Captain's Log #27
July, 2002

CINDY'S PERSPECTIVE
As we get our reports going again from here on the missionfield, I (Harmon) would like to occasionally include some excerpts from talks that Cindy gave while we were doing deputation - this is the first one:

OCEAN BATH - RIVER LAUNDRY
The sound I was subconsciously listening for as I drifted off to sleep, was the specific pitch of splashing water in the fresh water tank housed below our mattress  That pitch would tell me how much water we had used, and how long it would be before we would need to begin transporting water from the spring fed streams in the village a mile away,  back to the boat which is my home. 

In an effort to delay this tiresome chore, earlier that day, Harmon, Danielle, Quinton and I had bathed in the sea, using coconut soap (which works best in saltwater), and then, once we were back on board, counting down the 5 seconds of precious freshwater allowed for each family member, we rinsed off the soap and salt. 
The day before, I had started up the little 10hp Honda outboard on the back of the 10 ft.  inflatable boat that serves as a tender for the GALILEAN, loaded up the kids and the laundry bags,... threaded my way through the coral reef and ducked into the thick mangroves near the shore.

The cheering and clapping as I emerged on the other end of the overgrown labyrinth of dense mangrove trees, roots, and boulders, were an encouragement.

The people of this village had been watching me over the last few weeks...through the frustrating and humiliating process of learning to operate and navigate this little blue 'means of transportation' and they were congratulating me on my persistence and progress. 
After they helped me tie up the boat and unload, Danielle and I then spent the morning scrubbing clothes on the huge boulders that form the pools and sparkling waterfalls under the sun filtered trees of the rain forest next to a shaded area that is now known as Kadavu Koro Lighthouse Church of the Nazarene.  

HARMON'S PERSPECTIVE - HOME
It was great to see and talk to so many of you, our church family and friends across the States but it is so very good to be back here where our hearts are in the South Pacific! 'Home' is sort of relative for us these days as far as a specific place to hang your hat, especially as the boat is still out of the water as we work on it but these islands with these islanders sure feels like home. To the very many of you who turned out to see and hear us during 107 meetings over the last 3 months and who showed your love and support to us - let me just say - THANK YOU! L.A.X. It was dark when we entered LAX airport and walked passed the area that just days ago was sprayed with gunfire and where people were killed and we cleared security and found our gate and climbed into the huge Air Pacific jet and listened to the whine of the engines as they prepared for takeoff. We didn't know it at the time, but it was right about then that the last living grandparent for Cindy or me, my 92 year old grandmother died in a hospital in Florida. The 'homecoming' celebration for a great lady of God had already began!  What this means for you who partner with us in prayer, is that you will have to double up on your prayer time for Fiji because a significant portion of her days for these last two years has been spent before the throne on behalf of the people of the South Pacific.  She's passed the torch on now... you have a big job!

VAST EXPANSE
Behind and under us the flickering lights of the huge metropolis of Los Angeles faded into the pitch blackness of night as the aircraft gained altitude, higher and higher finally reaching 30,000 feet. Eventually there was nothing at all down there. Hour after hour there was nothing down there. Once in a long while a tiny pinprick of light gave evidence of some lonely ship all by itself headed for some unknown destination. By the time we touched land again we would have traveled at one thousand kilometers an hour for almost ten and a half hours across absolutely nothing but water. This is the greatest expanse of water known to man, it is the Pacific Ocean and it is home.

A NEW LOOK AND MORE
In this world of thousands of square miles of water and countless islands, what do you do if one of your goals is to be **NOTICED** , to be recognized...   seen...  BOLDLY ... somehow, while feeling like a speck sometimes? How in an emergency do you have the best chances of your boat being tracked down and found on ocean waters that are so vast and that turn white in the fury of a storm? And how do you help to keep the island people talking about who you are and who you represent and what you are doing??? Well, of course the first thing is to be about doing the right things for the right One. Another thing, I figured, when it came time to repaint the 16 year old motor vessel 'Galilean' when we left for the States, was to reconsider the look of this faded white boat with blue trim. So I told the people "I want this boat seen, paint the hull RED with the rest of the boat white!" Wow! Did they do a good job! It will now be know as the RED boat and it most certainly has a good chance of being seen!! Not only that - but because of your ongoing response to this ministry, we are thrilled to be planning the upgrading of safety equipment such as the radar and installing things that will really make a long term difference, such as a 'desalinater' which takes raw ocean salt water and turns it into pure drinking water while at sea - this will drastically effect our lives and how often we need to return to the main island for provisions (not to mention fresh water showers)!!

CHURCH
Our first service back here in Fiji was great! It was at the church at Caubati where one of the other Nazarene churches is coming over to help them grow. The place was packed out, people testifying, the singing was fantastic, the message from a God who's love reaches even out across these vast waters with hope in the midst of hopelessness. Please don't stop praying for workers! We really need workers! Don't stop praying for God called nationals who can be trained to be leaders. Don't stop praying for Dr. and Mrs. Bartle as they focus on educating and training. Don't stop praying for the Johnson's as they now prepare for furlough, we passed them at the airport headed out toward the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti, pursuing the first stages of starting the church work there! What a vast harvest field...  it is ripe for harvest...  and the workers are few and the time is short! What a great God to trust us with this incredible work!

Harmon Schmelzenbach
South Pacific

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