A Family Reunion Like No Other

The most celebrated aspect of a Christian travel experience with Inspiration is the many divine appointments that happen on our cruises and tours. When asked what most impacted them, over and over again travelers will say it was the people they met and sense of community they enjoyed that elevated their trip from a mere vacation to one of the most dynamic and cherished experiences of their lives. 

Want examples? We have plenty. Perhaps our best-known story is of two young people (one from Texas, one from Virginia) who met on their first-ever trip to Israel in 2011…and got married not long after. (We even receive updates on their growing family!) The latest story we have to share with you, however, is not of people who became family through one of our travel experiences, but of two individuals who discovered they already were. 

Marguerite Yoshikawa boarded the Turning Point Ministries Alaska Cruise Conference in 2022 with a sense of expectation. She could never have imagined what was about to take place—“Little did I know God was going to show up in a mysterious way.”

[caption id="attachment_9250" align="aligncenter" width="613"] Turning Point Traveler Marguerite Yoshikawa[/caption]

As soon as she settled into her room, she headed up to the lido deck to get a bite to eat. “That’s where it all began.” She noticed and made eye contact with a woman. They didn’t say anything to one another, but kept crossing paths over the next three days. 

Then, on the port call to the island city of Sitka, Marguerite decided to stay on the lido deck to people-watch and sip lemonade rather than go ashore. She was greeted by a fellow cruiser who approached Marguerite and introduced herself. She remembers, “We had a wonderful conversation in the Lord and [shared] how pleased we were to be on this journey together.” 

The story continues when four more ladies from the Turning Point conference came and sat at the table behind them. After a bit, one of them turned around and began talking with Marguerite and her new friend. All were delighted to get to know one another. She explains, “We decided, now, that we were going to stick together (seeing that God had put us together), and we got a larger table.”

[caption id="attachment_9233" align="aligncenter" width="611"] New Friendships Formed[/caption]

Among those joining Marguerite was the lady she had kept crossing paths with from the first day of the cruise. When the tables joined, Marguerite, not knowing why, thought to herself, “I want to sit next to her.” And she did.  

Marguerite began by asking the lady where she was from. She was a Nanticoke Lenape Indian. 

“So am I!” exclaimed Marguerite. 

The woman was from New Jersey. 

“So am I!” exclaimed Marguerite. 

Then she asked for the woman’s maiden name. “She told me, and that was my last name also. We discovered we were cousins—cousins that had never met. We cried, laughed and hugged. And we said, ‘God, You do the impossible.’” 

Because there is a twenty-six-year age difference between the two, Marguerite had moved out of the state before her cousin was born. Marguerite lives in Tacoma, Washington, as a retired restaurant owner. Her cousin lives in Jacksonville, Florida, as a retired navy chaplain. The two marveled at the goodness of God that brought them together and have kept in contact since!

[caption id="attachment_9234" align="aligncenter" width="612"] First Selfie Together for Long-Lost Cousins[/caption]

Have you traveled with Inspiration Cruises & Tours and made friends who enriched your journey and touched your life? We want to hear about it! Testify to the power of God’s Spirit to bring people together by dropping a reply below. And if you haven’t yet seen the world in the company of like-minded believers…this is your official invitation to join the family reunion!