Day 7: Grande-Anse, NB to Caraquet, NB

The wind was significantly lighter today, though the weather was still sort of dreary and cool. In the area around Grande-Anse there are some fairly high cliffs and interesting rock formations. So there was a little bit of sightseeing to do as well as praying. I think I was slowed down a bit by the scenery because it seemed to take a long time to reach Maisonnette Point. The point is a dividing line between the relatively straight coast which faces directly on the Bay of Chaleurs and the many inlets and harbors that are further to the south and east. At the wharf in the village of Anse-Bleue, I was able to talk briefly with a wharf worker named Fernande though didn’t find any way to share the Gospel. I had a while of rain to go through between Anse-Bleue and Maisonette, and then the skies lightened.

The park (not open yet for the season) at Maisonette Point was a fairly windy place to eat some lunch in a gazebo that didn’t really block the wind. With the rising tide, I had to go pull the kayak up farther about three times. On one of those trips I managed to give away a tract. They seemed to think I was moderately interesting when I first spoke to them. But they looked at me like some strange creature from another planet once I gave them the tract!

Since I was dreading going almost all the way down to Caraquet to get around the sand bar, I decided to try to sneak over it at the first point where I saw the rising tidal waters flowing across. I managed to make it over half way across before the water got too shallow. So I had to end up walking for a little bit until the water deepened to a half foot or so. It was actually kind of nice and interesting. I’d decided just to go part way into Caraquet Bay before turning south to the Sainte-Anne-de-Bocage area. On the north side of the bay, Oyster Point had great views all around of the areas surrounding the bay, including much of Caraquet.

My plan was to get to Sainte-Anne-de-Bocage around the time that the tide would turn so that I could have a good strong current pushing me back east to Caraquet. Shortly after I slipped under the NB Trail bridge at Sainte-Anne-de-Bocage, I noticed a car stop on the road. Soon I realized that it was my host, Donat-Luc, from last night. He had just gotten off work in Caraquet and had decided to check up on me. So his timing was perfect, but I was slightly concerned that the tidal current was clearly still coming in. As I was mentioning this to him, I noticed a slight outgoing current. The tide turned just in time! God is so good! So I was able to ride a gradually accelerating current to Caraquet. When my host for the night took my picture coming in to land at the Carrefour de la Mer, the time stamp from the camera was 7:29 pm, one minute early! Yes, God is wonderful!

As I was working to get the kayak loaded up, the pastor of the church in Pokemouche showed up. We had already spent a time of prayer for Caraquet, but talked her into coming to the cottage to talk and pray some more. It was really encouraging to hear of some of the things the Pokemouche church has been doing over the last several years, including prayer-walking and praying for each of the communities of the Acadian Peninsula. It was also a nice surprise that my host for the night was born in my birth country of Kenya.

Partner churches: Eglise Chretienne Evangelique Baptiste de Tracadie, Evangel Pentecostal Church, Eglise Evangelique de la Pentecote

Day 6: Bathurst, NB to Grande-Anse, NB

Well, I knew the weather was supposed to be bad today, but figured I’d see what I could do anyway. At least it wasn’t blowing quite as hard as yesterday. After carrying everything across the road from my in-laws’ house, I headed out across the Bathurst Harbour. Since the tide was going out, I had a fun wild ride against the wind and waves past Youghall Point into the Bay of Chaleurs. I managed to keep making progress with help from what was left of the current. Although the wind was blowing around 20 kt or so, I figured I was managing OK and making some progress. As I went out to go around Belloni Point to Salmon Beach though, things went downhill. Thanks to the wind and waves, I found that I was struggling to make even 1 kt. As some of the waves built to 3 or 4 feet, one breaking over my head got salt spray in my right eye. I thought it would wash out quickly, but the eye progressively got more troublesome. Once I finally felt I could reach the range light on the other side of the point, I decided I needed to try to make it into shore to evaluate my situation. By this time I was having to paddle with one eye open most of the time, which made things much harder. After a slightly sloppy landing, I decided that there was no point in going on. If I couldn’t go faster, then I wouldn’t even be able to make it to Stonehaven. Not to mention that it wasn’t very practical to try to pray for the communities while I was giving my all just to fight off the waves. The final straw though was really my eye, which obviously needed some time away from salt water.

So I called my wife to see if she could come get me any time soon. Because of other things going on, it wasn't exactly all that “soon”, but she did bring a donut and cappuccino to soothe my exhausted and rain-socked body. Although it was disappointing not to get to paddle the rest of the way from Salmon Beach to Grande-Anse, it actually worked out good in some ways. In particular, I had some time to do some things online and to buy some waterproofing sealant for the tent. And I was still able to meet up with some believers in Grande-Anse for prayer. I was also offered a place to stay for the night.

Partner churches: Assemblee Evangelique Baptiste Nepisiguit, Eglise Chretienne Evangelique Baptiste de Tracadie

Day 5: Bathurst, NB

For Father’s Day, I got to spend some time with my family, including my father-in-law. We went to the Sunday school and morning service at Gospel Light Baptist Church. After a quick lunch, I rushed back into town for the 2:00 pm worship service at Assemblee Evangelique Baptiste Nepisiguit. I was invited to speak for about 10 minutes following the sermon. It was good to be back to the church after visiting last summer. I think I probably went beyond my allotted time, but felt that my words on “The Passion of the Church” and the PrayerPaddle were well-received. Although my ability to follow a sermon in French is quite pitiful, the French praise songs on Powerpoint were quite a blessing.

Although it was a day to rest, the evening did end up somewhat long and stressful as I worked on getting all my stuff rearranged and packed to head out away from Bathurst. Logistical arrangements are coming together for the next few days, though the weather is not looking very summer-like. Problems at work back in Mississippi also came up that will have to be dealt with. And I’m praying for a quick recovery to full health for Kevin Vance before he comes up in a few days.

Partner churches: Assemblee Evangelique Baptiste Nepisiguit

Day 4: Petit-Rocher, NB to Bathurst, NB

Today was supposed to be the easy day, and in some sense it was. I only covered about half the mileage of yesterday, but had lots of rain to deal with. It started as a light drizzle last night, and continued with varying intensity all day. By the time I was getting up in the morning, I had puddles in the tent. So I had to put away the wet tent and sleeping bag along with everything else. I also still had to figure out arrangements for moving the car. Though I got a late start, it was easy to make up since I had scheduled long stops. It didn’t take long to discover that it was not only rainy but relatively windy and wavy. The roughest conditions, with waves and swell of a couple feet, were in the area of the Petit-Rocher wharf.

Poor visibility, raindrops on my face, and more challenging paddling made it more difficult to concentrate on praying specifically for the homes that I was passing by. Most of the time there were pretty much continuous houses, cottages, and campers along the shore as I got into the most populated section of the Bay of Chaleurs. I figured that I would make it to my destination on Youghall Beach at least 30 minutes late, but was shocked when I pulled the kayak onto the beach and looked at my watch. I was 32 seconds early! Wow, it’s amazing when God provides in little things like that. We had hoped to have a sizable gathering to pray for Bathurst and have a barbeque, but the miserable weather was not conducive to crowds. Nevertheless there were four (all lay people) who did come out to pray, in addition to the three people who I had prayed with at lunchtime in Beresford.

Although I was a little disappointed that the weather did not clear up for the meeting on Youghall Beach, it occurred to me that it was symbolic of the spiritual darkness that especially seems to pervade the area and of the spiritual battle that we need to be engaged in daily. At one point, I was talking to the Lord about how I realized that there was a spiritual battle all around me. But then I restated it that the battle was mostly to my right, where the land was. The “prizes” in spiritual warfare are not fish and lobsters and ocean water, but the souls of people created in the image of God. People who are held captive to the enemy by false religion, self-righteousness, ignorance, and self-gratification.

Tonight I get to stay with my in-laws and my wife and kids. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to dry out the camping gear and get organized for the next week. It will of course be hard as I start going away from where my family is.

Partner churches: Centre Evangelique de Beresford, Assemblee Evangelique Baptiste Nepisiguit, Evangel Pentecostal Church

Day 3: Nash Creek, NB to Petit-Rocher, NB

Today’s late start of one hour had a good excuse: a hearty hot breakfast with my hosts. Thanks to being able to launch from their cottage, my 24 mile paddle was shortened to only 23 miles. Providentially, I also had the help of cooler weather and a good helpful breeze. So I made decent time and was even comfortable a good bit of the time. I really started dragging during the last few miles though. My greatest fatigue was in my legs and in my pray-er. In the more populated sections toward the end, there were just SO many households to pray for. I also saw more fishing boats, people on the beach, etc. today. I’ve seen the boat Stormin’ Norman multiple times now. I’ve definitely gotten more into lobster territory now, with some areas pretty thoroughly decorated with marker buoys for the traps. I sure can’t figure out any pattern though to what makes one area good for lobster compared to another. On the other hand, I did confirm that the water temperature has gone down quite about since I left the Restigouche area, from the low 60s to the mid-50s now. Another interesting part of today’s paddle was going around and past the huge industrial area at the Port of Belledune.

I didn’t know whether anyone would be meeting up to pray with me today. So it was a pleasant surprise when I saw someone waving me in at Little Belledune (Roherty) Point. Instead of being someone from nearby, it was a medical student working in Campbellton who had emailed me the previous week about her interest in the PrayerPaddle and used her day off to come down and pray. Amazingly, we discovered that she had visited my university in Mississippi for a biology competition. We had some good fellowship and prayer for the area.

Tomorrow will be a much shorter paddle, though with a forecast of rain. Since my toe that got injured on the first day has gotten more painful, I’m hoping the easier schedule and some medicine will help to bring down the swelling some.

Partner churches: Full Gospel Country Church, Victory Lighthouse Church, Gateway Assembly

Day 2: Dalhousie, NB to Nash Creek, NB

The morning forecast called for more hot weather, but with significant wind from the southwest. They even claimed that the wind would reach over 20 kt and require a high wind warning. I couldn’t see how they came up with that last part, and knew that I would be relatively sheltered from southwest winds anyway. So I wasn’t too concerned.

I was met at Eel River Bar by one of the pastors from yesterday, as well as the two men shuttling my car. After eating some hot breakfast that they brought me, we prayed for the Eel River Band of Micmacs and the town of Charlo. Then I went on my way. Somehow I never did feel much energy for paddling today, partly because I was going against a current. There was more of a breeze today and it didn’t seem quite as hot, but it never clouded up and the winds were never more than about 7 kt. In other words, a beautiful day, but still on the warm side. I made a couple interesting side trips to break from the burden of intercession by going over to Heron Island and by paddling up to what was probably the mill dam that the community of New Mills is named after.

It’s hard to grasp the fact that from Dalhousie down almost to Bathurst there is only one evangelical church. This morning I did manage to break through my French shyness enough to hand out a tract to one person. Although I didn’t have anyone to pray with during my lunch stop at New Mills, I am blessed by the offer of a Christian brother to let me stay at his cottage on the water tonight instead of my planned campground. And again I enjoyed fellowship over dinner. And I’m wondering how I will manage the long 24 mile paddle that is planned for tomorrow. Hopefully the currents and weather will help out some.

Partner churches: Victory Lighthouse Church, Full Gospel Country Church

Day 1: Tide Head, NB to Dalhousie, NB

After getting up very early, I made the drive up from Bathurst to my starting point in Tide Head. I arrived about 10 minutes after my planned start time and actually began paddling about an hour later. In the first few miles, I ran into trouble as I grounded in shallow water before getting out of the river, bumped into multiple submerged logs, and then popped off one of the foot pegs. Not wanting to paddle a long time with no foot peg or rudder capability, I was relieved at my first stop to be able to get the foot peg back on the rudder assembly. In theory, it was a great day for paddling, with warm temperatures and a light wind at my back. In reality, much of the time it was downright hot. Some rain showers later in the day helped, though the pain of the miles really wore on as I got up around 20 miles. The most aggravating part was that the coastline is straight enough that for well over 10 miles I could only guess at how much progress I’d actually made. Views of the surrounding mountains and beaches were great, but harder to appreciate over time.

The first stop was at Listuguj First Nation in Quebec. Besides my late start, we had some confusion because Quebec is on Eastern time. We had a group of three pastors and a couple of lay people, including one man from Listuguj. Although the work there is struggling, it was where the most recent translation of the New Testament was done several years ago and the area is full of cues to the Gospel: 1) I landed at Mission Point (Pointe de la Mission); 2) the adjoining town is Pointe de la Croix (Cross Point); 3) it looks out to the large bridge from Campbellton across the Restigouche “River”; 4) from a certain angle on the water the gaps between trees formed a cross that I can’t imagine being humanly engineered; etc. Across the river, I met a little later with some of the same men to pray for Campbellton. Then I set out on the long long 18 mile paddle to Dalhousie. And the men took care of arrangements for getting my car down to the campground.

As tired as I was, I ended up reaching Inch Arran Park in Dalhousie about 40 minutes early. After moving my things to a campsite and changing to more presentable clothing, the people from Victory Lighthouse Church took me out to eat, to fellowship, and to pray at their church. To get some idea of the ministry challenges, the churches partnering with me in the area are averaging somewhere on the order of only ten members. Now it’s time to get some sleep. I’m guessing that over 200 households were prayed for specifically today, as well as most of the local churches. In some ways, the extended intercession seems almost as exhausting as the paddling. But it must be done, in some form or fashion.

Partner churches: Eglise Baptiste Chaleur, Campbellton Victory Outreach, and Victory Lighthouse Church