Goodbye Caribbean!

Today is our last day in the Caribbean! We spent our last afternoon going to a black sand beach (what a unique experience!) reflecting on all the amazing experiences God has blessed us with throughout the Caribbean. We set sail out of Dominica this evening at 6pm. Hard to believe we'll be leaving the Caribbean after an incredible 10 months. We had 40,600 visitors in Roseau, Dominica during the nine days we were open. And here's a number that will blow you away... during our last 10 months in the Caribbean, we had 833,000 visitors! Can you believe that?? Praise God! Since July 30, 2009, we have visited 14 countries in the Caribbean and 18 ports. We leave the Caribbean with mixed emotions -- sad hearts since we have absolutely LOVED being the in the Caribbean, but we also have very joyful hearts as we anticipate Africa. The Caribbean will always hold such a special place in our hearts.

Helping with on board events

Over the past few days, we've had the opportunity to help with three on board events for locals. On Thursday afternoon, John and I lead a training for our local volunteers on God's Love. We had over 30 in our training so really enjoyed the opportunity to interact with such a neat group. Then on Friday night, we had a Marriage Event on board and we were part of a panel that answered questions for the audience. They asked tough questions! We were glad there were other couples on the panel who had much more experience than our three years! :) Lastly, this evening, we had a Thank You Event for our local committee that helped prepare for our ship's visit. John MC'd the event and did a fantastic job. The Dominicans are such lovely people! We will definitely miss the Caribbean!

STEP Dominica

On aspect of my job on board is overseeing STEP (short-term exposure program). This program is for people interested in getting a taste of the ship, but aren't ready to commit for two years. A new group of STEP'ers (as we affectionately call the group) arrived on Friday. Over the past two days, I've held an orientation for them. They seem to be settling in well! We have nine guys (yes, ALL guys!) from seven different nations. They will sail with us to Africa and stay on board until September. Seems like a great group of guys!

Church Youth Group

Last evening, we went with a team from the ship to do a missions presentation for a local church youth group. We had a great time! There were about 20 young people in attendance. Our presentation included a few dramas, a message and a few testimonies. We really enjoyed meeting the young people. Awesome group of youth. Enjoy the pictures.


Waiting for the young people to arrive.


John giving his testimony.


Our team with the youth group.


After the youth group, the youth leader took us out for BBQ ribs to thank us for coming to his church. What a wonderful, unexpected surprise! :)

St. Kitts Children's Ward

On Wednesday, May 19, I wrote a posting about visiting a children's ward in a hospital in St. Kitts. Below are a few pictures from that day taken by team member, Sandra Fahy. Enjoy!

Here's the section from the posting so you have a frame of reference for the pictures ~

I had the opportunity to go on a team to a hospital to visit the children's ward. We went along with a gentleman that goes to the ward every Saturday to encourage the kids and pray with them. Praise God there were only three children in the hospital on Saturday afternoon! One was asleep and the other two were babies, so we ended up really ministering to the parents and siblings of the children. There were two teenage sisters visiting their baby sister, so we were able to spend time with them -- making beaded bracelets, painting their faces and sharing about God's love. One of the sisters accepted Christ into her heart. Praise God.


Talking with the teenage sister.


We made beaded bracelets together with the colors that explain the Gospel - yellow, black, red, white and green.


Heading back to the ship after an awesome afternoon.


Cool shot of our team.

Grotto Home

This morning, a team of eight of us from the ship visited a local homeless shelter called Grotto Home and lead them in a worship service. What lovely people! The home holds about 45 residents. The shelter receives a little bit of government funding, but is mostly funded by local generous supporters. The residents are all ages, from a variety of backgrounds. Some are physically handicapped, others are mentally handicapped, others have just fallen on tough times. The group was very enthusiastic and excited for us to visit. We very much enjoyed leading the service, but what was more special was connecting with them afterward. They were all so sweet and delightful. Praise God for such a wonderful morning!


Waiting for the service to begin :)


The men and women of Grotto Home were all seated and ready for us when we arrived! They were so attentive through the whole service!


After the service ended, this gentleman sang us a hymn. What a beautiful experience.


The manager of Grotto Home, Ann. She, along with two assistants, run the home. What a lady!

Dominica

Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty. The island features lush mountainous rain forests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. Dominica has many waterfalls, springs, and rivers. The Commonwealth of Dominica has an estimated population of 72,500 and the capital is Roseau (where we're berthed).

A few interesting facts about Dominica:

-Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday (dominica in Latin), November 3, 1493.

-The island is home to the world's second largest boiling lake.

-Bananas form the backbone of Dominica's economy, and when the price of banana falls, the country suffers greatly. In 1998, banana export value dropped 63% which crippled the economy. Recently, the government has been trying to develop other goods and services, the foremost being tourism.

-Surprisingly, there are 22 centenarians in Dominica, so about 1 out of every 3,000 Dominicans are over 100.

Goodbye St. Kitts, Hello Dominica!

We sailed away from St. Kitts late Monday night and arrived into Dominica Tuesday afternoon. The ship was only open to the public in St. Kitts for 4 1/2 days and in that short time, we had 20, 563 visitors!! Half of the island's population came out to the ship in those few short days. Praise God!

We had a terrific time in St. Kitts. On Saturday morning I (Jennifer) helped to host an event for Pastor's Wives. What a neat concept! We always have lots of events and programs on board in each port for Pastors, but this is the first time we've had an event just for the wives. So while the Pastor's where having a forum on board, several of the ship wives planned a really wonderful morning for the Pastor's wives. What a lovely time.

Than Saturday afternoon, I had the opportunity to go on a team to a hospital to visit the children's ward. We went along with a gentleman that goes to the ward every Saturday to encourage the kids and pray with them. Praise God there were only three children in the hospital on Saturday afternoon! One was asleep and the other two were babies, so we ended up really ministering to the parents and siblings of the children. There were two teenage sisters visiting their baby sister, so we were able to spend time with them -- making beaded bracelets, painting their faces and sharing about God's love. One of the sisters accepted Christ into her heart. Praise God.

Than on Sunday morning, our ship family hosted the Sunday service on board. Each Sunday, one of the ship families hosts the service. Since we were hosting, John MC'd the service and did a great job! Also, since we were hosting, we were responsible for hosting an locals that came to attend the church service. We ended up hosting 7 locals! What fun! After the service, we were able to show them around the ship and invite them to have lunch on the ship.

Praise God for a great few days in St. Kitts!

St. Kitts!

Enjoy the beautiful pictures from St. Kitts!


Ruins from an old bell tower.


Huge mango tree!


Gorgeous view!


What funny palm trees!

Antigua!

We had a really nice ship family outing last week in Antigua. Enjoy the pictures of the beautiful island!

Radio Interview

This afternoon, John and I were interviewed live for a local Christian radio station, Dominion Radio. The radio station is the only Christian radio station throughout St. Kitts and Nevis. We had a great time! A first for both of us! The host asked us all about the ship, how God has been working through us during our time on board, and how we came to be on the ship. What a neat opportunity! Praise God.

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis, located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign nation in the Americas, in both area and population. They received their independence from the United Kingdom in 1983. Their population is roughly 42,000. The capital city for the federated state is Basseterre (where we are berthed), located on the larger island of Saint Kitts. The smaller state of Nevis lies about 2 miles southeast of Saint Kitts, across a shallow channel called "The Narrows". Their economy is characterized by its dominant tourism, agriculture and light manufacturing industries.

Goodbye Antigua, Hello St. Kitts!

We sailed away from Antigua around midnight last evening and arrived into St. Kitts this morning around 6am. Quick sail! Definitely my kind of sail. ;) We had 35,139 visitors during our two weeks in Antigua - over half of the island's population! St. Kitts will be a very short port for us. We'll sail from St. Kitts to Dominica this coming Monday! So we definitely need to make the most of our few days in St. Kitts!

A Living Hope

Yesterday afternoon I had the awesome privilege of MC'ing an event on board called "A Living Hope" for people infected with AIDS or HIV. This is the first event we've had on board specifically for this group of people. What an incredible opportunity for me and all those involved in the event. There's a group of people with AIDS or HIV that get together every Tuesday afternoon for support and encouragement on the island; and yesterday, instead of meeting at their usual location, they met at the ship for a special program. We had over 30 people in attendance. We planned a wonderful program for them with cultural acts, a drama, a powerful message, and a tour of the ship. At the end of the program, three men accepted Christ into their lives. Praise God! The OM Ship's website highlights the event today - so check it out today! www.omships.org

More fun pictures by Andrea!

Fun Pictures!

A friend of ours on board, Andrea Laurita, took these fun pictures! She's a professional photographer that sells her photos on www.istockphoto.com. Throughout her time on board, she's taken lots of pictures to be used as stock photos. Cool, huh? Check out these fun pics! hee hee!

National TV Interview!

This morning, we were interviewed for a live TV morning show! What fun! ABS Television's (Antigua and Barbuda) morning show was shot live this morning on the ship. We were among a handful of crew members asked to interview in our "national costumes." The interview was 15 minutes so we were asked all sorts of questions like why we joined the ship, what we like/ dislike about living on board, how we heard about the ship, what our room is like, how it is to be married on board, what we do on board, etc. We hope the show encourages more Antigens to visit the ship!


Our interviewer getting his wireless mic set while we anticipate what he'll ask!


We were interviewed in our book fair on board - fun background for an interview!

ShipShots - Building for a Purpose

We just published our third ShipSHOTS video called "Building for a Purpose." View it from our website - www.omships.org/shipshots or on YouTube. Enjoy!

Antigua

Antigua is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands and is the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after Santa Maria de la Antigua — St. Mary the Ancient. The island's circumference is roughly 54 miles and its area is 108 square miles. The population is approximately 69,000. Antigua is the largest of the Leeward Islands, and the most developed and prosperous due to its upscale tourism industry, offshore banking, and education services, including two medical schools. The capital is St. John's (where we are berthed). One interesting fact about Antigua is that their sailing regatta is considered #1 in the Caribbean and is among the top 10 in the world. The regatta just happened last week, so many of the beautiful sail boats are still here in port! What AMAZING sailboats!

AIDS/ HIV Training

I had the awesome privilege yesterday of presenting in an all-day seminar on board for locals about AIDS and HIV. The target audience for the event was Christian leaders in Antigua. The seminar was two-fold in purpose -- to educate, but also to encourage the community leaders to start formulating a response to the AIDS epidemic within their communities and their churches. I gave two training sessions -- one on Global AIDS Statistics and one on Guiding Principles (the principles that should guide Christians in their response to AIDS). The seminar was well attended, so we were so thankful! We pray that the seminar will prompt Antigens to take action in the fight against AIDS. Pray for those infected and affected by AIDS in Antigua, the Caribbean and throughout the world.

Goodbye Bermuda, Hello Antigua

We sailed away from Bermuda on Monday afternoon and after a 4-day sail, arrived into Antigua yesterday morning. The beginning of the sail was quite rough, but thank God it calmed down by the end of the sail. The last day of the sail, we saw a big family of dolphins, a whale and lots of flying fish! So amazing. We're thrilled to be in Antigua through May 13th.

Bermuda was a wonderful port for us. The weather was much cooler than the Caribbean (similar to the weather of the Carolina's), so it was a nice break from the HOT, HOT, HOT weather of the Caribbean! :) But now we're back to the steamy Caribbean weather. Gotta love it! We had 24,375 visitors in Bermuda, which is over 1/3 of the population of island (67,000).