A Divine Appointment in the Cayman Islands

After 7 months of work for Aileen as a pediatric hospitalist, 6 months of a brutal Michigan winter, and 14 weeks of pregnancy, we decided that a vacation was long overdue. We had originally planned a trip to the French Riveria and Tuscany since Aileen is so passionate about cooking Italian food, but with the pleasant surprise of the "little one" on the way, we decided to stay more local.

I thought maybe an East Coast road trip to visit our friends out that way was long overdue, but Aileen (and the baby) wanted to go someplace warm with lots of sun. So at the last minute, we found a very cheap ticket to Grand Cayman. Joe and Shannon Lee went there for their honeymoon, my brother and sister-in-law, Alvin and Tiffany, stopped by on a cruise, and Judy and Israel were planning a trip there too. I tried getting in touch with Judy and Israel to find out what to do on the island, but they did not return my calls or reply to my e-mails before we left.

Our plans were so last minute that I forgot to bother checking the weather before I purchased the tickets. Aileen looked it up and to our dismay, it said that it was supposed to rain every single day! What bum luck... But after some more researching, we found out that the rain in Grand Cayman usually lasts for a few minutes in the morning or the evening and then the rest of the day is clear and sunny. So two days after we bought the plane tickets, we were packed and on the plane enjoying those Delta airplane cookies.

Day 1: Thursday, May 14, 2009

As we were about to land in Grand Cayman, Aileen nudged me awake from my sleep and motioned me to look out the window. I saw a picture straight out Conde Nast or the Travel Channel. I've never seen bluer water or whiter sand in my life. Welcome to paradise. By the time we arrived at our hotel, we were so exhausted from last minute packing that we called it an early night and went to sleep. But not before I took a peek of the view from our window.

Day 2: May 15, 2009

Since I was still working on what exactly we were going to do in the Cayman Islands, we decided to just have a beach day, which was just what the doctor ordered. The weather was beautiful, the sand was soft, the water was calm and blue, and the company was excellent. We slathered on the SPF, slipped on our flip flops, and with a virgin pina colada from the bar, we were ready to take on the beach!

Day 3: Sabbath, May 16, 2009

With the help of the internet, we discovered that the Cayman Islands have over 10 churches! The closest one, however, was a few miles away. We had to take the bus (actually a van) into the main city, Georgetown, and walk a few blocks to the church. However, we faced a few problems: First of all, not all the streets had street signs. And secondly, the map I found online was totally wrong! Needless to say, much to Aileen's angst, I got us lost and we ended up wandering around for an hour! With hope diminishing and an upset wife beside me, I almost decided to just go back to our hotel. But providentially, the next street we came upon was the one that the church was on. And as we turned the corner, what a beautiful sight it was to behold the sign for the Georgetown Seventh-day Adventist church!

As we walked inside the wonderfully air conditioned sanctuary, we sat down in a pew just in time for the children's choir and the sermon. The speaker was introduced as a pastor from Michigan and a part of me thought that it might be Israel. But it was an older minister. I even glanced throughthe window of the baby room with the hope of seeing Manu and Micah there. As the pastor got up to speak, he said he brought tidings from Michigan and that there was another pastor from Michigan visiting--Israel Ramos! I looked around to see where he was, but did not see him, however, in the front row, we saw Judy turn around looking for her husband and her eyes locked in on us a couple rows behind her. Her eyes got huge and her jaw literally dropped. She turned around, grasped her chest, and turned around again to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. We were so happy to see her! Praise the Lord for this wonderful reunion that got me out of the dog house!

But the reunion didn't stop there, at the end of the sermon, Scott Michael Bennett, gave a moving vocal special music which prompted a powerful appeal where many Caymanians approached God's throne of grace. This same Scott Bennett used to be the smallest, skinniest boy in my Pathfinders group! He has now dedicated his life in music ministry. FreshDay Music.

We soon found out that Israel was part of a team with Pastor Jeff Ackenberger holding a youth revival meeting in the Cayman Islands. That morning he went to another church with the boys. He was equally surprised to see us when he came back for potluck. Daniel Jean-Francois was with him too! When Manu and Micah saw us, they were very confused at first... but soon were just as excited as we were. We spent a blessed Sabbath afternoon at the Cove. 

Pastor Jeff...

...and team