December 4, 2015

 

Since Dad was with the Assemblies of God by this time (he had graduated from an A/G Bible college, after all!) and an accepted member of the Northwest District, he decided to present his need and vision to his district brethren.

 

So it was when Alvin Capener went in to meet with his denominational leadership.  "Brother Capener, we appreciate that you have a call into missionary work, but Alaska is out of the question!  We just can't send you to a place where everything is so expensive.  Now, we have doors of opportunity for you in Africa and in China.  We'd be glad to send you either place, and money will be available for that purpose."

 

He was not a little astonished at their response.  "Brethren, God didn't call me to Africa or China.  He called me to Alaska, and that's where I have to go."

 

The quick answer was, "We will not send you to Alaska.  You will not go there -- not with our blessing or approval."

 

Dad got up from his seat and said, "Brethren, you didn't call me: God did!  And I'm going to Alaska, with or without you!"

 

"Then you're going without us.  We forbid it."

 

He shook his head in frustration and disgust and headed out the door, all the more determined to head north -- never mind the fact that he didn't have a clue as to how God would make that kind of provision.

 

When you have a call the likes of which Dad had received, had it confirmed with a burning bush (cornstalk) experience, and watched the Lord prepare the way in front of you the way he had seen it, and people who are supposed to be spiritual leaders decide you should do something other than what God has given you to do, it stirs no small reaction in your spirit.  I've had the same thing happen to me on several occasions during the nearly 60 years that have elapsed since I first began preaching the Word.

 

Dad headed out of that office not quite sure what avenue of provision God would make, but he figured that since he was in a community where commercial fishing was the primary occupation, he should try his hand at it.  It mattered not that he was not a commercial fisherman, nor that he had been raised a long way from the sea and fishing in general.  If God had given him the ability to do so many other things, there was no reason why he couldn't go fishing.  In the back of his mind, he figured that with the blessing of the Lord, he might actually generate enough money to pay off the church debt.  Where the other $5,000 would come from was not something he had an answer for at the moment.

 

Not far from Ilwaco was the community of Raymond, Washington, where there was a fish cannery.  The owner of the cannery was someone Alvin Capener had befriended.  (I've lost track of this man's name, so for the sake of our discussion, we'll refer to him as "Jim.")  The cannery owner had a few boats of varying size around or near the cannery, so he became the natural individual for Alvin to share his desires.

 

"Jim, you know that I've shared with you our call to Alaska.  We've got a debt to pay off on our church building, and I've decided to take advantage of the fact that this is a commercial fishing area.  Do you have a boat I could rent from you for the fishing season?  I'm going to try my hand at this in the expectation that God will help me."

 

The cannery owner couldn't help but laugh.  One doesn't become a commercial fisherman just because they decide to.  Deep sea fishing has its own hazards anyway, but fishing off the mouth of the Columbia River is more than a little treacherous -- particularly for those who don't know the kinds of currents and turbulence created by the Columbia's dumping into the Pacific.  Virtually all of the commercial fishermen in the region had grown up as second, third and fourth generation sea salts, raised on the water with all the instincts of the sea finely honed in them -- instincts developed over a lifetime.

 

Alvin Capener's decision to do commercial fishing was tantamount to an individual today deciding they're going to be computer repairmen or software engineers and diving into the business without any concept of what makes a computer operate, the math that drives computing as a whole, and the principles behind the development of software and operating systems.  Yup.  That's a pretty good analogy.  Anyone who tries it gets "lost at sea" in a hurry -- uhhh, pun intended!

 

But Alvin Capener was no ordinary soul.  In the few short years Jim had come to know him, he'd seen this farmer-carpenter-builder-preacher accomplish some pretty extraordinary things.

 

"OK, Capener.  Not sure you know what you're getting yourself into, but I'll play along.  I've got a thirty-foot boat alongside the cannery.  Needs some work, but if you want to fix it up, you're welcome to use it.  I'll buy all the fish you catch, too."

 

So things began.  Dad's knowledge of carpentry and a keen eye for woodworking made the repair job on this old boat pretty easy.  Fishing season was upon the area, and it was slated for a seven-week period.

 

The first week of fishing season began, and to the astonishment of everyone, Dad took more fish than any other fisherman in port -- including those with boats twice and three times the size.  The cannery owner was astounded!  This isn't luck, this is miraculous!  When that load of fish was dumped at the cannery, Jim said to Alvin, "Capener, if you're going to fish like this, we've got to get you a bigger boat.  I just happen to have a 50-footer on hand.  Take that instead."

 

One of the factors that differentiated Alvin Capener's fishing season from the rest of the commercial fishermen was that he only fished six days a week, returned from sea on Saturdays so he could be in his pulpit on Sundays.  Because the season was only seven weeks long, most of the fishermen would literally rotate on a continuous basis.  When their boats filled, or they felt they had a sufficient catch, they would return to port, dump their catches, and head directly back to sea.

 

One other thing: you'll see from the newspaper clipping that the fish being caught were tuna -- albacore tuna.  Ilwaco had never been noted as a tuna port.  They caught salmon.  The tail end of this newspaper clipping notes that "The river salmon catches remain small, and very little salmon or silversides are being brought in by the trollers."  Toward the end of the previous season, however, fishermen had begun catching tuna instead of salmon for some inexplicable reason -- and no one was complaining!  Albacore tuna were bringing six times the price of salmon.

 

The second week mirrored the first.  Fishermen began to sit up and take notice of this "Landlubber-Preacher-Fisherman" (as he was referred to in a couple of AP articles).  When the third week came and went and Al Capener's catch of fish equaled or exceeded that of fishermen with 80-foot boats, they decided that "Capener must have some carefully guarded secret."          Saturday of that third week, several fishermen came to Dad and said, "Capener, where are you going?  What are you doing?  What's your secret?"

 

Those aren't questions you ask another fisherman.  Each man guards his plans and his knowledge of where the fish are biting like a military top secret so as to have the best possible catch.  Since Alvin Capener was a greenhorn -- a "landlubber" without previous deep sea fishing experience -- everyone figured he'd be good for a few tips since he wouldn't know just how treasured such information really is.

 

No matter.  "Gentlemen, you know I'm in my pulpit on Sunday.  If you want to wait until Monday morning and follow me out, I don't have any secrets.  You're welcome to see where I go and what I do."  Ho, Yeesss!  And wait, they did, until Monday.  As they prepared to head out to sea, all agreed they'd meet back in port on Saturday to compare catches.

 

Sure enough, Saturday of that fourth week, everyone met back in the Ilwaco port.  It had been a great week for everyone!  Those who had followed Dad out to sea were beaming.  "Capener, how'd you do?  This has been our best week so far."

 

"Take a look," was his laconic answer.  When they saw his catch, their faces fell.  "This is impossible!" said one.  "You've still caught more than I've caught, and my boat is nearly twice the size of yours.  I just don't understand it!"

 

It was Week Seven of the fishing season, however, that was going to tell the real tale.  Everyone was out to sea, and most had headed out a hundred or more miles.  Alvin Capener had decided to be different that week.  He was beyond 200 miles out.  You'll understand the initial trepidation of Jim at the cannery in Raymond when you realize that neither of these boats Dad used had anything other than a nautical compass.  He had no radio and no means of communication.  He was steering his course at sea by dead reckoning.  Maybe we can understand why they call it "dead reckoning."  Hehehehehe..............  More than a few sailors have lost their lives that way.

 

What made his fishing experiences all the more humorous was that Al Capener had no professional fishing gear of any kind.  Both boats had been set up for salmon trolling, NOT tuna.  Never one to be deterred by "facts," he just threw lines over the side of the boat.  Every single albacore tuna he caught he pulled in by hand -- every last one of them!

 

By Wednesday of Week Seven, the skies were portending stormy conditions -- in fact, one very big blow.  All of the professional seamen knew what was coming and began a retreat back into the port of Ilwaco.  Alvin Capener, on the other hand, saw the darkening skies, calculated it as just another rainstorm -- he'd already been through a few of them during this seven-week period -- and stayed put.

 

Thursday morning came and went and there was no sign of Dad's boat -- anywhere!  No one could remember having seen his boat as they made their way back to port, and folks began to worry.  The expected major storm had hit.  Winds were tropical force, and the seas were running at 50 feet.  By Thursday afternoon, a delegation of fishermen made their way to the Capener parsonage to express their regrets.  "Mrs. Capener, we're awfully sorry about the loss of your husband at sea.  If you like, we'll begin making preparations for your husband's funeral on Saturday."

 

Sorry to leave you hanging like this, but we will continuethis “adventure” next week.

 

I remind those of you in need of ministry that our Healing Prayer Call takes place on Mondays at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific).  Our call-in number has changed to (712) 775-7035.  The new Access Code is: 323859#.For Canadians who have difficulty getting in to this number, you can call (559) 546-1400.If someone answers         and asks what your original call-in number was, you can give them the 712 number and access code.

 

At the same time, in case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific.  That conference number is (605) 562-3140, and the access code is 308640#.  We hope to make these gatherings available by Skype or Talk Fusion before long.  If you miss the live call, you can dial (605) 562-3149, enter the same access code and listen in later.

 

Blessings on you!

 

One other thing: you'll see from the newspaper clipping that the fish being caught were tuna -- albacore tuna.  Ilwaco had never been noted as a tuna port.  They caught salmon.  The tail end of this newspaper clipping notes that "The river salmon catches remain small, and very little salmon or silversides are being brought in by the trollers."  Toward the end of the previous season, however, fishermen had begun catching tuna instead of salmon for some inexplicable reason -- and no one was complaining!  Albacore tuna were bringing six times the price of salmon.

 

The second week mirrored the first.  Fishermen began to sit up and take notice of this "Landlubber-Preacher-Fisherman" (as he was referred to in a couple of AP articles).  When the third week came and went and Al Capener's catch of fish equaled or exceeded that of fishermen with 80-foot boats, they decided that "Capener must have some carefully guarded secret."          Saturday of that third week, several fishermen came to Dad and said, "Capener, where are you going?  What are you doing?  What's your secret?"

 

Those aren't questions you ask another fisherman.  Each man guards his plans and his knowledge of where the fish are biting like a military top secret so as to have the best possible catch.  Since Alvin Capener was a greenhorn -- a "landlubber" without previous deep sea fishing experience -- everyone figured he'd be good for a few tips since he wouldn't know just how treasured such information really is.

 

No matter.  "Gentlemen, you know I'm in my pulpit on Sunday.  If you want to wait until Monday morning and follow me out, I don't have any secrets.  You're welcome to see where I go and what I do."  Ho, Yeesss!  And wait, they did, until Monday.  As they prepared to head out to sea, all agreed they'd meet back in port on Saturday to compare catches.

 

Sure enough, Saturday of that fourth week, everyone met back in the Ilwaco port.  It had been a great week for everyone!  Those who had followed Dad out to sea were beaming.  "Capener, how'd you do?  This has been our best week so far."

 

"Take a look," was his laconic answer.  When they saw his catch, their faces fell.  "This is impossible!" said one.  "You've still caught more than I've caught, and my boat is nearly twice the size of yours.  I just don't understand it!"

 

It was Week Seven of the fishing season, however, that was going to tell the real tale.  Everyone was out to sea, and most had headed out a hundred or more miles.  Alvin Capener had decided to be different that week.  He was beyond 200 miles out.  You'll understand the initial trepidation of Jim at the cannery in Raymond when you realize that neither of these boats Dad used had anything other than a nautical compass.  He had no radio and no means of communication.  He was steering his course at sea by dead reckoning.  Maybe we can understand why they call it "dead reckoning."  Hehehehehe..............  More than a few sailors have lost their lives that way.

 

What made his fishing experiences all the more humorous was that Al Capener had no professional fishing gear of any kind.  Both boats had been set up for salmon trolling, NOT tuna.  Never one to be deterred by "facts," he just threw lines over the side of the boat.  Every single albacore tuna he caught he pulled in by hand -- every last one of them!

 

By Wednesday of Week Seven, the skies were portending stormy conditions -- in fact, one very big blow.  All of the professional seamen knew what was coming and began a retreat back into the port of Ilwaco.  Alvin Capener, on the other hand, saw the darkening skies, calculated it as just another rainstorm -- he'd already been through a few of them during this seven-week period -- and stayed put.

 

Thursday morning came and went and there was no sign of Dad's boat -- anywhere!  No one could remember having seen his boat as they made their way back to port, and folks began to worry.  The expected major storm had hit.  Winds were tropical force, and the seas were running at 50 feet.  By Thursday afternoon, a delegation of fishermen made their way to the Capener parsonage to express their regrets.  "Mrs. Capener, we're awfully sorry about the loss of your husband at sea.  If you like, we'll begin making preparations for your husband's funeral on Saturday."

 

Sorry to leave you hanging like this, but we will continuethis “adventure” next week.

 

I remind those of you in need of ministry that our Healing Prayer Call takes place on Mondays at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific).  Our call-in number has changed to (712) 775-7035.  The new Access Code is: 323859#.For Canadians who have difficulty getting in to this number, you can call (559) 546-1400.If someone answers         and asks what your original call-in number was, you can give them the 712 number and access code.

 

At the same time, in case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific.  That conference number is (605) 562-3140, and the access code is 308640#.  We hope to make these gatherings available by Skype or Talk Fusion before long.  If you miss the live call, you can dial (605) 562-3149, enter the same access code and listen in later.

 

Blessings on you!