April 9, 2004

Beloved Family and Friends,

We have arrived safely in Equatorial Guinea. That is a profound reason deep in our hearts for sharing our gratefulness to God for his caring grace upon Gloria, me, and the rest of our family. We arrived in Bata, the capital city, on March 20 in the afternoon. The general secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Guinea, the Reverend Juan Ebang Ela Eyang , was waiting for us at the airport terminal. His presence there made a big difference in getting us quickly and easly through immigration and custom services. The government officials didn't even check our baggage.

If you have visited Central America, it’s easy to imagine Equatorial Guinea, which reminds us of Central America’s Caribbean coast. The culture is diverse, as it is along Central America's Caribbean coast, and, as for the climate, you may imagine the heat and sweating conditions such as you might find in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, or in Belmopan, Belize.

We are doing well, but we are taking extreme precautions to protect our health, since malaria is a common disease here and kills people everywhere, especially children. That is why we have to keep the mosquitoes away. Drinking water is the other concern. Potable water service does not exist, and so we boil water for our daily needs.

We have begun our work already and simultaneously are gathering the practical tools we’ll need to perform our job. We are called to “assist the evangelistic efforts” of the National Presbyterian Church and its education department for training pastors, lay leaders, and public education through the church. In this first stage we are learning about the world of Equatorial Guinea. We are seeing, listening, and asking questions that may help us get our job done. There is a world of need and many challenges, but we have to get focused on our specific mission for now.

We hope this letter will open a wide window of communication between you and us for the days to come. We will keep you informed about us, our work, and the life of this church Equatorial Guinea. Please keep all of this in your prayers.

Servants on behalf of Christ.

Andres & Gloria Garcia