A Trip Down Memory Lane...

So, there was a little mind "dominoe affect" that led to this post. I saw a picture of a lake on a friend's blog, and that reminded me of how much I love "nature". Specifically, I love pictures of a nature scene that includes any form of water. That made me think of some of the amazing places I have seen and taken pictures of, which naturally led me to the beautiful island of Puerto Rico where I served my mission. I didn't have a digital camera on my mission, so I had to scan all these in and there were so many that I love, but these are what you get.
And while I was posting pictures of (me) in paradise, I just had to pay a tribute to my wonderful companions [that were such wonderful examples to me and helped me every step of the way from who I was before the mission, until arriving at who I became through my amazing journey]. I think I have a picture of all my companionships represented...

My MTC companion, Hermana Brown (this was actually at the Dominican Republic MTC, and the building in the background is the temple).


Luquillo PR; My trainer, Hermana Cruz (and a sea turtle who was busy laying eggs...and for all of you who are wondering - yes, it is the middle of the night. The father of a family the missionaries [including us] had been working with for some time was a marine biologist and invited us to this all night event and luckily our mission president gave us permission to participate. We were supposed to sleep in a tent because we were locked into the property all night, but the bugs were eating us alive, so we ended up sleeping the car instead. SO MUCH FUN!!


Luquillo PR; My trainee, Hermana Furness - I just LOVE this picture...all the lush vegetation in the background (I didn't think I had that kind of vocabulary in me...he he he.)


Moca PR; Hermana Ortiz

Corozal PR; A Trio for 1 transfer with Hermanas Devenberg and Lyman

Corozal PR; Hermana Lyman - isn't the water enticing??

Corozal PR; My last companion, Hermana Barnes - actually this was taken the day before going home.

Luquillo PR; Such a greenie :D

El Yunque (pronounced "June" - "K" ) is unbelievable!! This is definitely on my list of places to go when I make it back!

Lounging by a river before a district picnic on P-Day.

Isabela PR; El Pozo de Jacinto - a hole in the rock cliffs against the ocean...

"Supposedly El Pozo de Jacinto brings good luck, except for poor Jacinto. Legend tells us that Jacinto owned a cow who he kept tied to himself. While he was pasturing the herd, the cow got too close to the edge and fell in taking Jacinto with him. You get good luck, if you shout in the well, "Jacinto, dame la vaca"!" (Jacinto, give me the cow!")at the precise moment the spray comes up."

I think this might be my favorite picture because I'm actually in "missionary" attire, but out in the beauty of the island.

Luquillo PR; Funny story - the "tradition" for sister missionaries at their half-way mark (9 months) was to take a picture of themselves with a pillow under their shirt (to represent the 9 months of pregnancy). Well, I wasn't about to carry on THAT "tradition", so I decided to burn my shoes...ok, sandals. I had basically worn them every day except Sunday up until that very moment.

In my opinion, I saved the best for last. This place was pretty amazing. From where I was standing out to the point where you can see the tide rippling in, there was this awesome tide pool. You can see how the water is just glass, but the best part was that the bottom was all rock, so there was no way that anyone would walk through it and destroy the sea life there. It was all perfect, and I love the reflection in the pool. SO BEAUTIFUL!!

Sorry for the cheesiness, but that was really enjoyable for me so thanks for bearing with me. I can't wait to go back for a visit, and if any of you are planning a trip to Puerto Rico and want to head off the beaten path, I will tell you some awesome spots you won't want to miss in the areas I served in!