2024 Curacao

Getting to Curacao

In June of 2024, we were pointed to the idea (through our "Lots System") of going to the Island of Curacao. So, in July of 2024, we went. This island is next to Aruba, 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela. It is a Dutch Colonized island. We spent 17 days on the Island of Curacao, and at each step along the way, we were able to bless folks who said that they felt God sent us to the island "just for them".

THE AIRBNB OWNER - - Here is the view from the Airbnb we rented. The accommodations were pretty "rustic" by American standards. First of all, it is hot in July; about 90 degrees on average. There is no air conditioning, except in the bedroom, but use of the a/c is limited to only 7 hours a day, so we really only used it a night (but what a blessing for sleeping). Otherwise, you just need to get used to the heat, and wear lighter clothing. Also, there is no hot water, so get used to cold showers... but to be fair, you do not really need a hot shower in this heat.     ///    Ok, so the owners of the Airbnb had not been able to rent this apartment for about 7 months, since they had renovated it. And they had been praying that God would send them someone to rent it. On my side of things, when we were looking for Airbnb's on the island, this one seemed like the "perfect" place: great view, great price, great facility, etc. When we arrived, the owner lady stated that we were an answer to her prayers, and that we were sent their "just for her".

THE DRESS VENDOR - - Here is a pic from the original Fort at Curacao, looking across the inlet at the historic city of Willemstad. This is were they have rows and rows of merchants, vendors, and restaurants. It was at one of these vendors, where Rebecca found a dress that she wanted to buy. It needed some alterations, which the vendor lady could easily handle. This led to a longer discussion, where the vendor lady shared some of the hurts she had occur in her life, and Rebecca was able to help her come to a place of forgiveness for person, and thus find freedom. The vendor lady was so thankful. She said that we came to the island "just for her."

THE FRIENDS WE MADE - - These our some friends that we made on the island. She is a native to Curacao, but they live in Holland, and were only back in Curacao for a vacation. He is originally from Costa Rica, and adopted by a family in Holland, where he met his wife. After meeting them originally, we got along so well that we were able to get together a bunch more times during our visit to the island. They even shared their snorkeling gear and took us to their favorite snorkeling beach. They were a blessing to us, and we were able to bless them and encourage them. They felt like we had been sent to the island "just for them".  

THE FOOD MINISTRY - - We also found a ministry that feeds 100 to 300 people each day. They cook the food and then put it in these metal containers. The food then gets delivered via minivan to each house receiving a meal. The driver spends a bit of time at each stop to talk with the folks and see what other needs they might have. When the food gets delivered, the folks hand the driver a cleaned dish from the day before. For our part, we were not able to go on the delivery trip; so we helped in the kitchen for a couple of days. Here is Rebecca helping cook food and get it into the trays. This ministry also has a small orphanage with about 5-6 kids. We had a good time spending the afternoon playing games with them.  

Here is Mark with his hands full of pasta.

Here is an obligatory sunset beach pic. :)

THE FRESH MARKET - - While on Curacao, we found a shoreline Market, where boats from Venezuela pull up just behind the booths in this pic. Once they dock, they then put out there items for sale: Fruits and Veggies of all kinds. This includes foods you have never heard of. We loved it so much, that we came back every other day.

Here is a "Recreation Center" on Curacao called the Lagoon Recreation Center (i.e. "Sentro Rekreashon Lagun"). That is definitely, NOT Spanish. I think it is their mixed language which is a Creole type of language formed from five other languages.

2024 Curacao

THANKS FOR TAKING THIS JOURNEY WITH US!
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