Yo Ho!

Yo-ho! The pirate ship is being assembled in the auditorium, and the cast members are getting their scallywag gear on. Pirate music is playing loud, and everyone in the office is saying, "arrr!" Even Madison is in on it! That's right: it's almost time for the Pirate series to begin! Here's a photo of Madison from last year, when we stayed in that pirate-themed room at the Caribbean Resort in Disney World. That trip was a romp and a half, but in just a few days we'll be returning to pillage and plunder some more. We're pretty excited about it, already planning this or that. No matter what, on the schedule is a whole lot of relaxin'. Needless to say, excitement is in the air!

As we work above and below deck, here below is an entry from the pirate's devotional log that Captain KidPak wrote while crossing the seven seas:

Sir Francis Drake was the most successful privateer that ever lived. He was so successful at what he did that he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in England in 1581. You’re probably asking, what exactly is a privateer? Why, that’s easy! He was a pirate, of course!

Privateers were basically a bunch of pirates who worked for their countries. They did this by plundering the gold from their country’s enemies. Privateers from England (called Sea Dogs) constantly raided their enemy’s mighty Spanish Galleons for gold. Those were their orders, straight from the queen herself. She gave pirates like Sir Francis Drake what is called a Letter of Marque. That meant that he had orders from the highest authority to plunder the enemy’s camp!

At the end of the book of Matthew, Jesus gives us our orders: our very own Letter of Marque. He tells us that we are to do some plundering of our own, each and every one of us. That’s right: we’ve got orders to plunder the enemy’s camp. So that makes us all privateers, doesn’t it? How do we plunder the enemy’s camp? “By making disciples of all nations.” Arrrrr! I think you’re catching on! So follow your orders, mates! How? That’s easy! You do that in the simplest of ways. Telling others about Jesus is one way. Inviting someone onboard to church is a great thing to do as well. No matter what you do, remember to act as a Christian would. Who knows? Someone might be watching you – and the very way you live your life may get someone wanting to go to church.

We’re all on board this ship together, so let’s all have a romp and plunder the enemy’s camp! Those are your orders, privateer!