Winter Break...Caribbean Style!

Our little fish, Canyon:)

These pictures were actually meant to be posted last week, but a severe storm knocked out our internet and phone for about 5 days.  Some still don't have it back.  I will write more about that in the next blog and stick to the pictures I already had loaded when it went down.  So...while our friends, Shawn and Becky, were here we took a some time off to check out Saba.  We finally got to see what this amazing underwater paradise is all about.  It definitely lives up to its reputation as a top dive site...though we are happy to just snorkel.  Canyon is a pro at snorkeling now.  He has been doing it since he was 4, but this is the first time there was no reminders needed.  He just headed right in...too quick!  We didn't even have our gear on yet when he headed out, not even looking back or caring if we were with him.  Don't worry grandparents, we caught up right away and he promised to wait for us old fogies next time:)  Following is a few pictures of a few things we saw.  I think in one little bay we saw nearly every fish we had ever seen snorkeling.  Pictures never do anything justice...at least when I take them, but you get the idea. AMAZING!!!

If you are only going to have one sandy beach on an island, at least it is a perfect one!  It has the softest black sand, half shaded, great waves to play in, awesome snorkeling to both sides, and both times we went we had it to ourselves!  No breaking your shovel here!  Engineer Canyon LOVES the perfect building sand.  The only problem with this beach...it could be gone tomorrow.  It comes and goes at the whim of the tides.  People are surprised that it has been there for us!

Lots of huge schools of beautiful fish.

Honestly, these are my photos with a little camera, not postcards!

Yep, above is Clint and it's me below...I will never get sick of swimming around with turtles!  They didn't care that we were there at all.  It was amazing to follow them and watch how easily they maneuver through the water.  They would come up for air right beside us, easily close enough to touch!  They seemed as curious about us as we were of them!

Cool cave to snorkel through.  Didn't see any fish, but the tide action was neat to experience. 

Even the jellyfish were beautiful!

Canyon's little buddy Emely.  The two wore me out jumping waves.  Oh, and I can never body surf, but here every wave carried me right in with my head out of the water watching.  I am not kidding...the perfect beach!

Now we will move on to some sites we have been seeing around the island.  They include some requests, like pictures of flowers...though it would be impossible to include all of the beautiful flora the island contains!

The one and only gas station on the island.  If you know Shawn, ask him about the friend he made at the gas station:)  FYI for those that don't travel much, you ARE NOT allowed to pump your own gas in many places around the globe...and even in some States.

Canyon interviewing the Lights for our family worship night.  He made them a pipe cleaner microphone.  This is a great way to really learn new things about people you have known your entire life.  We highly recommend it.  Kids think to ask questions we may never have thought of ourselves.

This little guy sounds just like our swamp peepers back home and puts us to sleep every night.

A wonderful Spanish sister, Bienela, and her daughter, Emely, had us over for a delicious meal...Shawn always wanted to try goat:) It is delicious.  Good practice for our Spanish, too. 

Clint always is willing to take time for the kids...oh yeah, that's right...he is one:)

School time!  Canyon hasn't missed a beat.  He even used the webcam to show his teachers the view:)  He is always excited on the days he gets to video chat with them.  It is nice to have found a school that gets that seeing underwater firsthand is as good as learning about it in a textbook!  And that doesn't make you use up your vacation days when your child is doing such amazingly educational activities!  The educational value of this trip has been astronomical on every level!



Is it wrong that I am starting to think these guys are really cute?

This plant may not seem like anything special, but you would be sorely mistaking to think that.  It is a passion fruit plant beside our house and Clint is an expert in making passion fruit juice!  YUMMY!  We probably get 10 off it each week.  Several times a week, someone hands us something we don't recognize and says you can eat this, or you can make tea with this.  We can't always get there names because often we are told the Spanish name so quickly that we can't catch it.  We have discovered that everything makes a good smoothie:)  I am having an allergic reaction to something and covered with polka dots right now.  The first question was, "Have you ate anything new?"  Pretty funny...like 20 new things this week!  I will just live with the polka dots and keep trying new foods. Until I figured out which thing was causing it I would be home and have missed out on all kinds of palatial experiences:)  So if I look dotted in future pictures, it isn't the camera...I really am:)

This bunch of bananas is one of three at our house right now.  Plus, there are two smaller bunches.  This one has 171 bananas...Clint counted!!  We are hoping they are ripe soon! There are also coffee plants and papaya trees on the property.  Everybody should get to experience eating a freshly harvested banana.  They are SO sweet!

Neighbor's cute little house. 

Cow #2...Onyx...remember...they are precious!

Have you ever seen a goat this color????  SO COOL!  There are wild goats everywhere and they are often crazy colors, but this one is my favorite so far!

This is what you usually find when you take a hike to the ocean to try to find a beach or a place to get in the water.  You may not be able to swim in it, but it is captivating to watch!  If you look closely, you can see Shawn and Becky sitting on the rocks in the upper right hand side.  There were cool tide pools in this area.

Always happy campers:)

Clint and Canyon heading to the sulfur mines.

Anybody know what this little guy will become?  We love hatching out butterflies, but don't know this one yet.

Why does it always have to be so steep??!!  You should see the leg muscles on everyone here!!

Black-eyed susan vines growing wild.

The fern tree is my favorite jungle tree.  We finally got to get into the jungle hiking a bit.  I will never get enough of the flora and fauna of the jungle.  It is spectacular!  Becky even found a wild lemon tree while hiking and brought some home for dinner. 

These little guys were blanketing an area of the jungle.  I LOVE ferns!

Seriously...can you believe the size of these elephant ears?!  Natures umbrellas.

Now for the really fun stuff...

Okay...maybe not hiking up all the steep hills...

but the wonderfully friendly people that enjoy studying the Bible! 

Best Panini's we have ever had!  Fresh made bread...YUM!

We are just getting to really know some well enough that I asked to get my camera out at a few places.  I can honestly say that conducting studies is more fun than going to the beach...and I LOVE snorkeling at the beach!  When you go to a house to study with 5 kids and they all run out with Bibles in hand anxious to study, it is a precious thing!  Or when someone gets an answer to a Bible question they have had there entire life by actually being shown in there own Bible the answer instead of being TOLD what to

Can't you tell how into the study they are...so sweet!

 believe makes a lasting impression.  People really respect the Bible. The Witnesses here have an outstanding reputation and, as visitors, we are told that everywhere we go.  It is not easy to be different here.  The main religion is Catholic, and the only school on the island is Catholic.  Be anything else and you really stand out!  These kids are the highlight of my week!  There mom is studying the Bible and is making amazing progress.  She has even decided to get married next month in order to live by Bible principles.

A big step!  Funny, this week we were discussing the roles of each family member and the scripture that says to "drink water out of your own cistern".  That metaphor has a whole new impact when you are somewhere that actually has cistern's!  You realize the brilliance of that metaphor...enough said!

We all made a picture of their favorite "Moses" event that we had studied and taped them together...lots of snakes from the boys when they found out I was afraid of snakes!  It is very funny to them that I am afraid of snakes because they only have one cute, little, non-poisonous one on the island. 

Since our Sunday meeting is at 11:00, we are starved by the time it is over!  Nothing a quick pizza wouldn't fix.  The lady on the left is another study that is working toward baptism.  On the front right is a newly baptized sister.

My plan was to upload Canyon's talk onto the blog, but it must be too big or something.  I sent it out in e-mail to those whom I had an address.  If you want to see it, you will have to send me your e-mail address and I will share it.  Just to give you an idea of how busy we have been in the congregation, I will tell you little Canyon's past few weeks.  The past three weeks, Canyon has given two Bible readings, one talk...in Spanish and English, and been the householder in two demonstrations!  He has truly been a great help and really enjoys being so useful!  On top of that he is thoroughly preparing for all the meetings because we need all the commenters we can get.  He has been trying to give at least some of his comments in both languages as well.  As for his talk...well, it would be very hard to not be proud of him.  It was not easy and he practiced...A LOT!!!  He is just beginning to learn Spanish, so many of the words he was learning for the first time.   He helped to make all the visual aids.  It was about how Jesus set a pattern for us.  He picked all his own scriptures he wanted to use, too.  He started with a picture of a pattern, then he had pictures showing Jesus doing something beside a person doing the same thing today.  In the end he held up all of the pictures together making a "pattern".  Thanks for all the encourages responses you've sent about his talk.  We read them all to him and it helps give him incentive when it is time to work on the next one.

Have you noticed how everything is painted white and green?  If we understand correctly, it is like a building code or something like that...you should try finding a return visit with no house #'s and them all the same color!

Saturday morning service group...and we're off...
 

These were last weeks pictures, so I will try to post again soon to get caught up.  Until then, I will leave you with this scripture...Malachi 3:10 "test me out, please,.....to see whether I will not open to you the floodgates of the heavens and pour out on you a blessing until there is nothing lacking."  We tested...and I am sure the blessings are obvious to you as well!  Never hesitate to test him out....