The ocean is calling

If you have gone on a mission trip before you know that part of the experience should include taking in the sights and interacting with local people. A storm blew through the previous night so the surf was high but that didn't stop us from taking our trip to the beach. The day was still overcast so there were not a lot of other "tourists" at the beach that morning. You might think is a good thing...NOT! We definantly interacted with the locals. I think everyone in Jacmel was there trying to sell us something...everything from paintings and jewelry to shells and food. After trying unsuccessfully to convince them all that we didn't want to buy we made our way to the beach. I thanked God for the beauty of his creation that was all around us. It was awesome swimming in the ocean with the waves washing over us and the beautiful view of the mountains as a backdrop. How wonderful it is to be alive. Denny tried to convince everyone that he was lighter because the saltwater made him more boyant. Carolyn found a cool shell in the surf so the search was on to find shells. I have to say she was the winner though. We had chosen this particular beach because Denny Ron and Tom had been there before and said you could get a huge lobster dinner for 11 bucks. I knew since they are men they probably exaggerated somewhat. So the lobster was huge but it cost us 15 bucks....there goes my extra shell buying money! HOW am I going to get the shell guys to believe that I have no more money. The lobster was very tasty even though I almost ate the eyeballs...YIKES I SAY! After another swim we climbed aboard our faithful tap tap and headed to the hotel to change. The guys gave us 15 minutes and believe it or not we were pretty close. Then we were off to see the kiddos again. We arrived to learn that they had water issues during the night so the guys tried to fix the problem. The rest of us kept the kids occupied so Mama could rest. No outside activities today since it rained. Marty made the mistake of trying to paint fingers and toes by herself. Even some of the boys wanted painted. I handed out some small airplanes for the kids to put together and it was pandimonium! Note to self...come up with a better system when handing out our gifts. Needless to say it was a little noisey in there but everyone had fun. We did some other activities and it was time to head back to the hotel. Its amazing how fast the time is going by.