Flora and I just returned from an 8 day cruise in the Caribbean on the Norwegian Epic. It was an incredible ship! Some dear friends made this possible and it was a wonderful, relaxing, and rejuvenating experience as we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. In addition to the great food, entertainment, and all of the other great aspects of a cruise; one of my favorite teachers, Dr. David Jeremiah with Turning Point Ministries, led daily services. There was also teaching by Phil Waldrep, and concerts by Sheila Walsh, Charles Billingsley, and the Hoppers. We had a great time! I turned my phone off during the cruise to avoid the outrageous roaming charges and just tried to relax; but throughout the cruise, Flora and I would see people who reminded us of friends from back home... we couldn't get our church family off our minds.
The cruise left from Miami and we visited St. Martin/Maarten, St. Thomas, St. John, and Nassau,Bahamas. Some other friends had a relative in St. John and set up a wonderful day for us to tour the island then spend beach time at Caneel Bay Resort where we enjoyed snorkeling in the beautiful Caribbean waters. It was like swimming in an aquarium! Flora and I both agreed that was our favorite day.
An extra special part of this experience was spending two days before the cruise with my parents. Not only did they provide free parking and free shuttle service to the port, but we also enjoyed time eating, golfing, and shopping together. It was just good to be with them for a few days. They just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past June!
So, in 24 hours... supper in Nassau, breakfast in Miami, lunch in Florida, the supper in South Carolina. From Caribbean beaches to the Sandhills. From shorts and flip-flops to sweatshirts and heavy coats. That sounds weird, but that was how we spent our last 24 hours -- and it was WONDERFUL! Thank you, again, to those who made this trip possible, and to our pastoral staff for being so reliable that we didn't have to worry about a thing while we were gone.
1 comment:
We all love you so much and are so thankful for all your time/energy that you put into your 'family' here at the church! You and Flora are such an inspiration of love and faithfulness!! We love your whole family! (So much that we followed you ;)
Joe and Chrissie
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