Antigua Day 1

I arrived in Antigua today.  It was weird, sad, and actually quite awkward to leave my dear friends in the capital.  I am going to miss them so much.  They were all so sweet to me!

The people here are sweet, too, but I can tell there's a difference.  Here, the people are used to foreigners fending for themselves.  In the capital, this was not the case.  I know I will still be well taken care of here, but I can just tell the difference.

Still, I am excited to be here! I have wasted no time in making strides towards starting classes.  I learned so much from my time in the capital.  One of the biggest things I learned was how to speak in Spanish. I already knew Spanish, but had forgotten so much that it was a real handicap for me.  I still am limited in my understanding, but it's so much better!  I have the vocabulary and pronunciation of about a 4 year old.

So, today, I obtained the names and schedules of all the officers and conducted a very simple interview with all but 3 or 4 who are currently on duty.

There are 3 groups of officers. One group will leave tomorrow at noon and a new group will come at noon to work for 7 days.  Another group will stay here for 3 more days, then have 4 days off.  This is the same schedule as in the Capital.  There will still be a huge challenge of figuring out attendance, but at least now I know the schedule and know when each person will be present.  I am praying for God's strategy on how to teach with these strange schedules in a way that doesn't interrupt the other work that the officers have to do.  He is faithful.  He will teach me.  But I would welcome prayer and ideas!

I wish I had my camera tonight when I was conducting interviews!  One officer would come sit in my interview chair and all the others would gather around, listening to make sure the interviewee didn't "out-English" them.  Everyone was so nervous!  It was hilarious!  Imagine: 10 adults in professional police uniforms (including guns, handcuffs, etc.) about to bite their fingernails off!  All I did was ask their name and how to spell it!

I have my work cut out for me!  I'm so excited! I don't know if I will start classes tomorrow morning or wait until the other group comes.  I hope to start tomorrow.  If not, I will explore the city a bit. It is perfectly safe for me to go out and walk around by myself.  There are SO MANY foreigners here!! :-)

Last night, Pastor Juan came in town and gave me Bibles, Bible Studies, Sermons, Worship CDs, etc. to give to the officers that I work with.  Now that I have these materials (all in Spanish), I hope to do more ministry as well as teach English.  I gave some of these things to the people in the Capital this morning before I left.  They are all excited to read their new Bibles and do Bible Studies together! :-)  Thank you, Pastor Juan!! Thank you, Anita!!

This is a new phase of my adventure.  I look forward to embracing it!