Cruise and Updates

On Saturday, April 25 we left San Jose and drove to Los Angeles to our friend’s (Kevin and Katherine Bubna) house. That morning I had woken up with a cold, what timing, right? Katherine took care of me by cooking some garlic and putting it on toast for me, she said garlic would help since it is a natural antibiotic. She also gave me some ruby red grapefruit juice. I took some Nyquil when I went to bed and woke up feeling much better. On Sunday morning, Kevin and Katherine brought us to San Diego where our cruise ship was to disembark. We were so blessed to have them bring us all the way from Los Angeles, which is a 2 ½ hour drive. They kept our van in their garage so it and all our things inside would be safe. We can’t thank them enough.

The cruise was wonderful, although we have been very active going from this place to that place on the ship we had been able to get a lot rest which we needed. Our cruise went from San Diego to Catalina Island, followed by a stop at Ensenada, Mexico and then returning to San Diego. We did not get off the ship at Catalina Island since all of the excursions there are so expensive. Instead we had fun on the ship where there were far fewer people since so many had gone to visit Catalina. The kids basically had a private pool for the day. The next day was to be an all day stop at Ensenada but no passengers were allowed off the ship due to the Swine Flu epidemic that has rocked Mexico. For the time being all cruise lines have canceled all stops in Mexico, instead we had an extra day at sea. We were disappointed but we could also understand. You wouldn’t want one person getting back on the ship sick and then having the whole ship quarantined. That would not be good at all.

The kids loved Camp Carnival and Circle C. Camp Carnival had several different age groups. Erin’s group was only for ages 9 to 11 years which was good and Jonathan’s Circle C was only for ages 12 – 14 which again was very good. Jonathan loved his group and wished it were open all day long. Of course for those that know Jonathan well, I bet you can guess what they were able to do in there. Yup! They had video games for free. There are a total of only twenty kids in his age group on the whole ship so he had almost exclusive use of the Playstations and Wii. Erin did a scavenger hunt and made a Carnival pig (kind of like Build a Bear). It has a recordable sound chip in it, so at one point she recorded, “Hi, I’m a pig but I don’t have Swine Flu.” We thought it best that she didn’t keep it on that recording for very long, although it was kind of funny. Both Jonathan and Erin were able to make a few new friends. Erin met a girl named Maddy, who is from Australia and Erin loves trying to imitate her accent. Jim and I went between staying with Erin and Jonathan depending on what they are doing. We had a moment or two when we had a chance to walk around the deck without the kids. It was usually only about a half hour, but we took what we could get. One night we went to the Lido deck to Tiffany’s Restaurant and just sat and had a cup of coffee together.

We are now on land again and in LA where we will stay the night with our friends the Bubnas again. The weather is absolutely gorgeous. While we are here over night we are repacking clothes so we can get everything in the car tomorrow.

As much as we are enjoyed the cruise, we are ready to get on the road again and get to our house in Mexico so we can begin doing what God has called us to do. That brings me to a prayer request. With all of the warnings to travelers, we would like prayer that our entrance into Mexico will go smoothly. For now the News says things are going smoothly at the border but that could change at any time. We know that Satan is throwing every curve ball at us that he can. I was sick last Saturday, I have been fighting this cold over and over again. I am again feeling better but since it keeps coming and going I would appreciate as much prayer as possible so that we are all as completely healthy as possible when we cross the border. We have many relatives concerned about our going into Mexico but we have much prayer coverage and do not feel that God is leading us to stay here. Since he has not changed his calling for us, we must continue to go until he tells us to do something else.

The kids at the pool.




Jonathan at Circle C


Erin at Camp Carnival



24 hour all you can eat pizza


24 hour all you can eat soft serve ice cream


Miniture Golf on Deck 12.




Pictures from the formal dinner.



Tomorrow we will be traveling east to Phoenix, AZ where we will visit my Aunt Pearl and Uncle Al. I haven't seen them for a very long time. After leaving Phoenix, we will be traveling to Brownsville, TX where we will enter Mexico. Please continue to pray for our travel, health, and overall journey.