Antigua 2010- Day One

The opportunity to travel to Antigua for a Spring Break Campaign actually came up rather quickly. Our University Minister, Justin, ask Larry if we could go as sponsors in early February. When Larry came home and asked me what I thought, I honestly didn't even know where Antigua was located. I had heard of it, but after looking at maps and talking to Justin we decided to join the group. What a good decision that was for Larry and I. It was an AMAZING trip!!! I think we most certainly came home richer. I remember at one of our meetings before leaving, we talked about how so often on these trips, you go with the "intention" of really making a difference in their lives but come home being the one changed...that is EXACTLY the outcome of this trip! We are the ones who were touched. The people in Antigua are so real! So honest. So faithful. So loving. So giving. So hospitable. So caring. So open. So driven to spread God's word. So driven to live for Christ...in their jobs, their homes, their speech, their actions. We were deeply touched. They walk the walk and talk the talk! Here is a little about our trip (okay, I admit this will be long but for me this blog serves as my "journal" so there are lots of details I just must write down).

Day One: Friday, March 12, 2010.
We left Hillcrest parking lot and drove to North Davis Church of Christ where we slept in their gym so we could easily get to the airport by 3:30 AM! This was our first chance to really get to know the students. Let me just say, we were so honored to work with an amazing group of students! Each one had their own special talents and the combination of them all allowed us to accomplish so many tasks! It was a joy to work beside them! We got up at 3:00 AM, quickly dressed and off to the airport to stand in line! Ha. The lines were crazy long and getting 17 people through took a lot of our time. So no time to grab breakfast, by the time we all checked in we headed for our gate and got right on the plane. We arrived in Atlanta, knowing full well we had LITTLE time to make our connecting flight. You know the movies you see, where they are running through the airport, well that was the scene that day...17 people in bright blue shirts sprinting along in order to make our next flight. No time for bathroom breaks nor to catch a bite of lunch. Thankfully we had packed granola, peanut butter crackers, etc. The flight to Antigua took about 5 hours. It was a great flight, no issues other than our headphones wouldn't work and they were showing "The Blindside" on TV! Shucks! Oh well, Larry napped and I flipped through a stack of magazines that Ashley sent with me! :) We were ALL taken off guard by the landing! It was the quickest stop I have ever experienced. We laughed that maybe since the island is small, they had to stop quick before they ran out of landing strip. I don't really know what was going on, all I know is it was quite a surprise! We stood in a very long and slow moving line to get through customs but finally we all made it through and headed for the curb where we were to meet some of the Villa Church of Christ members and soon to be friends!!!

This was the first thing we saw and heard when we got off the plane.. Musicians playing a little Island music!


We met our new friends, loaded up and headed to the Dove Cove Hotel that would be home for the week. We quickly unloaded our luggage in our rooms then loaded back into the van to find some food! We are ready for some "real" food! We went to a local restaurant and enjoyed a lovely dinner. Most of our students enjoyed hamburgers or club sandwiches but Larry and I made sure to enjoy our first meal of fish! Yummy! It was delicious.

Then it was off to the grocery store. That was quite an experience! Everything is very expensive there. In Antigua, you will pay a little more than double of what you will pay here in the good old USA. We were all exhausted and ready to take our food and head to the hotel! We had a devotional and talked about the plans for Sunday before heading to our rooms! I think everyone will slept good, it was a very long day. We were incredibly thankful for a safe day of travel and looking forward to what this trip holds!