August 2009

Hey Everyone!
I hope that you all are doing well! I wanted to thank you all so much for your prayers! They are much appreciated and I can already see the effects they have had. I left Monday, August 17th and flew from Baltimore to Houston. While I was at BWI Airport I was standing in line for the security check and then…. I see him. brown shoes, green shorts, beige shirt, green hat hiding his bald head and his blue eyes... I couldn't stop starring... it was him! it was him! holy cow it was him! I know that face and figure anywhere! So excited that I saw him I kept looking behind me to see if it was really him... then I get on my plane and what do you know, there he is sitting in the first row of first class! Flabbergasted I smiled and nodded, and he smiled and nodded back knowing that I knew his identity while others around him did not... there he was the infamous JOHN LOCKE from my FAVORITE TV show LOST!!! The whole flight I imagined crashing on the island and having conversations with him and the other survivors and LOST cast members! I was really excited by that experience and it was totally a loving joke from God as a “You see, you really are supposed to do this, here’s a funny present that I know you’ll enjoy to show you how much I AM happy with your ‘yes’”

So later on that day… I met up with Iliana Bazan (San Antonio, Texas, went to Franciscan), a fellow missionary, at the Houston Airport and happened to be sitting unknowingly next to Emily Green (Minnesota, went to University of Minnesota), another missionary. The three of us flew to Belize City, Belize and met up with Brynne Olsen (San Diego, California went to Franciscan), another fellow missionary. At the airport we met up with Sister Mary Mother of the Divine Savior, SOLT and Brother Michael Mary, SOLT who drove us to the quaint town of Benque Viejo del Carmen where we would be stationed. We arrived at the Parish Mission to eat dinner at the refectory where all of our meals are prepared for us everyday. The other missionary volunteers we met there were Rebecca Ignowski (Kansas went to Benedictine), Karen D’Souza (Toronto, Canada went to Saint Thomas Aquinas). Then we went to Spanish Mass followed by being taken to our houses where we started to unpack and make our homes away from home a little more homier. Our houses are considerably big and are fairly nice.
The guys weren’t coming until later and so I moved into my house all alone. There are a few surprises here and there, mostly discovering new “housemates” I didn’t know I had, but it’s not that bad. Over the past week we had teacher orientation with workshops on discipline, lesson planning, the Mass, and Natural Family Planning. The people here are so welcoming and the priest who oversees everything is awesome! Its great to see a Catholic school that has kept to its Catholic identity and actually strives for the salvation of the souls of its students. It has been great to see the Belizeans whom I had met before. Some of my favorites: Harry Topsey, Byron Hernandez, Gian Parham, and Charlie from the ice cream store… I’ve been the sole male this past week but as of last night my housemate Patrick Helfrick (went to Benedictine) came in and tomorrow is due my new housemate Jed Kenny (from Louisville, Kentucky). Yesterday we had a staff trip to have team building exercises at Chaa Creek, a five star resort hotel (about 15 minutes away). It was absolutely gorgeous there. Bungalows, a pool with a waterfall, a message station and definitely the lifestyles of the rich and famous. There we played games and bonded with the Belizean staff.

The weather is warm and I love it. Its 86 – 93 degrees everyday and sometimes at night… There is no air conditioning and I’m sweating constantly but fans and the occasional breeze make it better.

This year is going to be busy, busy, busy. I am in charge of teaching Religion for 1st Form Boys, 2nd Form Boys, and 3rd Form Boys and Girls, which is comparable to Freshman boys, Sophomore boys, and co-ed Juniors. I teach 1st and 2nd form four-times-a-week and I teach 3rd form three-times-a-week, which means that I have to do 11 lesson plans a week which adds up to 362 lesson plans for the whole year. Let’s just say – I have my work cut out for me. I’m excited to start and get my hands dirty but still a bit nervous on the whole discipline and classroom management issue, especially when all the Belizeans shake my hand and say “Good luck!” whenever I tell them I have 1st Form Boys. I will also be a 1st Form Homeroom teacher for girls. It should be interesting and it will be fun to be the “teacher” but really I feel like I’m the student learning everything anew and continually having a deeper appreciation for the teachers I’ve had. Keep me in your prayers!

Your prayers have really made a huge difference because experiences that I am usually intimidated by have all seemed normal and for some reason even walking in the streets and around the town has all seemed so peaceful. Thanks so much! Keep up the prayers especially during this time that school starts MONDAY! God bless!

Dave