Sunday 15th October 2017
Today has been our first of seven days at sea. We are cruising down the Red Sea. The sea is calm and the journey so far has been very smooth. The only hiccough is that we have no internet right now, so I am typing this up on notepad for posting online later.
Current position…green is where we have come from. Yellow is us. Red is where we are going (Seychelles) – we arrive there a week today.
Once we get out of the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean, we are told we will be “accompanied” to avoid piracy issues. Certain areas of the ship will be out-of-bounds and it is suggested we do not go on our balconies between sunset and sunrise. After dark curtains must remain closed. With Yemen on one side and Somalia on the other, no one is complaining!
After the last couple of days of strenuous sight-seeing, a complete day of rest and recovery was required. We slept late and after 7-30am, I went to the dining room and picked up a snack breakfast and two cups of coffee. After that we had a leisurely lie-in. The weather is now very warm and muggy (think Durban humidity). Our balcony is like a low-key sauna. We appreciate the very efficient air conditioner of our cabin.
A few of the passengers arranged a church service for today at 10am so around 9-30am we got up, got dressed and went. It was relatively well attended with about 50-60 people there. You never quite know what you are in for. The first issue was technical – they couldn’t get the sound right so the service started late. Eventually, a lady called Roslyn stood up and started proceedings. While the sound team struggled, she had to say something so she gave her brief testimony. It was very moving. Once the music got going, things improved and after the music, Roslyn’s husband preached on Zacchaeus with an extended novella of what Zacchaeus may have done prior to his encounter with Jesus. It was creative and ended with prayer for the sick.
After the service, we went back to our cabin and read until lunchtime. After lunch, we did what is reasonable and very acceptable on a Sunday afternoon – we slept!
And #447 of my 1000 thanks is for that sleep. It was wonderful!
I have now left Mike reading and come up on deck to see if I can get any internet here. It’s still not connected, but I was able to book for tonight’s entertainment. We did get a notice that the internet will be intermittent this side of Africa, so I have put myself close to the upstairs connection and I see it has just connected.
As I have access to Facebook, I have been keeping up with some of those in need, including Dee Harris and the McClungs. They have people praying for them all over the world, including me off the coasts of Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the middle of the Red Sea.
Sally McClung posted her update and she quoted Floyd in one of his blogs:
“A testing time in our lives, big or small, is one of the ways God uses to teach us to depend more deeply on Him. As we go through tests, we discover God’s goodness in new dimensions. We gain confidence that God can and will meet us in the crisis experiences of life.”
Our lives are in God’s hands. Each and every one of them. A month ago, Mike and I were in the thick of having to cope with our intrusions. It was a stressful and anxious time. We felt attacked. It certainly led us to depend on God more deeply. God saw what was happening. There are no surprises with Him. God did meet us in the crisis experience of our life. News from home is that our man with the vans shoe print has not been around since he was caught and released the Sunday night before we came away (3 weeks ago).
Lamentations 3:25, 26
“The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in Him, so it is best for us to wait in patience – to wait for Him to save us.”
These are the days!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂