Take A Trip With Me To P.G.

View from the hotel.

Hi! Welcome back to my blog from Belize.

Punta Gorda is in the Southern most part of Belize. It is in the Toledo District.

PG, as Punta Gorda is most commonly known as, is made up of close to 6,000 inhabitants. The people that we go to visit are the  Q'eqchi' (pronounced Kekchi) and Mayen Indians. Each speaking their own native tongue and English.

We take a trip to Punta Gorda (Fat Point) often to visit the other churches there. This trip is about a 6 hour drive from where we are, with some of the most beautiful scenery along the way.

Along the way, you will see Banana Farms, Plantain Farms, Pineapple Farms and Orange Orchards. I'm not really sure if they call them farms or orchards here. That's just what I call them. :)

Once you get more than half way there, you'll start seeing the houses of the Indians. Do you remember the Long Houses they taught about in History? That's what they remind me of. Most of the homes will have dirt floors and beds made of wooden pallets. You may also see their chickens living, laying and roosting inside their home. 

Jippy Joppa

We stay in a hotel that's about a block away from the ocean. This hotel is within walking distance of the markets and the town park. At these little market shops, you'll find the Indian people selling their cultural wares. Little baskets made of Jippy Joppa, hammocks, shoulder bags, headbands and other things like that.

This is Josey beside Joycelynn's Snack Shack.
I forgot to get a picture of her place.

They don't have many restaurants, but the ones you do find are pretty good. Grace's Restaurant had very good Shrimp Burritos and Joycelynn's Snack Shack has pretty amazing Conch Soup.

Thatch Ceiling of the Indianville Church.

While we were in the Toledo District, we were in service with Pastor Esteven Chun in Indianville Village. We are in the process of purchasing the land that the church is being built on. The brothers of this church came together and built the structure that is there now.






















The good people of this church prepared supper for us. They call it "Caldo" (Soup). This is a meal common to these natives. This soup is made with home grown chicken, leaves and a root similar to potatoes. They will also make corn tortillas, by hand, over their indoor stove, to be served with this soup.

A neat site that you will see while visiting their homes or churches is when a baby has fallen asleep, they will put it in a home made sling and hang it from the rafters or on a nail.

While in PG, you can go and visit the Cottontree Chocolate Factory. It has some pretty AMAZING chocolate made there, from fresh grown cacao, that is grown there in the Toledo District. My absolute favorite chocolate they sell there is the Dark Milk Chocolate with coffee.

Notice the drill?
This is the way they grind the beans.

While driving down their dirt roads, you may come across some REALLY narrow, wooden bridges. It may be scary to you if riding in a large vehicle.

While we were there, we baptized 4 people in the lovely Name of Jesus. We drove what seems like forever to find a river that had not dried up from the heat they were having. We walked down a well beaten path to the river.

Once we got there, the people had some home made canoes. These canoes were whittled from very large trees. Pretty amazing to see. Would you ride in one? I would, I actually asked them if they would sell it. :)

On the way home, we stopped to have church in a village 50 miles away from PG. This village is called Bella Vista. Bro. Chun also pastors this church. He found a group of people that wanted a church there. One man willingly let his property be used for a church, another oversees the church when Bro. Chun can not be there. Help us pray for revival in this village! These people are hungry for God. Their music consists of a keyboard and a child that plays a turtle shell for a drum.

Pastor & Sis. Chun

They were amazed at this new church that I "spoke" their language. Sadly, I don't. They asked me to repeat what I said. I know how to say "God Bless You" and sing "I'm So Glad Jesus Set Me Free" in their language. I wanted to see their drum more closely, so they let me play it. As they scooted in closer to listen to me sing and play the drum, the drum player told me I could have his drum. I asked him if he had another one, he said no. So politely, I told him no, that I would wait until he got another one and I handed it back to him. As it was time to leave, I was going to get in the vehicle, when this boy ran up to me and said, "Here sister, this is for you!" I did not want to be offensive, so I took it and will treasure it always.

I hope you have enjoyed my trip to PG, as I did. Enjoy the pictures and please come back and visit my blog as I update it.

"Don't Worry, Be Happy"