Hurricane Ike is still fresh in my mind, even though it’s now been over a month since it blew through Texas – and many other states, after it finished up here!  Here’s an account of what it was like in my little cottage in Houston. 

What was it like for you mariners out on the boat or at home with your family?  Please feel free to share your account of Hurricane Ike in a comment here, or in a private

email, or call us at 800-708-1998 at Ministry on the River.

CHAPLAIN PAM’S NOTES ON HURRICANE IKE

Thursday, September 11

The Port of Houston closes at noon Thursday.  I try to buy D batteries at several stores, all gone.  Able to fill MOR car with gas, although the lines are long.  Able to buy a 12-pack of bottled water.  My church cancels its Saturday meetings and Sunday services.  I don’t yet understand why she cancels, but the priest at my church in Houston, who experienced Hurricane Elisha 25 years ago, knows what it will be like here. 

Friday, September 12 

12 Noon – skies begin to cloud over.  Weather already turning for the worse.  Winds are already picking up.  There are reports and video on the news of water coming inland from the gulf, flowing UP the bayous and flooding some areas already.

6:30 pm – The winds begin to pick up to about 30 or 40 mph, and it gets very overcast. Winds increase gradually more and more.  I wonder what it will be like to have these winds double in strength; they are so strong now.

In the evening, I get a call from one of the vessels docked in the channel, asking for prayers for them during the storm.  I had paid a visit this boat a few weeks earlier, and remember clearly our conversation  about their being in Hurricane Gustav and what it has been like for them to ride out past hurricanes, too. 

I watch the TV news non-stop on Friday evening, seeing Ike’s path coming directly towards Houston via the hapless Galveston Island.

Saturday, September 13

Sat 12:30 am – Full force hurricane winds begin.  I watch the radar image on TV and see that the eyewall of the storm looks like it will be passing right over Houston including the area I am in.  The eye itself will be somewhere else, so we won’t get that nice quiet calm time the eye brings with it.

Winds of maybe 100 or 110 mph pummel my small house for the next 6 hours, the driving rain accompanying them off and on.  I am awake the entire six hours, in case any trees were to fall on or near the house I want to keep an eye out, and also because it would be impossible to sleep during the sound of these noisy winds anyway. News on the radio says that Houston is being hit harder than expected.  Ike is so large that everyone is being hit harder than normal for a hurricane.  Many times the winds shake the entire house and I hear things hitting its sides or roof.  I wonder if the roof will blow off.

2:15 am – the electricity goes out (it stays out for the next 60 hours).  I turn on my battery powered radio which, thankfully, still has C batteries two years old, that still work.  Reports on the radio say that streets are already beginning to flood near bayous from the storm surge already the gulf and washing water up the intracoastal waterways and canals.

Saturday, September 13

7:30 am– I finally get some sleep, even though the noise of the winds and the rain is still strong.  The house is still here.  There seems to be minor damage to the edge of the roof, but it shouldn’t leak during rains.  A few shingles blew off.  The banana trees in the front yard have been bent like paper straws.  

My inconveniences – no electricity, boiled water advisory, mandatory curfew for the next week – seem trivial compared to reports of Galveston residents who have lost everything.  My heart goes out to them as I remember them for the coming days.  I think about the mariners who rode through the storm in their boats and pray that they are all ok and not as shaken up as I am from riding out the wind and rain.

 Galveston Sept 13, 2008 - photo courtesy nationalgeographic.com

Posted: October 24th, 2008 under Pam's Posts, Towboaters.
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Posted: October 2nd, 2008 under Towboaters.
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Hurricane Gustav made its way through southern Louisiana last week, hitting hard the communities I visit often as part of our ministry: Houma, Morgan City, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans and surrounding areas.  Many communities were still without power as of a few days ago, and some suffered damage to their facilities. 

So far, all the employees and towboat fleets from the companies we serve have made it through safely, though. 

We continue to keep the entire Gulf region in our prayers at Ministry on the River, as we ride through the hurricane season together.  May you know that God watches over you at all times, and may you continue to be safe through this time and always.

- Chaplain Pam

Photos courtesy of www.myfoxphilly.com

Posted: September 8th, 2008 under Churches and Groups, Pam's Posts, Towboaters.
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   Labor Day is Monday. It’s a day when we stop to honor the working people of this nation…if we can. I imagine you’re working and not at home barbecuing or doing all those other Labor Day “things” most folks will.

So, thanks. Thanks for moving this nation’s goods safely, efficiently, economically, and in an ecologically friendly way. Thanks for giving up the time with your family and friends to do what you do. Thanks for 24/7 - 365. Thanks for all you do.

Grace and peace,

Ann

Posted: August 27th, 2008 under Towboaters.
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I heard on the radio on my way in this morning that the river is full of sediment at St. Louis due to all the recent flooding, and that as a result, navigation is a problem. Is that ironic, or what? Last month you couldn’t get through because it was too high. And now there’s sediment.

I don’t know about you, but there’s sediment in my life, too. It’s stuff that shouldn’t be there and gets in the way of my navigating the river of my life. Some of it just seems to occur naturally…high gas prices that result in my wondering how I’ll get to Texas to see my new grandchild…grocery prices that are out of sight, and make me think twice about the things I buy…things that I really have no control over.

And then there’s the self-inflicted sediment. Baggage I carry around needlessly…worries about tomorrow…regrets about yesterday…not taking care of myself…

Sometimes I think I need the USACE to come in and clean the channels of my life and make things more navigable. But wait… that’s what God’s grace is, isn’t it?

H-m-m-m…

Here’s to navigable waters for you and yours.

Grace and peace,

Ann 

Posted: August 15th, 2008 under Towboaters.
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This week I had the pleasure of gathering with crewmembers, their families, and other well-wishers to bless a new boat in the Channelview area.  Boat blessings are much more low-key than the more “official” christening of a new boat; yet there were at least fifty or sixty people present for this “small” event.

Driving from the SCI office at the Port of Houston to Channelview, Texas, the rain poured down unrelentingly, moisture from the fringes of Hurricane Dolly wreaking more havoc further south of us.  Roads and highways were full of standing — and rushing — water.  Dark clouds hovered over us, punctuated occasionally by the flash of lightning.

Arriving at the boat company, I found the rain to be lessening a bit.  By the time we were ready to begin saying our prayers for the boat, the crew and their families, the rain had stopped.  It was time to begin.

Because there were so many in attendance, we said our prayers outside next to the boat’s bow tied up behind us, under a canopy.  I lighted a candle, expecting it to blow out quickly, but instead it blew out by itself at the end of the service at its appointed time to extinguish.  During the service, the captain held the candle, and the pilot read this passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians:

You are God’s chosen race, his saints; He loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience.

Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.

Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love.

And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.

Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God;

And never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

At the very moment we finished the brief service and said “Amen” in unison, a towboat horn sounded!  What a fitting conclusion! 

After the blessing, we all met to have refreshments and share fellowship.  It was a wonderful morning and a blessing to have a little break in the rain.

- Chaplain Pam

Posted: July 31st, 2008 under Pam's Posts, Towboaters.
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Low water? Low water? When all we’ve heard about for the last several months, when all we’ve seen for the last several months, is flooding, we have a low water advisory here in Paducah? Come on! This is beyond comprehension! Except that you understand it, don’t you? You live with this, don’t you? This is life, isn’t it?

Low water.

So we wait and watch and remember that you’re out there.

Even when there’s low water.

Be safe, and let us hear from you.

Ann  

Posted: July 23rd, 2008 under Towboaters.
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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

Posted: July 23rd, 2008 under Pam's Posts, Towboaters.
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Greetings, and welcome to our new blog!  We are the chaplains from Ministry on the River, of the Seamen’s Church Institute of New York and New Jersey (SCI).  Our ministry is the only full-time ministry that works with the towboat industry.  Chaplain Jim Wilkinson ministers to towboats working on the upper Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and northern areas.  Chaplain Pam Stephens provides ministry to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterways including the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Houston areas.  Ann Mills, Coordinator of Special Projects, is responsible for organizing our Christmas on the River and Easter on the River boxes that go out to each towboat working on those holidays. She also provides ministry from her home office in Paducah, Kentucky.

The towboat industry is, literally, constantly moving!  You towboaters know that your boats rarely stay in one place for very long.  River conditions change constantly; crews change regularly; special events like luncheons and company meetings happen weekly, our families’ lives continue on daily, as we work on the river and inland waterways.  This blog is a place where we river ministers can give you short, easy-to-read updates, stories, and thoughts about life on the river.  This blog has been created with you, the towboater, in mind.  We will have items of interest to the churches and individuals who are interested in assisting with our ministry, too.

You’ll find that there are already some blog entries below. We wrote these over the past few weeks as we practiced writing for you!  We hope you’ll read these entries and enjoy them, even though the events mentioned in them have already passed.  Our thoughts and prayers are always with you, just as they were when we wrote these entries.  And we hope you’ll continue to check our blog for new entries.  The three of us plan to contribute to the blog a few times a week, and we look forward to your comments as you read something that touches your heart or jogs your memory. 

Blessings to you reading this, and again, welcome to the MOR Chaplains’ Blog!

- Chaplain Pam Stephens

Posted: July 8th, 2008 under Towboaters.
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Blessings come in many forms and fashions. Sometimes after we sneeze (Bless you!), sometimes in the visiting with family not seen in far too long, sometmes in the unexpected coolness of a June day, sometimes in a good belly laugh with tears running down your face. I think blessings are all around us, but that too often we’re just too busy to notice them. So here’s my absloltely unsolicited advice…check out your blessings. They’re there, I promise.

Blessings!

Ann 

Posted: June 30th, 2008 under Towboaters.
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