A lot has been going on lately! I've made some good contacts with people in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. I can also see the finances for the PrayerPaddle starting to come together now. Although I can't say that all the expenses are covered yet, I have been able to confirm some funding from the Canadian National Baptist Convention and from the Mississippi Baptist Convention. People from my church have also helped out with the equipment needs from the Wish List. My biggest concern right now is lining up volunteers. Right now I only have people confirmed to cover about 3 1/2 of the 8 weeks. This is really important both for me to be able to make my way along the coast and for the objectives of the PrayerPaddle to be met. Please pray for workers with a servant heart and a passion for the Church!
I've noticed something pretty amazing about my walk with the Lord. No matter how miraculously and mightily God moves and provides and confirms things, I always still manage to find a way to doubt His provision for my next need. I know that He will be just as able to help me tomorrow as He was yesterday. I know that His character will not change or allow Him to turn His back on me. Logically, there are so many reasons for me to trust Him completely, and yet doubts and worries always seem to spring back. Does anybody else have this problem? I guess if doubts and worries are to be my constant companions, then faith is simply to keep on keeping on the path regardless of their heckling.
This last week was the Spring Break for us. We were thrown off a bit during the first few days by the death of a dear lady from church who blessed our family immensely by the many times that she spent with the little ones in the nursery. We rejoice for her being in the presence of her Lord, but yet she will be deeply missed. We did manage to get our family away for a couple days of camping, sightseeing, and fishing. The timing worked out for some beautiful weather and a providential meeting with some Christian homeschooling families from Eldorado, Arkansas. We also spent a couple days working on paperwork: income taxes and passports for everyone. For our family, the new travel requirements effective in June meant spending around $500 in passport fees. Yuck!
And then on Friday and Saturday I went down to the Coast for an overnight trip in the kayak. I paddled out to Horn Island, about nine miles offshore, by way of a couple other islands. The longest open crossing is about five miles. It was a valuable training trip out to a beautiful uninhabited barrier island, with a few mistakes to learn from of course. The paddle out to Horn went pretty smoothly, I got a little practice with surf launches and landings on the Gulf side, and I was able to cook a hot meal over a small fire. But the winds picked up overnight, and it was clear that my return trip would not be so easy. After about 4 1/2 hours of strenuous paddling against 15 knot winds and 3 foot whitecapping waves (plus a couple hours of rest stops on the other islands), I was pretty worn out upon reaching the mainland. I also had my hands and nose burnt to a crisp since the sunscreen bottle that I took barely had enough left to cover me for one day. Although it seemed that every muscle in my body was in agony when I finally got home last night at 10:20, I was amazed to find that I felt great this morning other than the sunburn. Even though contrary winds and waves are always a potential threat or annoyance for sea kayaking, the good news is that there are only a few cases along the PrayerPaddle itinerary where such long open water crossings will be required. Nevertheless, it's obvious that this is not going to be easy.
One more quick note. The book that I'm in now is called "A Time for Heroes". Although cast against the days in the mid-80's when Communism/Marxism was still a global threat to the Church, it remains a remarkably challenging book. Brother Andrew takes the lives of nine Biblical "heroes" and compares them to how God has worked through modern day heroes of the faith. And then he challenges believers to consider applications to their lives. To your life. To my life. Don't think you're cut out to be a hero? Why not? Did God say so? Or did the devil say so? Or do we not have a clear enough concept of what a real hero is?
