As I walked out into the arrival hall in St Maarten a friend was waiting for me. He whisked me off to a nearby restaurant where his wife and a whole group of people welcomed me with hugs and smiles. Many I had never met - all are now fast friends. My friend passed his mobile phone to me and said: "Here, speak to this guy and arrange your interview for 8 am tomorrow morning. As I flew via London it took two days of travel to arrive in St Maarten. Add a six hour time
difference and you had a rather jet lagged gypsy girl. But 8 o' clock sharp I was there for my interview and by 2 o' clock I started working on board a mega yacht. A 120 foot luxury powerboat with seven crew members. I was only appointed for one two week charter, but that was enough to get me on my feet.
Mega yachts in season lined up like
sardines
I was suddenly immersed in a totally different world. It does not matter if you are the captain, deckhand or a stewardess - you are nothing but a servant. Now when I mentioned luxury yacht, it is only that for the guests. The crew live under very different circumstance. O, and there were three guests for that charter, so we outnumbered them twice and some .......
Low tourist season was there and I was too late to get on one of the boats heading to the Mediterranean, so what would I do once the charter was over? Well it just so happened that the engineer on the mega yacht was another South African. And it just so happened
that he had a friend in St Maarten with a day charter business that needed a new hostess.
Once we returned from the British Virgin Islands with the mega yacht, the engineer introduced me to his friend. I started working on his day charter catamaran three days later, and moonlighted in between as a day laborer on the mega yacht. In the meantime my
friend found a little 24 foot boat I could stay on while I was finding my feet, appropriately named 'Sunset Strip'.
Everything just fell in place in St Maarten. My Maker provided for me in every way. I had other plans before heading to St Maarten and I prayed earnestly about it - and the answer was an emphatic no. But the moment I changed direction to St Maarten everything
just fell in place. I feel so blessed every time I read Psalm 121.
Psalm 121
"I will lift up my eyes to the hills-
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved,
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore."
A month or two later I found a nice little apartment in the Simpson Bay beach area. Four houses from the beach, so I don't see the ocean, but I look at Coconut palms and blue sky. Quite good enough for me. Seen as though I arrived in St Maarten with only a backpack, I suddenly needed a lot of things. A friend gave me a bed and a couch, a neighbor two chairs, and someone else a fridge on loan. I went on a fun expedition around the island shopping for household things from cutlery to linen and bathroom accessories to a dining room table. That extra money I earned on the mega yacht sure came in handy. By the end of the day I had a furnished apartment.
It has been a year since I arrived in St Maarten. My apartment has been a comfortable nest. I enjoy things others take for granted. In contrast to living on a 28 foot boat, I now had a bookshelf, and I could put as many books on as I want without worrying about the weight. Ahhh, and nice hot showers. Room for my watercolor painting projects. I faced my favorite chair to look at the view I love. I have imported an industrial sewing machine and created a workshop in my apartment to do upholstery and canvas work on the side since the day charter boat is not a full time job. It has probably been the best year in my life. I truly feel that I was meant to be
in St Maarten. But is it home or merely a stepping stone in my future?
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