A Day on the Water

Today was the big day - we all just couldn't wait. We woke up early this morning to get ready to catch our boat. I looked out the window and it was rainy and nasty. I checked the weather and it said we had a 70% chance of rain and a small boat caution because of large swells in the ocean. I couldn't decide what to do. I called the catamaran company and they said that they were still doing the cruise today. I talked to the Kirklands and the Waites and we decided to go for it. The weather always says it is going to rain, but it is usually just short storms. We met the boat and were ready for an exciting day. About 3 minutes into our ride, the sky fell! It was absolutely pouring. I was praying and praying that it would stop and that we would still have a fun day. It rained hard on and off for about the first hour, but then we had beautiful weather for several hours. The trip was a 60 mile tour around the island. The bad thing was we left the Caribbean and went out into the Atlantic Ocean for about 30 of those miles. The water was so rough! That is where we ran in to the large swells and waves. The boat pulled into a bay for us to go snorkelling. That was amazing! It was the first time for many on the trip. We were right by a big reef and it was full of beautiful fish. It was awesome to see all of God's creation below the water. The fish were beautiful - such vibrant colors! It was hard to get out of the water and back onto the boat. But, lunch was waiting for us. We had a delicious lunch of barbeque chicken, tilapia, seasoned rice, mac and cheese bake, cooked pumpkin, garlic bread, and pimento cheese sandwiches. The team could eat as much as they wanted - many of the boys were so thankful since I have had a pretty tight control on food rations since we got here. :) As soon as we got done eating, we had to hurry to out-run another storm. We went back out to the Atlantic and it was so rough! A couple of us got sea-sick. I think I got it the worst - which I am thankful the rest of the team did pretty well.  I think the biggest problem was many of us were slightly dehydrated from a full day on the water. We made it back to our beach right around 4. I am doing my post a little early tonight since everyone is fast asleep for a nap. The day wore us out, but we all had a great time! Many of us got a lot of sun today so I believe it will be an early bedtime all around. We thoroughly enjoyed the day getting to see the whole island. We are ready to go back to work tomorrow! Thank you again for your prayers. Our trip has gone so well so far.

The beginning of our day - right before the rain

Some more of the crew

Jonny and I

Some of the girls enjoying the sun - they are regretting that now!

Looking over the edge of the boat

The water was beautiful

Right before we got to go snorkelling