RAIN DELAY: JULY 5 – 11, 2023.
To Cruise With Love vessel experienced a short week; however, All Things Worked Out For Good!!
As the Crew was looking forward to sail to the port cities of Biblical History: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Jonah; that didn’t happen due to weather that was unexpected.
The captain was alerted to delay departure due to the severe cumulonimbus cloud formation and gusty winds. As the crew waited several learners joined. One learner asked, “Will we see a fish as big as the one that swallowed Jonah when we get to that port city?” Another learner asked, “Do You think we would see the wall Nehemiah’s team built in 52 days?” Another learner said they wanted to see the Jericho wall. The women had many questions of Ruth and Esther.
During the time of questions and excitement everyone was abruptly distracted by the loud rumble of thunder and a loud down pour of heavy rain. The process was so fast, but we knew our God was in control. The captain received an alert that everyone had to depart from the vessel immediately. This was no shock to the captain; following up on his spiritual discernment, he had spoken with the Marina hotel owner in advance; just in case shelter was needed.
The crew was directed to escort the learners to the hotel which was in eye sight of the vessel. Timing was perfect! Just as the captain ran in the hotel, drenched, the heavy rain was now mixed with continuous thump, thump, thump sounds from the acorn size hail. Tickets counted, all learners and crew accounted for.
The hotel owner led the group to a big conference room. With a big smile he stated, “from the looks of the weather and the thunder storm warning you might be in here for a while.” With the accommodations of a big screen TV, microphone and plenty of space; the crew and the learners decided to make the best of their time. After answering numerous questions related to port cities we knew we would not have time to visit. A shift happened. The learners and crew were offered and accepted a surprise lunch by one of the guest who had witnessed the boarding and getting off the vessel quickly, as they described what they saw from their hotel balcony.
After lunch, with the rain still pouring the crew asked if anyone would like to watch the video by Tim Mackie: YAHWEH Is Our God. The video link was recommended by a learner in the group; due to unanswered questions from the previous week. The video provided so much revelation and understanding of our Creator Elohim and His LOVE –(KHESED) for His creation.
As the afternoon showed no sign of the rain stopping, the captain decided the learners would depart from the hotel as they would from the vessel after each daily excursion. Return the attached ticket to ensure everyone was safe and off the vessel. Several learners asked for prayer after learning Jehovah God was not only our Provider, but also Jehovah Rapha, the God Who Heals.
The captain also prayed for all to receive wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 4:7; James 1:5). He also informed the learners that it appeared the rain would keep the vessel from taking sail to the port cities the next day and for those interested he would rent out a group room at the hotel for all learners who wanted to continue the excursion on land.
The next day, the rain was not as severe. To stay safe, the crew and learners met in a group room, gathering in three small groups; the daytrip began its Historical sail to several port cities. The vessel was able to sail the rest of the week. However, at the end of the week some learners decided they would put their money together and rent a small group room once a week for spiritual fellowship, to discuss specific Biblical accounts and read through the Bible together.
The crew volunteered literature, scripture cards, Bibles and other items from the gift shop, at no cost to learners in hopes to proclaim the importance of Being Born Again (John 3:3, 5; Romans 10:9-10). The captain stated he wanted to sail to a specific port city the following week so the learners could receive more revelation about Salvation and Jesus (Acts 4:12).
留言