less excitement

We've moved to another anchorage. It's more protected here and less current, so the boats are hanging better and no crashing. There are apparently sea horses here, but you have to snorkel at night to see them. The local restaurant owner suggested feeding them peas and they will wrap around your finger. Not sure if we're all brave enough to swim at night, but we'll check it out in the light and see. We're with Wyndeavor and Ocean Breezes today, and are negotiating with the restaurant for a dinner tonight. He seems quite keen on our business and buttered us up yesterday with two for one drinks. The kids are happy because there is a trampoline on the beach. It's buried in the sand, with a hole dug underneath, so no one will fall off and get hurt. We'll do one more trip into town this week for groceries and laundry, then head out for the weekend. We'll celebrate Carter's birthday this weekend, along with two other boat boys. I've devised the Cruising Kid's Tongan Olympics. We'll have a parade of flags, events and gold metals.

We would appreciate your prayers in the next month or two. We are facing one of the more difficult passages on the trip, from here to New Zealand and we have so many administrative details to deal with when we arrive, that we're starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. The weather in the more southern latitudes can get rough, so we'll have to do careful planning. We don't anticipate anything more than we've had from time to time all along, but it's a longer passage, of 1,100 miles, so it will get tiring. We would like crew, but haven't heard that anyone is interested, so we'll be on our own. For safety, we like to travel in groups and always have good radio communication. The Lord has really protected us all along the way, so we thank you for your prayers and praise Him for His faithfulness. Pete is starting to think about what he wants to be when he grows up and it's a bit of a stress because the options in Bellingham are limited. We'd appreciate your prayers in that area as well. We look forward to being back in December to check into jobs and houses and answer some of our questions and concerns. Please pray also that Imagine would sell quickly, if that is the right thing for us, or that we would feel led to come back for more sailing, if God has a plan for us out here.

Thanks, -Kellie