"LP and MARIANDA"

LP and MARIANDA

PART 1 of 3 parts

Before the family sailed from New Zealand "LP was given a word by the Lord. 'Things will be different to what you think they are going to be' and it sure was! Every step of the way God has been faithful and carried us through" says Marianda.

LP and Marianda settled into their recently purchased comfortable first ever home in Tauranga, planning renovations both inside and out. LP supported the young family of 4 and a dog, in a stable building business.

In early July 2021 during his birthday dinner, LP shared with Marianda what he felt God had laid on his heart. "I believe God wants us to buy an ocean going yacht". Marianda replied "you're crazy, that will never happen. You will have to do that with your next wife! There is no way I will take my 4 little children on a boat in the ocean. It will never happen".  LP said "well you need to pray about it as I think this is what God is wanting us to do". Marianda felt strongly about it and said to LP, "if this is what God really wants then He is going to have to make it really clear to me too". Did they have years of sailing experience - no. Did they know anything about sailing apart from the occasional day out fishing in the harbour - no. Did they have friends who would help them in this idea - no. Did they have any idea what offshore sailing would involve - no! Did they have unlimited funds - no!

At her part time job a short time later, Marianda was surprised when a colleague told her of  their 10 year sailing experience around the Pacific islands. After Marianda disclosed the 'crazy idea of her husband's', her colleague suggested she check out 'Women on Water' [a non profit organisation designed to teach women about sailing] which was about to start for the season. Unrelated coincidences and confirmations followed including unexpectedly meeting too many experienced sailing people to ignore  "God was trying to tell me something". One woman they met talked of sailing on a boat  to work at an orphanage in the Philippines after Covid lock down closed air travel. "Pull up your sails so the wind of the Holy Spirit can blow through" was one prophecy given. Together the two woman joined Woman on Water and started believing this was God's calling, and began to learn how to sail. To the Philippines?

It soon became clear to LP, purchasing a strong ocean going vessel large enough to accommodate a family of 6, would require the sale of their much loved first home. This was the 2nd stipulation Marianda had made 'we will not sell our home and have nothing to come back to". Although she was coming to accept buying a boat and sailing to the Philippines was God's will, she believed it would be a couple of years away, and when the children were a little older. LP was actively searching for the 'right boat' and put in a tender for one needing a lot of work which supported her belief. Before hearing back about the tender bid, he saw advertised online a 16 meter ocean going catamaran named Sonadora. The current owners were returning to New Zealand from Fiji and told LP 'they had received an overwhelming number of offers', so because they had a tender on another vessel, LP dismissed this idea. To his great disappointment, he eventually heard their tender was unsuccessful so Marianda made contact again with the owner of Sonadora, even though they could no longer find a listing for the boat. They requested a video walk through around the decks and down below in the cabins. Whilst watching the video footage LP noticed a picture on the wall of the saloon. It read 'I am with you always'. [From Mathew 28 19- 20 therefore go out into all the world and make disciples of all nations and I will be with you always] this was the same verse God had laid on LP's heart.  LP asked the current Christian owners if this was in fact from this verse because "if it is you're sitting on my boat" said LP to the owner. The current owner messaged back and said "yes I am sitting on your boat". He had also been praying about it and awaiting confirmation from God that LP was the right person to purchase the boat. It was later the owner revealed to LP, 'God told him to only sell Sonadora to the person who enquired about that verse'. "Word, will and wife" the marriage commitment and pledge made by LP and Marianda was established and eventually Sonadora the beautiful Italian designed 16 meter catamaran built 1976 in England had proud new owners.

After long committed hours of work in a very short space of time their beloved home was renovated and sold at market peak. With much excitement and some trepidation the family moved on board Sonadora in the summer of February 2022 and began learning about their new boat, finding storage for all they thought they might need and both of them beginning the journey of how to sail her.

After several small sailing trips they decided to sail their way up the East Coast of New Zealand to Opua [Bay of Islands] They would use this as part of their training and 'shake down' [getting to know how a boat performs, best point of sail, safety and stowage etc]. In taking their time they would learn and gain experience before they set off on the Pacific ocean passage from Opua to Fiji [1200 nautical  miles approx] The man on the marina taught them how to reef. Other friends taught them anchoring, boating terms and techniques. "We had no idea what we were doing. We didnt even know to point the boat into the wind to lift the sail up or down" said Marianda. A steep learning curve but undetered  even though Marianda found she got very seasick. Sailing up the coast to Auckland was a dream passage accompanied part way by a pod of dolphins and thoroughly enjoyed by all on board.  Around Auckland area in April 2022 a mechanical part was needed for one of the 2 motors and Orams' estimated it would take about 3 weeks to arrive. Even though they were reliant on just the one engine they decided to head back down to Tauranga to say a proper farewell while they waited for the mechanical part to arrive. They set off on a sunny Auckland day with a light following breeze after hearing a similar forecast to their dream sail up the coast. They had been advised to reef their sails before rounding Cape Colville [Coromandel] and ignorant of the ingoing outgoing tide status, they simply carried on in what they thought would be balmy conditions. Suddenly as they rounded the tip of Coromandel the wind picked up to 30 knots and the sea state changed dramatically. The sails started flapping and as so often happens the foresail wrapped itself around the halyard [forestay] and couldn't be secured. A slug [slider]on the mainsail broke and the one motor was not powerful enough to turn the boat into the wind.  In the 3 meter swells the catamaran couldn't point but turned enough for the boat to spill the wind out of the mainsail so the sail could be dropped. Marianda took over the helm so LP could go forward and try to use his strength to secure the sails but she saw him lying under the main sail in his lifejacket, waves breaking over him, unable to do anything other than pray.  The noise of sails flapping and whipping in the tumult, waves exploding over the hulls and wind shrieking through the rigging. It was a boating nightmare.

Exhausted and disillusioned they puttered into Port Charles [top of Colville] and spent the night recovering. The next day they dropped anchor up the river in Whitianga but Marianda recalls feeling quite disheartened and prayed "Lord we've been faithful. We've been obedient. Please release us from this calling now. Give me a word Lord. I opened the Bible and the verse that jumped out was the verse 'the servant who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is not worthy of the Kingdom' [Luke 9 62]. It really hit me. I felt strongly I was at the point where I didn't want to do this, but I needed to push through. I was looking for a pat on the shoulder and got a kick up the bum".

PART 2 of 3 parts

"We didn't know what we didn't know. But all the way through we believed if God has called us to do this, He would provide and protect us".

The sailing adventure aboard Sonadora continued with their safe arrival and non eventful sail up the east coast of New Zealand to Opua, Bay of Islands mid July 2022. Many thought they were crazy, but they shared an unwavering faith in the provision of God. "God has called us to do this, and He would provide and protect" LP said.  Marianda said "when God gave me the revelation that we were doing His will, I had to give over and trust Him fully and that whatever He had in store for us is so much better that what I would have chosen for myself."

"We had in our minds to island ocean hop first to Fiji, then onto Vanuatu, Solomon's, Papua New Guinea, Palau then probably about 2 years later, arrive in the Philippines. We would use the islands and hopping to shelter in the cyclone season of those latitudes". They had so much to process and then learnt Covid had hit Fiji and all the borders were closed, even to boaties.

Their missionary friend who first sowed the seed of sailing to the Philippines, joined the boat as crew. Although the 3 adults had no off shore sailing experience, Marianda and her sailing buddy had learnt the rudiments of sailing during  the Women on Water course in Tauranga.  She also had proved she did not get as seasick as Marianda and was a valuable asset with night watches, provisioning  and helping with the children. The 4 young ones aged 11, 7, 5 and 3 said they were excited to be going off on a new adventure.

Marianda would continue to home school all 4 children. Sonadora was provisioned, friends and family farewelled and they awaited the best weather window to clear Customs and set sail for Vanuatu.

Weather forecasting is just that, a forecast and prediction, computer based and not always  accurate. Wisely, LP enlisted the help of Bob McDavitt [New Zealand meterologist, guru with a reputation for assisting boaties plan offshore passages]. The intended sail date was postponed for 3 days while a weather front between Norfolk and New Caledonia passed through, but this also shortened the first leg of their intended passage as there was nothing to gain in sailing around Norfolk Island. The first few days of unpleasant weather would change to 7 days of calmer more settled weather as the front passed.

Finally on 01 August 2022 Sonadora set sail from Opua to Vanuatu en route to the Philippines with 3 adults and 4 children aboard. Seven days later, on Bob McDavitt's advice, they spent half a day tracking back and forth in the shelter of Walpole Island [Loyalty group of islands, New Caledonia].

"The first 3 days after leaving New Zealand was really rough with all the movement and hull slap. We weren't able to sleep much and LP didn't sleep at all for the first 3 days". My friend and I took over the watch as LP was so tired and badly needed to sleep, "he just couldn't stay awake any longer. A little while later the kids played hide and seek" and the numbers were being counted out loud 29, 30, 31 32, 33, 34 when LP came crawling through the saloon, bleary eyed and very concerned asking if the wind had risen to 34 knots?

"There were some scary moments for the kids on the passage but overall they were excited and very flexible with changes. We had some lovely times with them fishing, looking for sea life, helping with boat jobs, exploring new parts when in New Zealand and joining in the relief of anchoring and sighting land. The little ones stayed inside a lot of the time to stay safe and not be distracted or hurt" said Marianda. Two of the children had birthdays during the passage and were disappointed there was no birthday cake. Marianda had prepared gifts and special food in advance but the absence of a birthday cake made both birthdays memorable.

Once at sea 'we realised the AIS [automatic identification system allows boats in a given area to safely identify each other] was only working intermitently. One night we knew there was something big behind us going quite fast. We kept trying to check it and eventually called up on the VHF [very high frequency radio]. We asked a sleepy respondent 'can you see us? 'No' he replied. 'Can you see us on your AIS'? 'No'. We turned on all our deck and navigation lights to try and light up the boat and we asked again 'can you see us now?' Thankfully at that point something in our system connected and he replied 'yes I can see you now on AIS". As soon as LP determined the container ship's heading, he pulled Sonadora around hard to starboard to avoid contact. " It was a huge container ship travelling 25 knots and could have run us down".  They passed about a mile away.

The last 24 hours of our passage to Vanuatu was nerve wracking as Sonadora surfed down 3 meter swells. Tired, and stressed  LP  struggled "to keep the bow heading and not broach [yaw or veer sideways to the waves]. The way we had packed the boat with weight unevenly distributed did not help.  On our playlist a song came on 'there's nothing to fear, there's nothing to fear, I am with you always". This was enough to reassure LP, God was watching over them, and they made it safely into the shelter of the harbour just on sunset." It took us 10 days and 6 hours to get to Efate [Vanuatu] arriving on 10 August  and apart from those 2 events it was an uneventful passage".

Marianda said she was seasick and unable to eat for the first 6 days but eventually her tummy adjusted to the movement. The children were all fine but disappointed they did not see any sea life. LP commented "it was beautiful, hard, crazy - just everything. We learned a lot about living by faith rather than sight". The worst sea conditions they experienced had been in the Colville Channel (tip of Coromandel) in New Zealand when they were learning to sail.

"We didn't know what we didn't know. But all the way through we believed if God has called us to do this, He will provide and protect us."

Vanuatu was to be a stop off before sailing onto the Solomon's, so refuelling and provisioning Sonadora was high on the priority list. They continued to commit to prayer the passages and timing because at that point Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea  and Palau were all still closed due to Covid. We hadn't met any other boat sailing on to these parts at this time.

While we were catching our breath, we met the second owner of Sonadora (we were 4th owners). As NZ boaties do, he came over and introduced himself to us. Then unrelated to this meeting, another guy dinghied over to us to tell us he had spent some time in Fiji with the Christian owners we had bought the boat off. We asked him where he was heading to, and much to our surprise he replied - 'the Philippines'. He told us he was not supposed to be in Villa at that time, but felt God was telling him to be there and to come over to our boat. Over dinner that evening  he told us he had been waiting for his crew to arrive from New Zealand intending to do the 18 day passage straight through to the Philippines. Although the 2 men had never met before, nor had they met us before, we all bonded so well.  We sailed around Devils Point into Havannah Harbour the next day and all met up again. It was decided because his crew couldn't get into Vanuatu due to Covid, that our female crew member would jump ship and the 3 would set sail immediately for the Philippines ensuring she could be with the children at the orphanage before Christmas. They departed Vanuatu and as planned arrived safely in the 18 day time frame. Coincidence? No a demonstration of God's provision, planning and perfect timing.

We were still hoping to get underway and be in the Solomon Islands around the cyclone season. Unsure of what to do, we continued praying.  Should we go to New Caledonia or Australia as both borders were open. Should we stay in Vanuatu for the season? We felt God was making a way for us to stay in Vanuatu. It was already end of October when we met a couple returning to Australia who offered us their house and car ashore should we decide to stay. We believed we could use Vanuatu as a base and our boat to do mission trips to neighbouring islands.

Our plans changed once again when we decided to move into the offered home ashore, prepare Visa applications for our stay and explore local business opportunities. We felt a peace about this decision and change. We took a lot of gear off the boat to furnish the bare house, secured Sonadora on a mooring in the harbour, waited and trusted in the Lord.

Part 3 of 3

"Yet a tiny ember of faith flickered within, fueled by LP's unwavering trust in God. Even in the face of this devastating loss, he clung to his belief that became a lifeline in the chaos. It was a fragile hope but their faith was all they had."

We adapted easily to our new life ashore in Vanuatu. In the 3.5 months since leaving New Zealand the children thrived and it was rewarding to see how close they grew towards each other. Our beautiful Sonadora was secure in the harbour on a mooring that LP had spent time renewing and strengthening. Our thoughts had been on the Philippines, so we wondered what God was up to with this change of plans. We continued to pray and trust Him, but felt a peace about being in Vanuatu. "We connected to the local ICC (International Christian Church) and met some amazing  brothers and sisters in Christ working in varied ministries, schools, medical clinic, prison ministries, discipleship, and life skills".

Thirteen months after moving onto their new home aboard the beautiful Sonadora in Tauranga, and six months after they sailed into Vanuatu, something beyond belief happened.

Between 1 and 3 March 2023, TWO category 4 tropical cyclones [Judy and Kevin] struck Vanuatu within 72 hours of each other, leaving behind a trail of destruction, impacting more than 80% of the country's population. No safe harbour existed from the fury of these back to back cyclones. As cyclone Kevin passed over the strength rose to a catergory 5  bringing winds of over 157 mph and the strongest cyclone rating on the wind scale.  Sonadora wrenched from her mooring, was hurled across the harbour against a local concrete jetty used for loading and unloading supplies off a local barge.  She was badly battered and sinking.

LP describes what they experienced this way. " As cyclone Kevin tightened its grip, escalating to a terrifying category 5, the unthinkable happened. The following morning we discovered Sonadora our cherished vessel, had been ripped from her mooring like a child's toy in a bathtub. When I finally spotted her a kilometer away, my heart hammered against my ribs. Sonadora wasn't afloat, she was grounded. A mangled wreck tossed against the shore by the force of the cyclone. Her starboard hull shredded below the waterline , a gaping wound confirming the story of the storms fury.

Desperation clawed at me. I pleaded with some local villagers who ferried me across the surreally calm water to get a closer look. The sight greeted me like a physical blow. This wasnt Sonadora, the boat that held our dreams of island exploration, ministry work, and a future on the open seas. It was a stranger, a horrific distortion of what we once knew. A wave of horror and disbelief crashed over me. On the deck the familiar creaks that once sang of salty adventures now sounded like a death knell. Alone I collapsed onto the broken deck, wracked with sobs that echoed across the shattered vessel. In that raw moment of despair questions swirled. Where was God in this? What was His plan? Yet amidst the wreckage of our hopes, a flicker of faith persisted. I poured out my heart in a desperate prayer, begging for Sonadora's restoration. But somewhere deep within, an even deeper truth surfaced. Surrender washed over me and with a voice choked with emotion, I uttered the words that brought a fragile peace 'not my will but yours be done God'.

Marianda grappled with her own storm of emotions. One moment a white hot fury would sear through her at the injustice of it all. Their meticulously planned future, built with sacrifice and sweat lay in ruins - a tangled mess of fibreglass and shattered dreams. The next, a suffocating despair threatened to drown her. Yet a tiny ember of faith flickered within, fueled by LP's unwavering trust in God. Even in the face of this devastating loss, he clung to his belief that became a lifeline in the chaos. It was a fragile hope but their faith was all they had."

In between the 2 cyclones LP told Marianda he would go out and sleep on board but she begged him to stay with her and the children ashore. "If anything happens to you it would be way worse" she said convincing him.

When they purchased Sonadora they made several enquiries in New Zealand for off shore marine insurance. They found their choices limited and costs prohibitive as the boat was old and they were destined for cyclone areas. Insurance companies really didn't offer us anything.  "God was our insurance and He really paid out".

"With the help of our local friends (and their entire families), we spent all of the first day unloading as much as we could from Sonadora, and transporting it back to our house ashore. We were exhausted. Days, weeks, months of uncertainty followed.  LP laboured to float their beloved vessel using huge pieces of polystyrene, empty oil drums and zorb balls. After weeks of effort and several attempts he eventually managed to make her buoyant enough to be  towed closer to shore and onto a temporary mooring so the damage could be properly assessed. "The damage was hard to comprehend". LP initially thought Sonadora could be saved. Together with the local boat yard, he assessed costs, facilities and materials available to restore her, but as more and more expenses mounted up he realised this endeavour was impossible.

After months of deliberation, the tough decision was made to salvage what they could from their un-insured floating home and come to terms with their immense loss. Marianda describes waking in the middle of the night filled with anxiety about their precarious situation. How will we live? What if the boat just sinks? What if authorities decide to prosecute for damages or pollution? I would pray and give it all to God, saying 'no matter what happens I will trust in your will'. The peace of God would descend on me so I could sleep again".

Marianda later recalled  "over the last year I feel like I have lost everything, but at the same time gained everything. Sonadora was wrecked in twin cyclones whilst anchored in a sheltered bay in Port Villa. Its hard to explain the rollercoaster ride we went through, the absolute devastation, the physical exhaustion, the mental drain that went on for months, salvaging as much as could. All our hopes and dreams of sailing missions, losing the total of our financial investment,  our home,  and the closest thing we had to any stability at that time, and losing every back up we might have had in our minds. But still we were not without hope although some days I honestly felt like God was taking us to the brink and that LP might even die in the process."

Our year of loss "ended unexpectedly as God provided us a place ashore [a larger property with a prospect to purchase]  in a beautiful location right across from the beach". The villa on Devils Point was already built with income potential from small accommodation bungalows once repaired post cyclone damage. "We felt it was too much [God overwhelmed us with His generosity] and too nice [an upgrade from the small one bedroom place they first housesat in] and not focused towards the mission, but God made it very clear that it was where we should be and made everything fall into place". Marianda continues "God has restored us even more than what we had offered to Him over the past few years".

About 8 months after the cyclone we were able to move into that property and felt such an amazing  peace. We felt God was saying 'if you are going to stay here, you need to be established'. Its such a challenging place to live at times, and God knew we needed a more permanent and secure base. On the basis of being a 'foreign investor' and establishing a business in Vanuatu  the government will grant permanent residency, renewable annually. It seemed clear this was where God wanted us to be and abundantly provided for us.

"We felt ready to leave the old behind and stretch out towards what was in front of us" said Marianda. "To sum it all up, trust Him for never have I seen the righteous forsaken"[Psalm 37 v 25]