A Chat with Loo

Snakes and I are like two peas in two pods…very distant pods! I think the best types of snakes are either out of site or dead. I have tried to get over my fear of them, but as of yet I have not had any luck. Knowing this background you can now understand this story a little bit better.

Once upon a time (last Sabbath), there was a girl who went to church for AY (Adventist Youth). We sang beautiful songs, listened to peoples’ testimonies, and fooled the stubborn old man preaching that we understood every word of Spanish that he said. (He was trying to convince us that the world did not move, but rather the sun moved around us. Keila taught us that we should just nod every now and then and say “Amen” whenever he looked our way. Amen can mean yes, no, or otherwise; generally a good answer for a religious service. 

After the service, Phoebe and I were going to visit the king’s throne quickly before we drove home. Although the church is only a few miles away, it takes about 30 minutes. I knew that I could not hold it that long so I made my way to the can. Phoebe was going to leave the guitar in the car then come over after I had a talk with Mother Nature. I was afraid that if I left the door cracked open someone other than Phoebe would come along and open it up with me squatting over the hole. {The week before I had a funny conversation with some of the ladies who said that we were all using the porcelain (or rather cement) seat the wrong way. Apparently you are supposed to face away from the door. I thought that was a terrible idea because then I cannot see if people start to open the door on me.} Despite my new knowledge, I decided that I was going to use the squatty potty the wrong way. With miniscule light, I started the call with Mother Nature. After a few seconds, I looked to the bottom of the door and noticed a cute little lizard crawling in under the door. Unfortunately, that cute little lizard had no legs! As the saying goes “I was up a creek without a paddle” and that creek was flowing fast. I hung up on the conversation as quickly as I could and shimmied out the door as soon as I could. Phoebe was just walking up to the perfume house when I came bolting out. I squealed a few words then finally communicated that there was a snake crawling into the outhouse. All the church members present heard the clamor and inquired of the situation. As best as I can remember, that thing had to be 10 feet long and 8 inches around. OK, so maybe it was only 8 inches long and 1 centimeter around, but all the same he was disturbing the peace (I try never to exaggerate the truth). I told one of the elders what had happened and he went and killed it for me. Turns out that it was a baby rattlesnake! In the end, I was creeped out all evening and even dreamt of the slithery little beast.

Have you ever considered what is creeping up in your life that could potentially be lethal? I have found that it is easy for me to sleep in a little and pass off our group worship as my time with God. Perhaps you have a different situation. Pray that God shows you what needs to be weeded out from your garden of life.

I Belize I might have wet my pants if I had not already been visiting the john. 

Of Weeding and washing

Life is finally starting to find its groove... or as much of a groove as it can. I have been weeding, planting, weeding, working on my house (don't worry, there are others who tell me what to do here), weeding, learning to cook new foods, weeding, trying to learn spanish, deshhierbar (look it up), and much more. As I have left some friends in America, I have found some new chums to hang out with.

I have learned to live a much simpler life down here. Since there is no electricity, I tend to go to sleep very early.The other night I felt like I might fall over only to realize that it was not even 9 pm yet! The showers have only one temperature and it is not scalding. I am learning that rice and beans is not the same thing as beans and rice. Washing clothes has also been a new experience. I have learned how to operate a wringer washer. Even though hand washing is a good upper body workout, I think I prefer to take the chances of my fingers getting wrung. Although there is probably a lot of other tasks that may seem foreign to me now, I am sure that in a few more weeks they will seem normal.

Working in the field for many hours is quite character building, so I've been told. I have found that singing a song really helps to keep the time moving. We did an AY service on Sabbath all about music. I would like to challenge you to sing when you are happy, sad, angry, discouraged, or just plum bored. You never know what message God will give you through a song.



I cannot Belize how much easier laundry is with a wringer washer compared to doing it by hand.

A Father's Check List

Check List for Belize

Bib overalls: check
Yeast flakes: check
Pillow: check
Sunscreen: check
Underwear: double checked = )
Hymnal: check
Fisher farm hat: check
Needle & Thread: check
Good memories with friends: last time I checked, check
Willing spirit: God's with me so check

Learning to pack all my life into 100 lbs is not a task to be taken lightly. There was a lot on the checklist when I started and I have no idea how it all fit. (I guess the true test will be at the scales tomorrow morning.)

Other than packing, I have been thinking over the past few months of life. That might be a little scary at times! I was considering all the memories I have made with friends, family, and acquaintances alike. My roommate and I had a sort of bucket list for graduation. I found that sometimes I had to step out of my comfort zone and push myself to new limits in order to achieve my goals. They were reached in a variety of ways: sitting around wondering what to do while rain poured down, saying "I don't normally do this, but I'm leaving America for a long time and may never get the chance...", allowing people to question my real age as a senior in college because they thought I was 5 years old, not studying for tests that had no meaning after graduation, losing some sleep in order to spill my guts to my best friend... Despite some of the awkwardnesses, discomforts, and down right gut wrenching terrors, I am glad for the way college ended. God has truly blessed beyond anything I could have asked for from my own human desires.

I was reading in Genesis 49 when Israel was giving his blessing to his sons. He basically had a checklist format that is recorded in Scripture. The name of each son is mentioned then the deeds from his past followed. Some of the events were horrifying, others heroic, but all were a description of the son. I'm sure some held their heads in shame as their father recalled their deeds. One day, God is going to be doing the same thing. The consequences are a bit more everlasting though. When He calls your name and starts reading your history will you hold your head in shame? Have you made God a proud Father lately?



"Belize me, I checked the list more times than Santa!"

PS~ If you would like to be added to the email list to recieve updates from Belize, please message me on facebook or email me at kroddy@southern.edu.

Joining the MOVE

Although the journey has been filled with dashed hopes, teary nights, and stressed situations, I am finally able to see where God has been trying to lead me all along. Let me fill you in on a few details about the next 16 months of my life:

I will be leaving for Belize on January 17, 2013 (that is only 24 days away!). I, along with my good friend Phoebe, will be joining the Missionary Outreach and Volunteer Evangelism (M.O.V.E.) training school. This is a place to study Bible work, basic health care, agriculture, construction, and much more. I am mainly going to be working in the agriculture program; basically a farmer. 

Please pray that God manifests Himself as January is the start of the first classes offered at this school. I know there are great miracles in store and hope to keep you all updated on His blessings.

"You better Belize I'm super excited!"