Imagine a 3 year old sitting between her parents in the fourth row, just high enough to see over the enormous water tank. Dolphins begin to jump out of the water and perform for the crowded arena. Then comes the big "killer" whale Shamo. The little girl is mesmerized by these amazing fish, until SLAM! Water drenches the first 6 rows of bleachers. According to my mom I was not very happy about this giant wave slamming into me. Five years later I was right back in that same place to see the show again; older and wiser we sat higher in the bleachers. It was also a memory I would keep this time. I fell in love with the dolphins. I had a poster in my room, one of those cheap fair mirrors, and a silver dolphin ring for a long time. Swimming with the dolphins has been a dream for a long time now. So when the opportunity arose for me to go on our day off I was ready!
We can't go anywhere alone so I recruited my teammate Tess to come along. This was not a dream for her and she was a little nervous, but she sacrificed for me. Before heading out for the day, at 6:00 am, we stood in the driveway and prayed. Although we were leaving for personal pleasure only, we prayed that God would send His Holy Spirit ahead of us creating divine appointments.
Our first ride didn't get us too far across the island, so we had to stick out a thumb for another. It seemed to be taking some time so we prayed, asking God to give us a number. He gave me the number 4. Sure enough the fourth vehicle was a white truck and he stopped to pick us up. He let us ride inside the cab so we started asking questions, which led to us encouraging him to allow God to show him that he is forgiven. When we reached the end of his road we asked to pray for him and he allowed us to do that. The next ride was another quick one in the back of another truck, but then we met Edwin. Normally you would only put out a thumb for a truck because they let you ride in the back. For some reason, the Holy Spirit I'm sure, I put out my thumb when I saw a CRV coming our way. Edwin stopped and gave us a ride all the way to the resort. As we drove he shared that he is an English and computer teacher. So of course I grilled him on the system here. He's a year younger than me, but has been teaching for two more years than me. His first two years he worked as a volunteer; he actually hasn't been paid properly until 4 years ago. This particular day he was about to begin filling out his scholarship papers to be approved for a stipend to come take classes at a university in New Orleans. The conversation then drifted to his family of 17 brothers and sisters. That's when God started talking to Tess, urging her to give him the $100 bill in her purse.
