Day in the Life - Part 3 - Wed 7th April

Today started with a skype call at 7am, with other members of the Core Team (the international leadership team (?) of Latin Link). With me being the furthest west - it's me who has to get up the earliest - but then the others have the enviable pleasure of listening to me munching on my cornflakes! Whilst I'm on the computer, I have a quick check of my emails. Then I nip across the road to the market to buy a few supplies.

By about 9.30am, one of the Striders has arrived and we go together to Antigua - she's had teeth problems and needs to settle her bill at the dentist -- I have to go to DHL to send some documents to England. Once we're done our tasks, and whilst we wait for her bank to call her back and unblock her credit card (!) we have a smoothie and cake in one of the cafes and 'ment'. I'm her mentor - so we meet up every couple of weeks and chat about how things are going in her work placement, church, host family and anything else that comes up!

1pm When I get back home, I remember that another skype call is due - and spend an hour or so chatting with a couple who may join Latin Link as Striders - possibly longer - answering their questions about possible placements and the practicalities of moving a family to Guatemala.

2.45pm Phone call from another Strider. She has a meeting with her boss on Friday so we chat through some issues that she would like to bring up and ways to bring them up in a positive way as well as how, with some issues, she could adapt to the different way of doing things here. In the meantime Alex arrives at the house and has a chat with Kathrin - another Strider who's been staying a couple of days. I finish off my phone call sat on my front door step and pray over the phone that God would give her wisdom and sensitivity.

3.30pm Meeting with Alex - he is Guatemalan and has been accepted on the Stride programme and hopes to serve in England next year. We chat through his plans to raise all the support he needs to get to England and support himself there for a year. It's often very difficult for Latin Americans to raise all the support they need to be sent as missionaries to Europe - but God is always faithful - so I try to encourage Alex in his efforts and share some tips from my experience of raising support.

5pm. Kathrin's host family comes to pick her up and Alex catches a lift with them. Realising that I have the house to myself, I strip the spare beds and put a wash on (the last few weeks have been almost non-stop visitors in the house - and I'll have other visitors at the weekend so want to get the house straight!)

5.30pm - just thinking about sweeping through the house when Anna arrives (the phrase 'revolving door' springs to mind!). So instead we chat over tea and biscuits (and me doing the ironing) - about her placement and her plans to celebrate her birthday at the weekend.

6.30pm Clean the house, make and eat tea, write up some notes of my meeting with Alex, send a couple of emails arranging some visits for next week, and have a quick look on facebook!

7.30pm watch a film - only briefly interrupted by a phone call from the step team leader - wanting to chat through a couple of changes in their project.

10am - off to bed as I need to make a reasonably early start tomorrow to travel to Quetzaltenango to 'ment' with Joe and then to San Pedro La Laguna to 'ment' with Jeanine. !