Training Begins

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