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All it takes is one accidental meeting to change the course of one's life. I'd like to think these opportunities are few and far between, but that may very well be because I often avoid such awkward situations. I can't tell you how many times a stranger has offered to help me and I have graciously declined their offer, not wanting to impose. Call it ego or independence, but we've all done it at least once. Luckily, my family didn't decline the help offered by the Wilsons in Belize. If we had, I would probably be working a 9-5 job or wandering around Europe, instead of heading to Belize.
It all started in the winter of 2004. It was winter break during my freshman year of college and my family took a vacation to Belize. We spent 2 weeks cruising around the mainland of Belize in our pickup truck visiting Mayan ruins and playing in the rivers of western Belize (tubing in water flowing out of Guatemala may not have been our best idea). We ditched our truck in Belize City and took a ferry (really a big open deck power boat) out to Ambergris Caye, the home of some of the best diving in the world. One of the largest barrier reefs in the world (2nd only to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia) is just of the coast of Ambergris Caye. The only town on the island, San Pedro, is small with no buildings over 3 stories tall. With only 3 main north-south running streets, nothing is far from the sandy beaches.
We arrived at the dock, shouldered our backpacks and headed north to the hand crank ferry. Our directions were to go to the ferry and then the campground would be just on the other side to the east. When we got to the other side, there were no signs but we started walking east and walked right through the backyard of Francis and Vern Wilson, Anglican Missionaries from the US. They were sitting out on their elevated deck enjoying some appetizers with some friends. Perplexed by the strangers walking through their yard, they called down to us to see if we were lost. We were sort of lost (although not according to my dad). She invited us up to join them while she contacted the owner of the campground. (I use the term campground lightly. It was really just a sandy beach with a set of lockers for daytime gear storage. There was a dead dog washed up on shore. Needless to say, we didn't stay there more than one night).
Anyways, Francis invited us back to join them for a belated Christmas dinner. We were reluctant to take them up on their offer because we didn't want to impose. But on the other hand, we thought declining the offer would be rude. So we joined them. We also shared breakfast with them the next morning and worship the following Sunday.
I'll never again underestimate the lasting impact of a small act of kindness or a spontaneous introduction. A year or so later, the Wilsons founded a primary school to provide education, food and healthcare to the students of the San Pedro area. My mom and Francis stayed in touch and in November of 2007, the Korak Family returned to San Pedro to volunteer at the school for a week. We worked on construction projects, helped out in the classrooms, and cooked in the kitchen. We brought 200+ lbs of donated school supplies down, which was an adventure in itself (the boxes were stuck in customs for almost 6 weeks). To hear more about this trip, check out our old blog: www.KorakFamInBelize.blogspot.com
Our trip to Belize in 2007 has inspired me to go back. The hardships that the citizens of San Pedro and San Mateo endure will always be beyond my comprehension, but to see a school instill such a sense of community and hope to its citizens will make every minute of my trip worth it.
The story of San Mateo and Holy Cross Anglican School will have to wait until another day.
~Julie
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