Teams

This weekend marks the end of our 2nd month in Antigua, and was puncuated by the departure of our 2nd team that we've had the privilege to work with this year.

First, a little background on the project which several teams will be involved in this summer. As a result of a truly God-given relationship with the local Tourist Police division (through Pastor Mike's and IDC team's leadership of the twice-weekly Bible studies and English classes), men and women are coming to know Christ and develop a deeper walk with Him. The outreach section of Pastor Mike's BLOG details some of the relationships developed with individual officers and their families.

One of the obvious needs that has surfaced is the living conditions of the Tourist Police while they are on duty. Officers typically live several hours outside of Antigua, and serve 8-day straight / 24 hour shifts in a dormitory environment. The facility they live in is in the ruins of a hotel which was leveled by an earthquake in the 1970's. Little has been done to make the ruins suitable for living conditions, and the pictures to the left only scratch the surface of what our brothers and sisters in Christ live with while on duty.


The most urgent need is the bath and shower facilities, and new plans had been drafted and approved earlier this year with the local authorities. As we approached the week of the first team's arrival, we didn't have a clue on how some of the major clearing/leveling and digging for the cesspool would be done to prepare the site for the first team's arrival. Mike received an unexpected phone call that a large John Deere backhoe was sitting on the property and awaiting our arrival to direct the clearing. This marked an unprecedented involvement with the Tourism Council in Antigua, which realized the urgency and benefit to their police, and arranged the machinery and manpower to get this done!

Team #1 - Pathways Community Church, Largo, Florida.

Last week we experienced a lot of rain and a several other unexpected challenges on the project. However, the foundation and underground plumbing were completed, and the team had plenty of much-needed construction experience to overcome some of the hurdles. It was great to see familiar faces from our home church!

Team #2 New Hope Baptist, Cape Coral, Florida


This week we had a youth group with a lot of enthusiasm and a great "can-do" attitude. Half of the team worked with the Hermano Pedro orphanage each day, and the other half continued work on the Tourist Police Bath House. The basic metal frame and corrugated roofing were completed, and it was so encouraging to watch how well this group of teens worked together!


The IDC staff will continue work on the in-wall plumbing in the upcoming week.