View of our dock from deck 9.
Portion of the main street right off the ship.
There's even a Taco Bell....with French fries!
Eating Little Ceasar's with Tom(ENG) and Gina(USA)
Docked beside the Scientology ship!
Lighthouse on the North tip of the island.In a city referred to as "Little America", Oranjestad (Orange Town) is probably the wealthiest stop thus far since arriving on the ship in September. As I write this, I'm sitting outside the top of a second story building beside a Little Caesar's (Pictured above), Dunkin' Donuts, and Baskin Robbins. Many massive cruise ships come and go daily to transport people who are eager to spend large amounts of money at the Casinos and very high-end jewelry and clothing stores. It's the first time I've ever seen not one but three Rolex stores within a quarter-mile. You may be thinking why our ship would even be at a place like this...That was my initial thought, before I traveled behind the opulent tourist trap. My friend asked me if I would drive a few of us behind the main street to give a sandwich to a homeless lady she met a few nights ago, and wanted to continue to give her the Gospel. As I crept down the road to look for her, the cleanliness suddenly disappeared and the spotless cobblestone walkway turned into unsupervised children loitering on concrete. I was instructed to stop in front of this salmon colored cement structure and the passenger to my right mentioned it was a drug house. The homeless lady named Mecksie took my friend inside the other day after they met down the road and took a walk together. Soon as I stopped the van, a couple guys with sticks began approaching the vehicle....
Two polar opposite realities hit me within two city blocks. Two vastly different lifestyles; yet both with the same vacancy in their life if they aren't regenerated. Some people may think our time is useless in places that seem so affluent on the outside; but it's quite the contrary. There are no more difficulties evangelizing to the very poor than it would be to the person outside a trendy fashion store; all need to hear about Jesus. At least the poor aren't usually fooled by the world system of happiness through materiel wealth. My views on life are always changing at every port and Aruba is no different. The Logos Hope departs on Sunday; we were only here for a short time. Oh, one more thing: The picture above actually is the Scientology ship right next to ours. As I write this, a group of people are taking a tour of the inside and there are sign-up sheets to join more tours tomorrow. I know our ship community is praying for them and their misleading religion.
