The First Day

After being wiped out from a day of travel, the team went to bed very early last night. We awoke from a very restful night of sleep and were excited to begin our first day of work in Antigua. Our day began with a tour of the AM tower site and the radio station. The students were excited to see a lot of the same equipment and software they used in school in the radio station. After the tours ended, our team split up into several groups:

Group one consisted of Renee Owens, Emily Nelson and Abby Edwards. These ladies traveled to Bolans Primary School to spend some time reading to the students and spending time with them. The students all wanted to play with Abby and Emily's long hair. These students don't get a lot of interaction with people from the United States, and so they often want to touch the different color skin. Some even pinch it to see if it will turn darker. Abby and Emily both wanted to go back tomorrow to spend time with the students. They had a wonderful time with them, and in being able to teach them about God.

Group two consisted of the rest of the ladies on the team who helped with a variety of different tasks around the station. Most of the girls spent their time editing children's programs and helping do voice over work. In conjunction, the girls also were able to spend some time with the nationals who work on the Caribbean Radio Lighthouse staff.

Group three consisted of the men of the group as Nathan Owens directed us outside for some "man work" or as the average lay person would say "manual labor." The men helped at the AM site with some weed control, repairing and preparing the fence and Joshua and Lee helped to test several of the cables and equipment at the job site in preparation for hurricane season, which will come in about a month. The men also headed up to Mt. Obama (named after the 2009 election), but we still like to call it Boggy Peak (the original name). This mountain is the highest point in Antigua and also the site of the FM tower for the radio station. While there, the men were able to clear out a lot of brush and trees to help prevent damage to the tower in the event of a storm.

Once again, after a long day of work, a time at the beach was needed and appreciated. We spent the evening playing games together and recounting some of the highlights of the day. We had a brief time of prayer and devotions as I challenged the team to think about the lives they possibly could impact with their day-to-day responsibilities. Especially for our students, something like clearing brush or editing a children's program can seem dull and monotonous, but who knows how God can use that for His glory? Maybe three years from now a child will hear that edited radio program and come to Christ as a result. I can't wait to get to heaven and be able to see how God used my life to impact others, and I know God is using our team in mighty ways already, and will continue to do so throughout this trip.

Each of the team members are having a wonderful time and are being a great help to the ministry here. We did take some pictures of the days activities, but our internet connection here is not allowing a lot of speed to be able to upload pictures. We're hoping to be able to add more in the coming days for you to be able to see our work.

Continue to pray for us! We are excited to see God working already in the lives of our team members. We are so thankful for the team unity we have experienced so far and for the wonderful young people we have on this team. They truly are great to be with!

We love and miss you all, and I pass along hello's and "I love you's" from each of the team members.

For now, we say goodnight and we'll talk again soon from "the land of sea and sun."

For God's glory,

Jonny Gamet