15 June 2014

Happy Sunday!

6:40 came awfully early this morning. At least the sun was already out by then, and I knew I had a full day of friends and fun ahead of me.

At our 8:00 service only had Miles and his two celebrity dogs show up. They were very well behaved this week. I think they really enjoy the services. After all, like Grandpa Arnie says: “Dog is God spelled backwards.” Unfortunately, Sirius has a urinary tract infection that hasn’t cleared up after 5 days of treatment. We prayed for her. You can do the same if you’d like.

Just yesterday our permit arrived to allow us to do a worship service at the Seawall Campground amphitheater on Sundays also. Starting next week we will do that service at 10:00 along with the Blackwoods services at 8:00.

We drove back to Bar Harbor and dropped in to one of the kayak tour company shops to talk with our buddy, Mark, about hopping onto a tour. The winds were out of the north today so it was too choppy for kayaking. So we went a few doors down to the whale and puffin watching tour company to ask if we could hop onto a tour. They had over 50 seats available, so they allowed us to join the tour for free. Most tour companies allow seasonal workers on Mount Desert Island to tag along as long as there is enough room for paying customers. So Sabrina, Ally, Luke and I went on a 3 hour boat tour that should have cost us each $59. Instead, we walked away from the tour having only spent a few bucks on tips. Pretty great deal.

The tour was fun for about the first hour. During that time we saw a ton of sea birds and some lighthouses.

But as we headed off-shore to the usual whale sighting locations, things turned unfun. The swells were pretty high because of the wind and the sea spray kept misting our windward sides. We never did see any whales, but at least we did see some seals. The place where we saw seals is called Mount Desert Rock. It’s an island 26 miles off the shore of Mount Desert Island. There’s a lighthouse on the island making it one of or the most remote lighthouses on the East Coast. The tour guide is a PhD candidate and talked about the time she spent out there last January and Feburary doing research. She said it was unfathomable living there. A few times they had to sleep in the lighthouse tower because the waves were so high. The research she was helping with was on the effects of freezing sea spray on building materials. That would be the absolute best place to conduct those experiments, and one of the most unique experiences in life.

After our sea adventure, we were all starving. So we went over to the West Street Café. I ordered the sandwich special which included, get this: a lobster roll, a cup of clam chowder, French fries, coleslaw, and a slice of blueberry pie. It was a little spendy ($26 with tip), but it was worth it. When in Rome…

Having full tummies and our sea legs made us tired enough to take naps. It sounds like I was the big winner judging by how long of a nap I took. I’m glad I got a hold of good ole Dad to wish him a Happy Father’s Day before I laid down because I slept all the way until it was time to head up for the sunset service on Cadillac Mountain.

The service was awesome. We had two of our Ministry Support Committee members come to the service, which was great to finally meet them. They and other committee members are in charge of making sure that the ACMNP team makes it through the summer and is able to perform their duties of performing the chapel services and providing relational ministry. Also in attendance were two ladies. After the service, we found out one of them lost her husband last fall. She and him had been coming up to Acadia every summer since 2000 and had been faithful ACMNP sunset chapel service attendees. The other lady was her good friend and was there to support her. The deceased husband’s birthday was today. So needless to say, it was an emotional experience for her and the rest of us.

My sermon/talk/message went well today. This morning’s version was a little bit awkward since dogs outnumbered worshipers. But this evening’s version in front of a larger audience went really well. I didn’t stick with the exact phrasing I had written out, but I think that’s good. I had all week to mull over and consider what I was going to say, but when the time came to actually deliver the message, if I stuck to my words then the Holy Spirit would have much less room to move. Not saying I spoke in tongues or anything, but I did feel like the words that came out of my mouth were truly inspired by the Lord. Definitely an honor to serve God in this way.

Today's picture of the day is the sunset atop Cadillac Mountain right after we finished our service. Enjoy!