McNabb Family Memories: Day 4.......Santa Marta

Happy Birthday Caitlin. She is 22 years old today! Oh, how I love her. I will be thinking of her today.

We got up early this morning and Whitney and I went for a run on the beach. I'm glad we didn't wait any longer than we did because it warms up quickly here. It was fun to be exercising again.

President Parada picked us up and we went with their family to the beach. We had to take a boat to get to the beach. Along the way we got to see just how beautiful Santa Marta is. It is along the coast but there are hills around it. The water is so clear and so warm. We just swam and talked. It was fun to get to know their family. Their three oldest children have graduated from high school and have gone to college. They are all going on the perpetual education fund through the church. To be able to use it, you have to graduate from seminary. They are so grateful to be able to go to college.

I was playing with Isabella, who is 23 months, in the water. At first she wasn't too sure about me, but then I started throwing her up and catching her and she warmed up. She would giggle and want me to do it again. She is really cute....makes me miss Kira and Kalli even more! We spent about three hours at the beach. On the way back to the hotel, President Parada took us by a really poor part of town. He said it was a really dangerous at night with a lot of drugs. All of the people do their laundry here by hand. Austin asked me why they are so poor we aren't in the United States. I told him about the promise in the Book of Mormon that says if we keep our covenants and do our best to live the commandments, that Heavenly Father promises that we will have peace and prosperity in our country. Also, that our founding fathers were God fearing people and were inspired to draft a constitution that guarantees us the rights we do. I am so grateful to live in America and to have the blessings from the Book of Mormon.

That evening we took the Parada's and the Osorio's out to dinner. There were 15 of us! What a party! Austin and I sat by President and Sister Parada, Zeneth, Nelson and Sister Osorio. Zeneth can speak pretty good English so we had a good conversation. She told me that the average person makes $500 a month in Colombia. She said that very few can afford to own their own home. The average home costs about $15,000. They told us that very few people can afford to get a drivers license, that they are very expensive. I told them that in Pocatello we don't have a taxi service. Zeneth asked how people without cars got around. I felt a little sheepish to tell her that most everyone owns a car.

It was hard when it came time to tell the Osorio's goodbye. Natalia just cried and held on to Griff. Sister Osorio and I got close and there were tears when we hugged goodbye. What sweet, sweet people. They don't have a lot materially but they are so close to the Spirit.

The Parada's came to our hotel and we played games. President Parada was so funny. Isabella got tired and Austin put her to sleep. When they had to leave, there were many tears. When Sister Parada went to hug Austin, they both started sobbing. They grew really close in the two days we were there. I hope that I can keep the perspective I have gained here. The Gospel and our families are all that really matters!