Author Archives: Chris Young

A day of blessing

“Do you recognise me?” Is always a tricky question for me, but always there is a blessing in store when I realise who is talking to me.

Today when I woke up I realised that I needed to spend time to reconnect with God. After reading my bible, I said to God: “I want to spend time with you today and draw closer to you. Please help me connect with you today”. I think God was really quite happy to oblige with that request, and already he had his plan in motion. At that moment I felt like it was finally time for me to go down to the book fair and buy myself a study bible like I had at home, so down I went. As I was browsing through the large selection of bibles that we have on board, a local gentleman asked me that question “Do you recognise me?”. I didn’t immediately recognise him and thought for a moment. “I am the worship leader from the band last night” he said. Immediately I remembered. Often I have little time to speak with visiting worship leaders from events as they come late, perform and leave early – but I had spoken to him breifly. We compared the bibles we were looking at and made decisions, paid and left the book fair. I bought him some popcorn and a soft drink and we sat down to talk. He gave me a first hand account of what it is like to be a descendant of slaves brought to work on the plantations by white people, to not have an identity of your own and to have your history written by your oppressors. He shared many of the struggles his fellow countrymen experience. Then he began to encourage me. The words he spoke from the bible were exactly what I needed to hear. I had been struggling with hardships and difficulties and as a result I had become frustrated and angry. He assured me that any hardship must come through God first, and he allows these things to happen for my growth. He encouraged me to give praise to God and to seek the lesson that is in the hardship. I was so blessed to hear these words, God always knows just what we need if we are willing to seek him for it.

Help West Africa


“It will be a new experience” I thought as I cautiously signed my name. Whenever I’ve been stopped on the street by a charity organisation, I’ve tried my best not to be rude – but I do my best to avoid them. Now I would be the one asking people to give.

A month ago, the leader of Corporate Services onboard – the work division comprising of finance, IT, AV, Business services and service desk, a very work orientated department – set us a challenge. We are always so focussed on internal ministry in our jobs that we rarely are directly involved in our Father’s work in this world. He showed us that many school children in West Africa do not have pens and books, and that classrooms have no equipment. We were to put together a stand to facilitate people giving towards packages for school kids, teachers and classrooms.

I was sceptical. It would take away from my work time. It would add extra stress to my team. Yet I convinced myself that this plan was the way of Love, the way of our Father. So I had my team add two screens to the stand – one with a looping DVD of pictures of the dilapidated classrooms and the other for connecting a laptop. But that was only the beginning of the challenge. We were asked to assign time from our team towards running the stand. I would not. I simply encouraged them to sign up themselves. One of my team members put her whole heart into it. She was often there nearly pleading with people to give. I didn’t volunteer.

Many, many people gave. The number of packs for students, teachers and classrooms amazed me and I began to look ahead to walking into those schools and giving out the packages. Another port arrived. I decided I need to assign some team time, so I assigned one person one hour on the schedule (which was filling up) – but I knew I couldn’t ask someone to do something I was not willing to do, so I signed myself up.

I talked with my Father beforehand – asking Him to influence people, rather than me. At first it was scary, asking people if they would like to give. Maybe they would buy one less book for their family. Many passed on the opportunity and I politely allowed them to continue, but many people took the slips to pay at the book fair. Maybe it’s best that they pay for the donation somewhere else – then I don’t know how many people really gave, but I think it was quite a few. I was really encouraged by the experience and would do it again. I really look forward to arriving in port and visiting these schools and seeing the smiling faces.

A week’s rest (and how God used it)

“Are you really all volunteers” asked the museum curator, “Even the captain” I said. The man was simply amazed that so many people would volunteer two years or more of their lives to serve the people of Bermuda and of the world. He was delighted to see a Christian ministry that really responded to people’s needs.

But wait, wasn’t this articled called “A week’s rest”? Well yes. Upon my arrival in Hamilton, Bermuda my parents came to visit me. I welcomed them to my new home and showed them around. My Mum worked in the galley (the ship’s kitchen) helping prepare food for the crew, and my Dad worked with me in the Audio Visual team. It was great having them around, sharing meals together and giving them a taste of the life that I am living.

After a week of experience, I then took a week break from the ship. My parents and I stayed together at a local hotel and enjoyed some rest and relaxation – a long shower, a big bed, buffet breakfast – and some sightseeing. I really had fun that week and enjoyed reading from my favourite novel and reading more of the bible.

Of course along the way I met many friendly tourists and locals who would ask me which ship I came in on – tourism being primarally via cruise ships not via airoplane. This was an opportunity I often used to tell them that I was a crew member of the Logos Hope. For tourists I explained to them what the ship was about, and for the locals I answered more detailed questions like how long I was staying on board, and to all of them I could explain why I was serving on board, because of Jesus. It was amazing how many people I was able to chat to and plant a small seed of the gospel. I thank God for using me even on my holiday.

The Fence


“She didn’t want to choose between Satan and Jesus, so she chose the fence, but the fence belongs to Satan so he captured her. But when she prayed, Jesus came and rescued her”.

This is how I quickly explained to a volunteer from Bermuda the meaning of a drama I performed the night before in the Hope Theater for an event called ‘Sunday Night Live’. The event was hosted by a local church called ‘Cornerstone’ and ran a lot like a talent show – around 7 acts from local Christians and ship’s crew. The difference of course is that each person brought glory to God in his or her own way. Some sang worship songs and others did stand up comedy without the dirty jokes.

At the end a pastor gave a short message challenging the youth. While he was speaking we – the drama team – assembled on the stage behind the curtains. I prayed “Jesus, please help me to portray you accurately tonight and to perform to my best”. Representing the character of Jesus is indeed a challenge for anyone, since we have all fallen short of his moral standards and gone our own way at times, and I was suitably anxious as his message drew to a close. But as the curtains opened and the lights came up God used me to present this message – don’t sit on the fence. Many said they were impacted greatly by the drama and some asked me to clarify it’s meaning, and I was happy to explain it to them.

Mission: Bahamas


“Please Lord send me to the Bahamas” might be the catch-cry of the lazy missionary and a joke to others, but when fellow crew member Randy Grebe felt called to take his young family and go to be a missionary in the Bahamas, he took it very seriously.
Randy’s ministry was not in the nice places, not to the tourists, and never at all easy. Through many years of hard work and lots of sacrifice, Randy and Kim impacted the heart of the island chain. Their most famous acheivement was the construction of the Adventure Learning Centre where kids come to learn about creation and many make Jesus their Lord an Savior. I was on camera tonight for a reunion dinner with so many people who testified to the way that Uncle Randy touched them and brought Jesus into their lives, and on Tuesday I will visit the Adventure Learning Centre – the result of a man who listened not to men, but to God.

The harvest is plentiful


“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” I read aloud as I motioned to some volunteers from the congregation. Four people represented 40% of the world’s population who have not been reached with the gospel, and one man represented the 10% of Christian missionaries working with these people.

At the Franklin Town Church of God we were asked to take the service after worship. “G’day, my name is Chris and I come from Australia, the land of Kangaroos and Koalas” I said as I addressed the church. After our introductions I gave a presentation with the aim of mobilizing Christians in Jamaica to be a part of world mission. Jamaica and the surrounding Caribbean has been reached by the gospel by brave souls who came before us and now it is time for Caribbeans to go into all the world.

Others from the team presented a mime-dance and a testimony, and one gave a powerful sermon. Afterwards we were able to sell books for people who couldn’t make it to the ship.

I always enjoy the experience of speaking to a church body and helping them to understand the need for following the great commission.

Behind the Scenes


“I really like dressing in black and feeling what it is to be sort of selfless – you forget that people are watching you,” described Joy Lin (Taiwan). She and nine other crewmembers were responsible for the sound, lights, and video at an event in the Hope Theatre. Considering there are only six people in the audiovisual department, it is evident that making these types of events happen requires dedication. For a two-hour event, the team had a walk-through a few days earlier, a meeting the day before, and was on the job for seven hours the day of the event. However, for this bunch of crewmembers, it is important to see things from a deeper angle than just the technical side. Working behind the scenes can be difficult, but as Joy put it, “it teaches you to be humble.”
Source: http://www.omships.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=141&resourceid=R20352

Unforgettable anniversary


One year ago on 19 February, Logos Hope sailed into active service. An audiovisual summary of the year was presented last night – 23 ports, 18 countries and 565,000 visitors later as part of the celebrations. Throughout the evening crew and staff watched as due honour was given to the thousands of volunteers who contributed to the project of preparing the vessel. However, one of the most interesting aspects of the celebration was brought to light simply by the fact that 12 crewmembers from Doulos had arrived a few hours earlier. “The ship is only steel, but what’s really special is you, the community,” attested Director Gian Walser (Switzerland). This is true of both vessels although one has just completed her service and the other has just begun. The appreciated presence of OM Ships’ CEO, Peter Nicoll (South Africa), created added anticipation on board over the week leading up to this unforgettable anniversary.

Quayside Extravaganza


On our last weekend in Montego Bay, Jamaica many people queued for hours to visit the Logos Hope. To bless these people as they wait patiently in line we held a concert on the stage outside the ship. Early on Saturday morning the AV and events teams got our hands dirty putting out a portable stage and setting up some serious AV equipment to provide a high quality sound that could be heard far away.
Local artists and crew members performed on stage and people were captivated by their performance. Many shared their testimonies and the Gospel.
Pictured above is Sam Stainer from the U.K, the newest member of my AV team. He is a professional audio engineer and has run his own AV business for a few years before he visited the ship in London. He was impressed by the opening ceremony and talked with the AV manager on board who encouraged him to join up for two years. Immediately he decided this was what he would do, so he began to close down his business and a year later arrived in Montego bay. Praise God for bringing the right people at the right time!

Cash desk

“Just one moment Madam” I said calmly and politely as I scanned the many rows of buttons on the cash desk. Where was the button called “find product”? Finding it, I realised it couldn’t help me either! “Head cashier!” I called, then turned and smiled at the lady waiting to pay for her books.

A few days prior I had participated in cash desk volunteer training, since I figured I could help out when things got busy, and now I had been recruited to put my training into practice. But in the heat of the moment all of my training had left me. Most items presented have a barcode that will scan but every now and then there’s a product that doesn’t scan and you have to go searching for it in the system. Thankfully the head cashier was very helpful to me. To be honest I figured that the job of cash desk was fairly simple compared to my highly technical AV job but having experienced the stress of an impatient customer and a mystery product – I have a newfound respect for the cashiers.

I hope to have many more opportunities to help these people because like me they have busy times when there are just not enough people to do the job, and I’ve always wanted to try a retail job. I also quite enjoy that most orders come to over 2000 Jamaican dollars, which is like $40 Australian, and there’s no such thing as cents!