The Short Version

Selah is back in the water. After almost 8 months on dry land, we finally “splashed” and brought Selah back to Elizabeth City in June. 

Our bottom job took longer than expected due to the discovery of blisters on the hull. I won’t bore you with the science behind blisters. But they do involve popping and filling. And added more steps to our process 

We also applied a whopping 10 coats of paint to the boat. In a couple of fun colors. This would be barrier coat, ablative and topside for those boat people. Please appreciate our white shinny paint here *bling bling*

We also replaced 4 thru hulls, our transducer, the zinc, the cutlass bearing and got the propeller balanced and coated. This has been a HUGE project and although we have been blessed by two temporary housing situations here in Elizabeth City while Selah was out of the water. Not being with the boat meant that any boat work day started and ended with an hour and a half drive to the boat yard. We were blessed though with several friends who made this drive with us, most making multiple trips to work along side us.

In just a few short weeks, we will be done in our current house and will move back onto Selah. Since she’s been back in Elizabeth City we’ve been working to rebuild the bathroom that we had to remove in order to make structural repairs to the back bulkhead last fall. You may remember these photos…

 …That have now become this! Our new shower (sorry, tight spaces are hard to photograph. Just pretend your Joanna Gaines with me and envision this painted in that same shiny white paint – more *bling bling*

Our current temporary home has a great garage space that has allowed for other boat projects to brought home with us. We are also currently revamping our composting toilet, building a 45 gallon fresh water tank that will feed our shower, replacing 25 ft of broken zippers on our bimini, and sewing covers for our couch cushions.

Between the bottom job and all these smaller boat projects we can feel our confidence as boaters grow. Living aboard old sailboats is more like being an off grid handyman than we ever anticipated. But God has used all these projects to teach us so much and we can see how far we’ve come in our competency to maintain and repair our boat.

Pictured above – the water tank build and Laura hovering over the drive shaft in an effort to reinforce the floor supports before building the new shower stall.

The kids have been enjoying lots of time on the water. Everyone was excited when it came time to drop our dinghy back in the water (Rielle, right, takes a turn at the tiller) and the whole family got to enjoy the local sailing camp (Everett, left, enjoying an afternoon of camp)

Wanting to get all these projects wrapped up before we are back living on the boat, it’s been a struggle to make time to sail and take people out this summer. But on the 4th, we decided it was high time for a break, and took out 4 families from our local church

You may remember our mention of a JAARS training vessel that Maritime Ministires will house and run out of Elizabeth City, this vessel, Elyon, also arrived in town at the beginning of the summer. JAARS has use for boats and qualified mariners in Papua New Guinea, where they regularly transport Bible Translators and missionaries to remote island communities.

The Long Version

It’s been admittedly a hard season for us. After doing so much work to the boat before our last big trip south, it has been a fight to not be disappointed to put the boat back into construction mode so soon. Aaron has also had some health concerns related to chronic ear problems. After noticing reduced hearing in one ear, a CAT scan revealed he had a hole in the thin bone that separates your inner ear from your brain. Figuring out the seriousness of this situation and how it might play into his hearing loss has been a bumpy road to travel down. In a season of living in normal housing again and Aaron’s seminary courses taking his attention off of boat life for a season, it’s been a season of doubting if this is all really leading were we think it is. One of our biggest fears in this journey has been that all this boat stuff has been more about God refining Aaron and Laura then it has been about doing missions work with sailboats. But through months of wrestling and one of the most intense seasons of our lives, we feel like God is saying, “Yes!…This boat work has been about refining you and working on your hearts, and Yes too! I do have things for you to do with this boat, this is bigger than you, and I have called you out onto the waters with me!” 

There are still more unknowns than knowns in this journey. Aaron and I have a desire to encourage the body of Christ and a pull to go back to the Bahamas and specifically the Abaco region. This winter we plan to journey south again, and although our first journey south was more training than missional, we long for this upcoming trip to be more missional than training. 

This month Maritime Ministires has granted Aaron and I 40% ownership of Selah, with the plan to release full ownership to us once we are fully funded. The past 4 years God has provided for us through our own resources and work and from the support of close friends and family, but we feel God is leading us now to seek out more supporters who will join us and help us continue to pursue this calling. We know sailboats and missions are an unusual pairing and you probably have lots of questions..

In early 2022 when we had our first conversation with Dan, our director, he said a statement which shook my world, “I think you’re the family we’ve been praying for!” In the midst of feeling lost, living in the RV in the aftermath of 2020, everything suddenly looked up, looked different. If this man was right and we were the answer to his organizations prayers for caretakers of an old missions boat, then my life made sense. It all made sense. Living in the RV, all it had taught us, was for a purpose, it was preparation. I was all in! God gave us an open door and I couldn’t wait to run through it!

We believe living and working on the boat, all it has taught us, has been for a purpose too, it has been preparation. We are often scared at what may lay ahead, but we are all in. We know God will give us an open door and we want to be ready to run through it.

We are currently 30% funded, and are hoping to be fully funded before heading out again late this fall. If you’re interested in supporting us monthly we’d love to share more with you. We’d also love to share more with you even if you don’t feel compelled to support us monthly. We have started sending out more regular email updates to our supporters. If you’d be willing to lift up our family in prayer or if you just want to hear more, more often then please use the contact form below to let us know how you’d like to be more involved.

As always thanks for following along on our journey

Laura 

You can sign up to support us using the link above – or – use the form below to let us know If you wish to be added to our more regular, supporter email updates or if you would like us reach out to you to share more info.

Boat storms

Yesterday we experienced our first storm on the water. What started out as a nice warm sunny day motoring one of the ministry’s smaller sailboats out to our favorite local anchorage for a swim was interrupted by the sound of thunder in the distance. We quickly decided that swim time was over and swam back to the boat to head home. But the distant dark clouds got darker and increasingly closer. With the clouds rolling in from the direction we needed to go, we were unsure of what to do. We initially decided to head away from home and let it pass over, west of us, but we weren’t fast enough. Things escalated rather quickly as the concern went from the theoretical danger of lightning and the discomfort of driving home in the rain to the actual danger of bigger and bigger waves and strengthening winds. At this point, the kids and I were safe and dry below deck, but Aaron, at the helm, was already soaking wet and decided to just head straight into the storm and try to get home, but the winds blew strong and he didn’t feel like we were making any headway. The waves came rolling in big. Only able to see a hundred feet in any direction he was finding it hard to really know where we were headed. He tried to look for the channel markers, only to realize the wind was no match for the sailboat’s small motor and he was getting too close to the edge. The kids and I down below all the while getting a good rocking. Luckily the boat had just had overnight visitors aboard, so the dinette booth below had been converted into a spacious bed complete with pillows and blankets. It made for a great spot to comfort three kids who were getting an unwanted lesson in storms on boats. 

Realizing it was pointless to try to get anywhere, Aaron spotted a little cove along the bank of the river and called for me to come take the helm while he threw the anchor overboard and halted our movement. It was the turning point and our biggest take away from the day. If caught in a storm, don’t try to outrun it, or against it, best to throw your anchor, and wait.

I’m embarrassed to say that it’s almost been a year since I last wrote. Our last year here in North Carolina has been really challenging. I’ve wanted to write for months but I always love to share more than the surface level highlight reel, yet at the same time when you are going through something, when you’re in the midst of the storm, it can be difficult to see more than a hundred feet in any direction. Sometimes it’s hard to know where you’re really headed.

So a few weeks ago I created a highlight reel for you guys. Fun pictures of us getting to use our boat this summer here in Elizabeth City. Finally getting that bulkhead rebuilt. The kids at sailing camp. Yay us…and although none of it is false, there was a deeper truth I wasn’t sure how to communicate until the storm. As Aaron and I reflected back on the storm the next day, it became clear that the storm was the perfect parallel to what we feel like we have experienced here.

Life storms

It started out as a nice warm fun first summer here. We were excited to learn and get to work on the boat. But slowly the clouds grew dark in the distance, as we got a sinking feeling that this was not a simple, six month project. We were quickly feeling in over our heads when it came to the amount of work the boat really needed. Unsure of what to do, we decided initially to outrun the storm. We doubted whether this was really for us to do. Maybe another boat would be better. Maybe we weren’t headed in the direction we thought. In the meantime, Aaron became the dorm dad at the college and he poured himself into the lives of the college guys here and it was neat to watch as God renewed a tender heart in him for the young men, not in a distant land, but in his own.

But the boat was still there, and slowly, little by little we realized she was still meant for us. And slowly little by little we realized our suspicions were right. She would need to be torn apart before she could be rebuilt.

And so, into the storm we went. “Ok, let’s get this boat done, let’s do this! Let’s create timelines and plans. Let’s figure this out. If hard work can get it done, then I’m your lady”…or so I thought. Days of “can do” attitude were often short lived as we stepped forward, only to find the wind push us back two steps. Discovering more problems. Thinking we’ve come up with solutions only to find they didn’t work. Bundling up in double pants and double sweatshirts, hats and boots and climbing into damp, cold boats in the winter was the worst. The winds blew strong and often it didn’t feel like we were making any headway. The waves came rolling in big. We rose up to the peak, “yes we did it. We are making progress” and then we rode down to the trough, “another problem, this is too much!” Another peak, “God what you’re doing here is so exciting. I can see the possibilities!” Another trough “God how will we buy all the supplies this boat needs, we don’t have money to rebuild this boat” 

But there’s been a turning point. We are learning daily to throw our anchor and to know our anchor. Not a thing seen and grasped with human hands, but a perfect being we’ve learned we can trust. When a storm comes, God is not asking us to use our own strength to fix it, nor does he want us to cower in fear and run. He is inviting us to learn to throw anchor and reap the rest that comes from trusting in him despite the storm. And to know that when we survived the storm, it wasn’t by our own strength, but because our anchor sustained us.

About a year into our time here, I began to realize this whole thing was just as much about Aaron and I’s hearts, as it was about a boat. My cry of “God, please let us work on this boat. And get this done and behind us” was always met with the reply of, “Laura, please let me work on you, because you can’t move on till I’m done with you” It’s rather difficult and in the end very humbling to realize that the obstacle between where you are and where you want to be, may just be you. “Can do” Laura has realized that she can’t do. This whole thing should have fallen apart a long time ago. A lot of what we have done doesn’t make sense, and didn’t make sense. And yet God has moved us forward. The fact that God has sustained our finances alone is an amazing testimony (that I hope one day to share with you). But he’s also provided places to live, opportunities to travel and take a break when we needed it. He’s provided fellow boaters who’ve had the knowledge we didn’t. He’s supplied building materials in fun ways. Free lumber in the form of old dorm beds and old church pews. He’s sustained our emotional needs as well, with our ministry community here who shares our dream of ministry and sailboats. He’s given us people to encourage our hearts and people who could relate deeply to our struggles. He’s perfectly provided for our kids’ needs too – with great friends and homeschool groups, soccer teams and church groups, and yard space, as they journey and grow with us. 

It feels very brave to say, but I think the storm is clearing. I’m seeing some sunlight in the distance. In July we sold our RV and temporarily moved aboard a larger motorboat the ministry owns. But the ministry has plan to sell this boat soon, so we’ve been given till November to get our boat ready for us to move aboard. Don’t miss understand me, I cherish deeply these last two years, and hold all the lessons learned here dearly. But I long for the day when we get to leave port with our anchor leading the way, fastened to the bow of the boat, ready for the next storm.

We need you!

Will you join us in praying that the Lord will help us make our fall deadline? The majority of our financial needs and supplies appear to be met. But we are continually reminded of our need for the prayers of God’s people. You are reading this blog because our lives have touched in some way. God sends no one on a journey alone. And we are honored that you are still here with us and we ask that you consider joining us deeper in this project by asking God to give us success in making our November deadline. Please pray for physical energy to keep going at it day after day, especially in the heat. God has provided a couple men from our local church who have volunteered their time to help build cabinets and run wiring, but we could still use more hands, as often it’s just Aaron working alone. We would also love prayers for good, quick decision making skills as we are making a lot of finishing detail decisions (how high to build the bunks, how many lights to install and where).

We would love to hear from you too! We would love to answer your questions, talk more about what we hope to do with Selah, or even have you come and help if you’ll be in the area! Thank you for following along. Your continued readership as we journey, is an encouragement to our hearts!

Okay, Now for some Fun Pictures

The highlight of the summer has been being able to use our boat (after working on Selah for 1.5 years, we were able to go sailing on her as a family for the first time this June) As the bulkhead is now rebuilt, she is structurally sound again and sailable!

Over the course of the summer, Selah took out over 100 people, including several youth groups and some family. Laura’s mom and Aaron’s parents made the list of passengers.

Rielle working on her Captains License

Laura and boat building friend, Rachel, geared up for fiberglass work

The shop vac is a must have for boatbuilding. The kids vacuum up sawdust after mom and dad reinstall the salon floors and create hatches to access the old water tanks below that will now be used as dry storage.

It’s been such a blessing to make friends with other families with kids who also want to use sailboats to share the love of Jesus. One such family came to visit this winter and it was so cool to be able to play with stuffed animals with other 5 year olds

Our local docks continue to bring the world to us. We spent a lovely afternoon early this summer with a British couple who sailed across the pond. They gave the kids a lesson in knots, and even shared a spot of English tea with us! T’was delightful (can you hear my British accent)

A video I made to share with our home church at the beginning of this year…

Miss our last update? Read it here

What have we been up to…

• After finishing up as dorm parents at the college for the spring semester, we decided to spend our summer in Florida and get a break from boat work, but first we got to travel to Puerto Rico for a week and visit another couple from the ministry who lives and serves there. Jim and Staci have been doing ministry on the water for years all over the world from a house boat on the Amazon river, to youth sailing programs in Africa and now in PR. It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with them and to glean from their wisdom in both ministry and boat life. We were able to do a lot of snorkeling (which the kids loved!) and took an over night trip on their sailboat. It was great to be able to show the kids potential of sailboat life!

• we spent a good chunk of the summer back in the Tampa area where we had stayed in the RV for the year prior to joining the ministry. While there we officially became member of our church there. After feeling a bit like roamers, we felt it was time to have a home church again. Although we left town again for North Carolina the week after becoming members, we feel value in having a “home base” and people outside of Maritime Ministries to be connected with as we continue along our sailboat journey.
  
• We are back in North Carolina now and continuing the work on the boat (picture of our new RV spot below.) Our time in Florida served its purpose as we were away long enough to be excited about boat work again! After all the demo and removal we did to the boat last spring we are excited to announce that we have started the reconstruction phase! It feels go to be installing new pieces of wood instead of removing rotten wood.

• Our general goal is to have the boat livable as soon as possible. Once she is ready though we anticipate sticking around the local waterways of NC and VA and gaining lots of on the water experience before we are ready to use her for ministry or take her ”on the outside” (on ocean trips). But we are continually reminded and encouraged to hold all our plans and timelines with open hands as God continues to lead us one step at a time.
  
• In two short weeks Maritime Ministries will host a maritime missions conference called “Kingsfleet” (learn more here) Kings Fleet is an international network of Christian boaters and boat ministries that use their vessels for the sake of the gospel. We are super excited to be a part of this event and to hear about what the Lord is doing around the world, as well as spend time praying for one another.

• The ministry is prepping for the fall crushing season that’s just a few weeks away. This is the time of the year we are busy welcoming boats on our docks who are traveling south for the winter. It’s always fun for us to meet people from all walks of life and from all over the world. Elizabeth City is known as the “Harbor of Hospitality” and the city has placed the Ministry in charge of welcoming boaters at the city’s docks downtown as well. (Picture below – the kids working with other ministry kids to pack welcome bags for distribution to the boats who pass through the city)

• A huge answer to prayer! Late this summer Mr. Cameron came to stay on our docks in his sailboat and has been working on rewiring Selah for us! A friend of the ministry, Mr. Cameron seems to be an electrical wizard and we are so so excited that God sent him our way and that he’s been willing to not only work out all our electrical kinks but he’s also a great teacher and Aaron finally feels like he’s got a grasp on Selah’s electrical system. Earlier this spring I started praying that God would send us people who could help us fix this boat. Although money is always nice, often people who know what they are doing are far more valuable I think. (Pictured below, Mr. Cameron and Aaron sit in Selah’s engine room and talk electricity.)

“Just for Fun” Pictures…

Our current RV spot is a prime fishing and crabbing location. We have been catching and eating both! The kids all have their own poles and are impressively good at fishing (well, at least mom is impressed.) A college student who grew up in the area taught me how to cook crab (I feel like this counts toward sailboat life training)

All geared up for a blustery sail on one of the ministry’s smaller boats (ok, it was only 60 degrees out). This Florida girl is already fearful of the “frigid” North Carolina Winter.

Watching the kids learn how to work with boats has had lots of “proud mama” moments. Pictured below, Aaron steers a smaller sailboat towards the dock as Everett stands on the bow with a line in his hand ready to throw to Rielle on shore.

That’s all for now! Thanks for following along

She’s ours! While legally Selah remains under the ownership of the ministry, we have officially signed a three year charter on her. This means she’s our responsibility to take care of and maintain, but we also get to use her as the Lord directs during that time (and potentially beyond.)

We have been in Elizabeth City, NC for about 9 months now. I have so much I could write about. It’s challenging to know what to share, often because it’s hard to write about experiences you are still living through. Trying to analyze what God is teaching you. What lessons you’ve learned. What direction things are headed. But I can say I am in awe of how much we have learned and experienced in our relatively short time here.

Last fall, right when we thought we were nearing the end of Selah’s major repairs, we discovered that what we thought was some minor water damage on an interior wall below deck, was actually major water damage to a structural bulkhead wall. We were pretty defeated at the discovery and struggled for a few weeks with whether or not we could repair this rotten bulkhead and still be ready to move aboard her come December. In the mean time the college offered Aaron a position as “dorm dad” in the men’s hall for the up coming spring semester. Although the position didn’t pay, it would mean free housing for us for the spring. A break from being in the RV. Initially I didn’t want Aaron to take the job, I didn’t want to stick around for another semester. I wanted to stick to the original plan – get the boat done as soon as we could and head back south. What was next after that I wasn’t sure, But I just wanted to stick to the plan (I’m sure no one can relate) Slowly though, God showed me I was holding onto a plan and not him, and so he asked me to let it go and into the apartment we moved.

A view from our apartment window. Our youngest, Abel, watches as Aaron docks Selah on the sea wall. What an amazing gift God has given us in our time in this apartment. Free housing with a view of the intercostal and our boat tied up right outside! If He gives you a task, He will make a way for you to accomplish it!

I’m a little embarrassed now that I fought God on this plan change. God knew what was around the corner. Things I didn’t see coming. We were surprised in December to find out we were pregnant, only to be surprised again in February to discover I was having a miscarriage. I am thankful I didn’t have to go through that experience while living in the RV (or a boat!) Although tiny living simplifies many areas of life, it can create more work when it come to certain household chores. God knew I would need rest during that time and kindly gave me a laundry room and a dishwasher again for a season.

He also knew there was another rotten bulkhead in our future, and more wood rot in the deck’s core that was still hiding out of view. Eventually we had to step back and realize that this was going to be a much bigger renovation than we thought. Many days have felt very defeating. For a few months there I told God I couldn’t keep going at this without him giving me a vision for where this sailboat journey was headed. It was getting hard and I wanted some concrete reasons to keep going. Was this boat meant to be our home God? Or would Aaron use it to host camps for young men, just like his original sailboat dream years ago? I prayed for several weeks for answers, to no avail. Then one day I was asked to answer this question in a Bible study workbook, “Are you waiting for God to put everything in place before you step out in faith? (Check yes or no.) If no, is that still faith?” I found that question convicting. In that moment I felt like God said, “I’m not going to give you the whole plan, I just want you to keep going, keep working on the boat.” I didn’t get the answer I wanted (as seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life) but God gave me the confidence that this was the work to which he had called us for this season, and so again, as I let go of what I wanted, God gave me another gift along with the apartment, the peace that comes from knowing I’m right where I’m supposed to be (even if that does involve scrapping out rotten wood from 50 year old sailboats.)

As of today we are pretty confident that we have discovered all of Selah’s hidden secrets. In order to leave no stone unturned, no rotten bulkhead undetected we have removed most of her cabinets, bunks and cosmetic walls to reveal the bare fiberglass hull (see picture below). On a positive note, all the repairs we’ve made have helped us to know this boat way better than we did last fall and we have gained a lot of confidence in boat maintenance and repair, skills I’m sure God will have us tap into along this journey. We are hoping to have all of the repair jobs done by the end of our time here in the apartment come the end of May. And from there we will have to decide how we want to rebuild her interior. We aren’t 100% sure what the plan is. But I’ve been challenged to worry less about the plan and more about walking daily with my savior. Letting him lead the way as I walk in the faith that he has a plan. A better plan than me.

A view below deck. Aaron and Patrick, (another ministry team member) work to reinforce the post below deck that aligns with the main mast directly above deck. This post seen here is all that’s left of the rotten bulkhead that used to run between where Aaron and Patrick are in this picture. Unfortunately the rot went all the way below the floor. What you can’t see here is the 3 ton ram Jack that now sits between the hull of the boat and this post to support the mast while we repair the damage.

I laughed to myself the other day that I named this blog “Life From Lemons” God knew that the RV and the pandemic were not the end of the “lemons” we would encounter. We can now add our sailboat Selah to the list of lemons. But as I thought of it more, I think maybe Aaron and I are the real “lemons.” God’s main concern here isn’t boat restoration, it’s heart restoration. And oh man! Has he been working on our hearts.

Aaron recently said it best, “for every piece of rotten wood we dig out of the boat, God is also digging out my rot.”

Some Fun Pictures

“The Scooter Gang” The Koerner kids are known around campus for their sweet rides. We scooter every day to the cafeteria across the street. Not only does the “dorm dad” position come with free housing, but Aaron negotiated free lunch for the family too.

“Not as easy as it looks” Rielle tries her hand at the drill as we work to remove the cabinets to make sure nothing is hiding behind them. Daddy made it look a lot more fun than Rielle found it to be.

“Work or play” The college let us borrow their John Deere “Gator” to take loads of wood off the boat and to the dumpster. But it can also hold a decent amount of people too! Our good friends from the ministry and their kids (seen here) often come to our aid when we need help on the boat.

I continue to fit in art time when I can. My Etsy art shop (visit shop) is still selling prints and I’ve had some time to create some paintings for the apartment walls!

Other Links

Well we made it! We now have the RV and the crew here in Elizabeth City, North Carolina to train with Maritime Ministries (if you are in need of the back story on why we are here click here)

We left the Plant City area in late June, spent two weeks in Jacksonville and then headed eight more hours north to the Campus of Mid-Atlantic Christian University in Elizabeth City, NC. Here we have begun our training with Maritime Ministries.

Although we have spent about four weeks here, we feel like we are just getting our feet wet (pun intended). The first week was more logistics and settling in and last week covid made its way through our family. Thankfully no one got it too bad. We don’t have any big news or updates, but we just wanted to share a little bit about what we have been able to do and experience here!

Dock Ministry

A big part of what MM does is offer a free place to stay on their docks for boaters passing through. Although the slow season for the docks, Aaron and I have had the opportunity to welcome in a handful of cruisers. It is always exciting to hear a new boater has arrived, as each person or family has their unique own story about where they’ve been, where they are going and how they ended up on the water. Most of the boaters are talkative and some have even been willing to share with us their burdens and struggles in life. We are learning how God can use us simply by our willingness to listen to a person’s story.

Aaron was disappointed when his first solo trip on the sailboat “More Beyond” was cut short by a broken impeller, but it was obvious God had a purpose in this challenge. It turned out that Kevin, who had arrived the day before on the docks, was a retired diesel mechanic. Not only was Kevin able to show Aaron how to repair the impeller, he also gave Aaron a through tutorial of the workings of “More Beyond’s” engine. Aaron and Kevin were able to talk late into the evening about the challenges of solo cruising, fatherhood, and navigating our faith during these challenging times. Kevin is one of hundreds of relationships MM has formed in the cruising community.

On the Water

We try our best to get out on the water as often as we can. Our main goal in being here is becoming a family capable of living aboard and sailing. Aaron is specifically focused on getting ”days” on the water (a ”day” is about 4 hours) in order to get his captains license. Although a captains license is not necessary to own or use “Selah,” it would allow us to be a greater asset to MM and give our guests more confidence in our ability to host them on the water

Keeping The Kids Busy

Elizabeth City is a little over an hour away from the beaches on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Our second week here, we headed over to Kitty Hawk (think Wright Brothers). We were incredibly surprised by the massive sand dunes there!

We have been entrusted with giving the ministries boats regular baths. I like to refer to this as “swabbing the deck“ in hopes that the kids will find this chore fun, but the kids don’t find the pirate lingo entertaining.

The Kids favorite way to end the day is a good dunking in the Pasquotank river. This brackish body of water is a branch of the intercoastal waterway. It runs right past MACU campus and into downtown, connecting the Dismal Swamp to the Albemarle Sound.

Thanks so much for reading and following us on this journey. Please pray God gives us the comfort and encouragement we need to continue be salt and light here in Elizabeth City. God continues to bless us and make life from our lemons.

If you are not on our email list for these blog updates please subscribe here.

Laura

This New Years found both Aaron and I in an emotional low. In many ways it felt like we hadn’t progressed since last New Years. Still in the RV. Still not sure what’s next for us. Still unsure where “home” is. The housing market seemingly stacked against. I came across this proverb around the holidays, “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” I strongly resonated with a ”heart sick“ and longed for the “tree of life.”

As I’ve mentioned before, the pandemic really just compounded a feeling of “lostness” that we had already been feeling. Up until five years ago our life together as a married couple had felt fairly typical, but God began to stir our hearts, to unsettle us spiritually. We wanted to give our lives to the Lord to use for his kingdom. We wanted to live missional. The only problem was we lacked a specific calling. Neither of us being very driven, we walked through the open ministries doors that we found around us, but a few years down the road and still nothing had really “clicked.”

Then Covid hit and the feeling of ”lostness” took on a whole new meaning, as it went from a purely spiritual state to a physical state as well.

But shortly after New Years, God began to stir our spirits again. He quietly began to whisper to my heart “change is coming.” Then, sometime around February, we were told about an organization called Maritime Ministries. Located near the Outter Banks in North Carolina, MM uses sailing and sailboats as a means for ministry. If you know Aaron well then you know of his long standing dream of using sailing for ministry. It’s been a dream that started in his twenties and one he’s pursued off and on over the years. When we called up MM to hear more about what they do, we had no idea what God was about to “wow” us with. A few conversations later and MM told us that they had been praying for a missions minded family to come use their underutilized 47’ sailboat, Selah, and they felt we were the answer to their prayer. ”Are you joking me?” is maybe the best summary of how we felt about that news. It felt to good to be true! It was so encouraging to start to think about how perfectly prepared we were for many aspects of this transition as God suddenly gave me new lenses through which to see my trials. Living in an RV for the last two years has been given a new purpose as the similarity between boat living and RV living are numerous. God doesn’t waste out trials or our time!

We have spent the last several months getting to know Maritime Ministries and its staff and partnering families better, and in March we got to spend a week up at their home base in NC and got to see Selah in person. As things have progressed with the ministry, God has given me and Aaron much peace about this ministry and the assurance that our meeting them was divinely ordained.

This summer we will spend 3-4 months training with Maritime Ministries in North Carolina. If all goes according to plan, we will take responsibility for Selah at the end of our training period and plan to live, at least part time, on her. Life still has so many unknowns for us and we are getting good at saying, ”that’s a great question, but I don’t know the answer“

But I am excited despite the unknowns. God has been filling my heart with joy as he reveals to me how he has been working all things for our good, according to his purpose the whole time, that He has been preparing us and refining us through our trials, not punishing us. For Aaron it is exciting because it feels like God is bringing his dream of ministry through sailing into fruition, and for me it is exciting because it feels like an answer to a prayer i started praying five years ago, “God, show us your plan for us.”

We are so encouraged to see that God has always been writting our story even when we felt lost. He heard all our prayers and remembered our dreams. He is making life from our lemons!

“A hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life”

As always thanks for reading!

Laura

( Find out more about Maritime Ministries here )

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