Back Tracking Cruise 2019 Chapter 4

I would be remiss not to mention what happened right after the elevator incident. I had mentioned that I would tell this story in Chapter 3, but I got a bit distracted. So, here we go:

There was a young man on the back of the "Nicole" elevator. He had this "look" like he could be a rocker. So, I asked him if he was famous. Just like the rest, he denied being famous. But, he had that look like he could be in a band.

Later on that evening, Kathy and I were walking on the pool deck headed somewhere. We saw this "non-famous" guy again. He was standing all alone. So, we (shy people that we are) went over and struck up a conversation. It went something like this,
     "Hey, you are that famous guy, right?" we asked.
     "No, I am really not famous. I am in a band though," he explained. Then he proceeded to tell us his story. (Ryan, if you are reading this, feel free to correct details I may have incorrect.) He told us his name is Ryan Cleveland and his band is "Hello Cleveland". He lives in Anchorage, Alaska. He told of how he had an injury and ended up on pain pills which eventually led to a pain killer addiction. That then led to a heroine addiction along with homelessness. He had been raised in the church and knew the truth but had chosen to drift away. He explained that when he hit his lowest low, he was all alone and realized how low he was. It was then that he felt the power of the Holy Spirit come in snatch him right out of the darkness. He said since that moment, he has lived his life for Jesus.

Kathy asked him who was praying for him. He said it was his mom. She was faithful in prayer for 15 years while he strayed. Of course, Kathy and I immediately began to cry. We both knew we fell far short of praying fervently for our own children. We stated that we sure would like to meet his mom. He pointed toward the ice cream area and said,
     "She is right there!"

We headed that way. We asked if she was Ryan's mom. She introduced herself as Wendy and then asked if we had heard the whole story. We weren't sure, so, she proceeded to tell us that Ryan had led over 60 people to the Lord since he came back. Wendy took our hands right then and we prayed for our children.

This moment solidified our friendship for life. It is moments like this that make every penny I spend on the cruise is so worth it.

(Sorry, we have not one good pix of Wendy and Ryan. Kathy's camera was giving her fits the night we did Karaoke when we tried to take them.)