Okay, last Turks and Caicos post! Just wanted to throw in a few more random things:
First of all, the city we were in was called Providenciales but everyone called it Provo. We landed at the Provo airport and I was like, "Yeah! I'm a Provo girl!" I had to take a pic in this Provo hat to give a shout out to my hometown. Provo, UT may not be as exotic as Provo Turks and Caicos but I love it just the same : )
Our second day on the island was Sunday so we needed to find a place to go to church. After a little research we found there was a branch of our church on the island and that they met less than a 10 minute walk from our hotel! We were so excited!
It was a tiny branch and the meetings were translated into Creole since half the congregation didn't speak English. It was fast and testimony meeting so I got up to bear my testimony and it was funny having a translator because when I told I joke, half of the congregation laughed after the punchline, and the other half laughed a minute later once they got the translation ; ) The members were so warm and welcoming and we ended up staying for all 3 hours. Then they invited us to a fireside on Wednesday night that a General authority was coming to speak at. We figured why not? We don't have any plans!
So Wednesday night rolled around and I think people were a little surprised that we actually showed up ; ) This is brother Willy, he is a new convert and was just full of excitement for the gospel. When he saw us again he said in a thick Creole accent, "I'm glad you are here! You are my bruddah and my sistah!"
I love that he said that because that's really how we felt. We had read a scripture in Sunday school from Ephesians 2:19 that said, "ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." It applied so perfectly because when we came to the island we were literally foreigners and strangers, but once we walked into the church we were fellow citizens, "brothers and sisters" and it was just amazing to know we have that connection everywhere we go.
After the fireside we swapped emails with a few people and on Friday one of the guys emailed Taber to see if he wanted to come play basketball. We were going out for my birthday dinner but decided we could stop by the court since it was close to our restaurant. They ended up playing for close to an hour while I chatted with one of the wives who is from Canada, has two small kids and loves to run. We had plenty to talk about : )
When we left to go to the restaurant we bumped into another lady from church who said, "Oh my goodness! We've seen you guys so much if you stay for another week they're going to give you a calling!" I laughed but I totally would've taken one if they offered it. It's crazy how you can feel so connected to a ward after just one week.
That night we celebrated my birthday and our last night on the island with some good eats and chocolate cake.
The next morning we spent a few more hours on the beach before we had to pack up and head to the airport. We were pretty sad to leave.
But I stopped being sad when I got home and was greeted with more birthday celebrations and the 3 cutest kids in the world. It's hard to feel blue when you get a homecoming like that : )
7 comments:
I love the church. You have family wherever you go. You look so awesome by the way in all your pictures. And I love the cake the girls made for you. They are so cute. I love that you frosted it for the picture.
Your whole experience on the island looks like SO MUCH fun! We had a similar experience visiting the church while we were in Costa Rica. The people were amazing and it gives you such a different perspective of how strong the church is ALL OVER!
Wow, who knew there were more Provos out there? Funny.
That's great how much time you spent with the members, usually vacation = sacrament meeting and peace out! haha... maybe that's just us... But in a small branch like that, I guess it would be really obvious if you took off. :) But it looks like you made some special connections and I'm sure it was fun for their branch to have some of the funnest members in the world visit their island for a week! ;)
Your sad face picture cracked me up, I so know that feeling! But you're right, how can you be sad with those two cute girls so happy to see you again?! Love it.
That is too funny how you guys were there for a week and you hung out with the church folks so much! Sounds like a blast though! I know I have said it a million times, but what a way to spend your birthday, and celebrate your anniversary! You deserved an awesome trip like that!
Oh GREAT! Yet another place for me to visit where I will be smothered with hugs and kisses from random people to the sound of "You must be Becca's sister!!! We LOVE Becca!" Hahaha J/K dude, its a gift you got fo sho! Way to make friends wherever you go. Can't wait till it's my turn to party with you :) Love you man!
ok you guys are basically the cutest couple ever! I love that you became best friends with all of the lds peeps on your vacation. and i'm not even surprised because you guys are so easy going and fun to be around. Your trip seriously rocks!
I agree with the other commenters - I think you guys would make friends wherever you went. I love the Provo hat! And how friendly everyone in the branch was. Also loved the sad faces on the beach picture and now I feel like I need some of the birthday cake with strawberries - your blog always makes me hungry.
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