Unfortunately, our plans for heading to the Coral Reef were once again cancelled. We have been experiencing unseasonal winds down here and there have been small craft warnings and reports of 0’ visibility in the water. While it was a huge disappointment, we are making the best of it and have decided to take the students to the Sea Turtle Hospital on Wednesday instead.

And so, today was instead one of our “normal” days. Richelle lectured on Porifera and Echinodermata this morning, but God had a fun surprise for us at the end. Two of our staff were fishing off the dock and reeled in a juvenile nurse shark. We got a kiddie pool of saltwater quickly set up, placed him in there, and summoned for all of the students to come take a look! It was a hands-on experience! Michael came and listed off many shark facts while the kids got a chance to pet the shark and examine its anatomy up close. They feel just like sandpaper because their skin is basically made of many tiny teeth. After all of the groups had a chance to classify the shark and record the information in their lab books, the shark was released back into the sea, unharmed.

The afternoon was then spent once again doing lab work and going on excursions. It was a beautiful day for excursions and we had some awesome finds, from very long sea cucumbers, some giant crabs, brightly colored sea anemones, to the pink pen shell. Some of the students said it was their favorite excursion day.

The Bible session for the evening was on why Jesus has two different genealogies, and how this isn’t actually a contradiction. Michael explained that he believes one of the reasons was because God had placed a curse on the royal line of King David, after the evil deeds of Jehoiachin, stating that not one of his offspring would sit on the throne. And, being Jesus was adopted by Joseph, God was able to keep His word. Also, the other genealogy was Mary’s and this states that he is a blood descendant of David and it also proves the point that Jesus, though He is fully God, He was also fully man.

After session, groups broke out to do more lab work. But we were surprised by something quite spectacular in the night sky. A large meteor was moving across the sky but so slowly, all of us were able to enjoy the spectacular. “The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

Although plans were changed once again, and we are all disappointed about not getting to go to the reef this year, God is still blessing us in so many ways by showing us His beauty in creation. From the beautiful creatures we found today, to the intricately detailed microorganisms we looked at in our labs, to the meteor shooting across the night sky, He is revealing Himself and His glory to each and every one of us.