Blessed!

I am so blessed! I am sitting at the cafe at YVR airport waiting for a flight to the Philippines.I am so grateful to God for the beautiful woman I am going to marry, and the beautiful children He has blessed us with. As long as I can remember, the dream I have longed for the most is to have a family, a wife and children. And now I am blessed with both... What can I say except "Thank you God! Your Grace, favor, love and blessing are beyond my understanding. There are no words I can assemble that even come near to explaining how I feel. Thank you God!"

Wow... this is SO out of date... haha This past year has been fantastic. I am now engaged to a beautiful woman named Crisel Arganda. She and our daughters Micha and Joy are in the Philippines right now, and we are praying hard for her and Micha and Joy to be approved for their visas to come to Canada... I am praising God for His blessings he has given us, answering a prayer which has been in my heart as long as I can remember, for a family. Our father God is SO good! Thank you Lord!!!

Friendships sails to Haiti

Most of you know that in the past I have worked with Friendships Unlimited, a Christian humanitarian relief organisation. At this point they are sending their vessel, Integrity, with a load of relief supplies and aid workers to the earthquake devastated nation of Haiti. I highly recommend this organisation, having worked with them in the past including during the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, I know they are equipped to bring massively needed relief and supplies to a disaster zone such as this. And with their entirely volunteer crew, every dollar donated goes to the work they do. I want to encourage everyone to visit their website: http://www.friendships.org and check out how you may be able to contribute to the needs of this relief effort. Donations can be made through their website, and tax reciepts can be sent at least to US donors. Friendships has a long standing relationship with the nation of Haiti, having done a number of mercy trips there in the past with their vessels Hope, Mersea, and Spirit of Grace. Perhaps Spirit has been there too. I do not know. At this point it looks like there will be a number of trips made bringing relief supplies for Haiti. Please check out their website. Thank you and God Bless.

Facebook, Friends, and what it all means...

I was going to post this as a "status" on Facebook, but it was too long... So I'll reprint it here... Isn't it funny? I have 387 "friends" on here. About 5 or MAYBE 10 of you I actually talk to or have any regular communication with whatsoever!!! By what standard do we rate someone as a "friend" nowadays? Some of you, I have never even met!!! I just deleted 46 people, not to be mean, but because we met once last year or 15 years ago, does that now make us "friends"? Or maybe we went to high school togeter? Some people I deleted I could not even remember who they were!!! I think it is sad how we often rate friendships these days. Of all the 387 "friends" I still have on here, how many of you have invited me over for dinner or whatever in the last year? How many have been over to my place? A few, but not more than a few. Maybe this should be acknowledged as an "aquaintance list", and our friendships should be stored up in our hearts, instead of in cyberspace!!! Those of you who actually ARE my friends, you know who you are, as do I and as does God. God bless you my friends. I love you. And come by for dinner if your ever in the neighborhood!!! (*Note: If you're just a wierdo who's stalking me on facebook, please don't come by for dinner... Thanks...)

Life Prevails

I love life. Life is beautiful. I took a walk down to the lake this afternoon, and it was so beautifull. Actually the sky was grey with a low ceiling and continuous rain... But it was beautiful. As I stood by the waters edge, I looked out and I saw life, stuggling but overcoming. The lake grasses were mostly yellow and dead, but new fresh ones were coming out between them, ready to take on another year, and overcome the death around them. The bare branches on the the trees were full of buds, ready to break out and form leaves, to clean the air and try to restore life to this world we are destroying... And in the forest, were flowers. As I stood there by the edge of the water, I knew that God brought me there to show me something. That He can and will restore life, even where I can see only death. This gave me a hope which I really needed to feel. To know that those whom I love, who have as yet rejected Gods love, still have a chance... I have always seen those buds in their lives, and those buds, which are formed by God's own hand, contain life. Thank you God for life. Thank you God for hope. Thank you God for your love, which always reaches us, even when we don't see it. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." -John 1:1-5

BC Ferries...

Well I am excited to say I have a job interview tomorrow morning for a position with B.C. Ferries as a deckhand on one of their Saltspring Island based ferries. It's really neat to be here saying this, God has brought everything together in a very awesome way for this to happen. I just finished the basic safety courses last week which are now prerequisites for employment on any Canadian flagged (or international) passenger or cargo ships. The courses were very interesting and involved a lot of hands on training such as liferaft and lifeboat launching and operation, and marine firefighting as well. After the first course I went over to Saltspring Island to apply in person for the job, and then over to Victoria. I was called two days later for the interview. Well I just wanted to let everyone know some of the cool things that are happening here lately. I appreciate your prayers regarding all of this and pray that God blesses you each!

BCIT Marine Campus

Well it has been way too long since I updated this. I was laid off from the fish plant a week or so before Christmas, at which point I returned once again to 100 Mile House, B.C. When I left Friendships it was to come back to Canada to get a job which would help me to dig out of the debt load which has been bogging me down in a sense the last few years. My hope was to get a job in the marine industry and pay down those debts. While unloading fishing boats in Port Hardy was a step in the right direction, It was not paying the bills. I am now enrolled (praise God) in a couple marine safety courses at BCIT's marine campus in North Vancouver. The First one, the Basic Safety Training course, starts on Monday Jan. 19th and lasts one week. The second, Survival Craft, begins Feb. 2nd and lasts 5 days. These courses are both required by Transport Canada to work on any Canadian flagged passenger or cargo vessel. This is the next step for me towards getting a job, or I would rather say career in this industry. In past years I have gathered several years sea time working for Friendships, Marine Reach and Mercy Ships on their various vessels, but for me it will be a first to actually get paid to work on a ship. I am praying for the opportunity of being hired on with B.C. Ferries this spring, and working my way up to becoming a licenced deck officer. Those reading this, I would appreciate your prayers for God's Blessing and direction with this. Know too, though, that in pursueing this, I am not turning my back on the ministry work that has been my life, heart and passion for many years now. This is a bit of a new direction for me, but my main goals are unchanged. That is to know God, to Worship Him, and to bring His love to his children (people). I am pursueing those goals in a new way, but it is very like God to lead us in a new way from that which we have known. Thank you and God Bless you each!

Fish Plant.

Hi there! I am so sorry for this long overdue update. After working on the boat in L.A. for several weeks, I felt the Lord showing me it was time to come back to Canada. Friendships released me and even blessed me with a car they had and were not using, which I drove back to B.C. and am now using to get to work every day. At present I am staying with friends in Port McNiel, B.C. and working in a fish processing plant in Port Hardy, which is about 48km North of here, on the northern end of Vancouver Island. It has been a blessing to find a job so quickly where I am able to get a lot of hours and good wage to start getting myself out of debt. It all happened very quickly, and I am praising God for his provision, though at present I have not made a final decision as to weather to stay in B.C. or go back home to Manitoba in the near future. I am enjoying the opportunity I have been given and seeking the Lord for what is to come over the next weeks and months. I would appreciate everyones prayers and pray you would all be blessed! Thanks! Jacob

Wagons West!

Hey I will keep this short right now, but it looks like Friendships is sending me to California again sometime within the next week or so. There are a bunch of us going to L.A. to work on the ministry yacht, Pearl, then to Seattle to work on the larger vessel Integrity. We will be driving out with a small convoy of equipment vehicles including our Kenworth and a lowbed trailer, and two other large trucks loaded with equipment for the vessels and the ministry base in Roatan, Honduras. I'm not sure what is beyond that, as there are several options out there including my coming back to Port Mercy, or continuing to work as crew on one of those vessels for the duration of the trip through the Panama canal and up here after stopping off in Honduras. There are other thoughts and prayers in my head as well and I am seeking the Lord as to what life choices would make sense and please him right now. Not that many of the things I do ever really make sense, I guess. But nonetheless I am seeking to make the best choices I can with what He has given me. It is definatly an adventure serving the Lord... You never really know what is next. I love this life God has given me. May the way I live it out be worship to Him.

Port Mercy

Hey just so everyone knows we arrived back at Port Mercy on Friday afternoon June 6th. We had a great sail, making very good time and excellent conditions out at sea. The outreach went very well though I was on the ship most of the time doing watches. I have posted a bunch of photos in 2 albums on my facebook site. Mostly photos during the sail and exploring the Island the 2 days I had off. Apparently I never took any photos at all at the ministry site, but there are some great ones at http://www.friendships.org Maybe I'll borrow some and post them, too. Anyways the trip was awesome, the doctors saw about 400 people per day, the children's ministry apparently was awesome as well. One of our crew, Murray Douglas, has written several puppet ministry plays, and makes his own puppets, too, from scratch. Very very well done. Apparently the kids loved it. Thank you so much to all of you who have prayed for me or helped me otherwise to be here serving this ministry, I know when I do thse things it's all built on a foundation laid by many people. Thank you, and God Bless. Love Jacob

Charlestown, Nevis, West Indies.

Well this has been a fast paced month. I have not had internet access from when we left the US almost a month ago until now, so I am sorry that I have been out of touch with everybody and not updated this blog. I think we arrived here on Nevis around the 14th of May, and unloaded the ship and started trucking things over to a school field where we set up the medical site. I have been on the ship most of the time, doing anchor watch or loading/unloading cargo. The medical outreach apparently went very well, with around 400 people seen each day. Besides that they had children's ministry throughout the day and evangelistic services in the evenings. I had the opportunity to sail on the ship as a cadet officer, which was great. My role here is as a support person, help get the ship here so the doctors dentists and their teams can do their work. They all were very encouraging as they shared about the work they did during evenings on the ship. Last Sunday I went with a few of our team and hiked part way up the volcano which forms this island. It was awesome. There were all kinds of local birds, some monkeys, and pigs and goats roaming around as they pleased. We found a coconut and managed to get it open for a drink and a snack. That was cool. I've seen kids in the Pacific Islands do it with one or two thwacks of a machette but it is harder with just a leatherman and rocks though. The island lifestyle here is pretty cool, calm laid back, but very clean and decent. They have virtually no crime at all, and apparently you can go to jail for swearing. Man! and people think us Canadians have it good! It is a beautiful Island and beautifull culture, It is cool we were able to bless them with the medical work that was a blessing to the people here, and challenge many to walk with God. I had a neat talk last night with a guy who indicated to me he was a drug dealer. He was trying to make a sale I think but when he found out I was a christian it opened up a neat discussion about various things. His mom and grandmother are christians he says, and he wants God to bless him, so I challenged him a bit about making choices and leading a life that would honor God. God does desire to bless his children. Anyways it's been great to be here. This is the first day I have gotten online since leaving the US, but it's also our last day here as we are to depart at 2300 tonight, and take the next ten days to get back to Port Mercy in Louisiana. Thank you to those who have left comments here and may God Bless you all. In Christ, Jacob

ETD 0600

Hey there I just thought that I would post that we are sailing @ 0600 this am so I will be out of touch for the time we are at sea and maybe longer depending on the availability of internet on Nevis Island and how much shore leave I get. I will try to check this when I can so please leave me messages. Our ETA back in Louisiana is early-mid June, maybe like the 10th or so. Nevis Island is located in the Lesser Antilles chain in the West Indies, or eastern Caribbean. It is a british colony that is apparently so peacefull and free of crime that you go to jail for swearing. I just think that is so cool. We will be there doing a medical outreach, reaching out to the people there with the Love of Christ. The Hope is loaded and ready to go. Pray for me for this trip! I will be sailing as an officer cadet so that will be very cool. Anyways God Bless you all. I need to hit the rack! Jacob

California...

Hey all... just a bit of an update. Friendships flew me out to Los Angeles last week to work on a yacht that was donated to the ministry. It is a beautiful classic wood hull motor yacht, 75 feel overall. Our plan with this boat is to use it in the Caribbean region, likely homeported at our base on Roatan Island in Honduras. The boat's mission will be to visit various locations hosting pastor's seminars and doing advance work for the larger ships when they visit. It's an exciting vision, and I have been asked to take a leading role in this ministry as the vessel's captain so I would like to ask for prayer and wisdom for this. I only want to do it if that is what would please our heavenly father. I think I am willing to do this, and of course it would be cool but the Kingdom isn't about what would be cool. There are plenty of more experienced seamen out there that God can call up if I am not His choice for this. If so, that's fine with me too. I like what I've been doing with the other ships as well. So may His Name be lifted up and His Kingdom advanced. God Be Praised. Jacob

Mission update letter

Hello and blessings to you all. I really want to thank every one of you who have been supporting me as a missionary with your prayers, emails and also the financial donations which God uses to allow me to be here doing this work. I have now been down here in Louisiana with Friendships Unlimited for the past six months, in addition to another 7 month period following Hurricane Katrina in 2005/2006. As many of you will know Friendships Unlimited is a non-profit organization which operates a small fleet of ships which bring humanitarian relief and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to impoverished nations both in the Caribbean and overseas. We do disaster relief, in response to Hurricanes, Earthquakes and the like both here in the US or wherever our service is needed. Other relief voyages have been to Israel, Africa, Russia, Haiti, and Honduras. Relief supplies have also been sent worldwide via commercial shipping lines. I am currently serving this missionary organization in the position of Bosun and 3rd Mate. My role is as a volunteer with the deck department. So far I have primarily been involved in the upgrades and renovations to the F/V MerSea as well as overseeing the deck maintenence, preparing her for service with our organisation. In addition I will be sailing as 3rd Mate on the F/V Hope on our upcoming voyage to do a medical outreach on Nevis Island in the West Indies during May and June and then on the F/V Coastal Pilot when we sail her from Seattle to our base in Louisiana later this summer. In Los Angeles we will be picking up a 75 foot motor yacht which our base there is currently converting to use for doing advance work for our larger ships and Pastor's seminars in the Caribbean region. I expect it will be based out of our ministry centre in Honduras. I will be heading out to L.A. in the next few days to work on this vessel. I cannot well enough express my gratitude for those of you who have sent me out to do this work. I cannot imagine anything in this world I would rather be doing. My biggest prayer requests are for wisdom in desicions regarding my role here as I have been asked to take on this yacht as her captain, director and maintenence overseer. It would be a big step up in responsibilty to say the least. I just keep saying wow. This really is beyond anything I could have imagined right now. Please pray for wisdom for me in making these decisions, as well as pray for me to do really well at what God has placed before me. I am SO honored. Finances is another prayer request I am really seeking God for right now. I don't think I have ever been quite so stretched but I know God loves to build our faith through these things. I am looking up to our father, who is our Lord and Provider. I am in a place where I am very aware of my reliance on his provision. I am praying for a miracle. Please pray with me. Although I very much love where I am at right now, I do miss you all and the fellowship we have shared at different times. May God's richest blessings rest on you each. Email me anytime. Love in Christ, Jacob Blondahl

Dependance

On whom do you depend? On whom do you want to depend? Dependance is a theme that has been in my prayers a lot lately. I am in a place of being dependant on God... Actually we all are, we just usually don't see it. I do see it, more and more. I love the fact that God loves us enough that he brings us to a place, or allows us to wander to a place- where we see first hand that we are God-dependant. He wants us to seek Him for our needs, and regularly. I have prayed a lot of times in my life for needs that I had, often financial ones. To date, I have not had a winning lottery ticket magically blow in the window and land on my bed as I was kneeling there in prayer. As much as I may think that would be great, that has not been my experience of God's provision, but I have seen God's provision! Just not in the ways I may dream of. Usually He provides in ways I don't anticipate. Sometimes He also provides in ways I don't appreciate, at least not the way I should. Living and working much of my life as a full time missionary, I often don't have the ability to go get a job and live off it. At times I have, but right now, as I am living on a ship in the US, it would be both impossible time-wise (As I work more than full time and am liable to sail away anytime) as well as illegal. As a Canadian, I can't just go get a job here anyways. So living here, and doing what I am doing, I see very clearly that I am reliant on God's provision. Believe me, when I go online to check my bank account, I am praying! I know that I have certain financial obligations, but I also know that by my works, I cannot fulfill them. My options are to 1.) Drop what I am doing, leave here and return to Canada and do something else, or 2.) Trust God for a miracle. The deciding factor is that I really believe this is where I am supposed to be. I cannot think of anything in the world I would would rather be doing, or anywhere I would rather be. I felt clearly for a long time that I needed to get back here doing this sort of thing, and I am happier and more at peace right now than I can remember being. I love my job, I love this ministry, and more than anything I love what God is doing inside of me. I love the Peace that He has brought me. I am excited about getting the Mersea ready for sea and I am excited about taking the Hope to Nevis in May. I am excited that it looks as though I will have the opportunity to sail as 3rd mate. That is so cool. It's totally in God's hands if it does happen but I am excited, it's something I have wanted to do since I was in my teens. I remember how many people shared with me pictures or words the Lord gave them for me before I came down here, and almost all of them had to do with me being on a ship, at the helm, up the mast or in the chartroom. In most of those cases the people told me they saw rough waters coming, but the Lord was there with me, and His Peace was all around. It is so exciting to be here, to see these things happening. The Lord led me to a church here that I love, and it has been such a blessing to me. This morning they didn't even preach or anything, just worship. It was so awesome. So what am I gonna do? I'm going to serve the Lord. I'm going to do what He has brought me here to do, and I just pray all the time that my very life would be a living sacrifice to Him. I pray that every word I speak, every action I make would honor Him, would please Him. And I know that my God is fully able to provide for all of my needs, whatever they may be.

Back at it.

Well I had a great time during my trip back to Canada for Christmas. It was good to spend time with family and friends both in Manitoba and B.C. I am sorry though that I have not updated this blog while I was away. The trip North was good but a few deteriorating car parts and lack of a block heater cost me a lot upon my arrival back in Winnipeg. Then the trip West to B.C. was smooth quiet and uneventful. The last day I had meant to stay in 100 Mile House the car decided it had had it and started acting up big time so needless to say it is buried in the snow in my parents backyard now and I'm not going to comment on weather it will ever run again. Not anytime soon anyhow. I bought that car anticipating big financial savings on fuel, but what I have saved there has been dwarfed by the well over $10,000 the thing has cost me in parts and maintenance. That is especially encouraging when I think about the fact that it is now basically inoperable without a lot more major work being done on it. So anyways after about 80 hours of Greyhounds and Greyhound stations I finally got back to Louisiana and the ship at Port Mercy. Then after a shower and some lunch it was straight to work... The news was my ship may be going out on a bareboat charter for an indefinite period of time and inspectors were due the next morning to check it out. As of now I have not heard weather the charter is happening but either way we have lots of work to do on it both outside and in for use either by us or anyone else. Interior work we've done has included a total remodel of one end of the mess hall (A former cabin had been partially removed and we turned it into an extension of the mess hall.) One cabin has been completely redone and another couple are coming up next. I've done a bunch of repairs and or alterations to the electrical power in the cabins we are working in and odds and ends of little projects throughout the ship. On the deck side we have been chipping rust and repainting the ship as weather allows. It's kind of rainy here this time of year. I welded some new railings on the Starboard side quarter deck and have patched cut and repaired other railings, drains and rusty places on deck. One blessing we have is almost everything I have been involved in installing on the Mer Sea we have salvaged from the Shalom, an old Canadian Coast Guard research vessel we have and are parting out. I enjoy seeing the stuff we are salvaging put to use right away on the Mer Sea and our other vessels. So far we have been able to reuse tables, chairs, beds (bunks), shelving, bulkhead sections, outside deck railings, wiring and electrical components, ceiling tiles and probably other things I can't think of right now. I believe we are going to be able to install Shalom's gyro pilot automatic steering system as well. Down in the engine room the engineers have replaced one of the Detroit 6v71 Diesel generators and are working on the exciters for the main propulsion generators as well as some electrical improvements, breakers and circuitry. Although we still have a lot of work to do it is really encouraging to see the progress that is being made. It it miraculous really considering how understaffed we are compared to where I would like to see us for the jobs we have to do. Right now as bosun I am the only full time deck hand we have, there are two students who work 6 hours a day as well, one carpenter and the Captain- that is our entire current deck dept for all five ships we have here. I am glad to have been able to focus almost exclusively on the Mer Sea, otherwise it would be too overwhelming. At some point though I expect that could change though as the current plan is for the Hope to be the vessel used for the Spring outreach scheduled in late March or April. I don't know much on that though including where that outreach will be to or weather I will be sailing. Right now I'm just focused on getting the Mer Sea up to par. It's all good though.

Canada or Bust

Just to let you all know what's up I will be back in Winnipeg at the end of this week then 100 Mile House B.C. for Christmas... This was a fairly quick decision but one I'm happy with. After that I do plan to return to Friendships again. There is no shortage of work here. Believe me. So having said that I would like to ask for prayer as it will mean a lot of driving. And to be honest my car's not the newest model around! Thanks. Jacob

He is no fool...

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -Jim Elliot

Nov. 1st, 2007

Just a bit of an update here... Lately the things I've been doing have been centered around the Mer Sea, lots of projects which involve greasing, fixing, chipping rust, painting and welding, in no particular order. I enjoy the jobs which involve creativity in fabricating new parts especially, and of course putting the last coat of paint on something and standing back to look at how nice it looks, all gleaming nicely. We put a shore boat up in the old Stbd lifeboat davit. Now the cradle needs to be adjusted to fit it but it will w0rk nicely when done. The boat will be used to bring our crew and cargo ashore in places we are unable to tie the ship up to a wharf (like for example remote villages up a river in Central America or the Caribbean). Slowly the ship is really starting to come together and look really good. All the safety systems have been gone over, fire lockers organized, painted and everything logged properly so future crew does not have to wonder how something works or if we even have the parts to operate it. I feel very satisfied with the progress we have made. I have attended a local Vineyard church here which I really like but obviously it is not like home. I do miss my Winnipeg church and moreover my friends that were part of my life there. But that having been said, otherwise I like it here. The weather here has been cool for a week or so but has warmed up again this week. Shorts are still very comfortable. My car had been acting up for a while, problems related to overheating. After a new water pump, thermostat and of corse several hours under the hood with very black oily hands, I did get it back to where it seems to think it will run. Then on Sunday it didn't want to change gears, but oh well. I bought it some new transmission fluid and coaxed it a bit and then it offered me the use of the gears back. You don't want to drive too far in first gear only.

Mer Sea

What an incredible adventure this life is. Okay sometimes monotonous, but really pretty cool. Well as long as you are an adjustable adaptable person who can either follow a plan or have the plan thrown out from under him and still keep plugging along. This last month or so has seen me move to the US, sail a ship to no place in particular, and get thrown in the back of a police car. Oh yes, and I now write this on my second day off since arriving here. I arrived at Port Mercy in Lake Charles, Louisiana after a three day drive in my 32 year old Mercedes. The car ran ok for the most part although it likes to stall at times if you have recently stopped for fuel or something. Anyways I got here in the middle of a big push to get the Hope ready for a planned trip to the East Indies and Honduras, while the Mer Sea was also being prepared for a trip a couple weeks later to Nicaragua and Honduras. I was assigned as Bosun on the Mer Sea, which was great. We got the hope ready to sail, and when she left I drove a few miles to the Interstate 10 bridge which the Hope had to pass under on her way to the sea. I parked in a parking lot near the end of the bridge and walked about 2/3 of the way up the bridge which I figured was a great vantage point to photograph the ship as she passed. The problem is, apparently, you are not allowed to walk on Interstates or bridges on Interstates. So here I am, on the sidewalk, waiting for the ship to get closer, when three police cars fly up and flash on their lights and stop and the guys jump out and grab me, make me bend over the hood of their car while they frisk me and then make me get into the back of the first car. I'm glad I have a laid-back enough nature to see the humor in this, as I just laughed to myself rather than get worried. After driving me off the bridge and checking my ID's they explained the rules of Interstates to me. I guess they thought I was going to jump off or something, but then realized the truth when I told them my story and showed them my camara. I'm just glad it happened in the free-est country in the world. I'd hate to think what they might do to you in less free countries if they caught you walking on a sidewalk on a bridge! Lord Forbid! It was funny though the cop pointed and said "See, there is... well there was a sign there that said no trespassing." Oh well. Life goes on. So the Hope got about four days out and suffered serious damage to her main propulsion motor, a giant 65 year old DC electric motor which was irreperable at sea, and the decision was made that proceeding on the mission at that time would be unwise as they could only make 2-4 knots and instead they came about and made for Port Mercy. We at that point temporarily abandoned our plan for the upcoming Nicaragua trip to prepare the Mer Sea to head out and escort the Hope back to Port Mercy. We finished up a few projects and got her ready, heading out for "Sea Trials" which indeed they proved to be. Mer Sea had trouble with the computer that regulates the governor on the Ship Service generator, and since the other generator was apart for being rebuilt prior to the mission, we ended up anchoring for a few days while our engineers sussed that out, jury rigged a temporary solution and waited for the Hope to reach us. By the third day we had the Mer Sea power situation worked out and the Hope made it to within 40 miles of us when her main motor finally gave up, so we proceeded at out best (under the circumstances) speed to her position and took her under tow. We could only run our main motor at a fairly slow speed though due to a burned out fan that cools it, which we had also jury rigged while at anchor (every portable fan on the ship was comandeered for the main DC Motor). After getting back to the vicinity of the mouth of the river we anchored for another day and a half to better fix our jury rigs and then proceeded up the river, with the Hope in tow, at 2 knots. A mile or so in we were pushing less current and made better time, up to 4-5 knots the rest of the way home. So now we are back here at Port Mercy, with the reality that the Hope will not sail again for at least the next few months, and the Mer Sea needs a lot of TLC and will likely be our main ship for the next while. So all the planned outreaches have been postponed to next spring, probably to be carried out by the Mer Sea. So as far as I know now I will be here at Port Mercy until next spring when we sail, with the planned outreaches to Nicaragua, Honduras and Nevis Island. But as I said at the start of this, flexibility is key here as plans are subject to change until they are in the past tense. Oh, and my car broke down.