Hello Curacao!!

We arrived yesterday morning into Curacao. Wow, what a gorgeous island!! We are berthed in a beautiful part of the island with a beach just down the road. Can't wait to get in that tourquoise water! We'll leave this morning for our little birthday trip, so are get very, very excited!

Wonderful Day!

I ended up having a really, really special 30th birthday on board. I really didn't know what to expect from the day since we were at sea, so couldn't really go anywhere special to celebrate, but everyone on board made me feel so special and loved. I received lots of really nice notes, emails and calls, so that was really special! My co-workers decorated my office space and lots of friends put cute notes on our cabin door. Also, the STEP group (the short-term program I coordinate), surprised me with a cake in the afternoon! In the evening, we had a time of sharing for the whole ship's company about our time in Guyana, then afterward, a friend of ours from Curacao lead us in a class to teach us a few phrases and key words in Papiamento, the language of Curacao. What fun! Thanks to all of you for making me feel so loved.

30 TODAY!

Hard to believe that I've (Jennifer) entered my 30's today! My mother called this morning and said, "Do you feel 30?" And I answered, "NO!!" I feel much, much younger. Guess that's a good thing! ;) We're at sea today, so it's a bit of a funny birthday. We're really moving, so I'm not feeling so great unfortunately. I think it'll still be a really special celebration though. Our ship family threw me a Indian birthday party (we'll add pictures soon). We sat on the floor in real Indian fashion and enjoyed the homemade curry made my our Indian ship son, BK. We even enjoyed a wonderful Indian birthday dessert. We'll arrive into Curacao early Friday morning and then on Saturday, John is taking me to a surprise location on shore for a few nights to celebrate my big 30. Can't wait!

Best Week Yet

This past week was (without a doubt) one of our best weeks since leaving home 15 months ago. Guyana was a really special port for the Logos Hope. We termed this port a "help port," which meant that over the course of the three weeks of being in port, we sent out 21 teams into the country to do practical aid all throughout the country. We were on a team with eight other crew members this past week to help plaster the outside of a local church. What an incredible time. This past Tuesday - Saturday, we left the ship each morning at 8am, worked all day at the church, and then came back to the ship around 5pm. For me (Jennifer), the highlight was the people. Even though the village was extremely low-income, there was such a joy and peace about the people. All week, I felt such an overwhelming calmness in interacting with the people. Many people from the village stopped by throughout the week to see what we were doing, so we met close to 100 people in the village. So awesome. The highlight for John was working along side the local people. When the week began, we had three local people guiding us in the work. By the end of the week, many more had joined in to help. What an amazing community. They saw the need and responded. Praise God for this once-in-a-lifetime week. Thanks to so many of you that were praying for us! We'll post pictures soon.

Scouts

Last evening, we had a great time giving tours to a local youth scout group! What fun to see all the young people come to the ship in their scout uniforms. A scout group of about 30 came to the ship last night and was really interested in having a tour of the ship, so a few of us from the ship offered to give tours. John and I each gave a tour to a group of really excited young teenagers. They were so thrilled to be on the ship and to get a tour! The girls in my group were 15 and couldn't wait to apply to join the ship in three years when they turn 18! ;) What a blessing to meet them amazing young people.

Volunteer Training

This afternoon, John had the opportunity to lead a training session for our local Guyanese volunteers. We have 50 local volunteers in this port helping us with various jobs around the ship. In addition to working on the ship, the volunteers also receive training every day. The theme of the training today was "show" - how God shows His love towards us and then in turn how we can show His love to others. John did a great job and I was happy to help assist him! :)

Operation World Prayer

We've started a new, exciting prayer aspect on board. Each work-day morning, we have a time of devotions for the ship's company from 7:45 - 8:30am. We start each morning off with a 90-second news reel, which is great for keeping us connected to the rest of the world. After the news, we usually start right in with a devotional thought from one of the leaders on board or from a local pastor or speaker. But starting last week, after the news reel, one of ship's company leads the crew in a time of prayer for a specific country. An organization called Operation World (www.operationworld.org) posts information and prayers requests about a different country each day, so we've been following along with their country prayer requests. Last week, John lead the ship's company in prayer for Uzbekistan and this morning, I led prayer for Vietnam. What a neat way to stay connected with the needs around the world. I would encourage you to check out Operation World's website and pray along with us each day!