As in many other countries, here in Beirut, Lebanon the Logos Hope is happy to receive visits from many local schools. Thousands of students visit the ship each day to browse the book fair and to experience a drama. Since it is Christmas time we have put aside our regular program and have made space for a local production company called Just For Kids to present a Christmas musical.
Without giving too much away, the musical centers around two pirates who put Christmas in a box and try to hide it from the world, and three silly characters who find the box and discover Christmas. What they discover inside the box at first is only superficial but as they look deeper they find something more meaningful.

The strangest thing happened to me last night – and it all has to do with the amazing culture of Egyptian people. You see a friend and I went for a walk after work to get some fresh air. Along the way we met one of our collegues and her 4 year old daughter. So we decided to go for a walk on the beach and enjoy the sea breaze (I don’t ever really crave the sea breaze since I live on a ship, but it’s still nice). And as we were strolling on the beach we met a local man and his daugher, who was also 4 years old. And then the two parents talked together and the kids from different countries (neither speaking each other’s language) played together. Then another man invited us to sit down with his family who were having a picnic. So there I sat with my friends from Germany and China and an Egyptian family on the beach watching the sun set and listening to the waves break on the beach, enjoying His creation. We talked about the countries that we had been to so far, our faviourite places and people, and our experiences. We talked about what we do on board and that we work for two years as volunteers, in fact our families and friends pay for us to be here – How blessed we are. We talked about the things we like about Egypt and our experiences so far and they told us about their resteraunt businesses and their experience of Egypt. I’ve never experienced this in Australia, and my friend said this would never happen in Germany, but how nice it is to be welcomed by friendly local people when you are a guest in a country. I hope I would do the same if I had a picnic and met some random strangers. Thankyou to all my friends and family who enable me to meet such wonderful people.

This week God has directed my attention away from the things I usually think about – tasks, deadlines, responsibilities – and towards the object of his affection and attention – people. People are the reason that he led me to leave my home and join this ship. People are the reason this ship sails from port to port. People, nay each Person should be at the center of our focus wherever we go and whatever we do. Here in North Africa, we each prayed that He would give us a good friendship with one person in each port. This week I had the pleasure of making friends with a young man we’ll call Steve. We met in the international cafe when he invited me to sit at a table with him, and for a long time we talked about language. He spoke very fluent English and enjoyed practicing his English with the ship’s crew. He was kind enough to teach me many Arabic words and write them down for me so I can practice them. I may never be able to speak Arabic properly, but at least I can say hello, how are you, nice to meet you, how old are you and say some things about myself. On other days I saw him again and spent time with him and his friends and my friends talking about language and culture. When Steve shared with me a difficulty he was going through, I was able to share with him that I had gone through a similar difficulty and that his feelings were quite normal. I enjoyed coming alongside someone and encouraging them.
This week the crew of our ship have been encouraged that ‘we are not just a community of like minded people, but rather a family’. If we are all children of God then we are all one family together, brothers and sisters with each other and with Him – and we should love each other accordingly. As a ship’s crew we are all in close contact and we learn to live together not just tolerating each other, but loving each other – and the same is true for local fellowships. We are not just a gathering of people in a building one day a week – we are indeed a family.

sal?m ‘al?kum is how you say hello in Arabic – it means ‘Peace upon you’. And to reply you would say wa ‘al?kum al sal?m which means ‘And peace upon you’. This week in the international cafe on Logos Hope I had the privilege of sitting with a local man who spoke relatively good English and who was able to teach me several useful Arabic phrases like ‘Thankyou’ and ‘You’re welcome’ and ‘The people here are nice’.
But even better still, yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the ruins of an old Roman town. Like much of the ancient world this country was occupied by Rome at the beginning of the common era. It’s one thing to read about it on the internet or to see exhibits in a museum (as I did last week), but to walk the streets of an old roman town, to stand in a real auditorium and to browse what was the market is a breathtaking experience. I should thank our wonderful hosts who arranged the outing for us and provided all the transport. Truly this is a very hospitable culture and I am very lucky to experience it first hand.

Today I had the privilege of visiting a museum in this country’s capital city. There were four floors worth of fascinating historical exhibits beginning from the ancient African inhabitants and their nomadic experience, moving through Phoenician occupation and roman occupation and eventually the settlement of Arab peoples and the nation’s modern history. Whilst many of the signs were in Arabic, there was enough English signage to give us a rich history of the country.
Better still in the evening our hosts made dinner for all 450 crew members and put on a cultural show for us. The meal consisted of four courses served to us in our seats by waiters – a far cry from our usual buffet experience! A wonderful soup, a plate of salad and some savoury pastries made up the delicious starter courses (unfortunately half these things were made of potato so I couldn’t eat them, but thankfully the people who cleared the plates were ship people so it wasn’t too embarrassing). Our main meal was delicious camel meat cooked in spices and served on a bed of couscous with an amazing sauce.
The band played for us two wonderful Arabic songs which I enjoyed, and then they went on to play several western classic songs in English and Spanish! Everyone was so surprised to hear them playing ‘Country Road’. Amazing.
Life in this part of the world is about give and take. We put on cultural programmes for local people, and they put on cultural programmes for us. Often during school visits the school will go up on stage and perform a song or two for us before we begin the programme. I count myself as very fortunate to be in this part of the world to experience such hospitality and rich culture.

“A whole new world, every turn a surprise with new horizons to persue” says a song from the movie Aladdin. And in many ways North Africa is a wonderous place with a hundred thousand things to see. The country is beautiful and the people are warm and friendly. There are many cultural differences but we have been well prepared and each crew member is careful to dress and act appropriately so that we can make friends and build bridges between cultures here. I really hope to be a light that shines brightly, for people here to see that we don’t live like the western people that they see on TV in movies and the media. We are here to promote understanding between cultures and to make good friends. Please be thinking of me in this time.

Catching a bus into the city on a Friday night I felt a little old. I was surrounded by young people from Malta and from abroad out for a good time in the city. We visited a party district where the streets are empty by day but packed with party goers by night. We were there to talk with people and to hand out flyers that had an anti-drugs message as well as a story of a life transformed by our father. We went with some local brothers, one of whom frequented the area as a younger man. As we walked the street our father led us to people who stopped to talk with us and some told us about their experiences with drugs and how they longed to escape the cycle. We were able to spend time with people and answer questions about him.

This week I have had the privilege of exploring the island of Malta, the very same island that Paul was shipwrecked on. It is a beautiful island full of amazing architecture that reflects a rich history in the centuries that followed. I have really enjoyed wandering around trying local food and taking in the sights. It seems that Paul’s visit had a big effect on the people, but since then life has become more about rules and traditions than about a real relationship with the heavenly father.
I had the opportunity to visit with a local fellowship and sing with them and pray for the people of Malta. It was great to experience their hospitality and their love for others. I also got to meet two really nice gentlemen from Malta who told me all about the country and it’s history – seriously look it up on wikipedia – and I was able to take them for a tour of the ship and tell them all about the help projects that we do in some poor countries and explain why we do what we do. They really enjoyed their time on board and I enjoyed talking with them.

Now is a season of change for Logos Hope, especially in AV. This September I said goodbye to many friends, and also to two of the AV team who finished their commitment on board. Sam, who is a talented audio and video technician has worked in AV longer than I have and returns home to continue his studies and to get married. Glenn learned a lot about AV in his time on board and returned home to Denmark.
Now with the new PST joining my old friend Greg has returned to the ship. Greg, who comes from Singapore came on board for 3 months as part of the Short Term Exposure Program (STEP) and decided to return for two years to work in the AV department. He is a professional audio engineer and brings a wealth of experience to the team along with Sam from the UK who joined in February.
I have been learning a lot leading a team of professionals and trainees in such a high pressure environment, and whilst I’m glad that God has been stretching me, I’m also very glad that he has now provided someone to relieve me. Catherine from the UK is an experienced team leader and organizer and she will now be the AV team leader – dealing with schedules, management, communication and team building – while I continue to spearhead maintenance and training within the team.
I am enjoying the freedom that this change has brought and it has allowed me to reflect upon my own character even more.