Phase 3.....

There is much to tell this update. The boat was successfully mended by a some wooden shipwrights out of Washington who came up to Cordova to help us. Final cost on this was about $5500 less then was projected so we were grateful for that.  It took about a week to fix everything and then another few days of extra repairs that R could do himself. During this time 2 things happened. First off, R didn't get a single call back on any of the jobs he put his feelers out for. Secondly, he had a conversation with Rob in Kodiak who previously offered to help R once he got to Kodiak to make any extra details happen and this phone call R explained how he ran into a sandbar and that fixing the damage was going to cost us nearly all our money. Rob told R that he would GIVE us a skiff and a sane (a small boat and a net valued at 20k-50k) to use for the summer and if we made money then we could pay him something after the season. This was like a miracle to hear so we started to consider the possibility of R still going to Kodiak to fish as we had planned. Rob also said that the season still hadn't really even begun to peak yet and so essentially R wasn't missing anything. After some consideration it seemed that going to Kodiak was the open door and staying in Cordova working on someone else's boat was not. So we proceeded to head that direction knowing full well that Kenny, the captain who agreed to fish with us probably wasn't going to leave his other job that late in the season. R had never been able to get in touch with Kenny this whole time because his phone was off. Seeing that we missed the date we had set with him (July 1st), we figured we were just going to have to find someone else with a fishing permit once we arrived. However, the day before R was going to leave for Kodiak, Kenny, called him back.  He told R that not only would he definitely fish the Lord Willing no matter when he got there, but that August was by far the best month of the season. He said that because R was willing to pay him in acual fish that he would leave his other job anytime to join R and his boat. WOW! We were really not expecting that. So everything fell into place for us to still fish our boat this year in Kodiak. With disaster still fresh in our minds and hearts, this felt like the biggest gift and relief we ever experienced. Ok, now R just had to actually get to Kodiak. He still had about 300 miles to go which should've taken him about 40 hours. In reality it took about 3 days because it was such bad weather that R had actually packed food and water next to his survival suit and life raft in case they had to make a hasty exit off a sinking boat. He said that being out in the middle of the ocean like that, in a storm no less, was absolutely terrifying! He said he was praying non-stop for about 8 hours until the weather calmed down. The last 12 hours of his journey he said the sea was as smooth as glass. During this time he almost ran into a 90ft whale that surfaced about 10 feet away from his boat. R said the whale acted almost irritated as if the boat was in HIS way. That was an experience. He also said they saw an ice berg just floating out there in the middle of the ocean. He made it to Kodaik last night at about 10L30 pm. Today he hit the ground running, making connections with people and setting the boat up to actually go out and fish. We are still a few days or maybe a week away from fishing but HE MADE IT! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you for reading and praying.

Praise:
- for arriving in Kodiak safe and in one piece
- for Kenny and his permit
- for the continued favor R seems to be getting despite tough situations
- R's willing heart and humble attitude
- for the man today who offered R another boat engine (the same one he currently has) for free

Pray:
- for repairs and final fishing necessities to be completed quickly and easily
- for the right connections to be made with the people who can help
- for our dollars to stretch to just the right amount to complete all these last details
- for a cannery to be willing to buy our fish
- for peace and gratitude to be the song of R's heart
- for a continued interconnectedness in our family

Thanks!

D