The Finest in Hospitality

"Southern hospitality" is a phrase I've heard all my life.  Being a Georgia girl myself, it's a reference I can appreciate.  However, this familiar kindness pales in comparison to the hospitality seen among our brothers and sisters worldwide.  I am never short of impressed by this great expression of Christian love and how it bears witness to the truth.  We have been privileged to experience this love first hand in various parts of the world and certainly now here in TCI.  After a puddle jumper flight to Provo on Friday afternoon, we were greeted at the airport by the sweet wife of a young couple providing us with accommodations for the Special Day Assembly.  They both had to be present for assembly rehearsals that evening so Chad and I joined to help around the Kingdom Hall.  Afterwards, we enjoyed good sushi and even better company.  Eating out was a special treat coming from Grand Turk.  An added treat was that the visiting Bethel speaker and his wife were staying on the same family property for the weekend.  We were able to join them for breakfast before the program and dinner after.  I found myself right at home in the kitchen with the ladies in preparing each meal.  The experiences shared during these occasions coupled with the already amazing assembly program were so encouraging.  We felt completely comfortable and nothing like newbies.  We thank all the friends for that!  We had 193 in attendance and three baptized from the three English congregations in TCI on Saturday.  The island breeze kept us cool as it blew in through the open windows of the Hall.  A highlight was, and always is, the ocean baptism at lunch.  It is a sight that I could never tire of witnessing.  A short flight back home after another enjoyable breakfast and visit on Sunday morning left us with time for a nice beach afternoon.  We rested in the sun after paddle boarding against some fierce wind.  We spotted the local fisherman flying in from the south side of the island while sitting on shore so Chad took off on his bike to check out their catch.  Last week, we were too late to purchase fish on the the evening we tried.  This week we scored big!  Chad bought two pounds of fish and two beautiful lobster tails!  That's enough for four meals.  Yummy!  For the first, we grilled half the fish fresh and paired it with coconut black rice and spinach.  Looking forward to the lobster tomorrow night!

On our tiny plane to Provo.

Aerial view of our little island.

Assisting with setup on Friday.

The girls while out for sushi.

Walk to beach for baptism.

Observing from the shore.

Amazing to witness!

Chad as afternoon chairman.

Additional outdoor seating. 

The Brown's from Brooklyn Bethel.

Chad and I after assembly. 

Delicious dinner and good association after the assembly at the Owen's house.

Barbara and I.  She is a special pioneer along with her husband in our congregation.

The couple we stayed with in Provo.

Listening to the Brown's stories after dinner. 

We find that those we talk to back home are often interested in what we are eating here on the island.  I think this is especially intriguing in light of my known passion for nutritious food.  It is true that you will not find a grocery store as we know it in the States on Grand Turk.  However, there are a number of small markets around the island with varying availability.  Everything is imported and arrives early in the week.  Therefore, we do our grocery shopping on Monday and Tuesday so that we purchase our fruits and vegetables as fresh as possible and can get them into our own refrigerator for proper storage.  Fortunately, that makes up the bulk of our shopping since we stockpiled dry goods and freighted them down before we left Florida.  We generally don't eat meat unless we are able to get fish. Chicken is an option that we will incorporate occasionally.  I'm skeptical about the meat because I usually don't know how long its been in the freezer or if it's been kept at the proper temperature.  The change to a mostly vegetarian diet has been just fine for us both.  We often ate meatless dinners before moving here so the adjustment is minor.  I have gotten creative in the kitchen and found a number of good options to feel the protein gap.  Some might be surprised with the number of dishes you can make with eggs, beans, lentils, tofu, and canned tuna/salmon.  Here's a sample…

Spanish style omelet and spinach salad with dried figs, toasted pecans, red onion, and balsamic vinaigrette. 

Quinoa loaf with mushrooms and peas and spinach salad with tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and balsamic viniagrette.

Lentil chili with roasted brussel sprouts.

Hummus and veggie sandwich on whole wheat bagel thin with sweet potato/carrot fries and sliced apple sprinkled with cinnamon, almond butter on the side.

And what you can't purchase, you just learn to make yourself.  


In regards to my other personal passion--fitness--I'm likewise making the adjustment.  Without a gym, I am doing regular morning strength workouts using my own equipment in the living room three days a week.  I run two additional days for added cardio.  I am grateful that exercise comes naturally in this environment as well.  Since we are without a car, we are regularly walking or riding our bikes various distances each day as we go about our normal routine.  As I already mentioned, we have a new hobby in paddle boarding also.

To summarize this post, we are loving the island life and the new friends it has brought us!  Thanks for peering into our world for a bit and sharing in our adventures.