Miracles take a little longer
„Miracles take a little longer!“ It’s easy to say that when you don’t have to wait for them… but it’s wonderful when something happens that leaves you marvelling at it….
One side of shipbuilding: hard work
Building a boat is a lot of work. I spend three afternoons and Saturdays working on the boat whenever I can. It’s also work to earn money. I do what I can to scrape together the necessary funds. I put guests up in my spare room, collect bottles, sell second-hand items and books, coach people, run workshops and much more to earn money. The hard work is one side of the coin.
The other side of shipbuilding: miracles that happen
A friend of mine, who described himself as an atheist, said at one point, when he realised how often things happened in response to my prayers that left him amazed: „Up until now, I’ve always believed in chance, but in your case, that theory really is reaching its limits!“
A few things to marvel at from the last few days:
– The money I’ve earned, borrowed and been given has been enough so far. It’s been very tight at times – for example, with the high shipyard costs – but so far it’s always been enough. I’m so grateful for all the help, big and small, that has made this possible.
– For several months now, I’ve been praying that God would send me a ventilation engineer to help me with the ventilation design. A man from Ghana, who studied ventilation engineering in Spain and has now come to Berlin looking for work, has got in touch with me… and will now be doing the calculations and planning for me….
– On my list of things I still need for the boat, there’s also „espresso machine for seminars“. At my father’s birthday party, I tell one of his friends about the boat, without going into any details about what I need. Suddenly he asks: “Do you need an espresso machine?” And now he’s giving me a top-of-the-range, barely used one.
– Some friends tell a young woman about my ship. She has spent several years at sea, loves ships and currently has more time on her hands than she would like… so she spends it on the ship…
Someone – was it Luther? – once said: „Pray as if you could not work. And work as if you could not pray.“ Indeed!
That’s brilliant to read! I find it truly impressive, and I’d like to take you as an example once again – the way you ask God for help so „specifically“ in every area of your life.
-> Otherwise, many small and big miracles might never happen…
Yes, I’m always amazed by it too… I’ve got a notebook especially for the boat Prayer notes I’ve created a list where I write down my requests. So that I don’t forget what I’ve asked for. And so I can be happy when my prayers are answered.
Dear Kerstin,
It is truly impressive and absolutely admirable how much dedication, time, money and personal sacrifice you are putting into the ship project – I think you are only able to do this because God has placed this vision and this dream in your heart and also gives you the strength, energy and both small and great miracles you need each day.
It’s fascinating to read and hear (as at the women’s pampering weekend in Plochingen) what you’ve experienced on your boat with people, but above all with God, over the past months and weeks, how He blesses you in so many different ways, but also how you have become a great blessing and a great inspiration to many people. I wish you many more lovely people in the coming months who will support you in your project in so many ways, and I look forward to following future developments and progress via your blog.
Perhaps you should list more often on your website the things you still need for the ship – how many people have things lying around at home, in the basement… that you’d be grateful to have, just like the espresso machine.
My dad, for example, has a huge collection of tools and other bits and bobs left over from home renovations – screws, wall plugs, old sockets… and I’m sure it’s much the same in other households too.
Why not let your readers know what you need? Maybe someone might be able to send you a few things to Berlin.
I wish you all the best and send you warm regards from Swabia.
Anette
Thank you, dear Annette, for your kind words! They really touched me.
I’ve already published a list of materials – but I’ll take your suggestion on board – better safe than sorry.
Here is the list: https://kerstinhack.de/hausboot-heart-of-berlin/material-furs-schiff/