Our God is Able…
Our God is able...Sea Hope has had a busy and blessed quarter. Mary and I returned from our Christmas visit with family and friends and we hit the ground running. Frank Olafson came down in late January and we installed the second water maker giving us the ability to produce 100 gallons of water per hour. We also tackled several other corrective maintenance projects, and then started painting the berthing compartments getting ready for the medical clinic trip to Haiti.
The MMO Team boarding in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
Medical Missions Outreach flew a 14 person medical team to the Dominican Republic and we made a brief stop to pick them up. We then had a 24 hour transit to Jacmel, Haiti to work with pastor Dieupie Cherubin and Hosanna Baptist Church. Medical Missions Outreach conducted 4 days ofmedical clinics in 4 different locations, serving over 850 patients. The gospel was clearly presented each day and over 60 professions were made. The people came for medical help for the body, but they were introduced to the Great Physician who can take care of their spiritual need. As you know Haiti has a lot of darkness due to VooDoo. It is only the light of the gospel that can help these folks. Pastor Cherubin and his staff are working tirelessly to reach their community and it was a privilege to be able to come alongside this local church and help in this effort. One of the highlights of this trip was being able to visit missionary Kevin Falde and see the work he is doing in rebuilding a hospital in the rural mountain region east of Jacmel. They are making great progress!
The partnership between Medical Missions Outreach and Sea Hope worked well, and we look forward to joint ventures in the future. This was a general medical clinic. Future endeavors may center around either vision or dental clinics, or even some combination.
Bradley Edmondson Dieupie Cherubin Buddy Puryear
Once we returned from the medical trip, we focused our attention on taking Sea Hope to a boatyard for our annual haul-out. Since Sea Hope has a wooden hull, we need to inspect and paint the bottom every year to prevent wood damage. The Lord lead us to find a yard on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. This facility is only about 85 nautical miles from where we are docked, and the service we received was just excellent.
Going back into the water after a “shave and a haircut”
This is a very important development for long term service in the Caribbean. The facility we use in the US is over 1500 miles away, and at today’s fuel prices it costs about $30,000 to go to and from there. As long as we don’t have to replace boards on the bottom, the yard in the BVI can do the annual service.
PRAYER REQUEST: We still do not have a clear path forward on our long-term home port situation. For now, we should be able to stay at Puerto Del Rey on a month to month basis. We are just trusting the Lord to open the right door and direct us. Please help us pray about this.