Looking Back on 2025

(photos from the year below)

It’s hard to believe around this time last year we were spending our first night on our sailboat Selah! 2025 has been one of those years, where we look back and think, “That was only a year ago!?” We started this year off with a big and long anticipated journey south on the water that eventually landed us in the Bahamas. Although it was a hard and trying journey at times, it was also very rewarding to finally get our “feet wet” (pun intended) as a boating family with Maritime Ministries.

We landed back in Elizabeth City, NC after about 5 months of traveling on the water and had a very fun and full summer. We were able to take out about 200 people, mostly youth, for day outings on our local waterways. As summer ended, we began prepping for yet another round of repairs and maintenance jobs on the boat. We rebuilt another structural wall below deck and then hosted a fundraiser for Selah’s long overdue “bottom job.” We quickly raised all the money we needed, and in October we moved off the boat & hauled her out for the work, but like all good boat projects, the job is taking longer than we hoped, so she won’t make it back into the water till after the new year. In the meantime, MM has several local projects that we will be helping on. We will be working on prepping some ministry boats to be sold and lightening the load of our president Dan, to free him up to work on a new partnership between JAARS* and MM. Early next year MM will receive a 55ft trawler motorboat that we will run as a training vessel for JAARS missionaries and Bible translators. We are super excited about this new partnership. Lord willing, after the weather warms up again, we will finish our bottom job and take Selah out for another season of training and travel out on the water.

Of course there is so much more to tell you, one big thing being in January, Aaron will start his second semester of part time, online seminary classes as part of his training to be minister of the gospel on the water. The kids are happy and healthy and God continues to take care of their hearts and desires with lots of good friends and opportunities to grow. If your ever curious about what we are up to or what we hope to do in the future, please, always feel free to reach out. We recognize that we haven’t always done a good job of keeping everyone in the know. But please know that your prayers, support and encouragement mean a great deal!

Love and Blessings to you and your family in 2026,

Aaron, Laura, Rielle, Everett and Abel

*JAARS, a partner of Wycliffe Bible Translators – www.JAARS.org

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We are still in the process of seeking monthly supporters to join our team. Please reach out to learn more and to hear about our plans for 2026

The Year in Photos

Aaron and the boys relaxing in our dinghy boat

Rielle and Laura on the beach in Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas

Aaron and his ukulele join the local musicians for a jam session. Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas

Aaron helps lead worship for Easter Sunday at Green Turtle Community Church. This was the churches first time with live music since having their building destroyed by a hurricane. They were super excited to have Aaron play for them.

Green Turtle Community Church

The boys play basketball in downtown Green Turtle Cay during the local school fundraiser event. Laura Donated a painting of the local marina to the fundraiser for the only school (an elementary school) on the island. Middle and high schoolers take a ferry to the mainland for school.

Everett walks on the beach in Green Turtle Cay

we arrived in Green Turtle Cay the week that some friends of our team we hosting a sailing camp for the local kids. There are about 50 kids on the island. The islands economy is supported mainly by tourist. Jeff, who runs the camp wanted to be able to have Americans serve the local community who is used to people coming to be served. The camp is free to locals.

Sailing camp was a great way for our kids to get to know the local kids quickly.

Selah anchored in Fort Lauderdale, FL as we traveled down the ICW

local sailing outing back in Elizabeth City. We had so much fun using Selah locally in NC this summer. It was a blessing to not have a boat in construction mode and able to use to host groups. We can take up to 25 people out on Selah at once. We took out over 200 people this summer.

We had 2 new families join Maritime Ministries this year. One came and spent a couple of months with us. One day we treated the kids to some dinghy sailing.

When the summer ended, it was time to out the boat back into construction mode. This used to be where our back shower was. The bulkhead wall behind the shower was found to be rotted out.

Ta-da! The rebuild bulkhead wall. Next we will rebuild the shower/bathroom

Laura laying fiberglass in the engine room as part of the bulkhead repair

Laura and two other Maritime Ministires team members help work on the bulkhead rebuild. Rachel (left) and her family are nearing the end of building a 40’ catamaran that their family plans to use to serve missionaries in South America. Kim (right) and her family work with a non profit to facilitate moving humanitarian aid supplies via personally owned boats from FL to the Caribbean

Selah getting her “bottom job” as they say in the boat world. Gives a new meaning to sailboats and beach chairs doesn’t it.

Aaron and Patrick sanding off the old bottom paint.

Rielle and Laura prep for more paint removal.

Thanks so much for reading! We are so excited about what God holds for us in 2026 as a family and as a ministry!

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November 2, 2025November 9, 2025

Fall 2025 Update & Fundraising

First I just want to say a big thank you to all who prayed for our fundraiser event! We had a full house and exceeded our fundraising goal. Two weeks ago we were able to take Selah down to the small town of Belhaven, NC to be hauled out of the water for her bottom job. See our fun time lapse video below.

What’s New

At the end of the summer we temporarily moved off the boat in anticipation of our haul out and bottom job. We also needed to put the back half of the boat back into construction mode in order to fix the rotten bulkhead we found while traveling south. A couple from our church is letting us stay in the upstairs portion of their house while we work on these projects.

Although our original plan was to head south again this winter, the tentative plan now is to stay put for the winter, make more repairs and upgrades to the boat and head back out on the water come late spring.

Aaron started taking seminary classes online. Aaron’s currently taking three online courses. This is something he’s thought about doing for years now and at the end of the summer things aligned for him to start pursuing a masters degree part-time.

Our ministry just got done hosting another Kings Fleet Conference. If you remember from a few years back, Kings Fleet is a network of Christian boaters and Christian maritime organizations that serves to connect and encourage one another other. This is always a treat to be a part of.

Laura finished a series of 12 paintings that Maritime Ministries is turning into a calendar for 2026. Each painting is based on a picture taken by a Maritime Ministries team member while traveling on the water. See some examples of the paintings below, or if you would like a copy of the calendar, you can get one for free by signing up to support us on a monthly bases. Which brings me to our final point…

We Need Your Help!

We are fund raising! Some of you may have thought we were already funded. God has mostly supplied our needs so far through one-time gifts, the selling of our resources, side jobs and a handful of monthly supporters. But at this time we feel led to raise regular full-time monthly support.

After leaving our short term calling in Costa Rica in 2017, we felt that maybe God was leading us into full-time ministry. When covid hit, we set out on an adventure that eventually brought us to Elizabeth City. As we have served with Maritime Ministries, God has made it abundantly more clear that the most fitting purpose in life for us is to serve in full-time ministry. Because of the lack of a clear vision, over the last three years, we did not feel it prudent to fundraise. We wanted to be able to cast a clear vision for how God was leading us, but often he was only leading us a month at a time and asking us to trust him with the future. Recently though, while Laura was reading the book of Nehemiah, she felt like God gave her a clear image of what fund raising looks like in the church. The part of Nehemiah’s story where half of the servants worked on rebuilding the broken wall, while the other half held spears and weapons in defense of their enemies, has became a picture for us of how Jesus is furthering his kingdom on earth through both the funded and the funders. It is no secret that one of the hardest aspects of going into missions is support raising, but we feel strongly now that in order to do the work God is calling us to, we will need other people and churches to ‘hold the spears’ for us. This is not just an image of financial giving, but also of the need for prayer, intercession and encouragement. We would like to offer you the opportunity to give some of what God has given you in order to be a part of the work the Lord will do through us.

“From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail.” – Nehemiah 4:16

Maritime Ministries in conjunction with the Christian Boaters Association and Hope Fleet, are hoping to create greater connectivity between Christian boaters on and off the water. The hope is that in drawing Christian boaters together into deeper community, we will accomplish three things. The first being that Christian boaters traveling on the water will feel more confident about sharing their faith. Secondly, we hope to identify mature believers who will want to help facilitate on the water Bible studies and fellowship gatherings. The third hope is to make more Christian boaters aware of needs and rolls they can help fulfill within international maritime missions organizations. Our family will help when here in Elizabeth City by identifying, meeting with, and training potential future maritime ministers. When traveling again on the water, we hope to find and connect with churches and individuals who are also interested in helping us further these goals. Aaron’s seminary education will give him the opportunity to speak at churches and share the vision of these organizations and also to build up and encourage local churches in the small island communities where we travel.

In order to cover our living and housing expenses, Selah’s travel expenses and Selah’s maintenance costs, we need to raise about $5,000 a month. We currently have $600 in monthly support.

How To Find Out More

We’d love the opportunity to share more with you about our desires for the future and how we feel God is leading us. We can set a Zoom call or can meet in person if you’re local. Feel free to reach out to us directly or use the link below to contact us via our contact form. Or, if you’re new to our blog, you can keep scrolling down to read more about our journey with Maritime Ministries and our sailboat Selah.

How to Give

If you’d like to be a monthly supporter, you can use the link below to set up giving through Maritime Ministries. Any new monthly supporters who sign up before January first will be automatically mailed a free copy of the 2026, Martitime Ministries calendar containing pictures of Laura’s paintings!

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How To Pray

We continue to long for your prayers as we journey. Please pray for lots of hands to join us in completing Selah’s bottom job. We are anxious to get her sanded, repaired, painted and back in the water before the weather gets too cold. Please pray also for Aaron as he learns to balance his new school work load with boat work and ministry work.

Thanks as always for following along on our journey, your support means so much!

– Laura & Aaron

Sample of Laura’s Calendar Paintings

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July 12, 2025July 15, 2025

How Was Your Trip?

by Laura Koerner

The Short Version

We are back “home” in Elizabeth City after taking the boat south for the winter

A quick overview of our travels: Aaron and Captain Dan left Elizabeth City and took two weeks via the Intracoastal Waterway to get to Charleston, SC where they waited out a snow storm. From there they did 36 hours in the open ocean, leaving out the Charleston inlet and arriving in Jacksonville, FL. In Jacksonville the kids and I took the place of Captain Dan. The family then took the boat all the way to Fort Lauderdale, FL via the ICW before crossing the Gulf Stream and landing in West End, Bahamas. We traveled through the Abaco chain of islands in the Bahamas, island hoping till we landed in Green Turtle Cay where we spent several weeks before making the long trek back to Florida and back north to Elizabeth City. We stopped at countless towns and anchorages along the way. Only spending a handful of nights at marinas, we lived most of our time “on the hook,” anchored right outside a town or island, using our dinghy boat to get from our anchored spots to land.

After spending almost 5 months on the water we have arrived back feeling very full and a great sense of accomplishment at a successful season out on the boat. We left feeling like we were still in a season of training and upon arriving back, that definitely feels like the main reason for going out. We continue to trust God for the point of all this training.

When asked, “how was the trip” I like to say “It was good, but that doesn’t mean it was fun or easy” usually followed by a statements like, “it was lots of personal refinement and stretching” It was good for us, but not always in an enjoyable way. It felt like a true “adventure” lots of highs and lows, with a great sense of accomplishment in the end.

Aaron and I both agree that the journey had a strong theme of learning to trust God for our personal safety and his ability to fill the gaps between our incompetencies and the challenges we faced.

Selah sailing through the Bahama Banks.

The Long version

“So how was the trip?” A woman from our church in Elizabeth City asked me in the church’s fellowship hall as we cleaned up from a potluck lunch. “Umm…” I hesitated. My mind a jumble of words and thoughts, unsure which ones should come out first.

My mind like a rolodex, spinning through memories and feelings. Many of them in contradiction to each other. There is a great sense of accomplishment and a personal pride I’ve never felt before. And yet I can still feel the fear that seemed to constantly threaten us, like a little devil sitting on my shoulder, especially at night in the dark as the boat swayed and you were tempted to peek out the window and make sure you were just feeling the effects of the wind and not feeling the boat being swept away by the current. The resounding theme of the trip was trusting God. Trusting him with our personal safety and even harder trusting him with our kids’ safety. Floating on an old boat in the Atlantic 700+ feet above the sea floor without a soul in sight, you find yourself realizing the modern American life is very sheltered from the reality of our human fragility. I picture our daughter snorkeling next to a wild sea turtle, her head pops out of the water “Oh my gosh Mom! He was so cute and so close I could have touched him!” The beauty of clear blue water paired with canned meat for dinner. Making so many new friends and connections and yet struggling with feelings of loneliness and isolation.

The woman stares back at me from the fellowship hall sink, a spoon coated in crusty macaroni and cheese in her hand. My mind still a jumble, self conscious of my long pause. “Yeah, I mean it was good,” I say, “but not like in a fun easy way…it was good for us, but didn’t always feel good…It was more like off grid camping than a tropical vacation… lot of personally stretching and refining moments…but so beautiful too…”

What words do I say to sum up what feels like a life changing experience. The pictures don’t tell the whole story but words feel inadequate too. I don’t like to share the pictures because I’m afraid people will get the wrong impression. They make it all look too nice, too “instagram worthy.” They only tell half of the story.

Trouble with our steering cables early on revealed more rotten wood aboard. It was behind the shower wall of the only room we didn’t gut during renovations, the rear bathroom. We found ourselves anchored out front of beautiful downtown St. Augustine, FL ripping out the shower wall to fix the steering cable wheel block mount, rendering the shower unusable for the rest of the trip.

Four weeks into our trip, we realized that our inflatable dinghy boat we had brought with us was failing. Six patch jobs later she was still leaking out air and water in. I found myself crying on the downtown docks of West Palm Beach Florida, I was without Aaron and now I couldn’t get the motor to start either.

Upon crossing the Gulf Stream, we lost the nut at the end of our drive shaft that holds the propeller on. It wasn’t until we landed in the Bahamas in the dark and put the boat in reverse to anchor that we discovered this (fun fact, propellers only come off in reverse.) The sound of our propeller spinning itself off the shaft and grinding against the rudder greeted us our first night aboard Selah in a foreign country. A definite low point in the journey.

But God!

He seemed to be running along side us. Like we were a kid learning to ride a bike, and he was the dad, uprighting the handles bars as we swerved toward the ground.

After the propeller fell off. We awoke the next morning to find it had caught and perfectly balanced its 70 pound self on a 4 inch piece of fiberglass than runs under the shaft. No major damage had been done and Aaron was able to reinstall the propeller underwater with 2 new nuts (another fun fact. There really should be two nuts at the end of your drive shaft, not 1).

The same week I was in tears over our leaky old dinghy, some old friends we hadn’t talked to in years donated money to the ministry on our behalf. It was enough to cover the cost of a new dinghy and a new motor. They were unaware of our failing dinghy problems.

And while we weren’t able to fix the shower wall, the discovery of the rot didn’t throw me into a tail spin as other past rotten wood discoveries had. We had brought our power tools with us and even a few 2x4s left over from boat construction and after months of boat repairs, we were confident we could shore up the loose block with the supplies on board. God had been training us for such moments.

We have arrived back in Elizabeth City, feeling so much more confident and accomplished as boaters and yet, it is obvious to any onlooker that had our dad not kept “uprighting the handle bars” we would still be back in the middle of the road with a bloody knee.

I’m still struggling with how to answer the “how was your trip” question. It really was a great trip and I cherish all its highs and lows. I am so so grateful for regular access to land and my own car again. I have many more stories I would love to share, but don’t have space for here. It was neat to watch our kids walk the journey with us and see God take care of their hearts and their needs and grow and stretch them too. The greatest blessing of it all, has been to know in very real ways, that God is with us, that he loves us and that he intervenes for us in the physical realm. Above all, Aaron and I hope you too know the Lord’s love and that feeling the realities of his love for you transforms your life and gives you peace in the adventure.

Ok fine, a few photos…

The kids enjoying the Bahamas. Rielle loves to eat fresh coconuts and Aaron loves to crack them. Everett is our tree climber. Abel’s favorite seat on the boat. The kids petting wild sting rays that are used to regular tourist feedings. They come up to you like dogs and rub your leg, hoping for a treat.

While Aaron found the open ocean intimidating, the most anxiety I felt during the trip was in certain sections of the ICW in Florida where we had to share the “road” with big boats. My favorite FL experiences also include the current pushing us towards draw bridges that were having trouble opening on time. (There ain’t no throwing a quick U-ie in single prop sailboats)

The prop on deck and Aaron reinstalling the prop. Note the snorkel mouth piece connected to a garden hose to allow him to breathe while working underwater. A screen shot of us crossing the Gulf Stream. We left Fort Lauderdale and headed straight east, but the current of the Gulf Stream slowly slid our boat to our landing point of West end Bahamas. The whole journey took about 12 hours.

Adventures in Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. This island is still recovering from hurricane dorian which hit in 2019. We got there just a couple weeks into this church relaunching its worship “band” Aaron was able to play live guitar for their Easter Sunday service, which was an upgrade from the background tracks they had been using. Aaron also got in on a local jam session. Music and art gave us a way to make deeper connections with the community there. I was able to donate a painting I did to the local school fund raised. There is just one school on the island, an elementary school with about 30 kids. We also ended up being there the week a friend of our ministry was putting on a sailing camp for the local kids. Our kids got to participate too and we were able to use our new dinghy as a coaching boat during the camp.

Loading up the old dinghy for the last time with friends and gear. Your dinghy is like your car when you’re on the water. Dinner in Selah with boat friends. Hiking over a bridge in FL with groceries and the new dinghy living its best life.

April 11, 2025April 15, 2025

Living on Love

By Aaron

Abel J Koerner is living his best life. He has everything a 6 year old could ever want. Not toys, not video games, and not chicken tenders and fries. Right now Abel has the uninterrupted attention of his big brother, opportunities to work and play along side his mom and dad, new places and things to see, physical exercise, and a full belly. His energy level and uninterrupted restful nights are enviable. He wakes up everyday stoked and ready to go. Why???

Abel volunteered to pull our dinghy boat through the shallow water where the motor has to be pulled up in order to pass.

The other evening I could tell he was enjoying our family time way beyond his ability to stay awake for it. So while we were having music time he laid in Laura’s lap and continued to sing and gaze in delight while his eyes slowly opened and closed. Laura was happy and Abel was doing what he does, enjoying life. Watching them, the thought slapped me in the face. Abel is living on love.

The old Alan Jackson song goes “Livin’ on love, buyin’ on time,

Without somebody nothing ain’t worth a dime.

Just like an old fashion story book rhyme, Livin’ on love

It sounds simple, that’s what you’re thinkin’

But love can walk through fire without blinkin’.

It doesn’t take much when you get enough, Livin’ on love

Abel has a great gift that many children get to enjoy. He is blissfully ignorant of the dangers that we face in this unique life style, and he is living in the confidence that his father (and mother) have everything securely under control. Ha!

If only we could be as trusting as Abel.

This morning, the boat is rocking, and I mean a lot. Two days of 25+ mile per hr winds, and current pushing us sideways to it, means rocking. You can probably feel it in your throat, remembering the last time you were sea sick. It’s a miserable feeling. But Jesus in his wisdom, has been preparing us for this for almost 3 years. It started in the RV. While on the road, it bounced around like the shocks were made of marshmallows. When parked, we never put the stabilizers in. We knew it was good training for the bumpy rides down the road. Often we would feel odd when we were on solid ground for too long. It was preparation. Next we moved into “Moderation”. A big sturdy trawler that was tied to a dock. I can tell you, it moved. A lot. Especially on windy days. But not like Sailing Vessel “More Beyond” did when we got caught in a storm. And then, we moved onto “Selah”. She moved more. Back and forth and side to side. We felt fine. Then we were traveling in the intercostal and anchoring, then it was windy nights on our first anchorage in West Palm. Now, we are at our fourth anchorage. The water is clear and blue. But we are surrounded by boats, rocking like crazy. And we’re swinging all over the place on our anchor line. But we were carefully crafted for this. Our Father, knew the future, prepared us for it, and gave us the ability to “be strong and courageous”.

I have found myself many times praying for Jesus to calm the storm, literally. So far he hasn’t, exactly. Would we be ready for the next thing he is leading us into if he calmed every storm that comes into our lives? I think Jesus calms the storm NOT so we can feel happy again, or so we can avoid difficulties. He calms the storm, because he wants us to see him as “The One who calms the storm”. It seems the disciples needed to know that the Spirit of Christ they were filled with was able to handle any of the difficulties they were going to encounter. Maybe the little storms build our faith, so we can handle the big storms. And our loving Father prepares us for them in his divine wisdom, so that when are tempted to be weak and afraid, we are able to be strong and courageous.

Abel lives on love. He experiences life through the lens of having a father who has everything under control, parents who adore him, a sister and a brother who love him and love spending time with him. He is incredibly loved.

So are we. More than we can comprehend or imagine. Even in the middle of the storms. In our failures and fears. Even while we are on the wrong track and running in the wrong direction. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Pray that we will know Gods love and experience it so deeply that all the storms seem small and we are truly Strong and Courageous

On a practical note, we are:

1) Currently anchored in The Abacos (Bahamas) and preparing to head back north in the coming weeks.

2) We have engaged with soooo many people. We have gotten in the habit of inviting them to come through Elizabeth City and join us for a few days this Summer so we can develop those relationships. It’s been much harder here in the Bahamas. Everyone is coming and going. Please pray for divine appointments here in Green Turtle (our current Abaco Island).

3) I (Aaron) am feeling very worn. There is a sense of needing to be always on your guard. Jesus is calling us to a deeper level of trust but the storms keep coming. Please pray against discouragement for us. We feel we are being stretched beyond our ability.

4) Maritime Ministries is bursting at the seams with new people, opportunities and beginnings. We are really excited to return in June and are looking forward to a summer of serving the ministry.

5) Our travels have revealed more work that needs to be done on Selah. Pray she continues to function well until we can haul her out and address a few things.

6) Jesus is ever increasing our faith and dependency on him. Yet in his mercy and plan we are still mostly sustained by gifts coming from individuals. So, if you feel led to give, please prayerfully listen and give as the Lord leads. Give Here

We Love you and love that you are available and listening.

Winter Update

The Short Of It:

We are still here in Elizabeth City, NC working on boats with Maritime Ministries. We didn’t make our original deadline of having the boat ready to move aboard by the end of the year, so we are taking some time to slow down and hear from God about his plans for our boat and our family.

We’ve just ended the busy season of boaters coming to stay in our docks as they head south for the winter. We have learned lots about the power of hospitality and met some cool people.

Come January Aaron will become the “dorm dad” for the men’s dorm here at the college where Maritime Ministries is located. Unless God changes our course, we have committed to staying here till summer. Which means moving out of the RV and into a dorm parent apartment here on the college campus. We will continue to train with Maritime Ministries (which is located on the college campus) and work on fixing up our boat “Selah.” Our dorm parent apartment will have a view of the Intracoastal and the docks (and it’s own washer and dryer).

Dock Happenings:

The mizzenmast is back up! We re-installed the mizzen (rear) mast. Yay! It took about 15 volunteers to hoist this baby back in place. This was a major repair and it’s quite the accomplishment to have it done.

One thing I love about being here is there always seems to be a steady flow of visitors coming and going. Many are one timers but many come around enough to become friends. One such friend is pictured here teaching Aaron how to tighten the rigging (all those wires that keep the mast in place) on Selah after the mast had been re-stepped (put back up)

Cruising season

October and November are busy season on the docks of Elizabeth City, as the hurricane season ends in the south, boaters head for a warm place to winter. Most cruisers we met were headed for the Bahamas and surprisingly most of this years cruisers were French Canadians. Most spoke great English though. This fall busy season the ministry touched base with about 95 different boats/boaters. We learned lots about the power of simple hospitality and free hot showers!

Two boaters made an impression on me. One was a Canadian lady who knocked on the RV door to ask for a ride to the local vet to collect the ashes of her beloved 16 year old dog who had passed away while they were docked here. As we rode home from the vet she said, “I’m not sure why, but if all the places he could have died, I was glad it happened here at the Christian college. For some reason it brings me peace.” I wasn’t quite sure how to minister to this couple during there loss, but Gods comfort and grace supersedes our abilities to “get it right”

The other boater was actually a kayaker. He slipped in on a busy day on the docks and it took us a while to realize that the kayak tied to the end of the docks wasn’t the accessory of a larger boat, but the main mode of transportation for Bob. After receiving a bad diagnosis from his doctor and not having much family around, he decided to jump in a kayak and pursue a dream he had of kayaking from Virginia to Florida. Probably in his late fifties, early sixties, his equipment and kayak were very basic. We offered him a stay aboard one of the ministries sailboats for the night on a real mattress with a proper pillow. He told us he had spent several nights tied to trees along the banks of the Intracoastal with the kayak as his bed. (We later learned that his story touched one boater so much he bought him his own sailboat to continue his journey on!)

A busy day on the docks and a rainbow! Although the majority of boaters are couples, I was a little surprised how many boaters came with kids and even a couple babies!

Two of my favorite boats from the season

Rielle and I and our other MM crew helped sailing journalist Emily move her boat. Another boater who’s come around enough to become a friend of the ministry, Emily and I had several conversations about my Christian beliefs.

The Annapolis Boat Show

We got the join the ministry at the US Sailboat Show which is a huge boating event that takes place every year in Annapolis, MD. The only non-profit at the show, Maritime Ministries attends in conjunction with “Kings Fleet,” an international network of boats in ministry. The goal in attending is to network with other boaters and to spread awareness about boats serving a greater purposes.

At our boat show booth. You can see Everett is thrilled to be there, next time we will leave the kids at home.

Abel at the docks of the boat show. The highlight of the boat show was being able to tour lots and lots of beautiful sailboats. Piles of shoes abounded on the docks as no one is permitted to wear foot wear while touring fancy boats.

Not your typical parking problem. Annapolis docks during the boat show.

Boat Parade

We hope you and your family had a great Christmas! We got to participate with Selah in the city’s annual boat parade! After spending a few hours with friends decorating Selah, the day of the parade the boat would not start (battery issues). After hours of trouble shooting by our leader Dan, finally at 5:30pm the engine turned over. It was a cold night but a blast!

Warm and buoyant. Wearing winter jackets under life jackets was a tight squeeze

Rielle and her friends help hang lights (left) Selah the night of the parade (right)

That’s all for now. Thanks for following along on our journey!

Laura

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September 19, 2022September 21, 2022

Redemption

Old boat yards and marinas in down town EC

Our first week here in Elizabeth City I found myself experiencing an unfamiliar, unsettling feeling. I was so excited and anxious to get here but upon arrival the reality of the risk we had taken in moving here and the distance that now lay between us and all things familiar made both Aaron and I feel very vulnerable. There was no familiar rhythm to the days and no certainty of when ”normal” would arrive again. Sitting my my RV in a town that 7 months prior I didn’t even know existed, I had one of those, “if you had told me a year ago today that I would be here today I wouldn’t believe you” moments.

But needless to say we found our new normal and I continue to stand amazed at how smoothly everything continues to go in this new chapter of our lives. The word “redemption” has been on my mind a lot recently. For me this season here working on sailboats feels like a season of redemption. When we encountered problem on the RV, We turned to the internet. I have spent so many hours in the last two years searching the web for “how to fix RV…” We didn’t know what we were getting into when we bought our RV and often felt very alone in our repairs and renovations. Not many of our friends and family could offer advice when it came to recoating rubber RV roofs or eliminating black water tank smells. Lots of repairs felt overwhelming and daunting. Our best hope was often the YouTube video with the most views, or the RV forum with the most legitimate sounding web address. It was trial and error and often making it up as we went. I have learned so much the hard way in the last couple of years!

Work here on our future sailboat home, Selah, has been a complete 180 from our RV experience. We are surrounded with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the staff of Maritime Ministries. Here as we prep to re-paint the deck someone hands me a can of paint and primer, all the tools I need and tells me exactly how to do the job. How refreshing! No hours of google searching here! Although Selah is slowly becoming ours, she will truly continue to belong to the ministry and therefore we all (us and the other staff here) work as a team to get her ready for her next adventure with our family (hopefully starting this winter!). I feel the opposite of alone in this work, and our work together on her is always the highlight of my week. I feel a bit at times like a kid back at summer camp, exhausted at the end of the day but throughly enjoying myself and confident that God has me where he wants me!

I think of the old worship song, ”He gives and takes away. He gives and takes away. My heart will choose to say blessed be your name.” What God has taken from our lives in our trials since the pandemic, he is now giving back, in more ways than a single blog post can convey. I am acutley aware though of all those still waiting for their season of redemption, for the giving, for the rain, for answers to the question of, ”how long Lord?” I hope this small piece of my story can be an encouragement to all those waiting, that he sees us, he sees you, and he will not waste your tears, nor will he wipe them away, but rather I think he saves them to water the new seeds that though you can’t see them yet, are sprouting beneath the surface!

Getting our hands dirty – repairs and renovations begins!

We have gotten good at taking out MM’s boats and enjoying the perks of boat life but now the real work begins! We have started making all the repairs and adjustments to Selah to get her ready for more adventures. Lots of sanding and painting and varnishing are currently taking place, as well as a major repair to the aft (rear) deck of Selah which involved removing the mizzen (again rear) mast.

Rielle prepping for teak sanding and varnishing. Although her brothers prefer to play she likes to be involved in as many projects as she can.

Before and after – our first of many teak restoration projects

Removing the mizzen mast in order to repair the deck beneath it. This was quite the operation and took about seven people to accomplish (side note this dock and all the boats pictured here are owned by MM)

Where the mizzen mast used to be – The top skin of the fiberglass deck is cut open to remove the rotted core. Here again! so thankful for the knowledge of these two men!

Laura (at the top) learns how to climb Selah’s mast from experienced climber Rachel (below). Climbing the mast is often necessary to make repairs to lines and equipment that live up there.

The kids doing playdough inside Selah while mom and dad work on various projects above

Other Happenings

The college was in need of a talent musician to lead worship for their weekeday chapel service, good thing this guy was around. Aaron’s taken on a part time worship leader position here at the college for the fall semester. Its been a great getting to know the staff and students here better! Not wanting to be left out, Laura was also able to give her talents to the college. It didn’t take long for the college to hear of her talents from their new worship guy. Laura (and Rielle too) painted this 6 ft tall, prodigal son, faux stained glass stage decoration for a recent multi-church youth event here on campus.

Aaron and Dan (the head of MM) take the colleges entire college basketball team sailing on Selah for a team-building outting.

We took a long weekend trip to Florida for Aaron to play some shows and to celebrate this guy turning 4 with cousins galore!

We took the kids for a field trip an hour and a half north to Williamsburg, VA to learn some history

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January 19, 2021January 20, 2021

RV Reno – Contrast

The concept of contrast has been a topic i’ve pondered over many times in my life. As an artist contrast is everything. You can’t make a picture without a black line to stand in defiance against a white background. As an art student, you are told that the more contrast a drawing has, the more it will stand out from other drawings. When I thought I was all done with a drawing my teacher would say, “Now go back and make your highlights even brighter and your shadows even darker.”

I can’t help but think about how these lessons in art relate to life. Contrast not only makes for a good picture but also for a good life story. We love to hear about a person who has over come a dark valley to stand in the light shining on the mountain top. We don’t like to see a man kicked down but we find joy in the news that he got back up, more joy than in the man who stood all the while. No one makes movies about the man who always stands, no one remembers him.

But alas, to be the man who has fallen down. To stand in the valley and not see the light or to wonder if we will ever see the light this side of heaven. We all know the movies will have a happy ending, but sometimes for us we are not so sure.

This year has been a valley for our family. Like many many others this pandemic has taken our lives from plan A to plan B, C, D, only to eventually land on plan Q. At the start of 2020 my husband and I were looking to buy our first house. With my husband being self-employed, this was a big deal for us, but when we both lost our jobs to the pandemic we were left to do our best to make lemonade from our lemons. It would take me a few months after we settled into our plan Q to admit to myself how disappointed I was that we could no longer buy a house. Even though it feels petty to say, because I knew people would lose their life to this thing, I often found myself angry at how much the pandemic had taken from me. As ugly or ungrateful as my emotions may have been. I knew the need to be honest with myself that I was upset.

So what does this all have to do with before and after pictures of your RV your asking by now. I want to share with you the contrast of my RV reno, and I hope in a small way it brings you joy. But I was hesitant to share these pictures at times because it adds to the “Hey look at me I posted a cool picture” world we live in, which leaves many of us feeling jealous, left out, or less than.

This is just one contrast of many in my life. One way that God has given me some light in my dark valley. But in other areas of my life I, probably like you, am still in the valley. Waiting on God’s timing to lift me up. I don’t claim to have the strength to rise again, but I live daily by God’s grace. I hang on to my mustard seed of faith and say, “I believe you are good and totally in control God, but help my unbelief!” May my valleys be used to show how great a God I serve!

I’ll close with lyrics from a song by Hillsong (dont worry more RV reno pictures below)

“In the crushing, In the pressing, you are making new wine, In the soil, I now surrender, You are breaking new ground”

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Kitchen Tidbits – Although I told myself I would take good before pictures as soon as we bought the RV, I failed. The one picture below was the only true “before” picture I took. The kitchen photo above was half renovated before I took this picture. At this point I had already painted over all the wall paper and laid new flooring.

This picture was taken the day we moved full-time into our RV, as you can tell from the picture the weather was rainy which delayed our departure. The window coverings in this thing drove me crazy and didn’t even last 24 hours before I got my screwdriver and took them down. Even fully drawn, the original shades covered a good 6 inches of the window. I need me some sun shine!

My curtains we originally white, but then I remember I had three kids…so I painted my white curtains in the design you see above. It was bit of a risk but I loved the end result!

I also reupholstered the couch (which may or may not be held together mostly with hot glue…but hey 6 months in and we are holding strong!) I chose what I have discovered to be the most ideal couch fabric for kids – Faux leather vinyl! This wonderful stuff doesn’t absorb any liquids your kids may spill (or pee) on it!

The faux ship lap wall behind our dining table was actually my husband’s idea. We did not set out to rip out the original banquet but after discovering an active water leak behind the built in benches we came up with this design. My husband also build these benches and found this table for us for only $38 at an antique mall! I hate to admit it, but sometimes his ideas are better than mine!

the end! Go find your own contrast!

-Laura