Coastal Light News

| Volume 5 Issue 1 |

Happy Easter!

There is a song line that is hard to sing sitting down… “Then bursting forth, in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again.” The crescendo in the music is fitting for the way God dramatically opened the door of the grave the day Jesus walked out very much alive and victorious over death, the consequence of our sin.

Listen to the song: “In Christ Alone”

Last time we wrote, we were gearing up for Christmas and winter voyages, praying that God would clearly close and open doors to show us where to focus our time – we’re only one boat and one crew on a vast coast. One day, as crew member Henrietta put it, “God didn’t just open the door, He blew is open!”

It was a rainy January afternoon, with light winds letting us anchor in the exposed bay. We had not met the new folks here, so we launched the skiff and went ashore with a cookie plate carefully wrapped in plastic. The dogs met us at the dinghy dock with friendly wags and escorted us to the house. When we got close, they changed to “watch dog mode” with ears back and growls. We stopped and stood, with rain dripping off our hoods.

“Hello! Hello!” we called. A man came out of the shop, and without even asking who we were or what we were doing, motioned us into the house, “Come in! Come in!” Soon we were sitting around the kitchen table, with fresh French-press coffee to go with our fresh cookies.

We never expected to stay until dark, so as dusk came and fog started to obscure the anchor light, we figured it was time to go home. But our visit was not over. We invited our new friends aboard for breakfast the next morning. We were just finishing our weekly prayer meeting - using StarLink to connect from a remote area - when our friends rafted alongside.

As the bacon and eggs disappeared from plates, I was wondering how to bring the conversation around to meaningful, spiritual topics, when the husband pushed back his plate and started talking about what he learned about God and the Bible rom his grandpa.

What a reminder that it is God who opens the doors! What an encouragement to not stress, but to ask God to bring life by His Spirit. Please would you pray for this life as our friends read the Bible we left with them?

That’s just one story. There are many others where we saw God’s faithfulness: helping a couple whose boat exploded, cookies opening doors to meet a crab fisher with fond memories of a mission boat couple visiting her as a child, a bouquet of herbs given in thanks, safety on the road in snow and on the water, testing the new stabilizers and some new recipes (zucchini boats anybody?), a mid-voyage fix on the sewage system, provision to fill the diesel tanks… God is good, all the time.

Upcoming This Spring

First Week of April: Voyage from Port McNeill to Camp Homewood with Michael C. and Brad R.
Second Week of April: Battery replacement onboard (the 32-V house batteries that we purchased in 2024 are finally going in after we squeezed a couple more years of life out of the old ones)
Third Week of April: Rest week for Michael & Catherine
Last Week of April: Southern Inlets Voyage with crew Michael & Catherine C. and Barb B.
First Week of May: Desolation Sound Voyage with crew Michael & Catherine C. and Rick & Barb C.
Mid-May: TBA (plans still under construction)
June: Annual maintenance/deck painting

Looking for the door-opening, life-giving work of the Spirit,

Catherine & Michael | Coastal Light Vessel Ministry

PS - We have been encouraged by two pastors recently whose journey to knowing Christ and fulltime ministry included a mission boat. Would you pray with us for similar multiplying impact during this generation of mission boat work on the coast?

Let us know if you would like more information on our weekly prayer meeting or prayer & praise email.