Catching Canoes with Tennis Shoes

This was originally posted on my old Yahoo!360 blog on November 8, 2006.  Today is a good day to re-post it!  For years we have prayed for a man to come along side Byron and help him with the work of the boat and the camp.  Recently it seemed that God had, in a unique way, answered those prayers.  Then suddenly everything was turned upside down this week, and I began to wonder if I would have to start "catching canoes with tennis shoes" again!  But our God is indeed an Awesome God and knows all things.  Read on and a little later I'll tell the rest of the story with our recent test of patience and prayer in the area of the camp and help for our work here in Sobradinho.

The photo below was not included in my original post, by the way...

Children's Retreat, July 2010

November 8, 2006---

I have no photo today since no one had a camera in hand during this little adventure.  As we were leaving the canal where the boat is usually kept to go to our retreat this past weekend, I began to serve sandwiches to the boys, Byron, and one man who showed up to catch the boat here in Sobradinho.  The actual place to meet was on the other side of the lake in the evening.  But it was a fellow we know and he turned out to be rather helpful.  Recently Byron doesn't have a "man helper" to aid in getting the boat ready, cleaned, etc.  So the boys and I have been trying to fill the gaps.  On this particular day I had overseen the tying up of three canoes that we were borrowing from a local fisherman for the men during the retreat to use.  Byron had dropped us off at the boat to load up while he ran to the other side of the dam to buy ice.  The boys and I with the help of the extra fellow loaded up while the fisherman tied off the three wooden canoes all in a line behind our big camp boat.  After he did so, I remembered commenting that the rope was very thin and looked rather old, did the man think it would hold.  Of course, was the reply. 

When Byron arrived I told him the canoes were secure but he needed to look and see if they were okay and mentioned the rope.  Alas we left and he apparently did not look.  After we passed a point of land past the canal someone realized the boats were gone.  They must have broken off right after we left and picked up speed.  Byron turned around and entered the cove to find them.  I being my new fearless, adventurous self got positioned on the edge of the boat and caught the cord between the first and second canoes with my Nike tennis shod foot.  Dalton stuck his out too to help hold on and not to be outdone by his weak mother.  Together we held on in spite of the waves and rocking boat while Byron jumped from one canoe to the next like a real boatman to get the main rope and retie the boats to the back of ours.  Maybe he is a real boatsman now!  I must be at least a half boats woman!