We’ve now been back in the UK for three months. The time has rushed by. We wanted to catch up with family and friends. We needed to sort out lots of practical issues as we set up home, and of course we’ve spent time talking to USPG and others about our future.

We are now happily settled, for the moment, in our house near Grantham. It's been good to take time to readjust to life in the UK. The weather was a real shock at first - so cold! But gradually we have re-acclimatised, and can now brave the outdoors without coat and hat even when the temperature plummets as low as 15C.

Having some space and time to reflect has been really useful. Of course, we are very sad that our time in Central America was shorter than planned, and sad that it ended as it did. But thanks to the support we received from Churches and individuals here in the UK, we were able to give a year of our time to the Diocese of Belize. We know how much we have been enriched by our time there. And we know that we can point to positive things we have left behind.

We are still in touch with quite a few people in Belize, thanks to email and facebook. We were really shocked to hear about the earthquake off the coast of Honduras at the end of May, and by the photos we saw from Monkey River and elsewhere. (Fortunately, though there was extensive property damage, no one seems to have been seriously injured.)

So what next? One immediate priority is new jobs for each of us. Ideally, we would like one of us to be Parish based, and the other to have a chaplaincy, or other specialist ministry role. So we need two jobs, one Parish and one not, within easy travelling distance of each other.

Ruth is applying for healthcare and educational chaplaincies. Malcolm is looking at Parishes. It’s quite exciting – we need to go where the work is, and in principle we could end up anywhere! We've had some initial conversations with Bishops and Archdeacons, Ruth has had one interview for a post which she decided wasn't right for her, and more interviews and visits are in the diary for the next few weeks. Please continue to pray for us through this process.

And meanwhile we are both helping out locally in Parishes where there are currently vacancies. This is useful for them, and also gives us a chance to re-engage with ministry here in England. Ruth is helping out in Melton Mowbray, and Malcolm in Bottesford (nr Grantham).

Our other aim for the next couple of months is to try to arrange some visits to “report back” to
some of the Churches that have supported us and prayed for us over the last year. It will be good to share news of the Church in Central America, and who knows, perhaps encourage others to volunteer as mission companions too.

January 2009

This is quite a difficult blog to write, for reasons that will become clearer below.

But first the good news. Thank you so much for all your christmas cards and messages. It's been wonderful to hear from so many people, and we have felt encouraged and supported by your messages and prayers. Please note however that most of the letters we received had been opened and resealed by the post office, and locals have the same problem with overseas mail. They tell us that the temptation to look for money is too great for the mail staff to resist.
We hope none of you had sent any!!

As well as Christmas celebrations, December contained a number of highlights for us.

For Malcolm's 50th birthday, we went away for two nights to a jungle lodge. It was absolutely splendid, deep in the rain forest of the Maya Mountains. We saw lots of wildlife, including various toucans (our first in the wild). On a night time jungle walk through the forest, we saw scorpions, wolf spiders and a tarantula in its burrow. Malcolm also accepted an invitation to try termites, fresh from the nest. They were a lot nicer than I expected: a bit wiggly, but tasty - a bit like slivers of raw carrot. Certainly nice enough that I went back for seconds! Ruth decided to decline; she likes her food less wriggly.

Also at Christmas, we were very pleased to be able to help provide christmas gifts to 40 children in a local Red Cross feeding programme. The Red Cross told us that they had organised a party, but had no gifts for the children. Ruth contacted the committee of the Belmopan International Women's Group, which she belongs to. They provided the money, and we had great fun shopping for suitable gifts and delivering them to the Red Cross, who were very appreciative.

Malcolm also finished the second part of the schools religion programme for the Anglican Schools, and got everything sent off to teachers at the end of term

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services went well, and then New Year's Eve was another big service at St Ann's, followed by a New Year's Eve party and dinner which we hosted at the Rectory. Our friends had arrived from UK on the 29th, and they helped us cook all day. About 50 people were fed and "watered", and it went well.

In the middle of all the Christmas events and services, Ruth had a wedding outdoors on a farm in one of the rural villages; she also had a wedding blessing for a Garifuna family including drumming and Garifuna prayers. They sing the Lord's Prayer in the Garifuna language to the tune of "when a child is born", all holding hands.

The following Monday, January 5th, we escaped with our friends for five nights rest and recuperation on Caye Caulker, one of our favourite places in Belize. We had a fabulous week, including our first taste of snorkelling on the reef. This was a truly wonderful experience. We saw lots of fish among the coral, in crystal clear turquoise waters on a not too hot day, and swam with Manta Rays and a Nurse Shark. Wow!

But now the bad news, which some of you may have heard already. St Ann's Rectory in Belmopan was burgled again on Saturday night / early hours of Sunday morning the 11th/12th January. (The house was burgled previously in September). They stole electrical items, Ruth's laptop (including back up and all her work) and our digital camera, while we were asleep. (The theft of the camera is the reason for not including photos in this post). But in addition, we were woken by an intruder upstairs in one of the bedrooms. What followed was extremely unpleasant and threatening. We cannot go into details, but it left us and visitors who were staying with us traumatized and distraught. It is now clear that we and the house have been watched, and targeted deliberately. The intrusion only happened hours after we got back from our few days away, and an hour after our lights went out.

The events of the night left us and our visitors very shocked. We saw them safely on to a plane back home, and then went to see our Bishop here. We have concluded that we, and the house, have been targeted, possibly because we do not have any residential neighbours in any direction. We were no longer safe staying there.

We have all had to work through the implications of this. If we can't live safely in Belmopan Rectory, then Ruth's role as priest in charge of St Ann's, and local manager of the new school, has been brought to an abrupt stop. We arranged an emergency meeting with the Church Committee, to break the news to them. They too, of course, were shocked and distressed. But they understand that we have to be safe. However difficult this is for all of us, it is of none of our making. All we can do is respond as best we can, and try to find ways in which somehow good might come out of evil.

Since then, we have been struggling to work out what happens next. As well as having several meetings with Bishop Philip here in Belize, we have spoken to USPG in London and to family and close friends in the UK. We have taken time to think about our options, not to rush our decisions, and see what possible ways forward we can find. For the last few weeks we have been staying with our friend Maggie Patchett, who has provided wonderful support and hospitality.

We hoped to find some new role for Ruth. Though the training institute is in Belmopan, it is not essential that I live there, as much of my work happens elsewhere. But Ruth can't live elsewhere and still be minister of St Ann's. So we have been looking for a new role for Ruth that uses her experience and skills, where we might make a fresh start. We have looked at several options over the past few few weeks. But none of the suggestions really seemed to fit. And in all of this, the central issue for us now must be our personal safety. As we have found, guaranteeing our safety here is difficult, when we have such public roles.

So we have agreed with Bishop Philip and with USPG that the best option now is for us to return to the UK. The aim is for us to have a period of compassionate leave, and to use this time both to recover from recent events, and to think seriously with USPG about our future options. We have now confirmed our flight details and have been busy tidying up loose ends here. Malcolm is handing over his training course this Saturday and taking his final service in San Ignacio on Sunday. Then on Monday morning we will return the car to the diocese and fly out from Belize in the afternoon. Flying via Miami overnight, we'll arrive back in London on Tuesday 17th Feb.

We've arranged to go in to the USPG office in London for debriefing and health checks. After a few days with family we plan to move into our cottage near Grantham, where we'll be based for the interim. Please continue to hold us in your prayers as we say our final goodbyes here and decide what the best way forward might be.

Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas! We're writing this at 7.30pm local time, so it's already Christmas Day in the UK (we are 6 hours behind GMT). Outside the rain is pouring but that hasn't deterred the fireworks, which are going off all around.

Earlier this evening we went carol singing with a small group around the local shops. Later this evening Ruth has a service at St Ann's, while I will be driving out to St Ignacio for a service there. Then after the service, we've been invited to have a Christmas meal with the organist at St Ann's and her family. Our first midnight Christmas Dinner! Tomorrow there is a 9am service at St Ann's, after which we are free to celebrate our first Caribbean Christmas.

Last week St Ann's School had it's first Christmas Concert, with all of the children able to take part. It was slightly different from the sorts of Christmas concert we are used to in Britain - it combined the Christmas theme with a prize giving for the term's work, and a chance for the children to demonstrate some of what they had learned this term.But there was a traditional Nativity play to finish.

Thank you very much to those of you who have provided financial support to the school during this term. It has made a huge difference to the children. They now have a footpath around the school building and some children's Bibles. Local people have donated some books and toys. Fundraising has been successful and we are hoping to buy a scanner soon.

Aren't they cute?

Another highlight of last week was the Concert given at St Ann's by the Belmopan Choral Society, which is led by the Church organist and in which we both sing.

This first photo is of the children's choir at a rehearsal: for the concert they were all dressed in gold, and sang wonderfully.

As you can see, the concert was very well attended - a full house. It went very well, and St Ann's Church was beautifully decorated in time for the concert a week ago.

The smaller crib was donated to the Church this year, little knowing that a member of the Belmopan Choral Society had a rather bigger stable in mind!

This is life sized, and very impressive, with local bamboo providing most of the structure, and a Garifuna drum placed conveniently for anyone who wants to celebrate the birth of the King of Kings.

The Church looks very attractive, with Christmas lights decorating the sanctuary.



We are thinking of you all and hope you all have a good Christmas. It's strange being here so far from loved ones, but we look forward to speaking to family tomorrow. Thank you for all your cards, letters, emails and prayers. It was great fun collecting a big batch of mail from the Post Office yesterday! Enjoy your celebrations - we wish you God's richest blessings. Happy Christmas and a joyous New Year!

November 08

Nothing very profound this time: just some photographs to show some of the range of things we've met here over the last month.

The first couple of pictures are from St Ignacio, where Malcolm goes to take services at the Church of St Andrew. Tomorrow (Nov 30th) is their Church Anniversary / Patronal Festival. Some of the children from the school are taking part, and the service will be bilingual English/Spanish. Malcolm will be leading it with one of the Spanish clergy, Rev Olivia Vasquez. Hopefully there will be some photos of that another time.

Meanwhile this is Burns Avenue. We are looking towards the town centre at the end of this street. The Church is behind us on the left. Like most Belizean streets, it's a mixture of old and new. Wealthier people have cars - or more often trucks. There are bars and restaurants on this street for the many tourists who use the town as a base for visiting Mayan ruins, or a trip over the border into Guatamala.

But there's also evidence that many people are living much closer to poverty. We've avoided showing too many photos of the poverty that exists in Belize. It seems a bit voyeuristic to photograph someone in need, and not to do anything to help them. This man is a zapatero - a shoemaker and repairer, and his "workshop" is this table and chair on the pavement.

Nov 19th is a public holiday: Garifuna Settlement Day. The Garinagu people (Garinagu is the plural; Garifuna is the singular, and the name of the language) are descended from a mix of Nigerian slaves shipwrecked on Saint Vincent island, and the native Carib people who were the original indigenous inhabitants of the Caribbean. After the "Carib Wars" in the 1700's, which I know nothing about other than the fact that they happened, the Garinagu were resettled from the Caribbean islands to mainland Central America.

The main celebrations for Settlement Day in Belize are in the Garinagu communities on the coast - Dangriga, Hopkins and others. But every town has its celebrations, including Belmopan. This year there was a service in the Roman Catholic Church, then a parade, and then we gathered in Independence Park, very close to our house, for drumming and dancing and food, followed by a volleyball tournament. St Ann's Church were involved in organising the food and the tournament, partly to acknowledge the Garinagu members of the congregation, and partly to give something for the youth to do on a Bank Holiday!

We had a "Miss Settlement Day Belmopan 2008", and lots of drumming and dancing. Garifuna drumming is fabulous. It really needs to be heard. In 2001 UNESCO produced a list of what it calls the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Garifuna language, drumming and dancing were one of the 19 cultural expressions on that list.

The point of the list, a bit like the "Michelin Guide", was to identify things it's worth making a special visit to experience. None of the drummers or dancers in Belmopan two weeks ago were professionals. This was just the young people and the old people of the community getting together and having a good time. But they are really good. It's only a shame that our sound recorder and video camera were stolen in the burglary: it would have been really good to be able to add some sound clips to this blog.

One of the dance styles is called Punta. It's a form of competitive dance: people take in turns to perform with the drummers. As one gets tired, or runs out of moves, another is standing ready to take their turn. The aim is to impress the crowd, and attract the admiration of the opposite sex!

You'll be relieved to know that we didn't embarrass ourselves by trying the dancing, although I did have a go on the drums. Instead we chatted with folk all day, listened to the singing and the drumming, and shared in the obligatory Belizean bbq chicken, rice and beans.

Lots of folks from St Ann's worked hard all day running an outdoor kitchen to provide the food.

The photo below is of me with Roy Pandy, one of the churchwardens at St Ann's, who had been up very late the previous night cutting up 45 chickens into portions, and marinading them ready for the barbeque.

St Ann's school is gradually getting itself together . The photo below is of the headteacher and some of the children on sports day. All the schools have their sports days in November, when the temperature is cooler. We've had some fantastic news about St Ann's School: the Social Investment Fund has agreed to pay for building and furnishing four classrooms, the ground floor of the new school, in time for next September. Everyone is very excited that this has been agreed. And we are quietly proud that the Fund that's paying this is made up of money made available by UK debt relief.

As November arrived, we had to start thinking about Christmas. We've discovered that the postal service is very erratic. Some mail has reached the UK in a couple of weeks; sometimes it takes five weeks. So we wanted to get cards, and find some suitably ethnic gifts to post. In the event, Christmas cards are apparently not a big thing in Belize. We could hardly find any, and those we saw were only suitable for small children, so we've ended up making our own.

Finding postable local items was easier. The US Embassy helped, by holding a big craft fair with lots of local people coming in with their wares. It was quite an impressive event, with lots to see.

The US Embassy works with several local organisations, including the Belmopan International Women's Group, which Ruth now belongs to, to do fundraising for all sorts of local charitable causes. We've now been to a couple of their events. Including today a wonderful outing to one of our favourite "jungle lodges". So I couldn't resist adding to the vanity of Junior, the most photographed Jaguar in Belize, by posting another shot of him for his admiring audience.

As well as admiring Junior, we chatted to lots of people, went swimming, had lunch of - yes, chicken, but with mashed potato! Wow! And also joined a group for an hour's horseback ride through the jungle.
It was fantastic! Definitely a must - do for your visit to Belize. Ruth has had riding lessons, and rode quite often when we lived in South Croxton. I haven't had riding lessons, and have only been on a horse about three times before - the last time being over ten years ago. But everyone was very relaxed about it. They told us they coped with riders who didn't know what to do, by having horses who did.
We followed a well worn path, and I'm sure the horses have done the route hundreds of times. But it took us down to the river, and up steep banks, through quite dense forest and some patches of deep squishy mud - and the whole string of horses took advantage of the open spaces to break into a trot. So for a non horseman, it felt quite challenging enough.

And some "things we've seen in November" photos. The picture above is of a team of workmen rebuilding some of the Belmopan market buildings that were destroyed in a fire a few months ago. The structure you can see - a wooden floor on raised piles, with a timber frame house attached - is very typical of many of the houses we see every day.

And popping into the supermarket for a few things, we found a bride and groom and some bridesmaids. I asked for a photo, and they were happy to agree. The bride said they'd just got married, were on the way to the party, and stopped at the shop for some fanta. Sounds good to me!

And, finally, some Christmas shopping photos. There is one department store in Belize City that aspires to be a home-from-home for ex-pat North Americans and others - Mirab. Ruth had been taken there once by a Belizean friend, and we decided to go together as part of the Christmas shopping experience. The shop was full of people looking at stuff they couldn't afford - including us! Although we did manage to find a loaf tin (we've been looking for one for ages) and a Nativity Set for St Ann's Church. Mirab had the sort of Christmas display you will be familiar with, but which we haven't seen anywhere else in Belize.

Outside, they also have this. Hmm. Ruth clearly is Not Impressed.

Belmopan can't compete with Mirab. But our local Chinese supermarket does its best, and has managed to find a large inflatable Santa. Ho ho ho!

Water, Hymns and Memories

Early November, but recent flooding throughout Belize has made travel very difficult. Some places have been accessible only by boat. The three photos above have been taken from the Belize Community Web Forum. Their site will give you a good idea of the extent of the recent floods, and its effects on the people of Belize.

Locally the Western Highway was closed for a few days by rising waters. The nearby village of Roaring Creek did justice to its name. The water here is at least 20 feet higher than normal; the following day the water came over the top of the bridge.


One very minor consequence of the flooding, and the closure of all the schools in the district for a week, was that I had a very delayed school harvest festival in the last week of October.

The school provided a song sheet, which included two local versions of hymns that will be familiar to many of you. "All things bright and beautiful", and "We plough the fields and scatter". The children joined in singing them enthusiastically, surrounded by many of the plants and fruits they name.

All things bright and beautiful in the Caribbean land
In all things wise and wonderful our Lord he has a hand

Every little flower that opens, every tiny bird that sings
God gave them all their colours and pretty little wings...

The steep cool Cockscomb Mountain, the river running by
The sunrise and the sunset that paints the evening sky...

The heavy rains in season, the radiance of the sun
The fruit that always ripens, He made them everyone...

Tune: "We plough the fields and scatter"

In this our bounteous country, God smiles his sweetest smile
From ferny dell and covert, wild flowers our eyes beguile
Among the leafy branches the ripened mangoes sway
And green pimento berries make fragrant God's bright day

Praise him all ye people, with harvest hymns of joy
Oh, give to God your thank and praise, and love without alloy

The creamy breadfruit blossoms point upwards to the sky
To tell us God's rich blessings fall on us from on high
The canefields wave in greeting, glad in their verdant dress
And citrus fruit swing slowly in golden loveliness.
Praise him all ye people...

We thank thee for the sunlight, on each day newly born
That blends with rain in blessing the tender ears of corn
That ripens into beauty fair fruits of every kind
Bananas, pears, star-apples and cherries purple lined
Praise him all ye people...

Young coconuts encircle the warm heart of the trees
Beneath the green boughs hiding that rustle in the breeze
Nature her many voices each day with joy uplifts
Shall we not thank our Father for all his wondrous gifts?
Praise him all ye people...

Then this morning, on the closest Sunday to Nov 11th, I was invited to join members of staff from the British High Commission in laying a wreath for Remembrance Day here in Belmopan. We were a very small group; the main event was held at Memorial Park in Belize City.

Many Belizeans, with residents of other Caribbean countries, served with the allied forces as the British West Indies Regiment. A representative of the local "Ex-Services League" gave an interview this week in which he listed some of the ways in which Belizeans (the country was then known as British Honduras) contributed to the 1939-45 war:

"Some were Air Force men, some were sailors, some were ammunition workers in factories; some were soldiers; some even were woodcutters. A number of people don’t realize that it was from the Mahogany tree that most of these props were made for the airplane propellers. So we made a lot of contribution towards that.”

Synod 2008

This week the Diocesan Synod meets. Synod is basically a committee, and is the main decision making body. It includes the Bishop - standing at the lectern in his purple cassock - the clergy, and representatives of all the parishes. We meet for three days, every two years, and the decisions made this week become 'the policy of the diocese'.

I'll probably write more about Synod when it's all over, but for now here are a couple of photographs. Meetings and conference centres look much the same, wherever in the world they are. All that changes are the faces!


And yes, those chairs are as uncomfortable as they look!

October is harvest festival time

There isn't really such a thing as "autumn" in Belize. The rainy season runs from June to November, with a risk of tropical storms and even hurricanes. But all through there are still leaves on the trees, and fruit continues to ripen. It's October, and we've just had the first coconut from one of our trees. Very good it was too! Although we hadn't realised just how tricky it is to remove all the fibrous outer coconut husk, to get to the nut itself inside.

The celebrations of nationhood and independence continued through September, and haven't entirely ended yet. October 13th we will be celebrating "Pan America Day" - formerly known as Columbus Day, and marking the arrival of Europeans in the Americas. Churches are decorated much more than I had ever seen in the UK: St Ann's Church had a national flag on every pew, as well as bunting and hangings in red white and blue.

This is also an opportunity for steel bands and marching bands to show what they can do. The bandstand in the park was repainted in yellow and green (the Belmopan City colours) and various school groups performed. Steel bands are LOUD!

October is also harvest, so we thought we'd show you some of the local produce we come across regularly. The local honey, made by bees in the tropical rain forest, bottled by Mennonites, is absolutely fantastic. Honey, but not as you know it. Definitely worth a trip to Belize to taste this.

Sadly, the same cannot be said of the local beers. There is one local brewery, Belikin, and they make a range of beers. But none of them are particularly special. So not worth a trip for.

As lifelong tea drinkers, we were anxious when we first moved to Belize that we wouldn't be able to find a replacement for our favourite blends. Belize grows some coffee, and the local beans taste very good. But there's no local tea, only imported. Would we find something we liked? Fortunately there is a good range of imported brands to choose from. Some of them managed to taste almost completely unlike tea. But then we found Dilmah. Good Sri Lankan tea is now a daily part of our Belizean experience. (You can even try some yourself: Click here for a free sample.)

Harvest, of course, means harvest festival celebrations in the Churches. These pictures are from St Andrew's in St Ignacio. We had two services, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and both were full to overflowing. And a fantastic range of fruit and vegetable produce was on display, including some fruits I hadn't seen before.

The produce was all sorted; some of it was sent to people who were housebound, and the rest was sold, with some of the money going towards a local social project, and the rest contributing towards the feeding programme at St Andrew's School.