Jeremy and I are travelling with 36 others through Germany. Our travels have taken us to many beautiful churches and cathedrals, past some of the restored and rebuilt sections of German towns which were bombed in WW II and to some places retaining the culture and customs of the German people. Our travels will make a large loop through Germany starting and ending at Frankfurt. We have seen Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg and several small towns, as well as traveled on the Rhine and Elbe Rivers.
Today in the Hamburg Harbor we saw one of the major shipping ports of Europe. A practice widely used here is container shipping. It was introduced by the United States to the European Nations. I am sure you have seen it on our major highways. A metal container fits on the bed of a flatbed truck and from the docks is loaded onto trucks and driven to all parts of the world. The container ships can carry as many as 850 containers on them. A good crane operator can move 25 containers an hour! The ships in Hamburg come from the North Sea which is 65 miles away, down the Elbe River to Hamburg to be loaded with the containers and then go out to sea again. Once loaded, they may not leave the harbor without a master pilot, who knows the river well, can navigate the sand bars and shallow places, and get the ship out to sea. The master pilot knows the way. Without him the ship captain would be in trouble, because he doesn! 't know the waters well enough to navigate a loaded ship safely.
Have you ever thought about our "master pilot". He knows how to show us the way. He knows the best way for us to go. If we follow his lead we will get there safely and securely. In Hamburg Harbor, the ship captains are not allowed to go out to sea without a "master pilot" to lead them. Have you ever thought about how many times you have started out without having the "master pilot of faith" beside you? I pray that you may start each day with your "master pilot", who leads the way and has your best interests and purposes in mind.
I hold you dearly in my heart and soul and pray that God leads you into safe streams and smooth sailing during this summer.
Yours in Christ, Dan Corll
