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My dear friend,
I have already established that the starting point will likely be in Singapore, in the summer of 2022. To be more specific, it would be undesirable to depart out of Singapore any later than the end of July 2022. If I left any later, then it would certainly dictate a stay in Tasmania for the winter of 2023. (Winter in Tasmania runs from June to September.) If I leave Singapore in July (or earlier), then I may have a shot at making it all the way to Cabo de Hornos, Chile before the fall of 2023 fully sets in (around May or early June).
That could only happen if everything were to go perfectly. If I were able to average 50 miles (80 km) each travel day, it could be possible. 50 mi/day on the water is achievable when conditions are good, but expectations for perfect weather somewhat diminish the closer one progresses towards Antarctica. By land, that rate of travel is slightly more attainable; however, 50 mi/day on the snow and ice is pure fantasy. Therefore, the overall conditions would need to be especially perfect and consistent, and I would need to be able to maximize my travel days as much as possible.
Therefore, I suspect that I may have to winter in Tasmania (or perhaps in McMurdo, Antarctica) in 2023. Then when the weather improves, I would be able to move forward with my crossing of Antarctica in the summer of 2023/2024. God only knows! The idea of traveling from Singapore to the South Pole to Cabo de Hornos, Chile in a single year is preposterous! Even still, I do not want to limit the arm of the Lord. If it is His will to make it happen, then it will come to pass.
We could look at best case scenarios. For instance, we could assume that I would be able to sustain a cruising speed of seven mph (11 kph) on the water for twelve hours a day consecutively. That would be 84 mi (134 km) each day. Therefore, to travel from Singapore to Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia (1,074 mi. or 1,718 km), it would take me 13 days. Yet it would only take one moderate sized storm front to push me off course a couple hundred miles, and it would set me back by the better part of a week.
There are far too many variables to account for when attempting to make a forecast for any segment of the journey, not to mention the time required to traverse the entire road to Cabo de Hornos. More importantly, there are no lack of important and critical details that are still unknown. You know how I am and how I do not care to establish arbitrary dates and durations.
I never understood how it is that decision makers in the business world and in our governments operate on arbitrary dates and other points of vital information. They will insist that their subordinates supply them with information, regardless of the integrity of that information. Then when things go wrong, they will point their finger at the information source with accusation and ask, “Why did you not complete this deliverable on time?”
This brings into view another striking quality of my wife. She has always been a person of integrity and responsibility. I have never known her to distort the facts. She strives to tell everything in this world as it is. If she gives someone a piece of information, they can be confident that the information is accurate. She works very diligently to understand the letter of the law. What are the requirements? What are the codes, the stipulations, the regulations, etc.? She endeavors to apprehend all the important constraints and then she works feverishly to adhere to those boundaries. She is this way with most every aspect of life. She is careful to follow the laws and the decrees of our society.
However, she is not like some persons in this regard, who go around beating other people with a club who are not adhering to the order. She is much more subtle than that. She has an incredible knack for putting an idea into an individual’s mind and then leading them to think that it was their own idea. I do not know how she manages to be so successful with that strategy, but she is able to pull that stunt off on a regular basis. I think that the biggest reason for this is that we all trust her, her friends, her family, her acquaintances, and all of her reports, peers, and leaders. She is a highly respected person!
Integrity is a rare gift, and yet, it is one of the most important aspects of life. Equally, the integrity of all the information pertaining to the quest itself is of the utmost importance. There is absolutely no room for error. Moreover, the work itself is specifically for God Almighty in honor of you. There is no excuse for it not to be as perfect as is possible to make it.
It is essential that I attain a better understanding of the finite and concrete details. If I am to understand God, I need to study. I need to know all that I can know, so that I am ready to hear from God those things that are beyond my capacity to develop on my own. It is true that this is all God’s plan, and I know that He expects me to follow it. Notwithstanding, He will not award a lazy servant. He gave each of us a mind of our own, equipped with an astounding capacity for reasoning. He expects us to use the intelligence that He gave to us.
When God asks us to believe, He is not asking us to blindly jump after His words without pretext. He wants us to wisely consider the truth of His holy Word for our own selves. He is not asking you to listen to what your friends, neighbors, councilors, and teachers have to claim about the Word of God. He is asking you to hear what He says and to consider what His words mean to you and you alone.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Psalm 34:8 KJV
Speaking to Nathanael in the Gospel of John: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.” – John 1:50 KJV;
He was not asking Nathanael if he believed. That was a rhetorical question. He was telling Nathanael that before it was all said and done, there would be much greater proofs that Jesus is the Son of God.
Again, in chapter 11, Jesus was not asking Martha if she believed, just because. He was asking her to consider all that she knew and had seen, and to determine for her own self if Jesus truly is the Christ or not.
“And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
John 11:26 KJV
Oh my dearest friend!
Wake up!
Stop looking at me!
I am nothing! I am only a messenger.
Get your eyes off of me and listen to the one that is sending the message!
It is His personal message to you! He is asking you to hear Him.
How can you ever understand if His words are true or not if you do not open your eyes and listen to the water of life?
If God is truth (He is), how are you going to know unless you learn the truth from Him?
No one else is going to tell you the truth on His behalf!
You cannot learn of the truth of God from any other person than God Himself!
Love Always,
Dale 😊
Your comments and questions are welcome, even the critical ones. You can submit comments without specifying an email address (despite the fact that it indicates that an email is required). If you do, I ask that you use a fairly anonymous (benign) username. However, if there is something amiss with your anonymously submitted comment, I will not have any way of telling you what is wrong.
