen before.  It is simply written but seemed very applicable to me:

When the space is cramped,

and the shower is cold,

and my sunburn really stings,

When my stress is high and my patience low,

and I'm sick of rice and beans.

When mosquitoes sting and sand fleas bite,

and I spend the night a-itchin'.

When the sight of bugs and the threat of lice

is enough to set me twitchin'.

When the mud's waist deep,

and the power goes out,

and the water's just a drip,

and I wonder why I ever thought

I'd enjoy this sort of trip.

When several women share the shower;

wash undies in the sink,

And an internet that's often down

Is my only Stateside link.

When I want to scream, and I want to cry,

and I'm ready to complain.

I'll remember that in all these things,

I'm to praise His Holy Name.

I will set aside my petty needs;

and pray for a servant's soul.

And a mind that doesn't dwell on me

will be my greatest goal.

And when it's done, I'll see I changed,

but only through His grace.

For when I served the "least of these,"

I saw God's holy face!

- By Jackie Schmidt (founder of Hillside)

In the Maya village of Jalacte