I can hardly believe that being here on this beautiful island with Clint is a reality and not just a dream... I feel so fortunate and blessed and just want to push pause...Can I do that?? After a much needed long nights rest (after the all night flight the day before) we woke up, put our swim suits on, ate breakfast in the restaurant with the ocean view, and headed down the long staircase to the dock. (We pass these iguanas everywhere we go, and they are NOT afraid of us!)
We listened to a brief safety instruction and then boarded "The Cat."
There were about 40 of us on this catamaran boat... We sat on the edge of the boat with our feet dangling over the edge of the water, had the wind in our hair, and set sail on the ocean. It was beautiful, blue, and peaceful. There was music playing and I snuggled up next to Clint and just enjoyed the ride.
After about a half hour or so we pulled up to the edge of this island reef, put on our flippers and snorkel masks, and headed out into the water to explore life under the sea. We saw sting rays and all kinds of fish, (including one breed that looked exactly like a shark, but wasn't... but it still made me a little nervous when he swam close to me!) But my favorite thing of all that I saw was the sea turtles!!! They were the cutest things ever!!! Our instructor told us to look like a star and put our arms and legs straight out when the turtles would come up for air and then they would stay swimming by us and not be afraid. So we did, and a few of them swam very close to us. Clint even spotted one that was asleep amongst the rocks that blended in so very well, and the instructor was amazed! He had never seen one like that before... it was so amazing.
After we had been out in the water long enough we headed back to "The Cat" and dried off, had some snacks and drinks, and rested in the sun for the ride back to the hotel. Clint and I both felt a little queasy by the time we made it back that we just wanted to go back to our room and rest... so we did. After a shower and a long nap, we felt so rejuvenated! We explored the beach and went to a restaurant called Coco Joe's. It was right on the ocean front with the perfect view of the ocean and a light breeze passing through...we sat and talked and ate and watched people playing in the water and the ships roll in and out of the bay. We had Bbq wings and fish tacos with a brownie covered in ice cream, chocolate, and caramel for dessert. It was so yummy!
Then we went exploring some more...looked at a little waterfall, then got our books and headed back to the waters edge where we relaxed and read until it was dark and we could no longer distinguish the edge of the sea from the edge of the black night's sky. The stars popped out one by one and we layed there and looked at them and talked some more. I loved how peaceful and happy I felt.
We decided to go exploring again and eventually made our way back up to the front balcony of the hotel where we had peach and strawberry fruit smoothies and ended up visiting with some of the other Sound Off people that were there. It was interesting how we began conversing about our family and children and how quickly they began asking questions about our religion... which I knew Clint was trying to make happen by the things he would say...:) We ended up telling them so much of what we believed that after a while of being in charge of the conversation it became late and we were all ready to go to bed. But, it was a great missionary opportunity and I don't really get those particular kinds of opportunities that often so I really enjoyed it. It was neat to listen to Clint be so excited to share everything, and I would join in where I felt it was right. By the end of the conversation they knew so much more than they first did and it was so good. They now know that Mormons are Christians! They know we pray to God our Heavenly Father and not Joseph Smith. They know we believe in eternal families and that the Godhead is made up of 3 separate beings, and that God has a body of flesh and bones just like us. They know about our missionaries and our service in our callings, about baptism, the restoration, and about the word of wisdom... We talked about so many things I'm not quite sure what they think, but what I do know is that it felt so good to be sharing it with them and to hopefully clear up any misconceptions that they had. They know we are different and so do we... and it is good. One of the ladies even said that she felt like all the other Christian religions seem to be trying to blend in with the world, but the Mormons don't. I told her that she was exactly right, and that we wanted to stay constant and true to what Heavenly Father wants us to do more than what the world wants us to do...
Needless to say, it was quite the night and as we headed back to our room and discussed things some more, we were happy and excited at how we felt being able to share the gospel. This trip is so good in so many ways, and I feel like the more we are blessed, the more we just want to keep giving back and vice versa... We will never be able to give back everything we get, so we will just continue to do our best to do what's right in all we do. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!! I love this time with Clint and I love this vacation!!!❤
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