The Sunday prior, the Kirton family, from Utah who were visiting relatives in Tobago had come to church. When we got on the ferry, we met them again. They were on their way back to Trinidad to visit with more family. The dad was born there. They were really great! The ride there was quite nice and only took 3 hours and no sea sickness at all. The Kirtons were kind enough to take us to the mission home to get the car. We spent the rest of the day running errands, paying a medical bill and shopping at the Costco like store. Wednesday Zone Conference was wonderful! We had a visiting General Authority, Elder Alonzo from the Seventy. It boosts our spirits so much to spend this time with the Bairds, Williams, and all the young Elders. That afternoon, the Kirtons, Hollis and Lisa, had offered to be our tour guides to Trinidad. So, we drove around the island to parts we hadn't seen yet, we really haven't seen much of Trinidad since most of the time we come, we are here for Conference and then we leave.
We couldn't get return tickets back to Tobago until Friday morning, so we had time to do a little more exploring. Brother Kirton shared what his life was like growing up on the island and we got to meet some of his family. They took us to a beautiful beach, Macqueripe Bay which is at the far north west coast of the island. We just missed the sunset, so it was rather dark but still lovely. They took us to the best place to get "Doubles",which are two small tortilla like shells, only softer and fluffier, with channa, (chick peas in a yummy sauce) and other sauces. They are so delicious and could be very addictive! The next day we started early and drove to The Pitch Lake on the south west coast. It is the world's largest commercial deposit of natural asphalt. Most of it is set and you can walk on it but there are still some areas that are the liquid tar. It was really cool to see. Then they took us to get "Roti" which is a large flour shell, sort of like Cafe Rio's, only softer and fluffier, then they put channa, different kinds of meats,or not, and mango and pepper sauces. It was also extremely delicious. They introduced us to "punches" which are blender mixes made with coconut, mango, peanuts, soursop, or beets. So good too! It's interesting that in some places you travel it's usually the food that gets raved about. There is fun, yummy food here.
Friday morning we got to the ferry port at 7:30 am to wait for the 9:00 departure. This ferry is affectionately referred to by the missionaries as the "vomit comet" because it is so rough and so long. We prepared ourselves again by not eating breakfast and taking the motion meds. Around lunch time I was pleasantly surprised to find I had no sea sickness and was able to eat some granola bars. There were some very obviously sick people on the ship though. It was a much longer ride of 5 hours. When they come from Trinidad they are going against the currents so it's a rougher and longer ride. We were happy we got to experience it but think we won't need to do it again. Flying is definitely the way to go.
Finally, it was Saturday and we had two wonderful sisters getting baptized! We picked sister Irma up at 6:30 am and headed for the beach. Dave set up the portable changing booth and we waited for Angie and others to get there. We had a some short talks and then Dave took Irma out into the ocean and baptized her! Joyful faces all around! Then Rocky, Angie's husband took her out into the ocean and baptized her! She was shedding tears as she came up and so were we! They took turns changing and then we shared our testimonies. It will be one of the highlights of our mission! Unfortunately, we couldn't get the pictures off the camera for some strange reason. So, I'm praying we'll be able to do it later.
Sunday, We got to the church and as I stepped out of the car, I looked into the distance to see the beautiful ocean and the palm trees and it hit me that I'm on a Caribbean island! How blessed am I to get to be here and have all of these incredible experiences! Both of our newly baptized sisters were there right on time and the meeting started just a few minutes after 9. Both of their confirmations were beautiful! President George asked me to speak just before he began the meeting. If any of you are planning on serving missions you just need to be aware that you will be called on to speak at any moment. That is probably one of the many things that has changed for me being on a mission. I'm not nervous anymore and can find something to talk and testify about anytime.
We got caught in a sudden down pour without an umbrella.
We were soaked but dried off within 30 minutes.
Enjoy the following beautiful blooms
We needed to get a signature from a doctor for a medical paper of our future sister missionary. He wasn't in the office and so we were able to go to his home. This is his view. Amazing!
Here is our zone conference. Elder Alonzo is behind Pres. Baird.
This is called a candle flower
A pomegranate
interesting bird's nest
Loaded avocado tree. I so wish I could have a tree like this at home! This and a mango tree.
Macqueripe Bay
It's a beautiful beach cove
Hollis and Lisa Kirton at the Bay
Walking down to the Bay. Maybe we'll get to see it in the daylight sometime.
Making Roti
They set up their cooking stations just along the street
Here we are chowing down on the roti in front of the punch trailer
We met this gentleman and he said he was a fan of the "Mormons" Hollis bought him a "punch"
This is Daniel our guide at "Pitch Lake" He was very informative. Behind us are the storage bins to move the asphalt from the lake to the moving trucks
Pitch Lake
Scooping up the liquid asphalt
Methane gasses bubbling up through the lake
Standing on the Pitch Lake
An egg from a Lapwing bird by the lake.
The angry Lapwing cause we are too close to her nest.
These are the angry birds that fly attack at us in Tobago
Pitch Lake
It's like being in the horror movie "The Blob"
The manager at the visitors center at Pitch Lake
