Captain’s Blog

Captain’s Log #25

March 1, 2002 on 4:00 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off

NEW BOAT ADDED
Two weekends ago saw the launching of our first ‘Coastal Boat’ for NAZARENE MARITIME MINISTRIES and it’s FIJIBoat Project. As a vital part of the vision God has given us for this ministry, this now begins one of the next phases as we move forward following God’s lead. Early Saturday morning we headed out to sea once more in the motor vessel ‘GALILEAN’, this time with a smaller seventeen foot fiberglass boat in our wake, in tow. After reaching our destination we immediately started up the outboard and put our new addition to the ‘fleet’ to work heading up through the channel that cuts its way deep under and through the overgrown tropical mangroves to where the chuch property begins, carrying equipment, supplies and people. This boat will now serve the pastor there inside the huge barrier reef that runs along the southern shore, as he works his way up and down the coast ministering to the people.

WATER BUS
The next morning, Sunday, I found out what a bus ministry looks like in tropical islands in places where there are no roads or busses. The group of people was unloaded from the new boat and back out it went to go and collect and bring back another boat load before the service started. I thought, “well that’s sure not wasting time!” what a great thing that God is doing these new things, whatever it takes to get His love to these precious people. Even a fiberglass bus that floats. “You tell us where to go, what to do, Father, we’ll follow! We’ll do it to reach these people!”

HIS LOVE
During the service, during a tropical down pour, we said good-by to our family here as we explained that we will be gone overseas for a few months. I made them promise to pray for us because I know how desperately I need their prayers and I committed that there would be very many of their new family across the United States who will be praying for them. I looked up and saw that at the back of the group the chief’s daughter was listening intently to this missionary try to describe the love of a God who brings a family like this together cross oceans. A God who will go, and has gone to any lengths to bring them His love. A week earlier I had taken her brother, the chief’s son to another island. The chief’s family seems intrigued, fascinated - please pray for them.

FURLOUGH
Many of you have asked us where we will be speaking during this twelve week furlough as we travel across the States, so we have attached our schedule to this report. Please pray for us during this time away from our work here. Please continue also to pray for what is happening here in the South Pacific and your missionaries across this vast ocean, the Olds, the Lingenfelters, the Bartles, the Johnsons and ourselves. Please pray also for the army of national workers and ministers that God is raising up.

LATER - A NOTE FROM CINDY
Harmon just called and he and his crew of JESUS Film Team members left yesterday morning at 3:00 AM to take the ‘GALILEAN’ to the west end of the island of Viti Levu (a two day voyage) to have it hauled out and placed in a ship yard where he is having necessary work done on it and where it will remain secure until we return from furlough in July. According to him, this trip and the entire complex haul out process took place without a single problem.

Two out of the JESUS Film Team go on from there to meet up with others and begin JESUS Film showings tonight further up that coast, while Harmon and one of the other team members travel back across land tonight as Harmon speaks at the University of the South Pacific tomorrow and we have JESUS Film showings on this side of the island as well this week. These have been very full days leading up to the end of this term here on the missionfield as sadly we fly out this week. Thank you so very much for your prayers and for giving us the priceless gift over these last couple years of continuously being made aware of the great family that we are a part of, we have never felt alone! We hope to be able to see many of you as we travel these upcoming weeks. If you are in any of the meetings please be sure to come up to us and let us know, so that we can personally thank you for the crucial role you have been playing in this ministry.

For the Souls of the South Pacific,

Cindy and Harmon Schmelzenbach