The Last Few Days....

So this was it... we were approaching the last few days of our long anticipated trip.  We needed to make them count!  After 2 months of the experience of a lifetime we decided to get some relaxation and take in some more beautiful sights!
We went to the island of Tobago for the rest of our trip!!!
It was beautiful and we got to meet more brothers and sisters which definitely enhanced our visit!

Since we didn't really know how to get around and we needed to take a ferry (because it was significantly cheaper than flying) we asked Dishan Dinoo if he would come with us.  The kids absolutely love him!  Well, for those of you that know me, I am very easily car sick.  I was on the trip, numerous times.  This however, made carsickness seem like a walk in the park!  The ferry was beautiful and comfortable but, I have never been so motion sick in my life.  It was awful!  I even took medicine to try to prevent it and it didn't work.  As it turns out EVERYONE got sick and the Captain came over the loudspeaker to say he was sorry we were experiencing rougher than ususal waves.  I think that was the longest 2 1/2 hours of my life!!!  Even Brandon said he thought he was going to throw up and that is the first time I think he has ever gotten motion sick. 

So we arrived in Tobago and we went to the place where we had reservations.  Since Brandon and I had never had a honeymoon or a vacation in our 11 years of marriage we decided to stay somewhere much nicer than we had ever been before. (Even if it was only for 2 nights and with our kids we were still pretty excited!) They were very kind in giving us a discount since I mentioned we had done missionary work and just wanted a couple of days to relax, it was beautiful!

This was the view from our room and the room itself....

 One of the most thrilling things about the hotel was having a HOT shower!  It was unbelievable how much we had all missed that!  We gained appreciation for so many things we didn't even know we ever took for granted!

So Dishan knew a brother that lived in Tobago who ended up helping us out a ton.  He took us to some restaurants and gave us suggestions that really helped us.  He even made arrangements for us to rent a car for the day for a much cheaper rate than thru the hotel. 

One highlight was definitely the restaurant we went to.  It was called the Pasta Gallery and it was owned by a Brother and Sister in Tobago. It's called that because there is artwork all over the restaurant (done by other witnesses) that you can enjoy while you eat!  It is an authentic Italian restaurant and it was one of the best meals Brandon and I have ever had!  It was exquisite!  The brother was from Sweden and his wife was Trinidadian.  Even the dishwasher was a sister in their congregation!  Did I mention the food was out of this world?! 

 This is one Happy Man getting ready to enjoy his first salad in a couple of months! It was sooo good! (he did share with me :)

The next day was a major bummer because it was the one and only day we had to go to the beaches of Tobago.  It was dreary, rainy and even a little chilly compared to the temps we were used to.  It didn't deter us though, we went and explored the gorgeous beaches and even swam a little...

 As disappointed as we were that there was no sun we still made the best of it and had a great time!

 This Kingdom Hall was located on the way to the next beach we were going to.  A brother and sister who are special pioneers lived next door and let us check it out!  They were so kind and invited us to come visit them anytime!  It's amazing feeling like you have family across the world that you have just met!

Some views on the way to the   next beach

       

This is Brandon cautiously driving as we are not used to driving on the left side of the road! 

 Amazingly the sun peaked out a few times at the second beach we went to...

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  All in all that was a very fun day!  We all relaxed and saw some beautiful scenery too!

Sunday: THE ZONE MEETING

The weekend we spent in Trinidad was so jam packed it was incredible!  It was all very exciting though!
So Saturday we went to the beach and the congregation party and then Sunday afternoon we all got ready and went to the Zone Meeting.  This particular zone meeting was history in the making as it was the first time ever that Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana were all going to be tied in via video transmission for the meeting.  We were very privileged to be able to attend at the Assembly Hall where it was being recorded.
It was so exciting to get to see all the missionaries that we had met in Guyana (at the circuit assembly) again, our friends from Bethel, as well as meet so many others.
Because of this we didn't actually take very many pictures.  We were so excited to meet and greet that we rarely took out the camera.  You will just have to take my word for it that it was one of the most incredible experiences that truly added to the joy of our trip!
They gave updates on the progress in each country and the Zone Overseer from Brooklyn Bethel gave a talk.  It was called "Always Rejoice in the Lord" and it was such a balanced and encouraging talk. 
In total there were over 18,000 brothers in attendance for the meeting! 

So here are a couple of people we did get our camera out to make sure we got a photograph of.  Each one has significance to the Haslington congregation where we had called "home" for the previous 8 weeks...

 So this is Brother and Sister Jason & Mina Green who are special pioneers in Haslington, Guyana.  When we arrived for our first meeting there it was also their first meeting as well.  They had just been relocated to the congregation and ironically were due for a vacation.  So, we were able to attend 2 more meetings with them before they left for the rest of the month.  We were sad we didn't get to go in the ministry with them as they were settling in, but it was wonderful to see them again at the very end of our trip and share some of our experiences!

This pic is of a very special brother named Richard Haughton.  This was the first time we had met him but, we felt like we already knew him!  He and another brother (also with the last name of Haughton) are special pioneers from Jamaica that were previously assigned to Haslington. (The Green's took their place) When we were in service we often met people who inquired of them and would tell us how they had called on them or had bible discussions with them.  The congregation spoke of them all the time and we felt sad that we hadn't gotten to meet them so this was very, very exciting to get to meet one of the famous Haughtons!!!  :)

The rest of Saturday spent in Trinidad

(I apologize it's taken me over a month since we've been home to finish up the last few days of our 1st trip but, it's been crazy and I want to do my best to describe it, since they were AMAZING!)


So as if Saturday wasn't exciting enough with spending the day at Maracas Beach in the evening we were still on the run!  It turns out that the congregation that Camille Dinoo belongs to is sign language and they were having a congregation party that night!  Apparently in Trinidad they do things much different than they do where we are from, because the party started at 7 pm!  Which would be perfectly fine for us but, it was really asking a lot of the kids to behave, let alone stay awake, especially after playing in the ocean for hours!  But, they really wanted us all to go and we figured it was definitely going to be a great time for us to meet more in the organization and to have a blast!
We had a wonderful time!  It was such a pleasure to get to meet all the brothers and sisters, some were hearing some deaf but regardless they were all so welcoming and they definitely knew how to party!!!

So as you can see, the brother to the far left is making announcements and the brother to the right is signing the announcements. (Including introducing our family as visitors who have just finished needgreating in Guyana!)

 I think this easily may be the first dance Daddy has ever had with his little girl!  She was a natural!

So Rayah danced all the rest of the evening on my hip! We weren't totally familiar with the Trini music but, it was still a blast! Mama LOVES to dance!

If I remember correctly, this was the electric slide!

Rayah literally fell asleep dancing!  She had so much fun until she just crashed!  Sister Dinoo held her the rest of the party  :)

So here I am dancing with a deaf sister who was delightful!  They had the music very loud so that they could feel the beat and boy did they enjoy it!!!

This was a very sweet deaf sister who taught the boys how to sign their names and say a couple other things too!

They all just loved dancing and dancing!  They definitely were not shy, the floor was full of  brothers and sisters!

We were all exhausted but, so glad we came!
It was awesome to be exposed to another language, one more way we got to experience our worldwide brotherhood, which gives us so much appreciation!
Much thanks to the Dinoo family for inviting us!