Life Groups

At Third Baptist Church here in Murfreesboro we call Sunday School our "Life Group".  Our group has had us on their prayer list from the start of our trip.  Our teacher Sam Wrather ask Denniese and me to teach the class this morning from the perspective of how God was a part of our adventure called the Great Loop. Last week as we prepared for the presentation, we felt it would be good to tell about the people that came into our lives at certain times along the way and especially when we needed them.  The boating community that joins the great loop adventurer each year is a very special group of people and tend to be very helpful of one another.  Even after they have completed the loop many still stay active within the group and act as advisers along the way.  It seems most boaters are very willing to help another boater so it is not surprising that all along our trip we found people willing to give advice, loan a car, or offer help in some special way.  In our presentation we mentioned a few that stand out.  The first were our friends Jim and Beverly that went with us on our maiden cruise from Key Largo to Stuart, Florida.  They gave us advice and reassurance that we could do the trip.  Michael was a sailor that was sitting aboard his sailboat in lower Biscayne Bay waiting for a part to arrive from the mainland so he could continue his trip to the Bahamas when he came to my rescue. An oarlock broke on my new used dinghy and the tide was pushing me, the dinghy and the dog toward Cuba. Micheal rushed out and captured us and even took Maggie to shore.  In Stuart, Niel Adams came to our rescue and took me to West Marine to purchase a new outboard motor. The dinghy with the broken oarlock did not have a motor and our recently purchased used outboard motor arrived in Stuart and then was quickly stolen. Louis and Diane Wade, Gold Flag loopers, (Gold Flag means they have completed the Loop) from Morehead City gave us advice about where to stay and loaned us a car for the weekend. They even took us to their house for a visit before we all went out to eat. The membership at PYC, Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, adopted us for a couple of weeks.  We left the boat there and rented a car to drive home for a July 4th reunion. Pete and Cheryl Carr loaned us a car to go to church and pick up some needed supplies.  Pete took us to Hertz rental the next day so we could pick up a car to travel home in. On the Erie Canal at Amsterdam on Sunday July 10, we were walking to church when a stranger ask if we needed a ride.  Richard Conti was retired and a local resident.  He took us to the local Baptist Church and then picked us up afterward and gave us a tour of the area. We didn't even get the fellow boaters name that yelled a danger call to us as our anchor broke loose during a high wind at Bustard Island and we were being pushed toward some rocks.  We did get the names of the two volunteer fire fighters that took soundings for us when we were aground on the Upper Mississippi.  They are Gene Chrestman and James McWilliams from the Cairo Volunteer Fire Department. Martha Nicholson is the Emergency Manager for that area and was the help we needed when no other agencies were available.  We thank God for all the people that helped us along the way and know that we will need help as we continue our voyage and we also know  our prayers will be answered.