Doubts

Well, Ned called up Murray! He is in Europe right now- ha! He remembered us right away, and was more than willing to help us out. We have to wait till Monday though, when he gets back from Europe. He said to have our resumes ready! Murry is one cool guy. Here he is, the owner of this fancy yacht company, and he meets two rif rafs on a ferry in New Zealand, and when they call him 6 months later, he is willing to take time out of his busy schedule and help us out (even when they interrupt his trip to Europe!)! And the thing is, he seems to really enjoy it. He's a splendid chap and I like him!

And amidst this excitement, I title this blog "doubts". Because that's exactly what I've been having today. Sure, going out to work on a yacht is glamorous and exciting! But then, that means we have to pack everything and put it back into storage. It means we have to figure out some place to keep my car. It means we have to leave our big, beautiful, and cheap apartment with the deck overlooking the forest and the singing birds. It means we have to say goodbye to everyone again and goodbyes really suck. It means we might have to miss Thanksgiving and Christmas again and that would be sad.

But I do have to say this. As I turned on the computer to write this blog, I noticed something very funny. As mentioned in a previous post, we're using Ned's mom's computer. When I was waiting for AOL to load up, I noticed the screen's wallpaper, which is a painting of Jesus guiding a man. He is standing in back of the man, pointing the way for him to go. And I was thinking, "Man, that's what I need. I need Jesus to guide me like that!" And then I look down, and see that the man is standing behind the steering wheel of A BOAT. Jesus is guiding the man as he is steering the boat. Ha! I just had to smile. I thought it was totally hilarious. So... I guess we will see what happens.

Ahoy me Mateys!

That title is in honor of National Talk Like a Pirate Day (Special thanks to Michelle for pointing that out to me). I find this a rather suitable celebration considering Ned and my current endeavors. As described in an earlier post, Ned and I spent about a month working on a yacht in Auckland, New Zealand. Well, we're thinking very seriously about doing it again. And tomorrow we're going to call up our contact, Murry Lord, to see if he can score us a job. It is exciting and a little bit scary at the same time.

We've got about 6 weeks until our lease runs out, and need to make a fast decision on whether or not to renew it. Well, since we've been here nearly 6 months and every single job prospect I've had has fallen through, we're thinking that perhaps it is time to move on. Working on a boat would be an excellent thing to move on to for several reasons:

1. It is an amazing adventure! I mean, come on! We'd be sailing around the world!
2. Ned and I would get to work together. That was one of my favorite things about when we worked the boats before.
3. We'd make lots of $! We would be making almost double what we've ever made before, and there would be no bills! Room and board- all FREE. It'd be a great way to save up for seminary and film school.
4. It would be missions! Sailors are totally an unreached people group, yet they are so interested in spiritual things!

I shared this idea with my small group today, expecting them to think I was a crazy fool for thinking such things. But they were extremely supportive and totally thought we should pursue it! So after prayer, careful consideration, and consultation with people much wiser than I, we have decided to give it a go! Anchors away!

Macho Men

I'm at my parents' this weekend. Ned is in Virginia, visiting his brother Jim. They're doing a motorcycle trip/male bonding thing. Get this- the back wheel on his motorcycle all but blew- he was told it's amazing it hasn't already- so it's unsafe to drive it home without replacing the wheel. Problem #1: New wheel costs $100. Problem #2: Motorcycle shops aren't open 'till Monday. (sidenote: somehow, Ned managed to land a gig playing in the worship band at a church in Roanoke tomorrow- go figure.) While riding to worship practice in a friend of a friend's car, they see a motorcycle wheel on the side of the road. The friend of a friend happens to be a motorcycle mechanic, and says the wheel is in good enough shape to use, and that it will fit Ned's bike. Ha! Is that not amazing? Thank you God!

Too Sexy for the Mac

Yay! Ned's Mom said we could use her computer while she is in Honduras (at least another year), so we no longer have to use the stinky Mac! This computer is actually even more of a dinasaur than the Mac- it is from 1998! But amazingly, it still works better. I can even view my blog :) We're definitely still on the market for a new laptop, but now the need is not so urgent and we can wait till we have a little more $.

Speaking of $, I had a job today! I will be employed until next Wednesday, when my job situation will once again be up in the air. I'm working at an insurance company . I worked there for 2 weeks about a month and a half ago, and they were so impressed with me that they called the temp agency up and asked for me to come work for them again. The temp agency is apparantly impressed with me as well-- I interviewed with them yesterday for a job in their very own office. I would be the one to interview and screen and place the temps! It would be a really great job because I would be helping people, and also because about 1/2 of the people that come in are from other countries and I love seeing all the different cultures! So now I just have to wait and hope they decide to hire me... Cheers.

Hurricane Relief

Yesterday I spent all day in the hot sun collecting water for Hurricane Katrina victims. Our church is having a water drive until 8pm tonight, and then they've got a tractor trailer that they're going to drive it all down with. We're doing it along with another church in the area, and between the 2 of us, we've collected 3 trailers full of water! It is so cool to see how generous people can be. One man pulled up in his truck and handed us a $100 bill. He wasn't the only one who donated that much. One person even donated $500 dollars! But by far, the most rewarding part is seeing people drive up with a jug, a case, or even just a bottle of water. And they are grateful for the opportunity to give it. They know they are doing a good thing and it shows on their faces. I know I was thankful for my small part in helping.

I was also really impressed by the way Newspring, the church I used to go to when I lived in SC, responded. They made a commitment to donate $5 for every person that showed up last Sunday. Now, to understand the magnitude of this, you need to realize that Newspring averages about 3-4,000 people a week! (Compared to 300 people when I first went there 3 years ago!) So, when over 4,000 people showed up on Sunday, Newspring wrote out a check for over $20,000! That's a lot of money! Plus they're sending down a trailer full of supplies, plus they're sending work teams to help with the rebuilding.

I just want to say that I am pleased with the way the Body of Christ is coming together like this to provide relief for people in Jesus' name.

Child-like Faith

Our friend from church, Monica, was working on the computer when she heard her 3 year old daughter, Mason, saying something. Thinking Mason was talking to her, Monica asked, "What'd you say, honey?"

"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Jesus." Mason replied.

"Oh, ok."

Next thing Monica heard: "Jesus, next time I go pee pee, will you wipe me?"

HA!