14 Years

To celebrate our anniversary (14th...yeah!!), we went to a local coffee farm called Finka Filadelfia. Now, we could have strolled peacefully through the tour of how the coffee is grown, harvested and roasted, OR we could do this....

A date in antigua and home

Our date was great! Dad and I went to pollo combaro, the pet store, and,the market. It's so fun! Well, let's hear about our neaghborhood dogs. Fritz is a boy, Coco is a boy, Shadow is a boy, and, Mita is a girl. Jack is 4, I am 7 & Nate is 9. Do you have a pet & what kind is it? See you next time!

WHO is bigger than the boogie man??

We're sort-of a family of four this week. Nate got to go to an MK camp in the mountains. I'd like to say that he was pretty broken up over leaving us for 6 days, but not so much. I think he was a tad excited to go, seeing as he reminded me SEVERAL times a day the week beforehand that I needed to start packing for him. I'm not sure why I sent him with clean clothes and clean underwear, because I'm pretty sure they will come back untouched by human hands. Ah, camp life.

Anyway, the younger kiddos have enjoyed hanging together this week, and decided to sleep in the same room while Nate was away. This is the conversation we had two nights ago:

Shelby: "There could be monsters. Yeah, they might try to get us."

Jackson: "Monsters."

Shelby: "Don't worry. We have the dogs. We have Fritz, Mita, and Shadow. They will protect us."

Here is where the mom stepped in to provide the tender moment, to bring it all back to the proper spiritual conclusion (insert soft music here).

Me: "And WHO (hint, hint) will protect you most of all?"

Jackson: (Not missing a beat, and with great emphasis) "Pastor Mike!"

Oh well.

I sure wasted a lot of money on those VeggieTales videos.

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.

Fun days

I found a stink bug! Well, the stink bug was awsome and colorful! I want to buy a toy that's $2.50! It 's a egg! Well, maybe Jack want's to say something! He say's "Hiiiiiiii"! Well, let's get back to me. I think you might want to hear about the dogs. There's four. Coco, Fritz, Mita, and Shadow. Oh, Jack now say's"Hola" & "como estas"? Well, I would say "Bien y tu"? Now,see you next time! Wate! wat about the picture? It's of the stink bug!

Rainy Days

Apparently, a tropical situation of some kind has been sitting on top of us, so we have had rain, rain, rain for several days. It cracks me up when people feel obligated to say, "Well, we sure need it, " but, I ask you, who really NEEDS downpours for three days, overflowing streets, and mudslides, cold wind, and lack of sunshine?

I would have to say not me.

Anyway, Monday involved the adventure of going on a long run with Nancy and Tammy and getting seriously drenched. This soaking had the added plus of making you feel like you were running with leg weights strapped to your calves, only it was just your very wet running pants.

After getting dried out, I took Jackson to the doctor for a little cold he has. Guess what?? We got stuck in the rain. Here's the picture I'd like to paint for you: Me, clutching my poor, coughing four year old to me, running through deep puddles, trying to find the right street. Eventually, we did get there, and as we sat, shivering, in the waiting room, Jackson looked at me and said, "Mommy, I need to fix your hair." I told him it was just wet, and he replied, "I really need to fix it." Wow. It's so sweet how he appreciates that I just risked pneumonia or at the least ruined shoes for him.

We got the prescriptions, etc, and headed for home, after strict orders from the doctor for Jackson and me to get a hot shower!

The next day, we had some family time. The pictures are of us at some local ruins (I'll have to find out what they're called), and of Nate the Archaelogist. We had stopped by the site the team is building on (they're starting a bath house for the police), and there, in a pile of dirt, Nate discovered this bayonet. Someone said it was an antique, and when we googled it, it showed up as a bayonet from the 1800's. How cool is that?

Oh, and it looks like we're getting more rain today. Guess we sure do need it.

What Did You Do Today?

Here's Steve's answer to that question!

He has been overseeing the set-up for Posada Dona Luisa, the hotel that our church has been blessed to lease as a mission house. The first team came this week, and before they arrived, a vacant room had to be completely remade into a kitchen. Hours (like 2!) before the team showed up, the plumber was still installing the sink, Nancy Watkins was putting things together and preparing to cook dinner for 20 people, and Steve had to leave in the middle of the chaos to pick the travellers up from the airport. Whew.

Here are some pictures of the hotel, the staff, and Nancy, Chelsea, and Amber working in the kitchen.

Happiness is....


A family night in the city, watching Prince Caspian (in English!), making a stop at McD's, and falling asleep on the car ride back (the kids, not Steve)

A water "balloon" (actually filled sandwich baggies) fight with the neighbors....

Getting two suitcases filled with goodies from home, reminding us that we are thought of, prayed for, loved...