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Monday, October 10, 2011

Leaving California - Or Not

I woke up at 8 am, and got up a while later. How nice not to be stressed, but to have plenty of time to finish packing before heading to the airport. I enjoyed my morning, fast internet for the last time, news, left-over food, and finishing packing. I was amazed that I actually still had room for a few more pounds in one of my bags. Wow! I've got three bags, two with 50 pounds each, and one with less.

Just before noon I got everything loaded on the cart and went to the entrance where my friend soon showed up. We loaded everything into the car, and off we went to LAX airport, which was maybe 45 minutes or so away. I enjoyed talking with my friend one last time.

Once at the airport, I paid to get a cart and got all my stuff onto it, before saying good-bye to my friend. I made my way to check-in where it was soon my turn. An Algerian guy was pretty nice and doing small talk with me while taking care of everything. I'm glad I already checked in last night, changing my seats to better ones, and I actually got those seats. No upgrade though :-(.

With my carry-on luggage, I went to security, where I had to wait a really long time with the line barely moving. Even once the stuff was on top of the tables to go through the machine, the guy constantly kept stopping the belt and calling officers over to check bags. It was so slow-going! I was glad when I was through, but still, the belt was not moving. And then they pulled both my bags for further checking - of course.

The officer was really nice, though. He opened both my bags, and pulled half the stuff out, putting it in boxes. He searched EVERYwhere in one bag, looking for some bottle. I told him there was none. Then they put the boxes and the half-empty bags through a second time. He then said that the "bottle" had been my book. What?!? I don't know how a paperback book could have been mistaken for something dangerous.... Oh well. Good thing I had plenty of time until boarding. He asked whether he could help me put everything back, but I declined, doing it by myself.

I was so thirsty, waiting to fill my water bottle again, and went straight to the frequent flyer lounge. I still had 4 hours ahead of me until boarding time. I settled into a corner seat, got something to drink, had some food, and got online - for free, yeah.

Boarding was supposed to start at 6 pm. I got there a few minutes earlier. They delayed boarding for 10 minutes, then another 10 minutes. Then came the announcement that there were technical issues that there were working on. Then they said they had engine problems and would tell us within the hour whether the flight was canceled or the engine repaired. Great!

I sat down and waited. It didn't take that long before the announcement came that the flight was canceled. Wonderful. They told us to get our luggage and go to the check-in counters to get rebooked. I was waiting at the luggage carroussel, but my luggage wasn't coming out. As a frequent flyer, my bags usually come out first with all the priority luggage. I guess that's not the case in this special situation. My bags were among the last ones that came out.

Which meant that the lines were VERY LONG at the counters. Even the elite line was pretty long. I got in line and talked with another lady for a while. Finally it was my turn, and the news I was given was not good. I had expected to simply spend the night at a hotel and - yes - lose one day arriving in Mali 24 hours later. However, for some reason there is no flight to Mali on Wednesday, which means I have to fly on Thursday, since there is only one flight per day (usually). They gave me the option of flying out to Paris tomorrow and spending the night there, or flying out of here on Wed. I chose the latter. So I'm staying two more days in LA.

I love hotels, and wouldn't mind staying there. However, I kept thinking of that one couple I had met on the ship and felt like I should call them to see whether I could stay with them. That was so unusual that I did it. I called a friend who was able to give me their phone number. They were pretty surprised to hear me, and told me I could stay with them. They had about one hour to drive to the airport. At 8:15 pm they picked me up; I had just finished at the check-in counter. While talking with them on the way to their house, I was wondering what God was up to, why He wanted me to have another 2 days in LA, and why He wanted me to stay with them. I was also wondering whether I should go to the hotel for the second night. In the end, I was tired and simply wondering.

We stopped at a store on the way, and then arrived at their gated community. I had some food and tea while we sat down talking. Finally I tried to connect to the wifi, but it wasn't working. Thankfully I always travel with a cable, and was able to connect to the internet via the router. They put up a nice air mattress in their office, right next to it. As it was approaching 11 pm they went to bed, and I retreated as well, catching up on emails and blog-writing. And informing the poor guys in Mali that I was returning home two days later than planned.

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Sunday, October 9, 2011

Packing Day

We both went to bed at midnight. I was meeting with my friends for breakfast at 8:30 am, so I set my alarm for 8 am, which meant nice 8 hours of sleep. However, my roommate got up at 5:30 am to pack - so that was the end of my sleep. At 7:30 am my friends called me with a change of plans. Being up early, I was up at the breakfast buffet at 8 am already - and saw people from our group that I could join. We all had our carry-on luggage with us.

Thank God, our last all-u-can-eat meal!!! Unfortunately also our last conversation for now. At 8:30 am, my friends walked by, saying they had called our numbers to get off the ship. However, I was not done eating. They left, and I finished eating, before making my way to the exit of the ship.

There was a LONG line, as people COULD leave later than the assigned time. Finally I was through the first ID check, to stand in the immigration line. But then they told us that there was a separate line for non-US residents. With most everyone on the cruise being American, my line was extremely short. I was amazed! While the Americans had to wait a long time, it went relatively fast for me. I even saw my friends a few lines over. Quite the opposite of when you arrive in the US by plane!

After immigration, it was time to pick up my bag and go through customs. Once outside, I was calling my friends to find them, and soon saw the. Their car was parked pretty close, so it didn't take long before we were on our way up to Valencia, which took about 45 minutes. I was so tired I kept my eyes closed most of the time.

We arrived at their house around 10:15 am. I had reserved a hotel room, since I had SO MUCH stuff to pack in a smart way for my return to Mali. I called the hotel, but there was no free room yet. I got on my computer, dreading the many emails waiting for me. At 11:30 am I called again, and they said I could come.

So we loaded all my stuff into the car, and my friends were so kind to take me to the hotel which was only a few minutes away. When I got there, the receptionist noticed that I had requested a bathtub - but the available room didn't have one. After a while she asked me about the bed-type choice, and I told her I didn't care. A room with a different bed-type was available, and so I could finally move in. I loaded all my stuff onto a luggage cart and went to my room to unload.

I was really tired, but didn't lie down for a nap. Instead I started to unpack everything and spread it all out throughout the room. Not only that, but I actually started packing even though I hadn't planned doing that until later. Finally I was done with most - and took a beautiful bath. My last bath for a while!

Around 5 pm I started getting really hungry as we had skipped lunch. A while later my friends showed up and together we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant. We were all a bit more awake - especially after getting some food - and had a great time together, reflecting on the cruise primarily. There was so much food, I had enough for a meal in the morning before heading to the airport. Before my friends took me back to the hotel, we stopped at Target for some last-minute shopping. Back at the hotel, I had to say good-bye to the male half of my friends.

I enjoyed the rest of my evening at the hotel room (though they didn't have my favorite TV channels), and went to bed at midnight.

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Saturday, October 8, 2011

Divine Connections On Final Day

Last night I just could not fall asleep, and I heard that I was not the only one; maybe it was because of the ship moving so much? In any case, it took a lot of effort to get up when the alarm went off at 7:30 am. Today they had soaking at 7 am, and prophetic prayer at 8 am. So I went there at 8 am. I was so tired, I was glad I did not have to keep my eyes open, as a few people prayed for me.

I then went to have breakfast at the buffet, and joined a table with people from our group. I had a good time talking, tired or not, and walked away with an exciting invitation.

Our last meeting was at 10 am. After worship, Charles spoke again, and it was great as always. Then we did a fire tunnel. I was among the first to walk through, and then lined up at the end to pray for people. With all the pastors doing the same, the tunnel got quite long. It was lots of fun.

I then went to my cabin, as there was no way I could go to lunch already. Later I made my way to the buffet for an appointment with someone I had wanted to get together with all week. We had a good time talking, and all I wanted really was to get a nap. I lay down in my room, but couldn't really sleep and got back up after half an hour. Instead, I put on my workout clothes and finally went to the gym on one of the top floors. It was amazingly big, and there were frew people there at that time. Because of the weather still not being that great (all pools closed and the ship moving), it was quite an experience on the treadmill - having to hold on at time, when you feel like you're losing your balance, with a natural incline and decline. I enjoyed my workout very much.

I left my cabin dressed for dinner some time before dinner time. I had no appointment and was planning on sitting in the lobby by the restaurant entrance to see who I could join.

A Mexican couple from our group came that I had met once before, and then the family I had also already met, and together we formed a big table. They did not know each other yet, and so we had a good time.

My new Mexican friend has translated books into Spanish before, and he might do that with my book, which is wonderful.

So we enjoyed our last meal, especially the chocolate dessert that I (and others) had every single night. It was amazing.

It was still quite early when we left the restaurant. I went to the family-friendly comedy show by myself; it wasn't too exciting, and lasted just half an hour. All week I had not succeeded in watching a movie I like on the big screen on deck, by the pool, but for once I got there in time for the start of it. It was a kids' movie; it was okay, and I had nothing better to do.

Half-way through the movie, I remembered that this one couple wanted to connect with me after dinner, and so I called them in their cabin. They asked me to come there. So just as the movie was ending, I left to go there. It was already 10:15 pm, and I was pretty tired, but we had a great conversation that set things in place for the future. How exciting!

I was getting way too tired, though, and I still had to pack since all suitcases had to be outside the cabin by midnight. So at 11:30 pm I said my good-byes, and left to pack. Thankfully I had already started earlier. I got it done, but was too tired to actually write my blog right away, and so, for the first time my room mate and I went to bed at the same time, at midnight.

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Friday, October 7, 2011

Day At Sea 2

Though I went to bed early last night, I had a hard time getting up this morning. I got up, and went to have breakfast at the buffet. Walking around the buffet, there is always someone from our group that I can join, and that was the case again this morning. So I enjoyed the fellowship with them.

After breakfast it was time to go to our 10 am meeting. I got my same seat again, and then worship started. I was so very tired as I tried to worship God! Then Wesley came up to speak again. I loved his message two days ago when he talked about greatness, and today he continued that message, and then he gave statistics about poverty world-wide, and talked about children at risk as well as sex slavery.

I was surprised when he asked me to come up and talk about the situation in Mali. So I told them about the street kids in Mali and what we do. It went very well.

We had to vacate the room by noon, and most people left right away. So I went to my room, and a while later I went to have lunch at the buffet.

Again, I found people from our group and joined them. After they left, I moved over to another table with a couple from our group.

After lunch, I went to my room. I was pretty tired and decided to take a nap. I ended up sleeping much-needed two hours. When I got up, it was already time for dinner. Too much food! This is really crazy, going from meal to meal! How do people go on two-week cruises?!?

I met with my friends at 6:15 pm to have dinner with them. It was the second dress-up night tonight, but I didn't take a picture this time.

We had a good time at dinner, and then they went to go to the big show. On the way out the dining hall, I ran into two couples, and ended up taking their daughter with me to the family-friendly comedy show, since they still had half an hour to wait for their table. We sat down at the show - but it was over 5 minutes later. Oh well. We made our way back down, into the dining hall, and to the table where they were sitting. They invited me to join them, and so I sat down with them. I had some time while they were eating, and enjoyed the fellowship with them. In fact, I had more fun than I've had in a while.

After dinner, most went to bed, but the daugher also wanted to see the second showing of the big show, and so the two of us went there. The show lasted an hour; they were singing and dancing, from Elvis to Beatles songs. It was well-done.

All day long the wind was blowing much harder than the previous days, but during the show the ship started moving quite a bit; to the point that I started getting a little nauseous. Earlier my friends had told me that there is hurricane a couple of hundred miles south of us, so maybe that is what is affecting us. Walking out of the theater, the ship was moving quite a bit. I went to my room where I started writing this blog, and the ship is still moving a lot. I just hope it's going to calm down!

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Thursday, October 6, 2011

San Sebastian

What an early morning! Since Puerto Vallarta is another hour east time-wise, everyone on the ship had to move their clocks one hour forward, so I lost an hour, and of all days the day I had to get up early. I had to be on the pier for my excursion at 9:15 am, so I had to go have breakfast before that. I found some people from our group to sit with, but didn't have that much time.

I walked off the ship, straight onto the pier, and they had nice signs with the tour names up so everybody knew where to go. I signed up for "Colonial San Sebastian". I could already tell that there were only a few people on that one - 7, and all older people. The tour guide liked my name, and sure pronounced it correctly.

When everyone had arrived, we left together, walking towards a little boat. We were two groups, and all got on the little boat, and we dropped the sailing group off at their sailboat, before we continued on to shore. We got off and walked to the tour agency's office where another group of people merged with us. Those were people who were staying at hotels in the area.

The 16 of us walked to where the little bus was waiting for us. It was air-conditioned to the point that it was a bit cold in there. Signing up for this tour, I had not realized that it would take about 90 minutes to drive to this mountain village of San Sebastian. But our tour guide was talking pretty much the whole time, giving us a lot of information, and he was pretty funny as well.

We made a stop before crossing this bridge. They only built it two years ago, reducing the time needed to drive to that village dramatically. Before, it was many hours as the bus had to take this little road down into the valley and then back up. It's all jungle around here, and they even have ziplines going; I thought about signing up for that, but the rappelling aspect discouraged me from it.

Our next stop was this Hacienda. A famous movie maker used to go there all the time, bringing other Hollywood actors with him. They would retreat in this remote place, where no paparazzi would be able to find them. It was a pretty little place. It's still a little hotel, though I would not want to stay there, plus a museum on the first floor. Our tour guide gave us lots of information again.

They had all kinds of plants, and so I had my picture taken with this weird-looking plant. I'm sure someone knows what it is!

We continued on our way to the restaurant where we'd have lunch - real Mexican food. We were greeted with a type of Tequila; I was curious what this so-famous drink was like that everyone was talking about. It didn't like it.

Then we watched this lady making corn tortillas - that we then had for lunch. We could choose between chicken, beef and vegetarian for our fajitas; I picked the chicken. I wasn't really that hungry, but I had my first guacamole ever (not really my taste), and tried the salsa. I don't think Mexican food is really for me. I talked a little bit with a Polish couple living in Canada while eating.

After lunch we got back into the bus and continued on to San Sebastian, a little 700 inhabitant village in the mountains. It was picturesque, with many buildings from the 1600s. Our tour guid walked around with us for a while. We saw the one, old church, the one souvenir shop, the one butcher's shop, and met some inhabitants. The guide seemed to know them all!

There were quite a few bed & breakfast type places that you could look into, and they were basic and rustic, with the smell of mold and wood.

But the villages was quite pretty, nestled between the mountains, with cobblestone streets.

We walked to a little family business of jewelry makers. The village used to be in the mining business, mining A LOT of silver, and this family was still making jewelry out of silver. They had some nice pieces!

Then we went to the one - family - museum. The lady there told her family story, showing all the family pictures and objects she still had. You could tell she was proud of her family's history!

We returned to our bus, and started on our way back. The next stop was an organic coffee farm. They were grinding coffee when we got there, and had coffee ready to taste. Since I don't like coffee, I didn't taste it.

I had never seen coffee plants before, so it was very interesting to see the coffee beans on the trees and hear how the coffee is roasted until it becomes what we buy. They were also selling different types of coffee, and some other stuff.

We had one more stop before returning to the ship - a tequila destillery. It was a family business, only selling their tequila right there. The guy explained to us how tequila is made - out of these agave plants! I'd had no idea.

Not only did he talk, but he let us taste the tequilas - from the pure (38%!), to the mixed almond, mandarin and coffee tequilas. It was interesting.

Finally we were on our way home, and I couldn't help but try to take a nap. That way it was much faster to return to the ship, and this time they took us all the way back there by bus.

They checked our bags, and then I lined up to return to the ship. It was already 5:30 pm, and I had a 6 pm dinner appointment. No time for a nap today!

I got ready and went to the restaurant, where I met with my friends. We then had a wonderful time having dinner together and deepening our friendship. It was really great. Coming back out of the restaurant, we went outside to warm up a little, which is where we had this picture taken.

They left, and just then I ran into another couple from our group. We ended up staying together, and went upstairs to the deck where they had cleared space for dancing, but we continued on to where it was quieter so that we could talk. So we sat down and spent quite some time talking. It was nice to connect more with this couple from Pasadena. I was getting more and more tired, though, to the point that I had a hard time following any more. So we decided to call it a night, and went to our rooms; we're actually neighbors, with their cabin right next to ours.

I decided it would be better not to force myself to write my blog, but to leave it for the next day, and so I went to bed right away - before midnight!

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Baptism In Mexico & Divine Connections

Today I had an 8 am breakfast appointment - way too early. I first woke up when there was an announcement over the ship's intercom at 7 am. A while later I made myself get up, and arrived at the dining room early. It was my first time having breakfast in the dining room. By myself, I don't like sitting in a dining room, so I go to the buffet.

But I really liked the dining room, and it was pretty empty. It's not as hectic and crowded as the buffet. And I had great company, eating with the HIM director and his wife. It was good to catch up, update them, and glean from their wisdom and experience and get encouraged.

At 10 am we were meeting by the "exits", and so we separated to get ready. It would be my first and only time at the beach, so finally a chance to wear my swimsuit.

We gathered on deck 0, and together we got onto the boat that took us to the pier. On the pier we gathered a few more people, before getting into two water taxis that would take us to "Lover's Beach". First the taxi showed us the ark again, and this time I was closer to it than yesterday. The waves seemed stronger too.

When we got to the beach, it was a challenge to get off the boat because of the strong currents. I hopped off, and a big wave hit me, so that my pants were all wet. Oh great; my new white pants! Oh well.

Our group was about 25 people, including some of the speakers. We put all our stuff down, and then it was time for the baptism. 9 people wanted to get baptized in the sea. Che and the leaders baptized one after the other. I was totally amazed at how strong the currents were. It was hardly possible to keep standing, as the water would either pull you out or pull you in. I tried sitting down, but that didn't work either. Neither did kneeling; all I did was chafe off my skin. I had never seen strong undercurrents like that ever before, and was warned about swimming out the sea. So I didn't even try. But it wasn't fun just trying to withstand the currents either.

So I took a short walk to the Pacific side with a friend, and when I got back, the first water taxi was leaving to take us back to the pier. So I decided to take it. Back on the pier, we took the boat back to our ship. Though it hadn't been that long a trip, I was glad to be back and pretty exhausted. I took a shower, amazed at how much sand I had brought with me, and then went to have lunch.

I sat down at a table with an old man, planning on reading my Kindle, but he wanted to talk. Our conversation was fascinating, as he was Jewish and had just about made it out of Germany as a child. I asked him lots of questions, and told him how much I love the Jewish people, and that I honored him as one of God's chosen people. He said he wasn't religious, and would rather God chose another people for a change. It made me sad that this old man didn't know the Savior that came to his people. He's the second Jewish person I've met while traveling who doesn't believe in God.

He obviously enjoyed our conversation as well, as he said we might run into each other and eat together again. Lord, reveal Yourself to him, so that he'll spend eternity with You!

Back in my room, I was so tired I soon lay down to take a nap. I ended up sleeping for 90 minutes and getting up just in time at 4 pm. I went to the meeting room and put down my bag, then went to get two cups of tea.

Today's meeting started at 4:30 pm. We had a wonderful time of worship, and then Wesley was the speaker. I loved his message on our calling to be great. Wonderful!

In the end he gave his wife Stacey the mic, and she prophesied over some people before she called all the people in the business world forward, and they all started praying for and prophesying over them. I was wondering whether Stacey would repeat her word so I could record it, and asked someone, but did not get a green light.

I was also waiting until the Hungarian couple was done, because I had been thinking of them and all night, I felt I needed to ask them whether we could have dinner together. They said they had no other commitment, and we arranged to meet at 8 pm, more than an hour away.

Still having all that time, I went to the theater, where they were about to start the 7 pm spectacle. Tonight they had a Las Vegas style show on, with dancing and singing. It lasted for nearly an hour, until my dinner appointment. It always makes me sad seeing dances that I used to do, as dancing was my life back then, a long time ago. It made me think of those years, watching the dancers, and I asked God whether my husband-to-be couldn't be someone who also knows how to dance.

I went to the restaurant for my 8 pm appointment, and after a while they showed up. Since 8 pm is the change of the two types of diners, we were actually given a device and told to wait for 15 minutes or so until it would go off. We sat down and started talking; I wanted to know more about them, they wanted to know more about me. We were finally led to a table, where we continued our conversation. We ended up talking for hours, learning each others' stories, and being mutually intrigued. I feel like I've found new friends in these "neighbors" of mine. They shared how God uses them to connect people, and their minds were going through the people they know that might be a good connection for me. Praise God! We had a great time.

At 10:30 pm we left the restaurant as the last people there, an hour after closing time. Since we have to move our clocks one hour forward tonight, it's once again going to be a tough day tomorrow because of a short night. I go on a long excursion tomorrow, and it starts early, and now I lose an hour.

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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Los Cabos

I had set my alarm for 8:30 am, but my roommate woke me an hour earlier, so I ended up getting up earlier than planned. I went to have breakfast, and saw someone I know but we only had a few minutes together.

I returned to my room to get ready for my excursion. I had to be in one of the lounges by 10:15. While sitting there waiting, I heard some people talking, recognized two of them, and walked over to confirm they were part of our group - 6 people. So I joined them. Wonderful!

As a group, we then all walked downstairs together to get onto one of these tender boats that would take us to shore. The water in this little harbor is too shallow for the ships to dock. It took a while before we got to shore. It was pretty hot, and some people had a hard time with that, while I felt at home.

Once on shore, they led us to another - bigger boat - that would give us the 40 minute tour to Land's End. There were so many boats in the marina, it was amazing. And a great few of little beaches we passed. There were lots of cliffs, pelicans, boats and swimmers.

Finally we reached Land's End. That's the tip of the long Mexican peninsula, where the gulf and the pacific meet. The beautiful ark - I was told - is famous.

We crossed over to the pacific side, where this last picture of the arc was taken. We continued on for a while, seeing resorts, construction work, and this residential area on top of the hills.

We returned to shore, and headed to an airconditioned bus. Off we went towards the other Cabo. There is two towns here, linked by a road, and we went to the other one. Our first stop was this picturesque restaurant on top of the hill with a great view.

You can see Land's End in the background, and there were also quite a few parasailers. You can actually do it for $20, but I don't know whether I'd be courageous enough.

Our next stop was downtown Cabo. I just love this shot of city hall and a decoration from the resident independence day celebration.

Our tour guide gave us some explanations, and let us walk around on our own. They had this colonial missions church there, which was cute, and then we went to City Hall.

They had the different towns of their county depicted on the walls, which was pretty. The courtyard was still decorated from the celebration - pretty cheezy, but typical for Mexico.

Our next stop was a cactus farm. They have been collecting cacti from all over the world for 30 years and have the biggest selection in the (?). Pretty fascinating how many different ones there are.

Our final stop - and I was falling asleep on the bus on the way there - was a glas-blowing factory. The guy actually didn't blow the glass, but formed it with his tools. It was fascinating to see him create an elephant from a few lumps of hot glass.

I was glad when we returned to the pier. It was nearly 4 pm. We got onto a BIG tender boat and returned to the ship. I was so tired. I got some water and went to my room. A short while later, I opened the door to get something, and it fell shut behind me. There I was, without a key or shoes. Good thing that there are phones everywhere, and I was told they would send someone to help me. I didn't have to wait too long, and was very relieved when I was back in the room.

They come about twice a day to do our rooms, and it was so funny to find this monkey hanging from the curtain top (made with towels).

I lay down on bed to relax, and did not want to move a bit. However, I had a dinner appointment at 6 pm, so eventually I had to move to get ready. I put another one of my beautiful dresses on, though tonight we didn't have to dress up.

I met with my friends in front of the restaurant - we were 5 adults and 2 kids, and they gave us this nice, round table. And it took us 2.5 hours to eat all courses. The food is amazing, really high end, and you can pretty much order anything you want from the menu.

I enjoyed making new friends and having fellowship with my fellow ministers.

We went our separate ways after dinner, and I headed to the family-friendly comedy. It was not too bad, but only lasted 30 minutes. I then headed to the big theater where a juggling comedian was in action. I watched the rest of his show.

Then I walked to the deck to look out over the water and enjoy the breeze. They show movies on the big screen, but I haven't had the chance to watch one yet. There wasn't really anything to see but the dark, looking over the water, so I didn't stay too long before returning to my room.

Now it's midnight, and I have an 8 am breakfast appointment. I hope I get sufficient sleep tonight.

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Monday, October 3, 2011

Day At Sea

What a day!

I woke up at a decent time; my roommate had come in very late and was still fast asleep. I'm still amazed at how nice our room is, and just love the window that lets you see the ocean. We're on deck 1 (there's also 0), so it's not far to the ocean. Actually, right now I'm sitting in the window, seeing the waves the ship is making, and hearing... no, not the waves, but the ship's engine.

I went to the buffet for breakfast (wouldn't go to a restaurant by myself), and saw a couple that I've remotely known for years as they are also HIM pastors. So I joined them for breakfast - but first I had to get in line at the buffet, and it took a long time to get through it. I was happy to see mushrooms... I don't need anything else ;-).

I enjoyed my time of fellowship with the couple. What I did next, I can't quite remember, as it seems like it was days ago. But before 10 am I headed to the bar where a health talk was scheduled, and it sounded very interesting. I love hearing/reading about health, fitness, and nutrition, and I had nothing better to do. If I could start another career, it would be in that area.

As always, I got there early - and it was freezing cold in there. The young South African fitness director then gave a great talk about nutrition, weight loss and the need for detox. There was actually stuff I had not heard of before, and it was pretty exciting.

After the talk, I was very much in need of a hot cup of tea out in the sun. So I sat down on deck, on a comfortable lounge chair type thing, and let the sun and tea warm me up. It was great! While sitting there, I was just pondering all kinds of things.

Warmed up, I returned to my room. I could tell that the sun was pretty strong. Unfortunately I could not find my sunscreen; I must have left it somewhere these past 3 weeks of traveling.

In the room, on one of the ship's TV channels, the cruise director was explaining all kinds of things about the ship and about the excursions on land, and it was very interesting. I listened carefully, and it turned out to be pretty long. Time went by fast.

Just after 12 I left my room and went back to the deck for another cup of tea, water, and to see the ice carving. That took up the time I had left before my 1 pm appointment that I had set up with the fitness director. I was "lucky" to be in the front of the line and get one of the first appointments.

I waited for a while in front of the gym that looked very inviting and that I intended to go to in the afternoon (I didn't). The young assistant to the director came, as they were both seeing people. She took me inside a room where I had to fill out a paper, before she did the test. The test sent an electric current through my body that could tell them how much of my body was fat, and how much toxic waste that I needed to get rid of, as well as my metabolic rate. The latter was my big surprise as it was much higher than I had expected. She said I had a great metabolism. That number actually means that I've been eating too little while losing weight, which is probably the reason it's been so slow-going. Wow.

Of course I purchased the detox products that should greatly help me with getting healthier and losing weight. I'm pretty excited about this.

Before the meeting I had run into one of the ladies from our group, and we were going to both eat at the same time, so we said we'd meet there for lunch. Great! It's so much better than eating lunch alone, buffet or not.

Lunch was over at 2 pm, so I went there after the appointment - and saw my good friends sitting in a booth, and so I joined them. Then I went through the line for my food. I hope I'll always see people I know that I can join. I heard today that there are 3400 people on the ship, and our group is 97, so the chances are not that great.

After lunch I took care of some things, including buying sunscreen. I then went to my room where I "chilled". After a while I grabbed my Kindle and made my way to the deck again, looking for a place in the sun where I could sit down, warm up and read.

I went to a secluded section first, but there was only shade, so that didn't help. So I walked around towards the sunny sections, looking for a place to settle down, when I saw Wesley. We were going to talk at some time, so it was perfect timing. I sat down next to him, and we talked for a while, until he had to leave. I still had some time to read for a while, with the sun going lower and lower.

I had a dinner appointment with my friends at 6 pm, so I returned to my room in time to get ready. I was going to wear my new dress for the first time. It was dress-up night, and it's a very elegant dress. I looked pretty, and wished once again there was someone there who could take a picture of me. I tried by myself again, using the mirror.

When I got to the dining room - for the first time since I had skipped dinner last night - there was a long line. I got in line, but couldn't see my friends anywhere. So I got out of line and sat down to look for them. Nowhere in sight.

After a while I saw Wesley & Stacey; he had said we'd connect at dinner, and so I joined them in line. It was the first opportunity to talk with Stacey on this trip, and so I enjoyed reconnecting with her. She took the opportunity to speak both French and German with me.

We had a table of four together - including their daughter - right next to another table with HIM people. Dinner took over 90 minutes as there were three courses, and they were slow. But I greatly enjoyed my time with these precious people. And the food was absolutely outstanding, really high end.

Our dinner finished when it was already time for our meeting. However, I had to get to my room first to change. When I got to the meeting room not long later, the meeting hadn't even started yet. Yeah! And the seat I was in yesterday was still empty, even though the room was pretty full.

We started our time of worship, which I enjoyed. Then there were some announcements before Charles came up to speak. I always love listening to him. After he was done, and prayed, he handed the mic to Stacey who prophesied over Che. Then she prayed, and then she took my hand and pulled me up and started prophesying over me. Unfortunately there is no recording. What I remember is that she started off by saying that God had given me a gift of loneliness that has prepared me to stand in front of the masses, and now it's time to stand in front of the masses. She also said that there would be a missions school, and that God was sending people from all over the world to be trained and then sent out into the villages to start churches. Yeah!

I'm sure she said more. Towards the end, God's power hit me and I ended up on the floor. I just enjoyed His sweet presence there on the floor with Him.

People around me were praying, and it didn't take long before the meeting was officially over. Awesome God. I talked to a few people, made some appointments, and then left - to get a cup of tea and water, before returning to my room. As soon as I got to my room, I started writing down all I could remember, and then writing this blog.

It's going on midnight, and I will be heading to bed. Tomorrow we'll be in Cabo san Lucas, and I'm going on an excursion.

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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Ventura, CA

It wasn't easy getting up this morning. I went through the motions of getting my tea, showering, and finishing packing. Just after 8 am we left the house to drive to a little restaurant about 45 minutes away, close to Ventura. The little church was meeting there this morning for breakfast.

It was great meeting more of the ladies. I enjoyed our fellowship, as well as our breakfast. Then Sheila gave me the word, and I quickly told my story and what I do. I had a great time.

Then time just ran out, and I had to quickly say good-bye to everyone. We left at 10:30 am to drive back to the house.

Onto The Ship

We loaded everything into the car, and off we went toward Los Angeles, which is just about 45 minutes away. We had to go to the port though, where our ship was anchored - the Carnival Splendor. We got there at a good time, and unloaded the car. We handed our luggage over to someone who would take it on board. Dan had to park the car, and Sheila and I went towards check-in. And that's where we had to separate, since they went to VIP check-in.

So here I was, by myself, standing in line for check-in. The line was actually moving pretty fast. I went through security, and then stood in line for cruise check-in. It took a while. When it was my turn, the lady went to get my room card and asked for my passport. She looked at it, said that she was new working there and had never seen an Austrian passport, which is why she had to go see her supervisor about it. Great. So I stood there waiting... and waiting... and waiting... hearing their spiel over and over again, either from my neighbor to the left or right. Finally she returned, apologizing. I was glad to be done and move on.

It was time to walk on board, slowly moving forward with the line. They directed us all towards the one buffet restaurant, since it was 1:15 pm, and the rooms wouldn't be accessible until 2 pm. So I went to that dining hall, and it was packed with people. Walking around, I knew there was no way I'd carry a tray plus all my carry-on luggage. I was frustrated. I knew I had to get my stuff to my room.

So I simply made my way there. Yes, the room was not ready, but I was able to leave my stuff there anyway, thank God. Then I made my way back up to the dining hall, and lined up in one place. I happened to be in the Italian section, and the food was good. Alone, I was able to find a spot to sit, and so I ate and read my Kindle.

After lunch I went to my room, where I met my roommate for the first time. She was unpacking, but my suitcase had not arrived yet. So I kept waiting and waiting. Just before 4 pm it finally came; by then my roommate was gone, exploring the ship.

At 4 pm they had the security drill that every person has to be a part of. I saw some people from my group there and talked to them. Then I walked around a little bit, got some water, and returned to my room. I was very much in need of a nap and lay down for a little bit. I was so full from lunch, and as time went by, I knew there was no way I'd have dinner.

And so I put my beautiful, new dress on for the first time and made myself pretty for the first meeting. I wished I'd had somebody to take the picture, and so this one taken of the mirror will have to do.

I got to the meeting room half an hour before the meeting - nobody else was there. I put my bag down, and walked around for a while. When I returned 15 minutes before the meeting, the room was still empty. But a few minutes later the worship leader arrived, and I helped her set up. More and more people came, and soon the room was totally full.

After worship, we were greeted, found out some details, met the HRC pastors, and all non-Californians had to come forward to introduce themselves, which included me. I don't like this kind of stuff, but oh well.

After the young people had come up, Che Ahn did some teaching, and then the meeting was over.

I met some familiar faces, which was nice, saying hello and "let's meet", and I hope it will happen.

People were moving out of the room, and so I did too. I went to pick up some tea, and walked around outside for a while, before returning to my room. Back in my room, it was time to write this blog, and I hope to go to bed in a few minutes, around midnight.

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Saturday, October 1, 2011

Catching Up Day

Today has been a day of catching up on office work, which was great timing. But first we started the day by going to a little coffee shop for breakfast. We had a good time talking while eating.

The day went by pretty fast as we each went about the work we had to do. I really got a lot done.

In the afternoon my friend and I went to her nail salon where we each got a manicure to get ready for our little adventure next week. After a short visit to the store, we were back home, where I continued working.

At 8 pm the three of us left to go have dinner at an Italian restaurant. Again we enjoyed our time of fellowship.

Back home, the work continued. I got all my stuff - lots to take to Mali - ready, what stays, what goes on the cruise, and started packing as much as I could. Then I got back on the computer to keep working on there for a while. It's approaching midnight now, and I need to go to bed soon since we have to leave the house early in the morning.

I don't know when I'll get to get online again. Tomorrow afternoon we're boarding our cruise ship - 7 days to Mexico - together with 80 people of our network Harvest International Ministry. Internet on the ship is expensive, so I'll only do the minimum.

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