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Xunatunich Mayan Ruins - Tourist Day

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This is the last day in Belize for team MOST 1823. It’s been a great adventure and we capped it off with a trip to the Xunatunich (shoo-an-too-nish) Maya ruins, only two miles from the Guatemalan border. Xunan Tunich  means  stone woman  in Maya, and this is how the local people refer to the site. It came from an account of a farmer seeing a woman in white standing in a field one evening before the site was dug out.  We made it to the top of the second tallest ruin in Belize. Jody and son Garrison looked out over the border of the two countries.  Adam, Beth, and Michael have been good friends on MOST mission trips now and have enjoyed working together in the dispensing station. Together, they have served over 2,800 patients! “Next, please!” Two years ago, archaeologists discovered a burial chamber inside the Maya ruins.  The view from the top of the large ceremonial center: We rode [what should be considered] the world’s shortest ferry ride back fro
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Day Seven (Clinic Day 5) - Santa Familia

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Today was our final day in clinic. We traveled 20 minutes to the village of Santa Familia, two miles from the border of Guatemala. Time has flown by here doing this work. Everyday is new and different but with the same routine. We were able to make a trip down the road from our clinic to the Santa Familia Catholic School to fit the teachers and principal with new glasses. They needed mostly reading. The kids were excited to have us take photos.  This was the church in Santa Familia. The main structure is underneath the new roof and expansion. We used both the inside and outside areas.  Clinic was setup mostly in the expansion area. Jody tested reading today.  Gavin and Ed tested the principal of the school who needed reading glasses. He would have had to take out a loan for over $500US to get glasses. This helped him in many ways and trickles down to help all of the students in his school.  Jeff setup a small fitting station at the Catholic school.  Below, Ella is working on a plastic
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Living in Belize

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We’ve seen a lot of homes traveled by to and from different locations this week. Here are some shots of houses in the area. Many homes are built on stilts because of possible future flooding, but that’s rare since the coral reef on the coast protects the country from hurricanes by redirecting them back to sea. 
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Team member spotlight: Ashton Torrey

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Ashton is the youngest member of the team this week and was planning to come with her grandmother, who brought her to Nicaragua in 2016. Last Thanksgiving, her grandmother passed away only two weeks after her great grandmother passed at age 97. Her grandmother was only 72. Ashton decided that she would still find a way to come on the trip. She lives on a farm that rents out pastures and they maintain the land. She goes to Seaman High School in Topeka, KS and lives in Wamego (known for The Wizard of Oz!). She travels between two parents in cities an hour apart, which makes it tough to play soccer when they require Saturday practices.  When she gets out of high school, Ashton wants to attend Kansas State, majoring in business to run her family’s sandblasting business. She wants to continue to travel with MOST to other countries. 
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Day Six - Santa Elena Lighthouse Church

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Today we visited what we thought was a small space for an eyeglass clinic but quickly became a well-oiled machine. The Lighthouse Church brought a steady flow of people all day, 135 people total.  We met Melvin, a member of the Belizian army who was in a bike wreck two weeks again. He broke many of his front teeth and, while visiting his dentist, was told to come visit us. He was very thankful to go home with some new eyes.  Some of the local law enforcement dropped by and seemed grateful for the opportunity to get new glasses. They don’t carry firearms until they have been moved up in the ranks. We jokingly asked them not to ticket our bus driver if they see him around town. :-) Our clinic waiting area inside the church: After clinic we visited a suspension bridge into the jungles of Belize that took us over the main river in the country. In Mayan times it was the main highway of transportation in the country. Tomorrow, we’ll be in Santa Familia for the last day of clinic. 
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Day Five - REMA church and Octavia Nursing Home

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Day 5 in Belize, 3rd Day of Clinic held at Rhema church which means “The Word.” Clinic had a slower pace today as we saw 125 people, but there were many notable moments. Click the photos link to see so many more photos from today’s adventure. Adam worked with Pastor Eliu on telling people the good news of why we were here, not only to give them better sight, but a gift from God who sent us. This is Albert, our bus driver. He’s with us all day and has taken over the sunglasses station. He makes sure everyone goes home with the perfect pair of sunglasses, a hot commodity in this sun-rich locale. Many of the glasses come from attractions like Disney World and many of the pars are very nice.  A smaller group was blessed to go visit the Octavia retirement home to fit glasses for many people who couldn’t come to clinic. We met some very cool octogenarians! Many had good stories of thier life, like Lewis (91) who lived is Belize his whole life and has traveled seemingly every
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