the ship trip .

 i stare at the forecast. surely sun will appear if i keep refreshing the page but here we are packing up the chariot & it still looks all bleak and rainy. all of our gear for the next three days had been loaded into water tight buckets, marked with our name & crammed in the back of the big white chariot. tents were loaded into a giant dry bag along with sleeping pads. we strap these on to the canoe trailer & load all the humans into the chariot & away we go. a four hour drive lay ahead of us. i get comfy in the back seat between two ranchers. i claim this spot because i really don't need to experience my fellow mentors getting carsick. the windshield wipers are dancing & all i can hear is rain, the sound of our tires on the wet road & the flipping of book pages. we spend some moments discussing how we are to pair up in the canoes. our idea was that the ranchers could work together to form pairs. all went well but we did end up having a round up for a rancher that had feelings about the whole ordeal. off to a great start :) 

i pick up my book & get lost in the pages. Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts  has been the current read & each word inspires me & makes me want to live more fully. i had been praying that a personal goal for this trip would become clear to me. i woke up with Ann's word Euchristeo. i make it my goal that i will notice the gifts in every moment. EVEN. if it rained the whole time. yes indeed i said that to myself & i felt my face get all tight in a grimace because i very much dislike rain on wilderness trips but it was my goal to find the gift even in the rain. 

& we arrive to the landing where we are to embark upon on our adventure. i pull my new bucket hat that was covered in smiles upon my head. canoes are unloaded & carried down to the water. all supplies are evenly distriputed among the five ships & we wave good-bye to the chariot & push off into the lake. the first few moments are spent trying to get this whole ship paddling thing down pat. i KNOW canoes are not ships but just let me have my moment :) i feel the breeze on my face & i smile. a ship has been named the heron & the paddlers are struggling. a shrill wistle from ms. jera signals us all together & we circle up. it seems as though the occupants within the Heron were divided on how their ship should be paddled. so we drift about between some islands letting the wind take us where it pleases. & in the quiet moments i am praying. i am praying that a little blue sky would appear & take the dark storm clouds away. i am also praying for acceptence & i am remembering that i CAN be thankful even if the showers come. at last the round up is finished & the heron picks up their paddles & they begin again with a new determination. we scan the horizon for an island to make our home upon. dark clouds still hang above so we paddle on towards an inviting looking island. my ship has been named gertrude & my partner in the bow of the ship has taken a liking to a little rythmatic chant to keep up a steady & speedy clip. so i listen to her & smile as i see her effort knowing full well that keeping a positive outlook while her arms are burning is hard for her. gertrude comes to an abrupt stop as we hit the shore a sign above us loudly proclaiming that our home for the next 2 nights was going to be island 5. a perfect little clearing snuggled just inside the trees begged for us to enter & claim as our spot. rain still on the horizon we quickly unloaded buckets & dry bags & began the process of setting up tents. i look up & notice a patch of blue sky making an appearance. o just maybe the rain won't come. ms. sam & i busy ourselves hanging up tarps. we think we may have to sit under them to eat our meals but really truly we just want to hang our hammocks under them for the night. the rain still does not come & the patch of blue sky widens. "thank you Jesus " we do some swimming & soon after we are gathered upon a little point looking towards the north. we each sit with out jetboils in front of us & begin preparing our supper. tonights menu is rehydrated burritos. surprisingly good. we had even dehydrated salsa for inside them it felt fancy. after cleaning our little pots we walk back to our safe little clearing within the trees. everyone busy's themself with some wood gathering. um. maybe more like twig gathering. & since my bucket hat has helped me gain the title of "camp dad" i light a fire & we all sit upon our buckets & singing & chatting begins. suddenly we notice that the sun has turned a brilliant orange & all buckets are abandoned & we race down the shore back to our little point. there we stand. sky all blue. & a sun so round & huge & orange that i cannot help but have some tears in my eyes. it was a whole sun moment. not sky moment for the only thing red was the sun. back to our fire. to sing some more & talk about goals. personal & group. & to recite the memory verse. the group goal was " to be proactive & not reactive" & the verse " I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall i send and who will go for us? then i said "here am i! send me." we have prayers & then it is time to find slumberland. i pray that my hammock will provide better sleep then the hard ground. 

sometime during the night the rain came. i woke up to rain on my tarp & winds flapping it about but i remained dry. when we awoke much later i heard some say they never noticed the rain. i guess i really don't sleep heavy out here in the woods. i struggle to light a fire. the girls are still in their tents & us mentors are trying to get ourselves ready for the day. i was frustrated. smoke was in my eyes. nothing was working for everything had got a healthy dose of water last night. i certainly was seeing no joy in this moment until suddenly i realized i was not working on my goal. as i tried again i noticed the little flames trying to catch the tiny twigs on fire & the smell of smoke started to remind me of home campfires. at last there was fire. the girls were called & we sat around for our breakfast of instant protein oatmeal & peanut butter. but first on my agenda was coffee. soon after breakfast we were in the lake. the sky was overcast but it was still hot because let us not forget it is summer in arkansas. i get introduced to the activity of canoe tipping. something that the ranchers look forward to on these trips. you & who ever decides to try to tip you paddle out into deeper waters. when ready you each try to get your balance on the canoe sides one near the front one near the back on the word of go let the bouncing & swaying begin. a rancher & i battle at it for quite sometime. we get laughing & i am certain i have her off balance but behold she lands in the canoe not outside . oops. we try again & in the end we both end up aborting ship at the exact same moment. we settle on a draw. more swimming happens. ms. sam & i head out in a canoe to explore for a bit. the sun comes out & the sky looks blue. wow Lord you really are coming through. we arrive back on our "hunt for america" & it is time for quiet time. all ranchers find a spot to do some writing that has been assigned then they find their tents for some alone time. i find myself in my hammock & i have myself a nap. then its back to swimming, filtering water & then supper. mac & cheese in our little pots with little bits of bacon. yum. we head back for some more fireside conversations. love languages & enneagram numbers are explained to our ranchers. its so fun to hear their questions & thoughts. we sing a few song & notice once again the sun is putting on a show. back to the point we go. this time we stand & sing songs. evening songs. & birds fly & clouds turn pink & the big orange round ball slowly sinks behind the horizon. we have been beyond blessed. goal reflection, prayers & then slumberland is found. 

morning dawns again. today we leave this island five & head back to the ranch. early morning dip in the lake before the ranchers are out & about & once again i light a fire. after another breakfast of oatmeal & peanut butter we begin packing up.  a quick dip before all ships are laden with their burdens & then it is farewell to island 5. our ships our pushed off form shore & a different path back to the chariot is taken. i have to consult maps a few time to make sure i am not leading this crew astray. maybe we went a little far in one direction but hey who doesn't love adventure. today there is not one cloud in the sky & the sun beats down hard. i reapply apply sunscreen at any possible moment & hope that i am saved from the beams of that firey ball. at last the chariot is in view & the paddling becomes much faster. soon we are all ashore & unloading the canoes & smushing everything into the back of the chariot. gone is the fresh smell of clean gear & behold the most gut stirring smells were emanating from both buckets & humans. i pray that my stomach stays settled on this four hour journey home for the back seat holds nearness to the smell & little airflow. the drive felt long. really long. we found ourselves listening to a hank the cowdog book which brought much laughter. & then the ranch road was spotted. i texted ms. jera with a plea for a fast evacuation. the smells had at last gotten to me. since this moment i have had some real good laughs about such happenings. mr. doug's had prepared us a glorious hamburger meal complete with homemade ice cream. what a great welcome. that shower & bed felt mighty fine. . . . . . 

& just like that we wake back up to a normal ranch day.  like a canoe trip never happened. well there is definitely sure signs it happened. the sunburnt faces and shoulders. bug bites that itch bad & the gear scattered across the front porch being cleaned. & the memories. two weeks have passed & i smile lots as i write this remembering all the moments. the moments where i had to look hard to find the gifts & the moments when they just fell right upon me. God answered our prayers out there. the rains never came during the day & all were kept safe. Thank You LORD.  

the next two weeks of ranch life are the ones leading up to a home stay. energy at times can get high & everyone slowly becomes excited for home. & yes us mentors become secretly very excited for off time. 

thank you for all the prayers i know you all pray. 

& may your days be filled with sunshine. 

till next time . 

ms. tif.