Availability

Hey friends!

Living on a boat these last few weeks has been an awesome experience. This particular Next Wave boat that I've been living on is an ice breaker weighing at 190,000kilo’s. This means that unlike most boats that are made mostly out of wood the frame and base of this boat is composed of cast iron enabling it to travel through ice fields. Because of the weight of this boat it makes for a lot of back and forth motion in the dock which has taken some adjusting but we're all starting to get used to it. The heart of the Next Wave is to raise up, train, disciple, and release the ‘next wave’ of missionaries throughout the Mediterranian port cities of Europe.

Most of our time here in Spain has been spent docked in the harbor so we’ve only actually been out 12 miles at sea twice to empty the blackwater tank (pooptank!). It’s been fun to help the crew in the engine room, landing the boat, tying ropes and swabbing the deck. I feel like a true sailor! We’ve been living here with two other YWAM teams who are from Milan, Italy and another team from Harpendon England. Personally I have been inspired by these teams, each person here has a story to tell and a different perspective to bring. It is a privilege to be here serving the Lord with them in Spain.

God has been speaking to me through his Word in Acts 8:26-40 where the Spirit of God told Philip to travel to the desert outside Jerusalem. Without understanding why Philip went in obedience and was led to an Ethiopian man who was reading the book of Isaiah. The story is almost comedic when the Spirit told Philip to confront this man in his chariot and ask him if he understood what he was reading. “Excuse me sir, do you understand what you’re reading?” Interestingly enough, the man had no idea that what he was reading in Isaiah was a prophecy of Jesus. Through this little interaction Philip was able to share the good news, disciple and baptize the Ethiopian in a puddle on the side of the road. What this simple story teaches me is the importance of being available to God even when it seems abnormal. I’ve been confronted with the question ‘Will you available and flexible enough to hear God’s voice and to obey when he speaks?’. I have had times in the past where God has used my simple obedience to effect the life of another person and it has been amazing. The story reminds me that God is soooo concerned about people, he cares and wanted this Ethiopian man to hear the story about Jesus. It would have been a huge privilege for Philip to be used in this way.

In terms of ministry we’ve been able to connect with a church here and serve them through leading worship and having worship seminars for their worship teams. We will continue to serve this church while doing evangelism in our area around the dock. We have permission to play music publicly so we will be putting on worship concerts with the hopes that our Spanish speaking contacts will be able to share the good news with them. It is our teams belief that if we do the possible God will do the impossible. Please be praying that our small acts of service will have eternal repercussions.

Hope your Christmas was great and bless you and your family in the New Year.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

Learning to be available

-Jer

If you feel called to support me financially please know that your donations can be given to Laureen Allert (Laureen@telus.net) who is my financial manager. Thanks for your partnership!

Check out Next Wave online

www.marinereachministries.com