Marshalls Abroad

Japan Life Okinawa

Diving with Whale Sharks




That’s me on the left with the hood on!

Cam!


Me and my pink fins!




Mere!


This dive has been at the top of our Okinawa bucket list and we’re thankful we finally got the chance {thank you Ashley Cooper for watching our darling!} to do it! The largest known fish on earth! Oh my goodness… it was exhilarating to be touching and swimming with such magnificent and huge creatures. We took a small boat about ten minutes out from where we live and there were four whale sharks, about 20 feet long.  You’re not supposed to hold on to their fins and let them pull you, but we were so captivated, that that’s exactly what happened. I was holding onto the fin of one, swimming along with it, when I felt someone push me from behind. I looked behind me and there was another whale shark, nudging me with it’s huge open mouth!!  We all kept shaking our heads in wonderment and thinking about Jonah. I think we will forever remember getting to be so close to and swim with such awesome and beautiful creatures.
Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm… But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. 
From the depths of the grave I called for help, 
and You listened to my cry…
You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.
When my life was ebbing away, 
I remembered You, Lord,
and my prayer rose to You.
 
Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the Grace that could be theirs…
 
Salvation comes from the Lord.”
 
And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 1:15, 16 // Jonah 2


Comments

  1. Shannon says

    WOW! That is such an incredible experience and what amazing pictures. Thank you for sharing. Were you scared at all? Love the comparison to Jonah and the whale.

  2. Alisha says

    Ohmygoodness!! This is insanely awesome!!! My husband is certified and keeps telling me to hurry up and get mine done too. We just came back from an awesome dive in Cozumel, Mexico back in December, and we're ready to go again!!
    Were the whale sharks captured? What's with the nets?

    • Marshall says

      Isn't diving one of the most amazing and enchanting things you've ever done!?

      Yes, they are temporarily captured inside of the nets but not for long. Our dive master said he's never seen the same one in there for more than a few months.

  7. jennifer says

    your blog always brings me so much joy! this post in particular made me smile on a tough slushy new york morning. 🙂 these look so beautiful, but i am (a) claustrophobic and (b) a terrible swimmer. . . . maybe this is something to work towards!

  8. Cortnie says

    Wow, there were FOUR! That's amazing! We got to go twice in Oki, the first time only had 2 in there, and the second time there were 3 Whale Sharks, and I thought that was a lot! 😉 SO glad you and Cam got to to experience this before leaving!! Miss you guys & love keeping up w/ your blog!

  11. Britt Louise says

    i always knew you had a really cool life, but this just topped the charts!! What a beautiful experience, so happy you guys got the chance to do this!

  13. Bev says

    Amazing!! What a cool thing to mark off your bucket list. Thanks for sharing that scripture, it speaks truth 🙂

  14. Dallas Ashley says

    Hi, I'm just discovering your blog and I've gotta say WOW! What an amazing experience! A bucket list item of mine has been to swim with dolphins, but whale sharks looks even more exhilarating!

  17. claire says

    Just found your beautiful blog – and am captivated by your gorgeous photos. How amazing living in Okinawa! I spent a year living in Japan back in 2006 and absolutely fell in love with this country. Swimming with Whale sharks is something I've wanted to do for a while. The closest I've come is swimming with Basking Sharks in Scotland last year and it was freezing!
    Claire xx | somewhere… beyond the sea

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