The third family group’s trip in Abaco is beginning to wind down. Today they spent their culture immersion day enjoying the beauty all across the island. Hear from Kameron Brand about the experience.
I woke up in the morning to a gorgeous sunrise peeking over the skyline and most people from our group gathered around the rock looking over the ocean. Standing there together, we saw multiple marine animals swim right under us, including a shark and stingray. We then went to morning devotional where we spoke about our theme of the day “unity”. This fit perfectly because today was our culture day. While this may seem contradictory because our intention for the week is to serve others, we discussed how it is important to slow down sometimes and realize that even in a place where there can be so much brokenness and hurt, God also shows His love for creation through the beauty of His landscape. The best way for us to understand this is to take a day to try and understand the entirety of the island.
Our first stop was a blue hole in the middle of the forest about 45 minutes south of our camp. However, this “hole” was in fact not blue and it was not a hole in the least. It is simply a 300-foot deep freshwater reservoir that connects to a pocket in the middle of the ocean. Here we enjoyed spending time together as a whole group jumping off the rocks, snorkeling around, and conversing with one another.
The Sawmill Blue Hole in Abaco, Bahamas
After this, we loaded up the vans and drove over to a pristine white sand beach with the clearest blue water I have ever laid my eyes upon. What made it even more unbelievable is that the coral from the ocean had travelled to the sand and had provided it with pink specks. When I first glanced at it, I was awestruck by the beauty God has blessed this place with. I felt so grateful to even be able to witness something as amazing as that.
We then headed over to a local tourist restaurant, “Pete’s Pub”. We again enjoyed time sitting around tables just getting to know one another better and deepen our connections with those both in our family, as well as outside of our families. Being here made me think again about just how many different faces of the island there are. On one side, there’s amazing tourist spots, but just 30 miles north you will find local residents just struggling to make it day-to-day. It hurts my heart to know that these two worlds are living just down the road from each other, but could not be further apart in their lifestyles.
After a great morning and afternoon, we headed back to camp to get cleaned up and drove over to a local youth group, Growth Groups. All of the 11-18 year-olds that attend here are actively finding a way to transport themselves to the church in order to get closer to each other as well as with God. Here, we got to participate in games and outdoor activities with the kids and had the opportunity to interact with them and hear some of their stories.
We also got to hear Abbie sing and Summer shared her story with the group. Being around kids my own age, it really helped open my eyes to different things that they may struggle with, and I have the privilege of not having to give things like that a second thought.
I was super excited for culture day, and figured it would be amazing, but was honestly blown away by all the scenery I was encountered with. It showed me a side of Abaco that I haven’t seen yet, and helped me appreciate the island as a whole.
