Home Sweet Home at last

The last few days in Antigua flew by. Two weeks never seems like long enough, but we did need to get home. Responsibilities call us. :) On the way home, we stopped in New York City for a whirlwind trip. After several delays on the trip from Antigua to NYC, we arrived at our hotel near JFK at 2:30 AM. However, we wanted to be able to see everything still, so we got up at 6:00AM just as planned to beat the subway traffic. After two hours of bus and subway travel--only one wrong transfer in there--we made it to Battery Park where we caught the circle line to the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island. We had reserved tickets ahead of time to go up the base of the statue, so we walked up all those steps--all except for my mom who was feeling a little under the weather. The view was great and we enjoyed the museum in the base as well. The only other time I had been to NYC was just after 911, so I had never been in the statute before. After stopping for a quick bite to eat, we headed to Ellis Island and back to Manhattan.

Once there, we began a marathon walk around downtown Manhattan. We got pictures by the World Trade Center Site, Wall Street, Times Square, Carnegie Hall, and the Empire State building. Central Park offered a nice break from the sun and crowds. We enjoyed Popsicles sitting down on a huge rock. :) By this time we were completely worn out from lack of sleep and lots of walking. So, instead of heading to Little Italy for dinner as we originally had planned, we just got pizza in the bottom of the Empire State building. This ended up being a wise choice because through a series of mistakes and bad directions which turned into a comedy of errors--we can see the funny side now at least--it took us three hours to get back to our hotel. Let's just say that we now have first-hand knowledge of downtown Queens and public transportation. :) We truly experienced NYC in a way that none of us expected.

 

This morning we had to get up at 3:30AM to catch our flight to San Diego and arrived home with no further adventures. Today the guys went back to work, and mom and I tackled the huge pile of laundry from our trip and the grocery shopping. Life returns to normal. Thank you all for checking this site and especially for your prayers. Lord willing, I will post some more pictures of our trip soon.

 

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Better late than never....

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this. Yesterday we took a break from our work to go to Wallings for lunch. Wallings is an old abandoned reservoir in the mountains/rain forest. It is very lush and green and a little bit cooler up there. We had a nice picnic and then hiked around a bit. It didn't seem that much cooler when we started hiking--the sweat was pouring off us after a few minutes, but it was very beautiful.

Today was our "official" day off. We borrowed the Waite's car and went to Long Bay--another beautiful beach. It was a bit busier, but the snorkeling was great. My mom  and I saw a sea turtle, a barracuda, some trumpet fish, and a bunch of other assorted colorful tropical fish and coral. After we could snorkel no more, we decided to eat our lunch in the car--it is air conditioned :) --and take the long, but scenic route home. Except for one beach which we turned off the main road and never found, we were able to find every place we were looking for on the map. We stopped and walked along a completely deserted beach on the way back and found some starfish and neat coral pieces on the beach. It is so beautiful and peaceful--the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. I love the ocean, but prefer it without all the people normally at the beach--if that makes sense. Numerous times today I praised the Lord for His beautiful creation. There is so much creativity and diversity around us!

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Another day in Antigua

Well, today is another example of learning to be flexible. This morning when we got up it was bright and sunny, so Mr. Waite and my dad decided to work a half day at the station today, and then come home and work on painting the stairs that Ryan has been striping and mow the law. My mom and Mrs. Waite washed all the curtains and several batches of towels, etc.. I worked on varnishing several doors that open onto the Waite's large porch. Unfortunately, just before lunch a squall blew through and thoroughly soaked the laundry, grass and steps. My project was the only one not affected by the rain. But, without missing a beat, Mr. Waite decided to go back to the station and found another job for my brother to work on. Welcome to Antigua! 

Tonight we are had a man that the Waites are reaching out to over for dinner. Apparently his wife and children are away, so they figured he could use some good home cooking. Pray for Ralph's salvation. His wife and children are saved, but so far he has only come to church a few times and seems fairly resistant to the gospel. After dinner we sat around and visited for a while. Mrs. Waite had Ryan get out his guitar and we sang some songs together.

 

By the way, thanks to everyone who has written comments on this site. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was reading it at all. We appreciate your prayers and any feedback that you might have.

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Pictures

One of the many beautiful beaches in Antigua...

Weekend report

Yesterday was our day off, so my family borrowed the Waite's car and headed to Half Moon Bay. It is all the way across the island and takes about 50 minutes to get there, even though it is probably less than 10 miles away as the bird flies. That is one thing you have to get used to here. The roads are all narrow, poorly maintained streets which wind in and out of the hills and pass through numerous towns and villages on the way. It would take me a long time to get comfortable driving here, one because they drive on the "other side" and two because most of them drive wildly--with no respect of the rules and weaving in and out of parked cars on either side of the narrow streets. I guess this describes driving in a lot of 3rd world countries. By the way, did I also mention that there are no road signs. That is not an exaggeration. I have never seen one on the whole island. Due to all these factors, we made a couple of wrong turns on the way out to Half Moon Bay. However, the drive was beautiful and we had a great time snorkeling and swimming once we got there. We brought a picnic lunch and ate it under a pavilion--we needed to get out of the sun for a while. In the afternoon my mom and I did some more snorkeling and my dad and brother explored the cliffs on the other side of the bay. The water is wonderfully warm and very clear. We saw lots of beautiful fish and my dad saw a sting-ray. We also saw a lot of colorful coral--the most memorable being a large brain coral about as wide across as my arm is long--that is the only thing I had to measure it by. :)
Today we attended church and Sunday school with the Waites. They attend Maranatha Baptist Church which is pastored by a local man--Pastor Martin--who was saved as a result of the ministry of the radio station. The night before they asked me the play the piano, and my offering was turned into a special music during the service. It went well once I got some paper clips to hold down my music--I always forget that the church is open to the outside air. :)

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We finally arrived...

Our flight down here was fairly uneventful. We are thanking the Lord that we made it home before the huge crackdown occurred in airport security. Lord willing, it will ease up a bit before we have to travel home. After arriving around 2:00PM with all but one of our suitcases, we were picked up by Curt Waite and another former missionary Rita Covalt. It was a pleasant surprise to see her because we had met and worked we her when we visited in 2002. She was down with a mission team from her church and stayed a couple of extra days to visit with friends. Anyways, she treated us all to dinner at the Sticky Wicket--a fancy restaurant overlooking the National Cricket Field. After that we returned to pick up Barb Waite who was returning from visiting her first grand-baby. Thankfully guess what else came in on her flight--our lost suitcase--with all of our dress clothes in it. :)
Wednesday we slept in a bit since we basically lost a whole nights sleep during the trip down here. ( we left Monday night at 9:30 and arrived in Antigua at 2:00PM on Tuesday.) After lunch Ryan worked on standing the stairs down to paint them, dad went to the station to work, and mom and I helped Mrs. Waite clean out the kitchen in Ministry House #1 after all the summer teams passed through. Unfortunately it required a lot of cleaning--especially the fridge--and sorting through all the dishes. I guess the two teams that came while she was gone managed to mix up all the dishes and silverware, etc... between the three houses on the station property.
At church on Wednesday night we found out that the pastor was very tired from watching his four boys--all under 7--while his wife was gone for a week. So, Mrs. Waite volunteered to watch the guys today. It was only going to be for half a day, but it ended up being 9AM to 5PM. It was my full-time job pretty much all day to keep them entertained, clean and fed. It was a lot of fun, but by the time 5:00 rolled around I was ready to let them hang on their dad for a while. :) The littlest one especially liked me and cried when he had to leave. I felt bad for the grandparents who came to pick them up when he refused to go to them and instead hugged me!
Dad worked on the finances at the station again today and Ryan started another sanding project inside since it rained off and on all day. Unfortunately everything rusts or peals very quickly here because of the damp, humid weather.
Each night between 5 and 6 we quit work and head down to the beach for a quick swim before dinner. It feels so nice to wash the sticky sweat off--even if it only lasts for as long as it takes your suit and hair to dry. :)
Well, that's all that has happened so far.

Less than a week...

Remarkablely, we have less than a week until our trip. The pile of unperishable food is growing the living room. Last minute purchases of warm weather clothes, etc... are being made. We are getting excited!
It has been pointed out to me that I have failed to mention the dates of our trip on this blog. My sincerest appologies. We are leaving Monday, Aug. 7 at 9:30PM. We will be traveling all night and arrive in Antigua on Tuesday morning. On the return trip, which will begin Tuesday Aug. 22, we will be stopping for a day in New York City and returning to San Diego on Thursday the 24th.
I would also like to add a few more detail about our ministry opportunities while in Antigua.
Each time we have visited Antigua as a family--this will be our fourth visit--we have participated in different activities and ministries. My father's tasks have been the most consistent. Since he is an accountant, he usually helps the radio station with their finances. Once this involved setting them up with a whole new system, and other times it has just been training employees or troubleshooting. My mom usually spends a lot of her time cooking, but has also helped clean at the radio station, made curtains, and reupholstered furniture. Ryan and I are generally employed in a variety of tasks from clearing brush and yard work to painting and office work at the radio station. Last time Ryan was able to put some of his electronic skills to work fixing equipment and I helped organize the radio station's extensive music library.
We are exited to see what opportunities the Lord will provide for us this year. We also enjoy serving in the local church on Sunday by teaching Sunday School, playing the piano, and singing--yes all of us have sung special music before.