Many thank-you’s.

We have arrived safely in beautiful Antigua where the sun is shining and the sky is blue but, before writing about Guatemala, we need to thank a lot of people for the amazing donations we have received for the ‘School of Hope’. When we sent out an email, back in October, asking if people could buy just one thing from a list of much needed items which Kellen, Visitor and Volunteer Coordinator at EFTC, had sent us, we never imagined how generous our friends, family and businesses would be. Every week people were dropping by with bags/boxes of things they had bought for us to take. As our departure drew nearer more and more donations arrived – anonymous parcels on the doorstep, Amazon were delivering packages from friends and family and an extra special thank you to Andy C for his 4 huge boxes of stationery items … fantastic. From toothpaste and toothbrushes to pencils and pens to glitter and face paints … we have got it all and I am sure the staff and children in Jocotenango will make use of every single thing that has so generously been donated.

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A very BIG thank you to Lynne (S), Lynne (B), Shaz and Denise who gave us very generous cash donations to fund the 2 extra suitcases on the plane.

We mustn’t forget to thank Juliet for providing the three of us with an excellent dinner, B and B (plus wine!) the night before our flight and then getting up at at the crack of dawn to chauffeur us to Heathrow for our 11.00am flight to Guatemala City via Atlanta. I can highly recommend her services.

On arrival at the ‘Delta Airlines’ check-in desk we were so impressed with the staff who could not have been more accommodating. When we told Greg, who was checking us in, that 2 of the cases were filled with donations he immediately contacted Mandy, his supervisor, and they waived the £72 per item charge for each of the 2 additional suitcases. What a fantastic start to our trip – that overwhelming gesture means that we can use the cash donations to pay for the shipping of all the parcels we had to leave behind. No matter how hard we tried we could not fit everything into the 2 suitcases and although we were gutted there was no way we could squeeze in another crayon, stapler or bar of soap. Thank you Delta Airlines and especially Greg and Mandy – your generosity means so much to so many.

Thank you to Kellen, a friendly and welcoming face who was there to meet us when we arrived at our accommodation in Antigua (pronounced “anteegwa” as opposed to the Caribbean island of Antigua which is pronounced “anteega”). Kellen helped us get our bearings and told us the important things about our new surroundings, recommended restaurants and bars and most importantly how to get to school on Monday.

Finally thank you to Michelle and all the other EFTC staff who have helped and advised us along the way – we are looking forward to the alarm going off at 7.00am on Monday morning when we start “work” – a word that I have certainly become unfamiliar with over the last few years.