Flags in hand, every eye watched as the coach reversed to reveal 60 new crew members. “Viva Las Palmas, Ole!” Was the melodious chant of PST Las Palmas. Eager to join the ship they have been preparing for over 3 weeks to see, they rushed toward the human tunnel of crew members from many nations all holding flags. 3 of these new recruits join my ship family – a group of people centered around a married couple who act as parents to us. Together we will celebrate birthdays and other special occasions and meet together regularly. 2 more of them are now my cabin mates. One is from France and the other is from South Korea. They are settling in well and have now got jobs in their preferred department – the galley. I look forward to getting to know each of these new people who have heard the call to come to the fields.
El Foresterro
Santa Cruz was a busy port for the AV department. Since two people had left the ship at the end of their commitment, and new people are yet to join we were down to four people. We also had three really big events – three nights in a row. The event I enjoyed the most was El Foresterro – a musical about my lord set in the old west. The musical was entirely in Spanish, written and performed by a Christian drama company from Santa Cruz. Whilst I didn’t understand the entirety of the musica, the parts that I understood I was touched by. Many people came to this event and gave a huge applause at the end. It was worth every moment of preparation to see it complete.
Hope Night
“I challenge you to find the most excellent way” said Gian Walser, the ship’s director. Hope Night in Las Palmas of Canary Islands, Spain was an amazing production held onshore right next to a big shopping centre in the city. There were cultural acts from the ship’s crew who come from all around the world – Korea, Sweeden, Russia, USA and more. A large crowd gathered around the stage and watched the performances. In the end, a member of the ship’s crew told the story of how she found that the most excellent way is love.
Dental team
If you have ever been afraid of the dentist, spending a week in a dental clinic would either be your cure or your worst nightmare. Thankfully for me, I like dentists and I have no problem with the sight of blood. For five days this week I volunteered in a local hospital to work with 4 dentists who are in Africa with Logos Hope. 2 are from the USA, 1 is from the UK and one from Fiji. All treatment and medicine in the hospital is completely free, so people flock to the clinic to have their teeth fixed. Sadly most people need to have a least one tooth extracted, as they are in such a bad state. I had the privilege of working alongside the dentists, providing them with the tools they need for the job. After each dental treatment the dentists take time to pray with the patients before sending them on their way.
Chinese ministry
Sitting in a room with 9 Chinese people and one German friend politely listening to a language I cannot understand is not my usual way to spend a Sunday evening, but it seemed like the thing to do. Over the last few weeks I have taken the time to study and learn some Mandarin – the most commonly spoken language in China – with some Chinese friends onboard. The teacher of the class has a passion for connecting with and sharing the gospel with Chinese people living in the countries we visit, who are often very isolated from the community around them. I came along on this outing to make friends, practice some Mandarin, and to show that it is not only other Chinese people who care about them. Specifically I met one man who enjoyed practicing his English with me and was very encouraged by our visit. Others in the group took the time to share the gospel with them. I hope to learn a lot more so I can actually have a basic conversation with Chinese people, and hopefully my friends on board will help me.
Back to school
While the ship was in Bermuda, my colleagues and I asked for donations for school supplies – pens, notebooks, pencils, erasers etc – for school kids in Africa. Today I had the chance to distribute the gifts that the people of Bermuda had donated. First we shared with the kids where we came from, about the ship, and then the Gospel. They were all very receptive to what we had to say. Then they all lined up and each of us gave them one item of stationary to help them with their studies. We also gave some more tools to the teachers and for each classroom, these included an atlas, a bible, scissor sets, highlighters, a blackboard and wall charts. Though these donations will not last for very long, we hope that we have shown that God loves them and cares for their needs, and that they have listened to the message of hope that we have brought.
Bush Church
No electricity, no running water, mud hits with thatched roofs and two unique languages. This is the church that I visited yesterday morning. The pastor of this church was a truck driver before he was saved, and felt called to pastor a bush church. The church itself was several miles down a crazy dirt road – quite a distance from the city. The people here enjoy a simpler living. They grow produce and sell it at the market at the junction with the highway. The pastor encouraged them saying ‘Think about where you are. You are not in the city, you are far away in the bush, yet God has brought people from all over the world to visit you this morning – he has not forgotten you’. I was introduced as the senior pastor of the group and we were praised as wise white people. I made sure to take some time during my ship presentation to remind them that we are all regular people, and we are from many nations including African nations and we all have the same Holy Spirit inside us. Another in the team shared a message, and yet another shared her testimony. After the service they gave us many gifts of coconuts, cacao, and oranges. It was an amazing experience.
A helping hand
“Seeing the way you guys ran AV for this event made the last three years of my life worthwhile”. Those were the words that AV system designer Andrew Lightoller left us with after watching a youth event on Logos Hope. Andrew spent two and a half years onboard Logos Hope designing and installing the extensive Audio Visual systems that we use today. The Hope Theatre is fully equipped with state of the art theatre lighting, screens, cameras and audio systems. Youth Events give us the opportunity to utilise all of this equipment and all of our learned skills to provide a program that will impact young people in each port we visit. The whole event is relayed onto big screens for the large audience to see every detail and the theatre lighting helps set the mood for each act, ultimately leading to a life changing message and a call to respond. Almost a year ago I inherited the responsibility for the people and equipment in the AV department onboard – it’s a daunting responsibility but it’s so worthwhile. This visit to Logos Hope might be Andrew’s last as he moves on in life to be a primary school teacher, so his job was to assess the state of the AV team and equipment. Whilst things aren’t perfect on board I am encouraged to hear that he is happy with what he has seen – and also that some problems we had will move towards a resolution. My prayer is that for the next year-and-a-bit I can continue to be a good steward of the wonderful people and mind-boggling equipment that God (and the ship’s leadership) has entrusted me with.
New Ship Presentation
“Just as we tie the ship to the land with strong ropes so that we do not drift out to sea, so we each tie ourselves to the solid rock – Jesus – that we might not drift away”. Having left the Caribbean region where a large percentage of the population were believers, where we urged the local body of believers to “pray to the lord of the harvest to send out workers into the harvest field” – a new ship presentation was called for, and I was delighted to present it for the first time to a local church in Africa.
The church itself was held in a primary school (sounds familiar doesn’t it?) which they had decorated. The congregation was spit into two groups. One group at the front were the english speaking congregation who listened to the pastor preach in english. Behind the last row of this group there was a translator wearing headphones who fervently repeated his words in Twi, one of the common languages of Ghana. Whilst we spent around 15 minutes on stage, there was also teaching, bible reading, a sermon, an offering or two and a few old hymns like It is well with my soul. Here is our new presentation.
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Flags When you first visit the ship you might notice we have a tall mast with a few flags flying on the top. We use these to communicate with other ships and ports about where we come from and what we are doing. We also have over 45 different nationalities of people with their own flags on board – but we all fly under the one banner, the banner of Jesus Christ. |
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Charts Sea charts provide the knowledge we need to avoid rocks and other dangers to ships. We bring knowledge to the places we visit in the form of the books we sell in our book fair. We have over 7,000 different titles of books. We also provide training conferences on board. |
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Life Ring Sometimes everyone needs some help. A lifering helps someone to float in the ocean. We like to help people by building buildings and giving dental care and other forms of practical help. |
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Mooring lines These strong ropes hold us to the shore so we dont drift away. Just as these strong ropes keep us attached the the shore, we each attach ourselves firmly to the rock – Jesus Christ – so we won’t drift away. |
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Captain On board we have many professional sailors, but also many regular people. None of us are more spiritual than anyone else, we are people just like you who are obedient to God’s calling to bring in the harvest. |
Football Fever
Cherith Hamman (USA) uses the coloured ball to explain the Gospel at the World Cup event held in the Hope Theatre. Photo by ship’s photographer
My first time to Africa is also the FIFA world cup’s first visit to Africa. Football fans in their hundreds flocked to the Logos Hope to watch the world cup on our big screen in the Hope Theatre. During half time, Logos Hope crew members interacted with the crowd using simple games and testimonies to communicate the Gospel. The world cup proved to be a stressful time for me as the technical challenges involved in getting satellite TV coverage on board a ship seemed almost insurmountable, but with prayer and a little faith the coverage was achieved. Satellite TV however is not invincible, and in one match shown on board with only 10 minutes remaining a heavy rainstorm set in outside, completely obliterating our TV signal. Many people stayed in the hopes the signal would improve and while they waited for the signal to come back on Cherith took the opportunity to explain the Gospel using the coloured football pictured. Gold reminds us of heaven where God lives, and God is perfect. The dark patch reminds us of sin, the selfish acts that our perfect God will not abide with. Red reminds us of the blood of Jesus – the payment for our sin, so we can be friends with God again. White reminds us that we are purified from our sin and are called to live a righteous lives. And Green reminds us that we are a new creation.