We docked in Nassau, Bahamas, around 7:30 am … in the rain. Yep. Tropical Island paradise was blanketed with showers. Good thing we didn’t sign up for a beach day.
The rain finally let up even before we left for our Highlights of Nassau bus tour. Geoffrey was our driver/guide, responsible to weave his way through the extremely busy streets. Cars and buses and pedestrians everywhere. You could really tell he knows his stuff.
First stop was Fort Montague. Site of the first battle of the U.S. Marines. They came to get some of the gunpowder stored there. The gunpowder was gone, but they found it in the governor’s palace. So they took it (and his private liquor stash) and sailed away.
But the governor ordered a series of canon shots at them as they left. That angered the Marines, so they came back and took the governor hostage. Traded him for a high ranking U.S. officer. Three months later the U.S. won their independence.
We learned about Junkanu. Apparently, it’s the Bahamas version of Mardi Gras. Sort of. I think he said it starts on December 26th. Still not sure what it actually celebrates, though. Just that they have a big parade and wear those wild, colorful costumes you see on TV ads about the Bahamas.
Our other stopping place was the Rum Cake Factory. They make 3,000 plus cakes a day. We got a free sample, but they ran us through like a herd of cattle. We stopped to look at something and got stuck. We were the last ones back to the bus. Sorry guys.
Speaking of last ones back, we entertained ourselves for a long time after we got back to our room. How? By watching the late-comers trying desperately to make it back on board before the ship left for good. As far as we could tell, no one was left behind. We set sail for the open seas right around 4:30, boat time.
At dinner we heard a fascinating story of how one of the guys came to know Jesus. He grew up in Ireland and was a juvenile delinquent. At one point he and some friends were horsing around, and he accidentally knocked a lady off a 20 foot wall. Seeing her injuries, he was convinced she was dead. In fact her husband raced up, crying out, “You killed my wife!”
But then the husband gathered himself, reached out and took his wife’s hand, and said, “In the name of Jesus, be healed.” And she was. Just that simple. (Not simple! Counts as a miracle!). And then he offered to not press charges if he could talk to our new friend Joe for ten minutes.
Joe wasn’t saved right then, but several other divine encounters drew him to a place where he did come to Jesus. As you might imagine, we were all on the edge of our seats. And the only appropriate response to something like that? Way to go, God!
We were scheduled to see two different shows last night. The first one was a musical put on by the crew. The second was the outdoor diving exhibition. The musical was really good. It was done like Pentatonix. No musical instruments. All the background music was done by voices. And there was lots of dancing as well.
The diving show was a different matter, however. The ship was going through some really rough seas, and it was wreaking havoc with the technical parts of the show. Not to mention the water in the pool was sloshing all over the place and even filling up the front row of the spectator section. Glad we were on row four or five. They finally had to cancel and try for another night.
Psalms 23:6 says, Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.
Father, be with those swimmers and divers and acrobats. That’s a really scary job they have in the best of conditions. Amen.
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