My Little Fisherman!

I missed Joey SO much when I was away! And just when I thought he couldn't get any cuter... He did...

He LOVES to go fishing!

I was out fishing with Joseph for about 30 minutes when my parents decided to come join us. I hadn't even gotten one nibble in the whole time I was there. Then they both cast their lines in the pond and BOTH caught a fish! Within like a minute! I couldn't believe it. They gave me quite a bit of grief since I'm supposed to be the fisherman of the family.

A Good Friend

My friend Gabe was in Arkansas for a week again for the track and field competitions... Or something along those lines. It's all pretty confusing to me. I don't know if it makes sense to say he coaches heptathletes and pole vaulters... But it's definitely somewhere along those lines.

I was pretty glad I was able to catch an earlier flight when I departed Baltimore. There were 14 of us on stand-by. Myself being number 9. And there were exactly 9 seats available. That was the first time I had been overjoyed to have a middle seat.

Anyways, I flew in and then about 45 minutes later Gabe had to fly out. It was a short visit, but I'm glad I made it home in time to at least see him.

Homeward Bound!

Three months at ACL (American Cruise Lines)... Finished! It seems almost to good to be true

Once again they managed to drain me of all my energy and I feel almost to tired to be excited... But not quite! I have way too many exciting things in the near future not to be totally thrilled.

Though I wouldn’t use the word “enjoy” to describe my time onboard the M/V American Spirit, I will say that it was much better than my first experience in 2007.

The deck crew this season was pretty great.

Actually ACL was still talking about the deck crew I was on two years ago as the “A team”. They were always saying how it was the best crew the company’s had. I just figured it was a motivational speech they gave to everyone that came through. But I guess they weren’t joking, because when I came back this year they were still talking about that crew.

Well, our crew this year blew the other one out of the water. Or gave them the place of second anyways. I’m pretty excited that I had the privilege of making it to both of them. The crew this year, for the most part, really was amazing.

I don’t want to sound as though I think it was me that was “so great”. Because I do know that it was a team effort. I was just super blessed to have been able to work with the people I did.

A Gift to Me!

I've been meaning to post an update on what's been going on in my life, but I just can't seem to find the time or the words. Life is crazy and I can't wait to get off this boat. I've gotten to the point where I've put up with about as much as I can. And that really only means one thing, that everything gets on my nerves and makes me so mad! Anyways, I'm not writing to go into all those details, I just wanted to share a short story with you.

So, I got up the other morning at 0330 for my 0400 watch. (The time really is irrelevant, but I thought maybe I'd get an "awe, poor dear, has to be up working at that hour". You know, a little sympathy. Ha ha)

Anyways, so there I am standing at the sink brushing my teeth. And I look in the mirror and think to myself, "wow, I really need to whiten my teeth". Then I go on thinking about how I'm trying to save money for Australia and that whitening my teeth really isn't something I must do but only something I want and therefore is not really important at all.

So, off to work I go. When I returned to my room a couple hours later, I noticed something odd in my bed. Weird I thought. What is in my bed? ...You'll never guess... Teeth Whitening Strips! Oh my gosh! Where did they even come from!?

So at breakfast that morning I asked all the girls if someone left their whitening strips in my bed...

Everyone stared at me strangely with the look of, "why would I put whitening strips in your bed?" I mean, it is kind of an odd question. Who would put whitening strips in my bed? hmmm maybe God? He does like to give me little gifts like that. Just to make me smile.

So, that's my story. And now I have nice white teeth again! YAY!

Australia + Alaska = Smiles

This is my happy face!!!!

Well, as most of you know, I put my application in with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) for their Discipleship Training School in Australia… And… I just found out that they accepted me! So, I don't think I need to say it, but I’M SUPER EXCITED! The school doesn't start until the end of September so hopefully by then the exchange rate doesn't change a whole lot and I'll still be able to afford it. I can't wait!!!

Also, I just got this amazing deal on a plane ticket to Alaska. (I'll be going there July-August for another year of salmon fishing). I was going to pay $600 for a round trip flight and I was pretty excited about that because I spent over $1,000 the first time I went. But my amazing friend Amanda found this guy on Craigslist that was selling his air miles for $200. I wont go into all the details of the whole process but I thought for a while there that I had been had. And so did everyone else on the ship I'm working on. They kept telling me that you just can't trust anyone and that everyone is out to scam you these days. But I said that you just have to take risks sometimes and that there are still some trust worthy people out in this world. Not very many, but still, you can't live your life in fear that everyone is just out to get you. (Don't worry I don't just go around trusting everyone, I will definitely use my good judgment when hitchhiking.) :D

Anyways, after hours of being on the phone and computer I finally got a round trip ticket to Alaska for $200! YAY! I think it's safe to say that I've had a pretty amazing week.

Oh and I also only have five weeks left here on M/V American Spirit! Then I get to go "home" to Arkansas and see Joey, my family, see some friends, go camping and swimming for a week and then I'm off to Alaska!

*smiles*

It's a Small World!!

(The picture didn't turn out great, but it will have to do.)

Oh my gosh! I'm probably pretty much the most excited person EVER!

Well, I've actually been sick (not seasick, just to clarify) and grumpy for the past couple of days and that makes for a pretty miserable time. I suppose unlike being sick, the grumpy part was an option; but I feel the two go together quite well. Also I've been kind of homesick lately. Not so much for home, but for familiarity, Joey or even just a good friend.

So, I got up lastnight from my hour and a half nap to stand my 2000-2400 (8pm-12am) watch at the gangway. I wasn't exactly thrilled to say the least, because standing for four hours when you're sick seem more like, well, an eternity.

So, as I'm standing gangway in the random little town of Beaufort, South Carolina, up walks my very dear friend Doris!

We met in Arkansas when I was like 17. It seems so long ago, but I guess that was really only like 6 years ago. (Wow, I'm still so young :).

She moved to Florida several years ago and though we try to make plans to see each other when we're both in Arkansas, it just never seems to work out. So, it had been a couple years since I last saw her.

I'm pretty sure this is one of those God things, Him just wanting to brighten up my night. Doris lives in Florida, was on a road trip with Dennis to Virginia and just happened to be in Beaufort the same day as I. On the same pier, at the exact same time, with out even knowing I was in South Carolina. I just can't even hardly believe it! It really is a small world!

So, needless to say, I'm still pretty excited I got to see her and meet Dennis. I still wonder if I dreamt the whole thing up or not, but I guess the picture makes it pretty believable.

Love you Doris! :D

A Friend on M/V American Spirit

Well, the previous time I was employed by ACL (American Cruise Lines) I mainly remember the theme being about "Being an Example". As a Christian I feel it is my responsibility to set an example to those around me. And this is not always an easy task I've found.

When I decided to return, I was really dreading the swim upstream I would be making basically alone in a downstream kind of environment. Life is obviously much easier when there's someone else swimming along side that can help keep you afloat.

So, when I was departing Arkansas to come to the east, my parents prayed that there would be another Christian aboard that could help me along in this day to day battle of survival.

And guess what! God really does care about the small things! There is a guy here, Daniel, that is in fact a Christian, has been to ALERT (the program my brother went through and also the same guys that would come help Friend Ships out when we did our outreaches www.alertacademy.com). And as it turns out we also have several mutual friends! I'm am just amazed!

We're thinking about starting a bible study at some point and I'm super excited about that. I'm not sure when it will be possible seeing as how we both work completely different schedules, but I'm sure we can work something out.

Life on the East Coast

Well, I must say that my favorite part of the day is when I actually get to crawl into my cozy little bed and I take my pen and mark a big line through a day on my calendar. Oh the satisfaction I get! It just brings a little smile to my face, to know that I am one day closer to the last.

Now I realize I make it sound as though I’m just totally miserable and hate it here, but that actually isn’t the case. Honestly the worst part about it is the lack of sleep. But also because of this, everything is absolutely hilarious to me! I seriously laugh all the time!

When I decided to come back to American Cruise Lines I said to myself that it was only three months “out of my life”, and that I would just try to survive the duration; as if it wasn’t really part of my life but only something I would have to do to get to Australia. But in actuality these three months aren’t just a couple weeks or months out of my life. Right now this is my life! So, as of now, I’m looking at all the amazing things I’m privileged to get to learn about and experience. And as it’s said, “The road to where you’re going is just as important, or more, as the final destination”.

I really hope I can always find time to look around and see the blessings in my life. Because I have a boatload!

South Carolina

I did make it safely to South Carolina with minor delays. I'm overjoyed to say that I didn't make the same first impression as the one 2 years ago (when I first started with American Cruise Lines) Refer to post "2007 June, A Trip to Bangor Maine" for more details.

Thankfully that's not the story I'm remembered by, but it seems as though I've gone down in ACL history as "The girl who changed the light bulb in the middle of the night." I don't know, I guess that's not a bad reputation to have. Ha

I love sailing (in the blue ocean), but brown river water isn't much for excitement. I also love sleep, and the two simply do not go hand-in-hand. Maybe if I weren't on the 0000-0400 watch as I write this, I would say I liked to sail more. But at this point, sleep is way more important to me than any amount of adventure... Remind me of this when I consider running off to get another job at sea again...

Being an officer is much to stressful (in my opinion) for enjoyment and I'm not much for being just a regular deckhand with no authority. Plus, I don't even like being a helmsman anymore. The first 200 times may have been exciting, but now, I find it actually rather boring... I'm kind of tired of doing a mans job. You know, I think I'd really like to be an esthetician.

Sleep is about to take over now, and thankfully my watch has nearly reached it's end. I'm going to go get some sleep for the night, but I'll be getting a call in about an hour and it's time to get up again to cast off lines. 1 down and only 83 days left to go. All this for Australia, I hope it's worth it.

The Next Leg of My Journey

(Photo by Danette Bjornstad -Edited by Daniel Hudson)

Well, I generally start running my mouth (out of excitement) before things are actually set in concrete and then find that I have to deviate some from my original plans. Everyone is then left wondering what it is I'm actually doing or where I'm going...

There's been a bit of a lull for the past couple of months so I've not had many things to write about. I thought I would be long out to sea by this time, but as usual things didn't go quite as planned. I've been in Arkansas for several months now and am definitely ready for some change.

I kept thinking I would get the job I applied for with Cruise West, but I made the mistake of telling them I couldn't work the whole season. I guess that was a problem... But the whole point of the job was to save money to go to YWAMs (Youth With A Mission) Waves DTS (Discipleship Training School) in Australia. So, I guess if I had to work past the starting date of the DTS, it really wouldn't have been worth it. (And I really want to go to this Waves DTS.)

I worked for American Cruise Lines two years ago and swore I would never return... Unless it was near the end of the world and nothing else seemed to be working out. I was thinking more like 10-15 years down the road, not 2... Well, I am again employed by ACL and start in exactly one week. I wouldn't say I'm exactly thrilled to be going back, but I am pretty happy to have a job that will allow me to hopefully save most of the tuition for YWAM. I figure, I did it once, I can do it again. And a person can do practically anything for three months... We'll see how all that goes; I'm sure I'll have lots to write about.

And now that I have a job (other than Mossy Creek) I can finally send in my application to YWAM. It's been quite a process filling it all out, but I'm finally finished with it; for the most part anyway. I have to get a physical on Monday and then I really will be able to send it off.

So, just to clarify, it's not definite that I will get to go to Australia this fall. I have to wait and see if they accept me and also what the price of airfare does...