School Project and Kendal Bridge

Adam and Leslie worked on a project for the school that we all finished up on Wednesday. The day was a blur as we finished laundry, shopped for Noel, and stopped off at Machaca Road to say good bye to our friends.

While we were visiting on Machaca road, the topic of traveling to Belize City was of great interest. With the amount of rain we have been receiving, several people told us that the temporary bridge, called the Kendal Bridge, was not passable. The original bridge was destroyed in the summer of 2007. This temporary bridge is not sufficient, but it is the only thing that connects the North to the South. Kevin immediately began to make phone calls to find out if we would be able to get to Belize City. The initial reports were that the bridge was closed until 7:00 pm but may be opened in the morning, if there is no more rain.

We all fell into bed, exhausted and sort of stressed out about our next day drive. We were hopeful because the stars were out as we crawled into bed. At about 2:00 a.m, the wind began to pick up, the rain came down and the thunder roared. Our thatch dropped leaves all over our beds. Kevin got up and tried to see what was happening outside. All of the sudden we heard Aaron's voice. We yelled outside but the wind was so bad, it was hard to hear. We knew that if the kids were having trouble they would come to our cabana. It was pitch dark out, and the electricity was out. We brought walkie, talkies to communicate with each other just in case something like this happened. I forgot to charge it during the day! I do not remember when I finally fell back to sleep.

At day light, we learned what happened! Adam, Leslie and Aaron were watching a DVD in Leslie's cabana when the weather turned bad. They debated on what to do as the wind picked up and the thatch began to be whipped around. They took all of her belongings and moved them into the bathroom as they realized the roof may take flight. Just as they were preparing to move her things, a hole was blown and nature came in! This is when we heard the voices as all three of them ran into Adam and Aaron's cabana to wait out the storm.

For the last two weeks, I have become more and more impressed with our dear, sweet, Leslie. She was bitten up on her legs from bugs more than anyone in our party. She always had some strange thing happening in her cabana as she tried so hard to get some sleep. Each day she would come into the Lodge and we knew she had very little sleep. Yet, she did not complain one bit. Not only did she suffer silently, she used what energy she did have to get to know all of our village friends. The young girls especially were drawn to Leslie and she never held back even if she was tired, hot or buggy! I have always known that Leslie was a very special, young woman. Now however, I believe she is a true gift and will be greatly used in her career in medicine. She has a tender, merciful heart. I know she loved our adventure, but I am sure she is ready to have her own bed and no bugs.

We are now in Belize City, settling in for the night, awaiting a good night sleep before we fly home. Blessed air conditioning and TV!!!!! Keep Kevin in prayer. He has to drop us at the airport and will travel back down to Big Falls, (yes, he needs the bridge to be open). He will be alone for the next couple days and I know he does not want to experience any inclement weather without us! We look forward to seeing him on Monday night when he comes home too.

Thanks for taking your time to read about our journey that clearly reached into the past and was purposeful in makings sense of some of the choices we have made. Most certainly though, this trip has given us the time we needed to be together once again, in a place that will always hold memories of great personal growth, joy and friendship.