The stories below are true.  Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent (or is it the “guilty?” … guilty of not calling MOR when you really needed to?)

Joe (not his real name) sits alone on the edge of his bunk on board the m/v Anonymous. He thinks sadly how his five-year old daughter will be starting kindergarten tomorrow and how excited she was on the phone about it earlier this evening. Then she said, “Daddy, can you come and see me get on the bus tomorrow?” He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice from choking as he told her, “Sweetheart, Daddy has to work on the boat. Your mommy will take pictures and send them to me. You have a good first day of school!” His daughter said reluctantly, “Ok,” and then, “I miss you, Daddy!” Joe sighs as he recalls this conversation, and can still hear his daughter’s words echoing in his ears.  Joe pulls the small photo album from his dresser drawer, the one with the number 800-708-1998 printed on the front, and thumbs through it, looking at photos of his daughter.

Meanwhile, a river chaplain looks at her phone and thinks how strangely silent the MOR 800-708-1998 number has been the past few days. “I guess all the mariners are doing fine and don’t need to talk to a chaplain.” She continues writing a blog entry at the desk in her office.

The next morning, somewhere in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Brent (not his real name) boards the m/v Noname to begin his 28-day shift. A few hours earlier, he had to say goodbye to his new girlfriend, who he met on the second day of his ten days off. He thinks, “She might be the one!” Now he is starting back on the boat and remembers how hard it was, trying to explain why he wouldn’t be able to see her again for a month. Brent feels torn between the river and his girlfriend; he loves working on the waterways, but he misses her already, and he wishes there were someone for her to talk to while he’s away. If only there were someone who could explain a little more to her about what his work is like and why he can’t take more time off or call her when he’s on watch.  Brent takes out the navy blue bandanna from his pocket, the one with the Ministry on the River number printed on it, and mops his brow as he secures a line.

Meanwhile, on the road, a river chaplain looks at his phone to see if any calls came through while he’s been driving. Nothing shows up on the phone. He puts it back in his pocket and keeps driving to the next river town to look for boats to visit.

That same afternoon, in a town in Southern Louisiana, Missy (not her real name), the wife of a river pilot, has just gotten a call from her sister that their dad has been diagnosed with cancer and that he’s in the hospital. She tries to call Mitch (not his real name), her husband, on the boat to talk to him, but the call doesn’t connect. She tries a few times, and then gives up. Both her sister and their dad live in another town out of state. Missy wants to travel there to see her dad, but she needs to talk to Mitch first about leaving their home and making travel arrangements. Mitch is due home in a few days. She wishes there were someone she could talk to who could listen and maybe make some suggestions, because she isn’t thinking too clearly right now.  She happens to glance at the refrigerator where, among the recent photos of her, her dad and her sister, is a magnet with the number 800-708-1998 printed on it.

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? It seems that every time I visit a boat, I hear stories similar to these about what’s going on in your life and the lives of your family members. I’ve been giving out my business card like crazy, mainly because on it is our 800-708-1998 number. Ministry on the River is here for emergencies, but we are also here for you to talk to at other times.

Maybe you don’t consider the events in your life to be a crisis situation. We are certainly here for crises, but we are here for “minor crises” too. I would love to hear about, or see, the photos you have of your 5-year-old going off on her first day of school; to talk with you about some of the events going on in your life or your family’s daily life. We are here to talk with you, your spouses, significant others, and family members any time.

That number again is …

800-708-1998