Cruisin' Caribbean Style (Part Two)

The next stop on our Caribbean tour takes us to the island of Grand Cayman. We had arranged a tour from Captain Marvin that would include the highlights of the island, including time to snorkel with the stingrays. Unfortunately, the water was choppy, and the company recommended we did not do the snorkel part, and refunded our money. This was good because we wanted time to shop, but not good because I really wanted to snorkel with the stingrays.

We boarded this small bus, about 19 passengers probably and our driver took us around the island. He was knowledgeable and funny and made the trip more interesting. I'll let the photos and captions tell the story. Have a blessed week.

Beginning of 7 mile beach which is, you guessed it, 7 miles long. All of the beach is public so the hotels cannot rope of private sections.

Looking down 7 mile beach to my beach house :)

Nice clear water

Small town on Grand Cayman with a bar, post office, and souvenir shop.

This is why they call it hell. It appears to be dried coral. There must have been an inlet or pond here in the past.

More of Hell

There is this huge turtle farm on the island that mates and raises turtles, releasing most back into the wild throughout the world. The oldest one there was 135 years old and weighed 595 pounds.

Small turtles, 2-3 years old

We could hold them. This guy was 10 I think

Not sure why there was an alligator or crocodile at a turtle farm.

These were just 11 weeks old.

There were iguanas all over the island, just relaxing in the sun.

Do you see it?

How many can you find in this picture?

It was a popular day in Grand Cayman with a total of 5 ships in port.

Cayman Pirate ship

Cruisin' Caribbean Style (Part One)

When we went on our European cruise in October 2010, my mom was the lucky winner of the win a cruise bingo game. They chose to take a Caribbean cruise, upgrade to a Verandah room, and invited me along for the third person reduced rate. Not going to turn that down. We ended up changing our original plan because a similar itinerary was available on the Nieuw Amsterdam, which was the same ship we sailed on in the Mediterranean. Not that I don't think the other ships in the Holland America fleet would not be as great, we knew what we were getting on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

We boarded in Fort Lauderdale Florida, and sailed to Holland America's private island in the Bahamas, called Half Moon Cay. I took a shore excursion that let me ride a jet ski for about an hour throughout the Cay and into the Caribbean for a brief moment, although it was hard to drive and try to take pictures, so there were not many. The island also had a nice beach to relax on, and lunch was a complimentary island buffet. From Half Moon Cay, we set sail for Grand Cayman after a day at sea. More on the other ports of call in the next blog. One thing I noticed that was different on this trip was that we spent much more time on the boat. On the European cruise we often had 10-12 hours in port, whereas we only had about 6 on this trip. Likely contributed to the longer distances we had to travel between ports, and the ship maxed out at about 25 mph. Enjoy the first set of photos and check back soon for part two.

The Allure of the Seas, world's largest cruise ship, 6000 passengers

Apartments right on the waterway out of the cruise port, this one was waving the Holland America flag

End of the beach in Fort Lauderdale

Beach from Fort Lauderdale to Miami way in the background

The show on the first night introduced all the shipboard musical entertainment,

dancers

All the Holland America entertainers

The first night we ate at the specialty Asian restaurant called Tamarind, these are my dumplings

My duck entree

Sauteed Asian vegetables in oyster sauce

Mushrooms

Carmelized banana dessert. YUM!!

Dessert Extravaganza

The beach on Half Moon Cay

M.A.S.H. like sign telling us how far away certain places are

Our ship chillin'

View from the beach

This bird landed on the tray right by our table and started eating the leftovers

Venturing into the water, it was pretty cold

Spoons Are For Serving

When you ask a college student what they plan to do for spring break, odds are good that they will say a beach vacation, or a week of relaxation. For Martin Luther Chapel (MLC), at Michigan State University, you will not hear those answers. You will hear the words “Servant Event”. For several years now, MLC has sent as many as four mission teams to various locations in the United States and Central America. YLM is an annual choice for one of the mission teams. This year, the team consisted of 10 servants, only one of whom had been here before.

The team spent Sunday afternoon hiking at Franklin Mountains State Park, from the base of the mountains, about half-way to the top to a small caved called the Aztec Cave. Workwise, they spent three days at the home of Margarita Gonzalez in Horizon City. Mrs. Gonzalez lives in an older model trailer home, and her floor was in need of repair. The servant group ripped out old carpet of half the trailer and one bathroom, reinforced the floor in spots, and put down new tile, ceramic in the bathroom and vinyl in the bedrooms and living rooms. In addition to the tiling, the group rebuilt a porch and painted it, then sealed it to prevent future water damage.

The final day of work was spent at the YLM campus, beginning to build a porch on the outside of the kitchen building, and preparing the outside of building number 4 for paint. Once complete, this porch will provide a covered area to enjoy the great weather here. Each night, two different members of the team led bible study. One night, after enjoying $1 scoop ice cream, each person received a tasting spoon from the restaurant. The study focus on “backstabbing”, “cutting down”, and how we a Christians feel when that happens to us, and how we should treat others. The final line of the evening, which still resonates within me is when the study leaders closed the discussion with this line: “forks are for stabbing, knives are for cutting, but spoons are for serving”

As soon as I jumped out of the van at the airport, the camera was flashing

Getting ready for church

I was trying to creep on them before we went hiking

At the Aztec Cave

One the leaders and Margarita

The other leader, Holly, ripping up carpet

These three seemed to be on break A LOT!!

Showing off the handiwork

Having an intense discussion

Finished porch

One more piece of tile to go, then grout

New tile in hallway

Sheylan, Katie, and Blair, aka Team Tile

The group with Margarita

Ninja fighting on the roof

Porch in progress

Stopped to say hi to the dogs

They sure bark a lot, but they will only lick you death.

Cooking with Chris

Frank and Susannah, who some of you may know, approached me a few weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in giving cooking classes to them and others from YLM and San Pablo. I thought why not. Last Friday, we had our first class. Basically how it works is each student (8 is enough for one class) pays 5 dollars plus the cost of the food is split between each student (which last week ended up being 3 dollars per person).

We made Italian Chicken Rolls with parmesan pasta, and everything turned out well. I showed them how to split the chicken breast, pound them thin, stuff, roll, and bread them, while having them do some pounding and mixing of things. After the chicken went into the oven, we started the pasta, and just talked about general cooking things. It was a good learning experience, and a fun time for fellowship. I need to figure out a way to show them crock pot meals, since I can't make it work like you see on a television show, when they put something in the oven, go to commercial, and when the commercial is over, the food is done.

Next class we are going to have pan seared fish (probably tilapia) with penne pasta, roast jalapenos, and a light cream sauce.

Plans are to have classes every two weeks. Other requests have included crock pot meals, shrimp scampi, steak, and barbecue. Depending on future interest, I may have to hold 2 classes during each week, which would be ok by me.

Have a Blessed week.

New Year, New Resolutions

Well, this year I actually decided to make some resolutions, with the honest intention of sticking to them. So if you have some extra time in your prayers, perhaps you could lift up a couple of these for me.

1. Read the Bible in a year (I have tried this before, and I always quit during Chronicles, but I found a really cool chronological plan where I am already reading bits and pieces of Chronicles so it is manageable.) One thing that I noticed the other day is that it really is Chronological. I had to read Genesis 25:12-26 before reading Genesis 25: 7-11, and when you look at it, that is actually the correct chronological order. (odds of success 95%)

2. Read a book per week. One of my Facebook friends did this last year, and I thought it sounded cool. I am going to have to choose small books though, because of school. So far, I have finished 2 and am 1/3 of the way through the third and we have not quite hit two weeks yet, so in good shape. Let's see what happens now that school is back in session. Erin asked if a book of the bible counted, what is your opinion? (Odds of success 70%)

3. Blog again. Enough said. (Odds of success (65%)

4. Lose 2 pounds per week (It doesn't necessarily have to be 2 per week, but I want 104 gone by 12/31/12). Even if I don't hit this number, I will consider it a success if I can lose half of that. (odds of success 50%)

5. Keep my 4.0 in school. Classes are getting tougher, work is getting busier, and now I have to exercise and read too, so which one is going to win out? Not this one. I make myself do schoolwork at least one hour per day, and more if needed to make sure I am doing well. And, a friend of mine graduated college with at 3.9799 so that is my motivation to beat her :). (odds of success (99%)

Have a great week, hope you are enjoying your new year.

Sharing Jesus in Anapra

For the 7th time, students, faculty, and chaperons from Mayer Lutheran High School spent their New Year in El Paso under the theme of Sharing Jesus in Anapra. This year, 33 people made the 26 hour bus ride from Minnesota to El Paso to experience this "life changing event" as one student commented on her evaluation. The students in attendance represented nearly 15% of the student body, and watching how they model their faith and love for others is an inspiration to myself, and maybe to others.

Once again this year, the group divided into 3 groups, with each group building a house, and finding time to interact with the children and families nearby. The group brought plenty of activities and crafts to keep a small army busy, and more candy than you see at a grocery store before Halloween. Each site saw the house built in 4 days, and the love of Jesus and Minnesota shared with many. As the week drew to a close, and sadness came from the group because they had to leave, an explanation from Acts 20 about how the citizens of Ephesus were weeping because of their love for Paul, and they knew they would never see him again, that it would be ok for them to shed tears because of their love for their friends in Anapra, but to remember that they would see them again soon.

Welcome back to the blog, and Blessings on your week.

Working on the drywall

A little bit of hanging around enjoying the sun

More interior work

A daily highlight included climbing the mountain right behind our job site, here are some pictures from up top.

Our casa tucked right in there

We had some extra time, so those at this casa chipped in to buy some paint

I'm Back

Okay, I have neglected this long enough. Now that Erin has left the mission to return to St. Louis and work for Concordia Publishing House, her sister Kara suggested that I should start my blog again because there are some people who would like to know what is happening around here. So I will make an honest attempt to do so. Hope you enjoy, and remember to check back occasionally.