We sailed from Bilboa, Spain with the excitement of knowing we were about to embark on our longest sail of the next 4 months. From Bilboa to Lisbon, Portugal, we were told the sail would take approximately 4 1/2 days. Last night we were sitting at a cafe overlooking our ship in the Lisbon harbor realizing that at 6 knots an hour, we have taken about 3 weeks to travel from Liverpool to Lisbon. If we jumped on EasyJet, we could all be back home in about one hour. The wonder of modern transportation!
But at the moment, I wouldn´t trade an easy plane journey for the lessons that I am learning aboard the Next Wave. Sailing down the Spanish/Portugese coast, we have talked a lot about the conquistadores who sailed to the New World from these shores. How amazingly bold they must have been to set sail across the world in ships that dídn´t have the conveniences of our modern ship. Aboard we have two from South America..one from Argentina and one from Paraguay. Both shared with the group that the conquistadores slaughtered most of the native people of those countries as they stripped the wealth from the region for the glory of their rulers. The Portugese would also bring thousands of Africans to the New World as slaves. Unfortunately their colonies suffered severely from the conquest of those cultures.
They would also have brought Christianity with them but the mixture of state power and religion has not been a blessing to the people who were forced to convert. Throughout this time period of the explorers of the 15th century, the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal enforced a Christianity that would eventually lead to the Jewish community being expelled in 1492. These Jewish communities fled to the Ottoman Empire where they lived safely under Muslim rule.
Thousands of people in Spain and Portugal died as inquisadors investigated the Christian walk of the ordinary and famous alike. None were safe from being sent to prison or to the stake if their observation of the faith was found wanting.
As we have been sailing along the coast, I have found myself praying often for revival in these two countries and for the scars of the past to be healed.
Today Portugal is a poor country in comparison to most of Western Europe but from our two days here, there is such a wonderful warmth in the welcome we have received. It is a treasure of a country to be explored and prayed for.
This evening we leave for our next sail to Malagar which lies just inside the Straits of Gibraltor. ...hometown of Antonio Banderas and Picasso. On the last sail, we had huge dolphins jumping out of the water and flipping onto their sides as we worshipped on deck one afternoon, so we all look forward to seeing what new wonder we will see on this next sail. One can't help, but be impressed with the beauty of God's creation and saddened by man's fallen nature in response to God's goodness. But thank goodness for the goodness of God who has redeemed us through His Son.
Donde esta Biblioteca?
As a new sailor, I had several stories about travelling through the Bay of Bisque. It is renown for its very uncalm seas and so we all prepared for a bumpy ride. Instead we were blessed with 48 hours of calm seas that were so much fun. The 12 to 4 Watch Team saw dolphins swimming around us in the phosphorus algae which was a wonderful treat that helps one be glad that they were the crew awake at that time of night!
The next morning I was sitting with my mp3 player enjoying some quiet time with God when the word "whale" echoed around me, and I climbed as fast as I could to the deck. I managed to see the back of the whale as he took a couple of dips. The team had seen two whales surfacing and diving as they followed us for a short period.
All of this wonder of nature just provides the most amazing backdrop for a group of young people, school staff and the ship´s crew to learn how to live out the teachings of Jesus. Our shool theme is ¨None shall live for himself¨and living on a ship with around 31 other people, there is
plenty of opportunities to see how much grace and mercy we need from God to live our life of faith. Over this sail time, the staff set up deck chairs and we started praying with each student. We asked God for him to show us how He designed each one. As we listened together, we heard amazing descriptions of each one.
At the end of the sail, we arrived in a small village called Castro Urdiales outside of Bilboa on the Northern end of Spain. It is so gorgeous and a fun place for us to spend one day ashore. It has beautiful hills around the village and a cathredral overlooking the harbor. Unfortuntely, I can´t upload photos here the library´s intranet center but I will do that later.
Interestingly, the village is 2000 years old and was started by the Romans. Today is part of the Basque region of Spain...one could spend several weeks here roaming the mountains. But instead, we will head off for Lisbon, Portugal tomorrow evening. The next sail is 4 1-2 days and we hope it is as calm as the last one.
After this short time at sea, I want to let you know that any movie you have seen about sailors and pirates that shows them walking straight on ships is fiction for sure! We are all walking like Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. That funny swerving walk he did in the movies is the real sailor at sea bouncing with the waves!
The next morning I was sitting with my mp3 player enjoying some quiet time with God when the word "whale" echoed around me, and I climbed as fast as I could to the deck. I managed to see the back of the whale as he took a couple of dips. The team had seen two whales surfacing and diving as they followed us for a short period.
All of this wonder of nature just provides the most amazing backdrop for a group of young people, school staff and the ship´s crew to learn how to live out the teachings of Jesus. Our shool theme is ¨None shall live for himself¨and living on a ship with around 31 other people, there is
plenty of opportunities to see how much grace and mercy we need from God to live our life of faith. Over this sail time, the staff set up deck chairs and we started praying with each student. We asked God for him to show us how He designed each one. As we listened together, we heard amazing descriptions of each one.
At the end of the sail, we arrived in a small village called Castro Urdiales outside of Bilboa on the Northern end of Spain. It is so gorgeous and a fun place for us to spend one day ashore. It has beautiful hills around the village and a cathredral overlooking the harbor. Unfortuntely, I can´t upload photos here the library´s intranet center but I will do that later.
Interestingly, the village is 2000 years old and was started by the Romans. Today is part of the Basque region of Spain...one could spend several weeks here roaming the mountains. But instead, we will head off for Lisbon, Portugal tomorrow evening. The next sail is 4 1-2 days and we hope it is as calm as the last one.
After this short time at sea, I want to let you know that any movie you have seen about sailors and pirates that shows them walking straight on ships is fiction for sure! We are all walking like Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. That funny swerving walk he did in the movies is the real sailor at sea bouncing with the waves!
Our First Port
After around 85 hours of sailing, we have arrived in L'Orient, France. As we left Liverpool, with friends from the Oval and from Liverpool waving good-bye, it was hard not to think of all the sailing vessels that used to leave the harbor sailing for unknown lands. We just had to give up communications for a few days but when one is connected all the time to the world, those days felt like we had transitioned into another world.
Our first day was supposed to be fairly calm but we had a "baptism by fire" as the sea decided to be a mixture of waves going in all directions. So we had a very bonding experience of all looking green together and discovering how to throwing up over the bow with grace! But after 12 hours, the sea calmed down and the rest of the sail was incredible. On day two, we had dolphins swimming alongside of us all day and night. I will never forget looking out across the water and about 12 dolphins were jumping out of the water as if they were running to catch up with us. Once next to ship, they would dive in and out of the front of the boat. I love Seaworld but this was beyond that experience.
The school was divided into 4 hour watches with the crew and so around the clock each team trimmed sails, kept watch and just generally spent time getting to know each other. I stayed on a day watch and got up each morning at 6 to join the 4 to 8 crew. Who wouldn't jump out of bed to be able to sing and prayer together as the sun comes up over the water! It isn't hard to praise God in the midst of such beauty.
We leave tomorrow to sail to Bilboa, Spain where we will be for a short stop and then on to Lisbon, Portugal. My hope each day is that we will grow in our understanding of God's work in our lives and to experience the richness of his love that we want to share with those we meet on our travels.
I will post pictures later....but I better run to catch my boat!
Our first day was supposed to be fairly calm but we had a "baptism by fire" as the sea decided to be a mixture of waves going in all directions. So we had a very bonding experience of all looking green together and discovering how to throwing up over the bow with grace! But after 12 hours, the sea calmed down and the rest of the sail was incredible. On day two, we had dolphins swimming alongside of us all day and night. I will never forget looking out across the water and about 12 dolphins were jumping out of the water as if they were running to catch up with us. Once next to ship, they would dive in and out of the front of the boat. I love Seaworld but this was beyond that experience.
The school was divided into 4 hour watches with the crew and so around the clock each team trimmed sails, kept watch and just generally spent time getting to know each other. I stayed on a day watch and got up each morning at 6 to join the 4 to 8 crew. Who wouldn't jump out of bed to be able to sing and prayer together as the sun comes up over the water! It isn't hard to praise God in the midst of such beauty.
We leave tomorrow to sail to Bilboa, Spain where we will be for a short stop and then on to Lisbon, Portugal. My hope each day is that we will grow in our understanding of God's work in our lives and to experience the richness of his love that we want to share with those we meet on our travels.
I will post pictures later....but I better run to catch my boat!
So long landlubbers...I'm going to sea
I've been living on the Next Wave now for 7 days and what an adventure it has been. I have bruises on my head, legs and arms from just adjusting to small places. All of the dts staff except for Dan have never lived on a ship before so we have been busy learning about boat life as we prepare to receive the dts students tomorrow.
Part of our training has been to learn to tie a few knots (memories of my girl scout days) and then climbing up on the boom as well as helping pull up the sail. I also climbed almost to the top of the mast but decided to save going all the way to the top for another day! We have just had lots of fun laughing and being stretched by the new experiences.
But against that backdrop, the crew and our school staff have been preparing ourselves to train 11 young people. The slogan for the school is: "None shall live for Himself" with us focusing on teaching from Romans 12 and Colossians 3. Living in such tight quarters for four months will give each of us loads how to live out the gospel from the inside out!
The students arrive Saturday, and we then will commission the ship on Sunday. We are going to give the students one day of getting acquainted before we leave on Monday. At this point, we will be sailors for the next 85 hours of sailing to the coast of France. Keep us in your prayers as we are hoping for outstanding weather. Details to follow!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)