We thought today was going to be a down day to plan out our week, cook enough to last us for a week, and do laundry, and we accomplished all three projects. But . . . we had three chance encounters that made this the best day of our trip.
First we stopped by the Cajun Coast Visitors Center and met two wonderful women who helped us figure out what we wanted to see and do in the area. They even gave us ideas of where to park our big truck when we go to New Orleans. We asked about a laundromat and a place for lunch. They gave us two suggestions for lunch, but said if we wanted to be in a relaxed environment with down-home food, we should go to Rita Mae’s.
And then Bob sat down next to us at a small table. I asked about his chaplain’s hat, and the three of us talked for the next half hour while waiting for our food and then eating lunch.
Bob’s a river chaplain with The Seamen’s Church in the gulf coast area. After seminary and a stint as a pastor, he started working on towboats, working his way up to being a cook. Ten years later, he started working for this nonprofit reaching out to men on the towboats when they experience crisis situations onboard, like a death. He’s fairly new to this role and is busy making connections with companies providing towboats so he can have access to the towboats when in dock. His organization also hosts training centers with sophisticated simulators in Paducah, KY, and Houston, TX, for towboat captains so they can stay certified.
We found what he’s doing so interesting for three reasons. First, we had no idea about this world other than the chance to tour towboats on our trip last fall to Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as seeing them on the Mississippi River. Second, we hadn’t known anything about this ministry to men (and women) who often work 28 days on and 28 days off. Third, we were able to connect him with David Dodd of Point 27 ministry. Point 27 provides dog tags with scripture on the back side to the military and first responders. We’re hoping Point 27 can provide Bob with dog tags for the men and women he meets who want to stay close to Jesus since they’re taking God’s word with them as they work. We’re on the board of Point 27 and are so glad to be able to connect these two men!
As we were paying our bill (fried chicken and blackberry cobbler for me and gumbo and bread pudding for Barney), we chatted a few minutes with our server, a young woman who had served all of those in the restaurant, and it was busy! We complimented her on how well she handled the hard work, and she told us she was the granddaughter of Rita Mae and looks just like her. We really enjoyed talking with her!
We made it home (in the rain) and found a couple of visitors in front of our RV. It’s supposed to rain more tonight and then clear up tomorrow. Can’t wait.
