Re-Entry at OM USA

We've had a wonderful week here in Tyrone, Georgia debriefing at OM USA. We've had lots of great meetings with OM USA staff, but have also had time to relax, rest and recoup. Highlights were connecting with OM USA missionaries that are also from our home church PCC and spending time with a friend that lives locally that we worked alongside on board. We praise God for this wonderful transition week -- transitioning from ship life back into life in the USA. Tomorrow (Sunday) we fly to Honolulu to meet up with Jennifer's family to celebrate her Grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary. We can't hardly wait!


In our cute little apartment.... still wearing our African clothes! :)

Farewells!

We had a wonderful last week on board, so wanted to share a few pictures from our various farewells.

Our last ship family night!


Jennifer's training services team had a nice farewell dinner for her.


Jennifer's STEP (short-term exposure program) also threw a fun farewell party for her.

John's boss Randy and his wife Kim took us out for a wonderful farewell lunch.

We're Home in the USA!

We arrived home safely to the USA last evening! Wow, so crazy being back in the USA after being gone for such a long time. We traveled over 30 hours from Liberia (through Brussels and Chicago) and arrived into Atlanta for our OM USA debriefing. My favorite airport moment was the US Immigrations lady greeting us with "Welcome Home." I actually got a little choked up. We are so thankful to be home. We're staying in an apartment on the OM USA campus here in Atlanta and it's so wonderful! Thanks to all of you that were praying for travel mercies. All of our luggage made it in one piece, which is a real praise! :)

One millionth visitor to Logos Hope!

One in a Million!

Logos Hope receives her one millionth visitor in Monrovia, Liberia.

LIBERIA - 19 August, 2010

A major milestone was reached as the one millionth visitor climbed the gangway to visit OM's ship Logos Hope in Monrovia, Liberia, this week. Francis Mulbaha, a local university student, was welcomed at 1300 local time on Wednesday 18 August by Director Gian Walser (Switzerland) and Captain Dirk Colenbrander (Netherlands). The ship's mascot El Capitano was on hand along with crewmembers in national costumes. Excited, as well as somewhat overwhelmed by all the attention, Mr. Mulbaha said he had heard about the visit on the radio and was keen to come on board to find books for his studies as well as his family. To mark the occasion, Mr. Mulbaha was presented with a gift of books and a discount voucher for the onboard book fair.

"To reach a million visitors is a wonderful testimony to God's grace and faithfulness," said OM Ships International CEO Peter Nicoll. "It is our privilege and a great responsibility to welcome so many people in these past eighteen months and we have seen so many lives changed as a result. This is only possible because of the faithfulness of partners around the world who support this ministry financially and in prayer."

Just a few days previously, Logos Hope was honoured to receive the President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. "Knowledge is the one thing that propels any person, any group, any nation," said Her Excellency. "So when you come and get us exposed to the books you have, you contribute a whole lot to our rebuilding process." After a short welcome programme, the President mingled with local citizens on the Visitor Experience Deck, especially the young ones. The President has a passion for children, books and education and was very appreciative of the value of the visit of Logos Hope to her nation, still striving to recover from the devastation of civil war.

As well as the high quality educational and Christian literature and events taking place on board during the visit, Logos Hope teams are involved in development projects on shore, including building projects, and medical and dental clinics. Accompanying Mr. Mulhaba was his brother, who came hoping to receive dental treatment. He was able to go straight from the ship to the dental clinic taking place just ten minutes away at the Redemption Hospital.

Liberia is the third country in Logos Hope's tour of West Africa, following visits to Freetown, Sierra Leone and the ports of Tema and Takoradi in Ghana. In Sierra Leone, libraries in rural communities were established using books donated by Logos Hope together with the National Postal Service. Training for librarians was also provided on board to ensure the newly established libraries are well looked after and can provide access to life-changing literature for many years to come. On board, seminars on establishing and running a small business in line with Christian ethics and principles were provided in partnership with the international organisation 'A Call to Business'.

During the visit to Takoradi, Ghana, a new record for visitors to Logos Hope in one day was set, with 12,028 visitors coming on board on the last Saturday in port. Interest in Christian literature was immense, and a Bible was bought on board every 52 seconds the ship was open! Every visitor has the opportunity to hear about God's love for them and many lives have been changed for eternity as people respond to the Good News.

Since the ship's launch into ministry in February 2009, Logos Hope has visited 39 ports in 30 countries in Europe, the Caribbean and West Africa, to bring 'knowledge, help and hope'. Over two million Christian and educational books have been distributed through the book fair already.

For latest news and further information including the future port schedule, visit www.omships.org. To support the ongoing ministry of Logos Hope, please contact your local OM office, or give online at www.omships.org/donate.


Ken Miller

Communications Manager

OM Ships International

One Week

We can hardly believe we have just one week left on board the Logos Hope.  Please be praying for our last week -- for all the packing, saying goodbye to friends and bringing closure to our time.  We have had a wonderful two years on board the ship.  Time flies when you're having fun!  We knew the time would fly and it did.  Thanks!

The President of Liberia Visits the Logos Hope Today!

We had the incredible privilege of welcoming Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the ship this morning.  We hosted a welcoming ceremony for her and her staff, in which John and I wore our American cowboy costumes to welcome her.  She loved all of the national costumes!  We are so thankful for her visit today and for her support of our ship.  What an awesome honor to welcome a President on board the Logos Hope!!

Her Excellency Sirleaf is the first female President to have been elected in all of Africa (elected in 2006).  She has done an outstanding job in working towards rebuilding their economy after their devastating civil war.

AIDS Hospital Visit

Yesterday, I (Jennifer) had the awesome opportunity to visit an AIDS hospital here in Monrovia.  Along with three others from the ship, we presented a program  to the patients -- first to the women and children and then again for the men.  I gave an encouraging message about God's strength -- that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  We brought gift bags to each of the patients filled with basic necessities (soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, etc.).  We really enjoyed our visit and loved meeting each and every one of them and having the chance to pray with them.  The patients receive visitors very seldom, so it was such a privilege to visit them and to bring to them the message of hope.

New ShipShots Video

Watch the latest ShipShot video called "Hope Team." This is a great example of the types of teams we send out into the community on a daily basis. Enjoy! Click here.

OM Ships Website

This week, John and I participated in a re-entry training as we’re preparing to head home in a few weeks. The OM Ships website has a short article about it on the website today www.omships.org. If you click on the photo, you can see John on the far left next to the window with a green shirt on and I’m next to him with a red shirt on. Check it out!

Liberia

Liberia is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. The population is approximately 3.5 million people and cover 43,000 square miles. The capital of Liberia is Monrovia (where we’re berthed) and over half of Liberia’s population lives in Monrovia.

The history of Liberia is unique among African nations because of its relationship with the United States. Liberia was founded and colonized by freed American slaves with the help of a private organization called the American Colonization Society in 1821-1822, on the premise that former American slaves would have greater freedom and equality there. These colonists formed an elite group in Liberian society, and, in 1847, they founded the Republic of Liberia (Liberia denotes “liberty”), establishing a government modeled on that of the United States, naming Monrovia, their capital city, after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization.

A military-led coup in 1980 overthrew then-president William Tolbert, which marked the beginning of a period of instability that eventually led to two civil war that left hundreds of thousands of people dead and devastated the country's economy. Today, Liberia is recovering from the lingering effects of the civil war and related economic dislocation, but statistics indicate that about 85% of the population are living on less than $1.25 a day. Liberia is considered one of the worlds poorest countries, with 85% unemployment.

As of 2006, Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world. Similar to its neighbors, it has a large youth population, with half of the population under the age of 18.

Hello Monrovia, Liberia!

We arrived in Monrovia, Liberia this morning! We are really looking forward to our two weeks here. We had a really smooth sail for our last voyage, so that was a big answer to prayer! We even saw a group of about 50 dolphins jumping and swimming right by our ship, so that was so special for our last sail.

Goodbye Takoradi, Ghana!

Yesterday evening, we set sail from Takoradi. Hard to believe this is our last voyage! I (Jennifer) got a little choked up thinking about embarking on our last sail and heading into our last port. We still can't believe how fast the time has flown. We're due to arrive into Monrovia, Liberia on Friday afternoon. In our two weeks in Takoradi, we had 63,972 visitors. Praise God!!

AIDS Presentations in Jomoro District

Yesterday was a FANTASTIC day -- what a dream come true!  We spent the entire day giving AIDS Awareness presentations to remote villages in the Jomoro District of Ghana (by the border of Cote d'Ivoire).  We were with a team of seven people from the ship and we each had a section of the presentation that we gave.  Before giving our presentation to the villagers, we first had to stop and see the chief of each village to gain his permission to address his village.  What an experience.  It was one of those days that I had to keep pinching myself to believe this was really happening.  What an incredible experience and honor both have been able to be on this team.  Enjoy the pictures!

Record Breaking Day!

Yesterday, we had a record breaking day for the number of visitors on one day.  We had 12,028 visitors!  Our previous record was just over 8,000 on one day, so we beat the record by 4,000!!  Thank you Lord!  We are overwhelmed with joy by the number of people here in Takoradi that have been visiting our ship.  What a day to rejoice!

Local Church this Morning

This morning, we had a wonderful time at a local church here in Takoradi.  We were on a team with two other friends -- Steve (USA) and Alex (Russia).  The service was so lovely... but long!  Nearly 4 hours!  :)  We sang so many beautiful songs, complete with African drums and dancing of course.  We delivered a ship presentation, drama, and a testimony and also gave a short presentation to the children's Sunday school as well.  We felt so loved and welcomed.  There was 200+ people in attendance and it was so nice seeing all of them dressed in their brightly colored traditional African clothing.  This will probably be the last local church we visit, so we were so thankful for this a wonderful experience.