One More Picture from my time in Saint Kitts.

I drove a few guys from the engine department to the other end of the island during our last off day. Half-way to the destination we stopped on top of a hill where my friend pulled out his professional Nikon to snap a beautiful panoramic picture of the eastern half of the island with Nevis in the background (Nevis being the sister island).

Zion Moravian Church, Basseterre.

John (U.S. & U.K.), Tom (Eng), Mel the ship's doctor (Germany), Me

We stopped at the Atlantic coast to admire the rock that was once lava.

So this looks a bit different than all the other churches I have been to, right? Notice it is the first time on a Sunday where they told us to wear t-shirts and jeans. A nice little break from wearing the full dress clothes with a tie in the immensely humid Caribbean. Today the service was aimed toward the youth of the church. Our messages we gave were missions focused like usual, but this time we had the privilege to enjoy a high energy dance routine about the Gospel message from church members...and it was quite good. After the service, our group of 4 had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the youth over a homemade lunch followed by a thorough bus tour of the island before coming back to the ship.

5 Days in Basseterre, Saint Kitts & Nevis.

12am we left Antigua and arrived at Basseterre about 6 hours later. Short voyages are definitely nice, especially before our 10 day Atlantic crossing! The ship will only be docked here from Friday morning to Monday night. There are two islands and St. Kitts is larger with the majority of the population; which is still way less than 100,000. The other island, Nevis (long "e") will be transporting almost every school kid over to our ship via ferry. Notice the tall, green mountain in the first picture ascending into the ominous clouds...that is a dormant volcano. In fact, the entire island looks as if it was formed from it. Because of the extreme steepness in the middle of St. Kitts, mostly all residents live on the perimeter of the island, traveling by what is the only highway here that loops around the edge. One interesting fact about the capital city of Basseterre is that you'll never see a traffic light while driving through it, which makes walking across the road a bit like a life-size Frogger game. Sunday I will be going to a church for the day and have the opportunity to speak to over 300 people with the focus being on the local youth. Speaking of a church team, I was on one in St. John's, Antigua but still haven't posted any pictures as of yet because of photo issues. Hopefully you will see them up here soon with a complete description about my time there.

Arrival: St. John's in beautiful Antigua

Green, green, and more green: Friday morning we arrived at a destination I've never even knew existed before joining the ship and coincidentally the most "Caribbean-feeling" of all our stops this year thus far. The interesting terrain reminds me a lot of St. Lucia with its abundance of hills and little mountains poking up sporadically across the horizon; a snorkeler's and hiker's dream because Antigua (combined with its sister-island, Barbuda) boasts 365 beaches. Although that may just be a catchy marketing ploy they tell people, it seems like a legit figure to me. The first noticeable thing different from our last port, Bermuda, is the humidity; and I don't think I missed it at all. Besides sweating, I spent my day off exploring St. John's while mingling with the locals, telling them about the ship and encouraging all to come aboard during our 10 day stay. Even though Caribbean culture can be a bit intimidating at times, the people have been extremely friendly and welcoming. We've only been open one full day and have already seen an amazing number of visitors. The population including the island of Barbuda (Don't worry, not too many people have ever heard of Barbuda, either) is roughly 85,600 and I wouldn't be surprised if we see close to 50% of the country spend some time aboard the ship. Tomorrow I will be going to an evening church service and taking part in a kid's program. I'm a bit rusty with the children songs and games because the last time I've done anything like that was in Trinidad...um September. Wow, I've been on board now for 8 months!

Salvation Army: Hamilton, Bermuda

Jong-Min & An Na (S. Korea), Me

Last Sunday, a group of us went to the Salvation Army Chapel for service. It was my first time partaking in a drama which I thought went great considering we learned it that morning! After the drama, I spoke to the church of 100 people about my life on board the ship and gave my story on how I became a Christian. When service was over, an amazing lunch was provided for us followed up with delicious dessert which we don't get too often on the ship. Then one of the members drove us to St. George for a fantastic music concert. I met an older gentleman who spent a year in Pittsburgh, not too far from where I'm from originally...what a small world.

Arrival: Hamilton, Bermuda.

Yesterday afternoon we arrived at our destination knows as "Little England". We are literally planted directly in downtown! Being here brings back memories of Oranjestad, Aruba and Willemstead, Curacao but a lot less touristy which is a wonderful thing. My work schedule in the engine room will be 4pm-12am all week with ministry on the weekends. I'm scheduled to speak at the Salvation Army church on Sunday about missions. Because I work in the evenings this week, my days are free for exploring. I took a walk this morning and found the temperature to be a tad chilly...which is a great change from the previous 8 countries. The terrain is very hilly and the scooters here are surprisingly ubiquitous . It was lovely to see plenty of tranquil parks and gardens tucked away throughout the city inside what seemed to be ancient stone walls. We will be serving here for two weeks before heading to Antigua.

Adventure Learning Centre, Bahamas

As posted before in my first installment after arriving in Nassau, I wasn't involved in much ministry off the ship due to engine room scheduling. However, one place I did make it to and thoroughly enjoyed was the A.V.C. camp. One of our ministry directors on board who is from Indiana, started missions work for the local Bahamians over 15 years ago. His vision was to build a camp for youth to attend, learn, and hear the Gospel while having a wonderful time. I'm not even exaggerating when I write that nearly 100% of all school kids on this island have spent some time here. Since it was founded, many additions have been added such as: horses, a surprisingly large petting zoo, rock climbing wall, a massive pavilion where over 100 of ship's company had dinner, and it's biggest attraction: an impressive planetarium. Although I didn't ride the horses (long line), the train was surprisingly fun! There were quite a few employees on site to host us and demonstrate what all goes on for the kiddos. In the planetarium, the teacher's main focus was to teach about space while giving the Gospel of Christ (think of Louie Giglio). I was very impressed with how well done and professional everything was. The construction phase is never actually over as they are continuously adding beds, class rooms, and activities. I urge you to check them out at: www.alcbahamas.org