Culture days can look different for each IMPACT team. Kairos got the chance to swim in a blue hole and see the power of the ocean while waiting for their lunch at Pete’s Pub.
Read past blogs from Kairos and other teams at Team Updates – Many Hands Impact
Today God’s beauty was revealed to us in many ways! We had the privilege to explore a few of the things the island has to offer; Blue Hole, Pete’s Pub, and Winding Bay Beach. Our morning started by loading the vans to head to Blue Hole. It was around a forty minute drive so it was the perfect opportunity for our team to grow closer than we already have. One of the vans played some road trips games and engaged in some difficult conversations you cannot always talk about with people. This is yet another testimony to God putting us all on this team for a specific reason.
To get to Blue Hole, we drove through a forest of many native plant species, such as Abaco Pine. The forest was beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time because of the devastation we have seen towards camp due to Dorian. Many of the trees near camp look like a single tree branch stuck into the ground. This forest revealed to us what some of the island looked like prior to Dorian. At the same time, these views gave us hope for how the island will grow and rebuild in the future. It is hard to put into words our team’s thoughts when laying our eyes upon the Blue Hole for the first time. We were all in shock because the Blue Hole is something none of us had ever seen before. Essentially, the Blue Hole is a bottomless hole of freshwater in the middle of the forest. It has been discovered up to 495 feet deep and still no end was seen. Having this experience as a team brought us all closer due to us being able to have pure fun, jumping into the water and swimming. One of our team member’s described it perfectly; it was like we were little kids with pure joy and excitement for nature and God’s beauty.
After swimming at Blue Hole, we loaded the buses and started the drive to Pete’s Pub. At the restaurant, we were once amazed by God’s creation and goodness. Seeing the white sand beaches, boats, and beautiful shoreline was a good moment of reflection because the same God who created all of these beautiful things also created all of us. As a team, we all ordered adventurous things on the menu and allowed each other to try all the things we ordered. Some people ordered mahi wraps, lobster and shrimp tacos, tuna wraps, and a lot of other seafood. Before our food came, we were able to go behind the restaurant and discover a beach with the open ocean, unlike we have seen on this trip so far. The sound of the waves was breathtaking as they crashed over the rocks we were standing on. After seeing a sight like this, how can people believe God did not create this? The rocks were rock coral so they served as an ecosystem for a lot of different animals. With the tide being low, we were able to look into tide pools with crabs and snails. We wrapped up our meal with some dessert, some of the options being coconut creme pie, oreo pie, chocolate creme pie, and lemon pie. All of the food was so amazing and fun to try new things some of us have never experienced.
After Pete’s Pub we loaded the vans and headed towards our last destination, Winding Bay Beach. It was a short drive and a short walk on a path that led to the beach. On the path we crossed a PGA level golf course that was once again breathtaking. It seemed as if we couldn’t escape God’s beauty. Shortly after passing the golf course the path opened up wide to a beautiful white sand beach. Everyone dropped their bags and teamed up to play ultimate football, while others walked around the beach or enjoyed volleyball. As the afternoon went on everyone gathered in the water and played games and chatted with one another. Soon the rain began to hit so we packed our bags and loaded the vans to head back to camp.
After everyone washed up for dinner we sat around the table and listened to Pastor Barrett, Carrie, and their family talk about the youth group we would be visiting tomorrow. It was really cool to hear how God is working in the lives of children 11-18 that live on the island. Some of the stories these children have are very heartbreaking yet they still make the choice to go to church and spread God’s love. Seeing how appreciative islanders are of life is a good lesson to us all. We may not always have tomorrow but we do have today and that is a gift from God himself. As a team, we cannot wait to see what God has in store for us the rest of the week as we work as his hands and feet on the island. We hope to bring back many lessons and stories to all of you reading and more.
Kaitlynn Flick & Lydia Appeldorn
P.S. We miss you all reading! (Hi grams and gramps!)
P.P.S. (Hi fam reading!)
