We said goodbye to the seven guys who gave it their all the past two weeks. We are so grateful for what Jan, Jacques, Ackerman, Joubert, Reuben, Ricus and Joseph had accomplished in such a short time.
The main objective was to remove and fix the smaller box on Gabriel’s stern. It had to be put back in place again and this required some muscle and teamwork.
At the same time the big centre box had to be rebuilt, the old one removed and the new one put into place. This was quite a project as the measurements had to be correct and the fibreglass work was arduous and time consuming. Jan and Jacques worked in the sun for most of the time and how they managed this for hours, I don’t know. Dries will add the finishing touches as well as the floor to the box.
My job was to keep the guys fed. I had to make daily trips down to the local village to buy bread and to see if they had any usable vegetables. Jan caught a big fish and that covered a couple of meals. We had lunch at the boat every day under a tree and the cooling breeze from the sea revived all of us after a busy morning. I cooked dinner at the guesthouse and we had some fellowship in the evenings. We were all rather knackered at the end of the day and went to bed early.
The team has given us a much needed boost at the start of this huge task to get Gabriel back on the water. I think that Dries has been encouraged and feel more positive about what lies ahead. Thank you to all of you who prayed for protection and strength. God has been so faithful.