Logos Hope to the Rescue!!!

Monday April 26 as Logos Hope left Bermuda we were notified that a small sailing vessel was overdue in arriving and had not been seen. We were asked to alter our course to see if we could locate the schooner.

Turns out we ended up in the part of the water north of Bermuda on the charts that says "Area to be avoided"- yikes! BUT we were able to find him and be the communication link (due to radio's not reaching far enough) to help rescue the lone sailor on a sailing schooner who's engine room was flooding and sail was in tatters, who'd been up the last 24 hours (after 11 days at sea!) trying to ride out the rough weather... We stayed with him through the evening, keeping our searchlight shining on him so the pilot/rescue boat from Bermuda was able to come and pick him up to tow him in from where we had located him. Exciting evening!

Reflections - recent highlights of my life

Traveling down a rutted Jamaican rode, wearing the infamous uniform blue "Hope Team" T-shirts, out to serve the community!

Here are some pictures of my life. The day in, day out, what I do. As you can see, a lot of my life is my job, but that is our part in the ministry! Gotta keep this ship sailing for Jesus...!

Painting the outside of the ship - After six months in deck department, you are allowed to work "over the side" of the ship! Of course we wear harnesses and take all the safety precautions necessary, but it's still a pretty fun privilege to hang on the outside! This was my first time to work aloft!

Risk Assessments - I was asked to be Deck Department Risk Assessment Representative, so for a few weeks my job was paperwork and thinking. For those of you who have worked in businesses/companies that have done this, you may have some idea of what it entails. I wrote up about 50 RAs in total; describing for each job we do, the safety measures in place, and deciding if they are sufficient. It was a challenge that I enjoyed, but - as the picture was staged to show - I realized I am very glad I do NOT have a sit-down "office job" most of the time!

Off day - Imogen (South Africa) and I at an aquarium in the Bahamas. Yay for the two hours we spent walking there and back to go see it, but hey, it's better than paying for transportation when you're on a missionary budget!

Splicing! - One of my favorite jobs, especially during sailing! This was an 8-strand eye splice fixing one of the lines that holds the ship to the dock.

The finished product! I'm quite proud of this splice; it turned out amazing!

Cultural Hour - A little more in the forefront of the ministry, I recently got to be the MC (mistress of ceremonies - introducing the acts/tying everything together) for "Cultural Hour", an hour long event held on the weekends in our Hope Theater where we display an array of dances, music and dramas to show the various cultures of the 50 nationalities represented onboard - and interwoven through it, present the gospel message. In this one I wore my Chinese dress and explained my "mix" of cultures. I enjoy public speaking!

Well, hope you enjoyed that peek into my life! Have a great day!

Kingston, JAMAICA

This was our most recent port in Kingston, Jamaica. The white in the center is our ship and all that grey is the cement factory. This cement factory at our berth required a lot of coal, so there was a mountain of black right outside the ship - you can imagine the dust and dirt that got tracked in by the 135,758 visitors we had here!
It wasn't a very pretty place to be docked for the almost five weeks were were there, so we had to find beauty in other things; the sunrise during a gangway watch, the smile of children - children who are victims of abuse in this country with one of the highest crime rates and the 7th highest murder rate in the world. (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1147.html#crime; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica#Crime; http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-highest-murder-rates.html)
Those places the travel advisories said not to go, we sent teams. It wasn't a safe port. But we were not tourists here; we were the hands and feet of Jesus. Just looking at the line of visitors waiting to come onboard (below) you can see why the book fair staff and all those in contact with the public were exhausted after our long visit in Jamaica. It wasn't an easy port. But it WAS a rewarding port. So many visitors. So many opportunities for ministry. And so many Bibles sold - 14,150.

I don't know what you think of when you think of Jamaica, but this visit has forever changed what comes to my mind. A country with a beautiful culture, but scarred by pain. Abuse, violence, poverty. Somehow I missed the postcard colors and beautiful beaches, and instead saw a different side of this Caribbean island. I saw reality - the cement factory grey. Maybe it's because unlike the tourists, we didn't come for us; we came for them, the people of Jamaica.