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.

Port Mercy...

I'll just post a short note here to let everybody know I arrived at Port Mercy safe and well last night. My old car made the 1600 mile journey without any issues. Pretty good for a 30+ year old car! Today I got settled in a bit, stripped a couple radar units and welded some kleats for the Mer Sea's shore Launch. It's cool to be back doing this stuff. The Hope and Mer Sea should be sailing both in about a week, the Hope for Nevis Island in the East Indies, and the Mer Sea for the Mosquito Coast in northern Nicaragua, to respond to the devastation of the recent Hurricane Felix. It is then planned for both ships to head to Roatan Island in Honduras. I will post more when I know which ship I am on. It looks like it will be the Hope. Whichever I am on though it will be fine. Thank you all for your prayers and God Bless. Jacob

Funny, That...

"God is the God of the 11th hour..." I've heard that a lot lately. One friend added the other day, "God is the God of the 11th hour and 59th minute..." It is so true. As I go about the details of preparing to go down with Friendships, I have a tendency to want to start worrying about all these things... How can I afford this, will this sell in time, What about this, and that, etc. This morning though I went and sat down at Timmy's for a while and thought and prayed about things over a coffee. I like to do that. And I just really felt God's presence there. And you know, I just really had this sense that He wasn't worried about all those details. He knows my needs, before I even ask Him. And I have been asking. And I really believe that what I am doing and how I am going about it is in obedience to what I feel Him leading me in. And He is God. Jehova Jireh, God our provider. Even as I am here right now, thinking well I was supposed to be going today, well I just have this sense that a man makes his plans and the Lord determines His steps. Maybe there's a couple more things I need to do here before I go. Well a couple other than just cleaning up my apartment. I know That needs doing. I better get to it!

Friendships- Hurricane Felix

Well if you've read earlier episodes here you know I have been praying about going down again to serve with Friendships for quite a while now. The date is set, I head down there this Friday, Sept 14th. The plan that has been in effect is to sail Oct. 1st on the Hope, visiting St. Kitts and Nevis in the East Indies followed by Honduras and possibly Haiti. Now, with the recent destruction of Nicaragua as a result of Hurricane Felix, They are looking very seriously at heading there with the Mer Sea. I will post info on that as soon as I have any. Here is a quote I just brought from the Friendships website:

Report just in from one of the areas greatly affected by the recent Hurricane Felix:

"Our People Miskito Indians, including so many of my relatives died with horrible hurricane Felix category 5, hit directly to the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua 3 days ago. Now estimated about 3,000 died or disappeared. Entire villages disappeared, including their domestic animals, farms, domestic fruit trees, dead animals, human dead body everywhere. Almost 90% villages with nothing to sleep, nor food, nor clothing. Severe critical health risk."

Anyways I will be down there serving Friendships regardless of what we do or which ship and/or mission I am on. I want to ask everyone reading this to please pray for the people affected by this disaster and also pray for me as I go about final details in preparation to go. Please also pray for Friendships, in that all details would be smooth in preperation for these outreaches, that we would have the crew God appoints for both ships and the finances needed for fuel and whatever for the ships. My plan is to drive down on Friday, but if I am able to sell both my cars I will take the bus. Either way, I am just praying it would be God's will. If the door opens for me to be able to afford to keep one of the cars that would be an awesome blessing, But my prayer is for God's will to be workd out in this. I am happy to take the bus if need be. Please check out friendships website for more info on what we will be doing: http://www.friendships.org I would like prayer also for the finances I will need for this trip, as it is a 100% volunteer run ministry, we are each responsible to raise our own support costs for living and working on the ships. Thank you and God Bless!

Jacob