John, Jennifer, and the Logos Hope

Our Life in Naples

2011-06-09T21:05:00.004+02:00

We praise God that we're feeling settled in our new home city of Naples, Florida. We arrived last last October with our big U-Haul and now, over seven months later, I finally find the time to give our readers a quick update. I (Jennifer) have thought of our blog many times over the past months as blogging was such a highlight for me during our time on the Logos Hope. Many times, I've thought that I'd like to continue blogging on a regular basis again, but I haven't quite found a new topic on which I feel readers would be interested in. So for now, this site will be dedicated to our two-year adventure overseas on the Logos Hope. I will leave up all of our postings and gadgets on the side of the blog for any readers to view. I pray that God will continue to use our time on the ship for His glory.

To give you a quick update on our lives, John and I are settling well into our new lives in Naples. We both have wonderful jobs in which we're making a difference for God's kingdom. We live in a beautiful condo, attend a fantastic church and are making great friends. Plus, we live just a short 10-minute drive from the beach, so you really can't complain. We live just a few minutes from Jennifer's family now, so we couldn't be happier. Moving back to the USA after two years abroad has definitely been a huge adjustment, but overall, we are thankful to be back on dry ground and living again in the USA. Blessings.

First Week in California

2010-09-14T05:10:00.001+02:00

We've had a GREAT first week back in California. We're amazed it's only been one week. We've had a wonderful time catching up with friends and family. One of the major hightlights of the week was meeting our new baby neice, Daisy Anne. She was born on September 1, while we were in Hawaii. We actually had FOUR neices born during our two years on board the Logos Hope. My (Jennifer) brother and his wife had their second, a baby girl Lauren. And John's sister and brother-in-law had twin daughters June 2009 and then their third on September 1. Below are a few adorable pictures of our neices.

John with baby Daisy. She was just eight days old in this picture.

I'm in love with my new baby neice! I love being an aunt to four beautiful neices and a nephew.

The twins are just over 15 months old now. They are identical, so John and I were having trouble telling them apart!

True love.

Back in California!

2010-09-08T01:00:00.003+02:00

We arrived in California last night after our wonderful week in Hawaii. We were so surprised when our closest friends were all at the airport to welcome us! We are so thankful for an awesome welcome back to California. We'll be in California for about six weeks before relocating to Florida. We're so excited to spend these six weeks resting and recouping, and also connecting with John's family, our friends and our home church.

More Hawaii Pictures

2010-09-07T21:23:00.000+02:00

A few more Hawaii pictures for you to enjoy.

My baby neice Lauren! She is such a doll baby!

Pink ladies! Posing in front of Diamond Head -- me, sister-in-law Jen, mother Carol and Grandmother Mary.

John really enjoyed surfing several times along Waikiki as Hawaii is the home of surfing! Here he poses with a wooden surf board from long ago.

Happy 1st Birthday Lauren!

HAWAII

2010-09-07T21:15:00.001+02:00

We had a WONDERFUL week in Hawaii celebrating my Grandparent's 65th anniversary. What a momentous occasion! We loved having the whole family together -- we had a 4-bedroom condo, so we all got to stay together! We really DID Hawaii.... we visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial, went to a luau, took hula and ukulele lessons, and went parasailing, kayaking, snorkeling, surfing, paddle board surfing, and even swam with huge sea turtles! We had a fabulous time! We also had the wonderful privilege of celebrating my niece Lauren's 1st birthday with her on Saturday. This was our first time meeting Lauren as she was born while we were on board the ship. We absolutely loved getting to play with her and her big brother Gavin all week! We are so thankful to God for this great celebration. What a wonderful week!

Ready for the luau with all our leis on!

Beautiful palm leaf crowns.

I love this picture of my brother Scott playing with his baby Lauren at the luau.

Beautiful family!

Re-Entry at OM USA

2010-08-28T18:18:00.001+02:00

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!

2010-08-24T22:56:00.001+02:00

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!

2010-08-24T15:58:00.002+02:00

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!

2010-08-20T16:54:00.000+02:00

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

2010-08-16T11:43:00.001+02:00

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!

2010-08-14T15:18:00.001+02:00

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

2010-08-14T14:58:00.001+02:00

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

2010-08-11T10:50:00.002+02:00

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

2010-08-07T22:01:00.001+02:00

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

2010-08-07T21:54:00.001+02:00

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!

2010-08-06T16:00:00.001+02:00

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!

2010-08-03T15:06:00.001+02:00

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

2010-08-01T20:55:00.000+02:00

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!

2010-08-01T20:20:00.001+02:00

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

2010-08-01T20:20:00.000+02:00

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.

Chiefs Event + Nursing School

2010-07-30T21:47:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was a really tremendous day! In the morning, John and I were hosts for an exciting event on board. We had an event for all the chiefs in the area. Wow, what an experience! It's certainly not everyday that you meet 50 African chiefs dressed in their beautiful robes and lavish gold jewelry. The event coordinator asked several crew members to crew in their "national costumes" as the chiefs were also dressed in their traditional clothing. John and I dressed like cowboys and really had fun! :)

Later in the day, I (Jennifer) joined a team of ladies from the ship to give an AIDS seminar to a local nursing school. What an honor and a privilege! We did a one-hour seminar on the social and emotional impacts of HIV and AIDS. There was about 150 nurses in attendance. They were very attentive and interested in our presentation. It was so encouraging to see so many young African men and women desiring to become nurses in their country. Now I can add to my list of experiences "college lecturer!" ;)

Check out the OM Ships Website!

2010-07-30T18:03:00.001+02:00

The posting on the OM Ship's website today is about the school visits that John has been involved with as an actor. Check it out - www.omships.org. Interesting!

John as the Captain!

2010-07-27T22:41:00.001+02:00

A few postings back (July 16), I wrote about John's debut in our children's program "The Greatest Treasure." Since, he's performed the play many times, so we thought you'd enjoy seeing a few pictures of John as "Captain Scally Wag" with his fellow sailors "Skittle" and "One-Eye Pete." :)

New ShipShots Video!

2010-07-27T17:13:00.002+02:00

A new ShipShots video was released today called "Legacy of Libraries." Enjoy! Click here.

Marriage Revival Event

2010-07-27T10:58:00.001+02:00

On Sunday afternoon, John and I MC'd an event on board called "Marriage Revival." What a GREAT event! We had 120 locals come on board for an afternoon of teaching and renewing their marriage. The main speaker was a local pastor/ professor (of business!) and did a fabulous job. In addition to enjoying MC'ing the event, we also really enjoyed the messages. We got lots of great new tips and ideas for a healthy marriage... from the African point of view! ;) What a blessing.

DEEP

2010-07-24T11:47:00.002+02:00

In each port the ship visits, we have a program called "DEEP." The program is for locals to come on board each day to volunteer in one of the departments on board and also go through a training program. DEEP stands for Discipleship, Exposure to Missions, Expression of Love, and Practical Work. In many of the ports, John and I co-lead a training session called "Show." The session is all about how God shows His love for us; and in return, how we show His love to others. Yesterday was the last session we'll lead for DEEP before going home. Thanks to God, the session went great! We have loved meeting the volunteers in each port. They are such a HUGE help to us and we count it a blessing that so many people in each port have the desire to be apart of this great program! Enjoy the pictures!

John did such a good job teaching the group. We thank God for so many public speaking opportunities on the ship over the past two years! John has become quite a good public speaker if I do say so myself. ;)

The group of volunteers working through some questions. We had about 50 volunteers yesterday!

We love interacting with the volunteers. They are always so friendly, lively and fun! They always make us laugh. ;)

While John teaches the session, I act as the "scribe." One of the topics we discuss is how God describes His love for us in the Bible in so many ways. He loves us like a hen loves her chicks; like a shepherd love his flock and like a father and a mother love their children. Here I'm taking notes about how God loves us like a mother. They always have such good answers!

One month!

2010-07-22T13:54:00.001+02:00

We can hardly believe that today marks our one month count down until we leave the ship. Two years had FLOWN! We'll be flying home in our next port, Monrovia, Liberia on August 22. Please pray that we'd have an impacting and meaningful last month on the Logos Hope!

Goodbye Tema, Hello Takoradi

2010-07-21T18:32:00.000+02:00

Early yesterday morning, we set sail from Tema, Ghana to Takoradi, Ghana. We arrived into Takoradi early this morning. We are thankful that it was a relatively short sail as it was ROUGH! Whew! A few times last night, we thought we might roll out of bed. :) Tema was an excellent port for the ship. In the 14 days that we were open for visitors, we had over 52,000 people come on board. On our busiest day, we had 8,000 in one day! We sold lots and lots of books - about 137,000 books in total. And the most exciting part of the book sales was that we sold one Bible every minute our book fair was open! We're really looking forward to this second port in Ghana. Hard to believe this is our 2nd to last port!

Mentoring

2010-07-17T11:00:00.001+02:00

As many of our readers know, mentoring is one of my main passions in life (Jennifer). So I am thrilled to announce that last night, we kicked off a six-week course for crew on board that are interested in learning more about mentoring and being mentors for younger crew members on board. When one of our chaplains on board mentioned that she really wanted to run this course, I (of course!) offered to help train. Last night we had our first session and it went really well. We're going to run the course on both Friday and Saturday nights. We had 40 people sign up which is so encouraging! Last night, I trained on the Mentoring Continuum and the Constellation Model of Mentoring Relationships (both are concepts that I've learned since joining the ship). Before coming to the ship, I worked at a mentoring program for at-risk youth, so most of my knowledge of mentoring was between a caring, stable adult and an at-risk youth. Since coming to the ship, my understanding of mentoring has broadened quite a bit and I've become more familiar with the adult-to-adult type of mentoring. Over the past several months, I've actually been mentoring four younger female crew members which has been an absolute joy!

John acts in "The Greatest Treasure"!

2010-07-16T17:53:00.000+02:00

Since the Logos Hope took her maiden voyage 17 months ago, we've been having school visits in each port. We bring several classes into our 400-seat theater for a fun kid's program almost each day the ship is open. The program is called "The Greatest Treasure." On busy days, we have up to five programs a day! The program is very interactive and exciting for the kids. A group of sailors are looking for the "greatest treasure" which turns out to the be the Word of God. We also share about God's love and what our ship is all about.

John and I have helped with the program before (welcoming children, etc.), but have never acted in the play before. Since we're in our final stretch, we decided to go ahead and try something new and participate in a training to learn the play. I'm happy to say that John played the part of the Captain twice this week. He did a GREAT job! I was so proud of his "pirate" captain voice. So cute. The kids love it. We're so happy to still have the opportunity to try new things even in our final months on board.

New ShipShots Video!

2010-07-14T13:35:00.001+02:00

Check out the latest ShipShots video about our Atlantic crossing. Click here!

John's 30th Birthday!

2010-07-13T22:34:00.002+02:00

We just returned to the ship after a few days of break on shore celebrating John's 30th birthday. We had a wonderful time! We stayed at a fun little place called Big Milly's Backyard in Kokrobite (pronounced cock-rah-bee-tee), a small fishing village about two hours from where our ship is berthed in Tema. We had a great time resting and practicing our new hobby... African djembe drumming! :)

John's birthday on the beach!

Our drumming instructor, Master Okoe.

My new little friends!

Our new friend, Thomas, the head waiter at Big Milly's. We loved connecting with all the locals working at Big Milly's. What a great staff.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T13:57:00.001+02:00

Happy 4th of July to all of our American readers! Hope you have a wonderful day celebrating the gift of our independence today with your friends and family. Hard to believe we're in Ghana today celebrating an American holiday! :) All of the Americans on board will celebrate together tonight with a BBQ. May today be a wonderful day of celebration for you. May we never forget the amazing freedoms we have as Americans and all those who sacrificed their lives to enable those freedoms. May God bless America!

Check out the OM Ships Website!

2010-07-03T17:36:00.001+02:00

Our friend Emmanuel Shaw (that runs the Mercy Children's Orphanage in Sierra Leone) is featured today on our OM Ships website (www.omships.org)! The article will be on the main page for only a few days, so check it out ASAP! How wonderful!

Hello Ghana!

2010-07-03T17:34:00.000+02:00

We arrived into Tema, Ghana last night around midnight! We haven't been off the ship yet today, but are anxious to go out and explore soon!

John worked so hard in Calaba Town!

2010-07-02T21:15:00.000+02:00

I thought you'd get a kick out of seeing all the different types of jobs that John had during our time in Calaba Town -- digging, carrying water (on his head African style!), pumping water at the well, and breaking up rock to make gravel. Just a few of the many ways John served the people of Calaba Town during our week there.

Ghana

2010-07-01T12:09:00.003+02:00

Ghana is a country located in West Africa bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King" and is derived from the Ghana Empire. The capital of Ghana is Accra. The official language is English as Ghana was a former British colony; however, most Ghanaians also speak at least one local language.

Ghana has a population of about 24 million people and is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups. Ghana has not seen the kind of ethnic conflict that has created civil wars in many other African countries.

Ghana, known for its gold in colonial times, remains one of the world's top gold producers. Other exports such as cocoa, timber, electricity, diamond, bauxite, and manganese are major sources of foreign exchange.

Here are a few interesting facts about Ghana:

-Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world.

-Ghana is one of West Africa's most popular tourist destinations.

-In the 1970s, Shirley Temple Black, a former world-famous actress, was appointed America's ambassador to Ghana.

-Lake Volta is one of the largest artificial lakes of the world (more than twice the size of Rhode Island).

Calaba Town

2010-06-30T13:32:00.003+02:00

What are so thankful to experience Africa together!

A few girls from our team, along with our local friends.

All week, we drank water from this little bags!

One of the last nights, we had a dance party with some of the locals. So fun!!

John and I, along with a team of seven others from the ship, spent June 21 - 27 in the community of Calaba Town. Our task was to build a church for the local community. There was a "church" in the town, but it was just four sticks with material around it, providing just a little shelter. Over the week, we build a really solid foundation and begin the construction of the church. What a week! We stayed at the home of the pastor, which was quite a tight fit for nine of us, plus him! We certainly had a interesting time as there was no running water and electricity only came on for a few hours twice during the week. We were so thankful for the opportunity to stay among the locals for the week though. We found it fascinating to observe how they do their daily tasks -- washing, cooking, ironing, and bathing. What a eye-opening experience for us. Wow.

We built incredible friendships with the locals. A group of the church members helped us each day in building the church. They were so strong and such an incredible help. They were so warm, kind and open with us. We also loved meeting all of the children of the village. They LOVED playing with us and we loved playing with them too! :) Two very special friends we made were Mustapha and Patrick, whom both dedicated their lives to the Lord. Praise God! This week will certainly be a week we'll remember for the rest of our lives. God truly broke our hearts for the things that break His.

New ShipShots Video!

2010-06-30T12:31:00.002+02:00

Watch the latest ShipShots video called "Worth Seeing a Smile." Click here!

Emmanuel

2010-06-29T15:44:00.002+02:00

We made a wonderful new friend in Sierra Leone named Emmanuel Shaw. A friend of mine from home, Rachel, met Emmanuel several years ago while she served on Mercy Ships. She has stayed in close contact with him throughout the years and played an big part in helping him found an orphanage called Mercy Children's Orphanage (www.mercyorphanage.blogspot.com). Before we arrived in Freetown, Emmanuel was a big help to our advance team. He also volunteered on board in our galley while the ship was berthed in Freetown.

John and I had the awesome privilege of visiting his orphanage last Sunday. Emmanuel picked us up from the ship early and we spent a full day going with him -- going to his church and then spending the rest of the afternoon at his orphanage in Waterloo. He has 10 children at the orphanage and also one biological child. The children were so sweet, friendly and well behaved. We brought lots of books with us for the children and also for Emmanuel and his wife. We had a great time reading the books to the children, singing songs, playing games and a few of the girls even braided my hair. We were so encouraged by Emmanuel's work. He has a wonderful property and grows most of his own food. Also, a team of six people from the ship were able to go out to the orphanage last week to help him build a new fence around his property. We were so glad we could help him in this way. Please keep Emmanuel and his children in your prayers.

Goodbye Sierra Leone!

2010-06-29T15:34:00.000+02:00

We sailed away from Sierra Leone yesterday morning and are due to arrive in Ghana on Friday morning. Sierra Leone was an incredible port for us. We hope to blog more soon! It's been a BUSY two weeks! We had 42,608 visitors in our two weeks in port.

Sierra Leone

2010-06-18T16:16:00.004+02:00

Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa, bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of 27,699 square miles and has a population estimated at 5.2 million. The official language is English, but Krio is the national language spoken by all. The capital is Freetown (where we are berthed) and it has a population of 1.07 million.

Sierra Leone is very rich in mineral resources, possessing most of the known mineral types of the world, many of which are found in significant quantities. The country has relied on mining, especially diamonds, for its economic base. The country is among the top 10 diamond producing nations in the world, and mineral exports remain the main foreign currency earner. Sierra Leone has the largest known titanium reserves in the world. The country is also one of the largest Bauxite producing nations on the planet. Sierra Leone is also a major producer of gold. Despite being rich in mineral resources, the majority of its people live in poverty. The average annual salary is $200. Sierra Leone is the third-lowest-ranked country on the Human Development Index and eighth-lowest on the Human Poverty Index.

In 1462, Sierra Leone was visited by the Portuguese explorer Pedro da Cintra, who gave it its name Serra de Leão, meaning “Lion Mountains.” Sierra Leone later became a center of the transatlantic trade in slaves until 1792 when Freetown was founded by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved African Americans. In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony, and in 1961, Sierra Leone gained independence. Sierra Leone struggled through Civil War from 1991 – 2000 (made famous by the movie “Blood Diamonds.”) Sierra Leone is perhaps best known for its blood diamonds that were mined and sold to De Beers and other diamond conglomerates during the civil war, and whose monies were used to buy the weapons that fueled the atrocities of the civil war.

Sierra Leone is mostly a Muslim nation, comprising of approximately 60% of the population. About 30% of the nation is Christian and the other 10% practice indigenous religions. The Sierra Leone government officially recognizes fifteen ethnic groups, each with its own language and custom. Unlike most African nations, Sierra Leone has no serious ethnic divisions and no serious religious divisions. People often married across tribal and religious boundaries.

Education in Sierra Leone is legally required for all children, but a shortage of schools and teachers has made implementation impossible. Two thirds of the adult population of the country are illiterate. The Sierra Leone Civil War resulted in the destruction of 1,270 primary schools and in 2001, 67% of all school-age children were not in school. The situation has improved considerably since then with primary school enrollment doubling between 2001 and 2005 and the reconstruction of many schools since the end of the war. Healthcare is also a struggle for the Sierra Leoneans. The country has a very high infant mortality and a very low life expectancy. The maternal death rates are the highest in the world, at 2,000 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Our 3rd Anniversary!

2010-06-16T20:42:00.001+02:00

Today we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in Freetown, Sierra Leone! What a contrast to being in London, England last year for our 2nd anniversary. What an AMAZING 3rd year of marriage it has been! We traveled to 18 countries and four continents over the past year. We are so thankful for God giving us such an incredible year. We have LOVED spending our 2nd and 3rd years of marriage on the high seas. We have had enough stories in this year to last a lifetime. The highlight of the day was making Indian curry and chippati and then eating it outside on our deck overlooking the city. But man was it HOT HOT HOT! ;)

We made it to Sierra Leone!

2010-06-14T13:25:00.001+02:00

We are so thrilled to have made it to Sierra Leone! The morning was filled with lots of emotion for me (Jennifer) as we entered a new continent! We are thrilled beyond words to be here. We can't wait to get off the ship once it's cleared! There was an African band on the quayside welcoming us in with African dress, dancing and drums! What fun!!

Africa

2010-06-13T19:10:00.000+02:00

We want to share with you just a few of the things we've been learning in our African-preparation trainings that we've found quite interesting. Africa is the 2nd biggest continent and has the most amount of countries of any continent. All of the African counties are very unique and diverse, just like the different countries of the Caribbean. It's incorrect just to clump them all together and make generalizations. In some ways, the Caribbean and Africa are very similar -- for instance, the people are very warm, friendly, welcoming and hospitable.

One piece of advice we were given as Westerns is the importance of partnering with the people -- not coming in and starting to offer advice and solutions. We want to partner with the Africans and together, make a difference. Another great thing we learned is that the Africans are VERY people-orientated, so relationships are very important. We can't just come in and do programs and activities, we need to spend time with the people, building relationship and trust. Also, as Westerners, it easy to think of Africans as "poor." But what do we really mean by that? Yes, they may not have lots of cash readily available, but the fact most Africans have food and a place to sleep makes them rich in many ways. We need to change our view of thinking of poverty.

Here's a couple of statistics that might blow your mind -- Over 70% of the continent's population is young people and the average age is 17. One-third of Africans don't get enough to eat. Eight out of ten of the poorest counties in the world are in Africa.

There is so much more, but I'll leave you with that for now. :)

Almost to Sierra Leone!

2010-06-13T18:56:00.000+02:00

We're on our last day at sea! Hard to believe that our two-week sail is almost complete. The time has flown! The 14-days have been a really special time for the crew. We really enjoyed having lots of fun, community events plus lots of great training to prepare us for Africa. We have a family from OM Africa on board with us for the sail that have been giving lots of training session to prepare us for Africa.

In a way, our visit to Africa will be similar to our visit to the Caribbean in a lot of ways. Our Experience Deck will be open (book fair, I-Cafe, and Journey of Life display) to the public. We'll also do lots of on board events for pastors, youth, woman, schools, etc. Plus we'll send lots of team out in the community to visit orphanages, hospitals, local churches and prisons. But one area that will change (that we're REALLY excited about!!) is that there will be a big increase in the amount of practical aids we'll be doing. For instance, just in Sierra Leone alone, we'll be sending out 50 people to villages throughout the country to help in practical ways for up to a week. John and I will be a part of a team week after next that will go into a community for a week to help build a church! We can hardly wait!

Other really awesome ways we'll be helping out the communities will be dental and medical clinics, distributing school supplies to children, giving out books and resources to pastors, doing eye exams and providing glasses, and helping to start up libraries in the community. We'll also be doing a big blood drive on board the ship (nurses will come on board from Mercy Ships!). Praise God for giving us the resources to really be able to ramp up the aid we provide for local communities!

Cape Verde!

2010-06-11T16:33:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, we had a stop-over in Cape Verde to refuel and fill our water tanks. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to go on shore for a few hours, which was quite nice after being at sea for nine days! What an interesting and unique place. We thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to explore yet another new country.

Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago off the western coats of Africa, opposite Mauritania and Senegal. Cape Verde is composed of ten islands (of which nine are inhabited) and eight islets. The country is estimated to be 1,500 square miles with a population of 500,000. The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century. They gained their independence from Portugal in 1975. The official language is Portuguese. The country is officially an African country; so for us, it was like our gateway into Africa. We are scheduled to arrive into Sierra Leone Monday morning.

New Videos!

2010-06-04T21:24:00.003+02:00

Check out these two new videos from the ship! The first video is called "Hope in the Caribbean." View it now! The second video is a new ShipShots video called "Sports Connection." View it now! Enjoy!

Goodbye Caribbean!

2010-05-31T20:29:00.002+02:00

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

2010-05-31T00:59:00.002+02:00

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

2010-05-31T00:55:00.002+02:00

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

2010-05-27T23:20:00.000+02:00

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

2010-05-26T16:57:00.003+02:00

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

2010-05-23T19:50:00.001+02:00

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

2010-05-22T20:47:00.004+02:00

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!

2010-05-19T19:09:00.005+02:00

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!

2010-05-19T19:07:00.000+02:00

Enjoy the beautiful pictures from St. Kitts!

Ruins from an old bell tower.

Huge mango tree!

Gorgeous view!

What funny palm trees!

Antigua!

2010-05-15T01:32:00.001+02:00

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

Radio Interview

2010-05-14T21:46:00.002+02:00

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

2010-05-13T16:06:00.006+02:00

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!

2010-05-13T13:51:00.002+02:00

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

2010-05-12T14:38:00.002+02:00

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!

2010-05-09T19:48:00.000+02:00

Fun Pictures!

2010-05-09T19:39:00.000+02:00

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!

2010-05-08T00:29:00.002+02:00

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

2010-05-06T21:13:00.001+02:00

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

2010-05-04T16:51:00.009+02:00

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

2010-05-02T21:10:00.003+02:00

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

2010-05-01T16:32:00.003+02:00

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).

Jennifer's Parent's Visit

2010-04-25T20:26:00.003+02:00

We had a wonderful time with my parents over the past week! We were so happy they could visit us a second time on the Logos Hope. We had quite a busy, fun-filled week! We did lots of fun, touristy activities in Bermuda, but I also put them to work on the ship! :) They helped out throughout the week with our school children visits (Dad counted all the children that came on board and Mom greeted all the children) and they also helped us to host a few on board events. This morning, we enjoyed going to a local church, St. Andrews together. They also enjoyed taking part in our every-day life on board -- morning devotions, ship family night, prayer night and more! What a wonderful time. Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to visit us in Bermuda!

Below are a few cute pictures from John's very early birthday celebration! John turns 30 in July, but since we won't be with family, my parents wanted to celebrate early with him, so they took us to a wonderful Thai restaurant.

The ship has a wonderful location in Bermuda - right on Front St. in downtown Hamilton!

The restaurant overlooked the ship!

Yummy Thai teas!

Happy Birthday to John!

ShipSHOTS 2

2010-04-20T19:48:00.003+02:00

We just published our second ShipSHOTS video called "Lovin' the Crowd." View it from our website - www.omships.org/shipshots. You can also view it on YouTube. Enjoy!

Wonderful Partner Weekend

2010-04-20T16:29:00.006+02:00

As I mentioned in a previous posting, this past week, John and I were part of a team that hosted Donors/ Partners last Thursday - Sunday for a wonderful OM Ships Partner Weekend. What a joy to help host the event! There were 14 of us from the ship that hosted the partners. We picked them up from the airport, registered them, helped with all the programs, events, and tours and just enjoyed meeting and interacting with them. We had over 150 partners from the US, Canada and Netherlands. The event was held at a Christian retreat center called Willowbank, which was lovely. We would have loved if they could have all stayed on board, but currently, the ship is bursting at the seams with crew, short-term mission trips and guests (which is a good thing of course!). :) Thank God for another fantastic opportunity!

Bermuda

2010-04-11T19:11:00.002+02:00

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Bermuda is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory. Bermuda's first capital, St George's, was settled in 1612 and is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the Americas. Bermuda was officially discovered in 1503 by a Spanish explorer, Juan de Bermúdez.

Located off the east coast of the United States, Bermuda's nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 640 miles to the west-northwest. Bermuda's capital city is Hamilton (where we'll be berthed). The population of Bermuda is just over 67,000. Bermuda has a very affluent economy, with finance as its largest sector followed by tourism, giving it the world's highest GDP per capita in 2005.

Here's a few interesting facts about Bermuda ~
-Bermuda consists of about 150 islands, but only 20 have people living on them.
-The biggest island is called Great Bermuda.
-The islands were formed by volcanic rock topped by coral formations.
-The islands have no rivers or lakes or any fresh water wells, so they have to depend on rain water.
-English is the official language of Bermuda, and some Portuguese is also spoken.

And, of course, Bermuda is very famous for the "Bermuda Triangle!" And we're currently sailing through it! ;) The Bermuda Triangle is famous for the nonappearances of over 66 airplanes and ships. Bermuda is also very famous for it's Bermuda shorts. ;)

ShipSHOTS

2010-04-10T14:10:00.002+02:00

On board, we're now producing a new video series called ShipSHOTS to share insights to the ministry of Logos Hope with our partners around the world. The series is available on the OM Ships website. The videos are also on YouTube and Facebook!

If you haven't already, you can become a fan of OM Ships on facebook to get updates on your wall. Click here!

To view the first video we're produced called "Lights, Children, Action!" on YouTube, click here!

Goodbye Bahamas, Hello Bermuda!

2010-04-10T13:58:00.004+02:00

We left Nassau, Bahamas late Thursday night and plan to arrive in Hamilton, Bermuda early Monday morning. So far, the voyage has been relatively smooth, so thanks to those of you that are praying! :) Bahamas was a wonderful port for the ship. We thoroughly enjoyed being in the Bahamas and now are excited for our next port! In Bermuda, we'll be having a Partner Weekend for OM Ships donors. The weekend event will be held at Willowbank Resort (as there's not enough room on board for the 150+ partners coming!), but there will be many neat events held on board for them to experience ship life. The event coordinator planning the weekend event has asked a handful of crew members to be "hosts" for the weekend and John and I have been asked to be on that team. We're quite excited! Should be a wonderful experience. Please be praying for a wonderful time for the partners and for us hosting them!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T20:53:00.002+02:00

He has risen! He has risen indeed! Praise the Lord! We hope each of you are having a wonderful Easter celebrating Christ's resurrection. We had a wonderful Easter service on board and a wonderful brunch. We're having a lovely, restful day in the Bahamas following a very busy week! I (Jennifer) helped to coordinate a leadership training this past week for first-time leaders and managers on board. The training was six full days on shore, so it was quite a full week! We covered topics like delegation, stress management, communication, listening, leadership styles, spiritual leadership, time management, motivation and more! I really enjoying helping to coordinate the week and also sit through all the training sessions as well. :)

Bahamas

2010-03-27T14:09:00.003+01:00

The Bahamas consists of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets. Thirty of the largest ones are inhabited. Population is estimated at 330,000. Beginning 50 miles from the Florida coast, the Bahamas form a 760-mile arc through the Atlantic. The island of Bimini is closest to Florida and the island furthest south is Insgua, just 60 miles from Haiti. The two most popular destinations for tourists are Nassau/ Paradise Island (where we are!) and Grand Bahama Island. Paradise Island is home of the famed Atlantis hotel. Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas. The majority of tourists (80%) are American. As one of the most prosperous countries in the Caribbean region, the Bahamas relies on tourism to generate most of their economic activity. Tourism as an industry not only accounts for over 60 percent of the Bahamian GDP, but provides jobs for more than half the country's workforce. After tourism, the most important economic sector is financial services, accounting for around 15 percent of GDP.

A few interesting facts ~
-The Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492.
-The Bahamas are famous for their conch shells and also conch meat which can be served raw or fried or used in fritters, soups and chowders.
-The name of the country comes from the Spanish word ‘bajamar’, meaning ‘shallow water’.
-The official language spoken in the country is English and the currency, the Bahamas-Dollar is at par with the US-Dollar.
-The largest immigrant community in the Bahamas is that of the Haitians. 30,000-50,000 of the residents are concentrated in the New Province, Abaco and Eleuthera islands.

Goodbye Kingston, Hello Nassau

2010-03-26T13:52:00.005+01:00

Greetings from Nassau, Bahamas! We arrived into Nassau around 4am this morning! We are RIGHT in the middle of town in the cruise terminal. As I look out our port hole, I can see a huge cruise ship - Carnival Destiny and the famous Atlantis Hotel! If I look out on the other side of the ship, I can see the British Colonel hotel where my parents honeymooned 40 years ago! Wow, how neat for John and I to have the opportunity to spend two weeks on this special island. But before we go into too much detail about Nassau, first a recap of Kingston.....

We spent February 16 – March 23 in Kingston, Jamaica. We think March was the busiest month we’ve had so far since joining the ship! During our five weeks in Kingston, we had almost 136,000 visitors!! And we broke the record for the number of visitors in one day – 7,138! We also ran 52 programs for school kids (19,000+ kids), had 48 events on board for the public to attend, sent out teams to 53 churches, and sold over 340,000 books (14,000+ of those being Bibles!). Wow, now you can see why we were so busy! The city of Kingston has a population of over 1 million people, so this definitely was our busiest Caribbean port. Praise the Lord!

Church on Sunday

2010-03-22T17:39:00.003+01:00

Yesterday morning, we went with a team to Victor's Gospel Ministry Church in Kingston. What a joy! Our 10-person team did an hour program of testimonies, a drama, mime, missions presentation and a sermon. The congregation was so warm, friendly and welcoming. What a blessing to spend the day with them. John and I did a missions presentation for them about where the 450,000 missionaries today live and serve and where missionaries are most needed in the world today. Afterward, three people told us they were inspired to look into going into missions full time! Praise the Lord! The pictures below are of John and I presenting the missions presentation.

Women's Centre of Jamaica

2010-03-22T14:32:00.002+01:00

On Wednesday morning, a team from the ship went out to the Women's Centre of Jamaica. The centre is actually a school for teenage mothers so they can complete their education. They bring their babies with them to the centre and they are looked after while the girls are in school. The centre also provides counseling and classes on mothering and basic living skills. Our team gave an encouraging presentation about God's Love to the 75+ girls in attendance and then spent time connecting and praying with the girls. We really enjoyed connecting with these young women.

Praying for the girls.

The girls loved taking pictures with us!

Besides loving taking pictures with us, they also loved wearing my sunglasses! ha ha!

Posing for the camera!

MC'ing on Sunday Night

2010-03-16T15:05:00.006+01:00

Every Saturday and Sunday night for the past several ports, ship's company has been putting on something called a "Cultural Hour" for locals that are coming on board. There are two 45-minutes performances each evening and the program consists of cultural dances and acts from about the world, a drama and then the Gospel message. The program is held in our Hope Theatre and it's actually quite good!

We had the privilege of being involved in the two programs Sunday night as the MC's! We were asked to dress up as Western cowboys for the MC'ing! So we went all out with cowboy hats, boots, big belt buckles and John even wore chaps! What a hoot! John especially really got into the role and was teaching the crowd cowboy phrases like, "Howdy ya'll!" and "yeee haw." The crowd loved it! We had such a blast! What a fun opportunity to MC together.

After the programs, there is time to connect with the audience. We had a great time meeting the locals that came to watch the program and answer questions they had about the ship or the program. We got asked some funny questions like "Do ALL Americans dress like that?" and "Do you own a horse?" hee hee! The Cultural Hour has been a fantastic way for ship's company to connect with locals in a way that is entertaining yet impacting at the same time. We were so delighted to be involved on Sunday night.

Backstage preparing to start the show!

Website Changes

2010-03-13T17:21:00.004+01:00

We wanted to inform you about a few changes to the OM Ships websites. In the past, we've had two different websites for our two different ships -- www.logoshope.org and www.doulos.org. With the decommissioning of the Doulos, soon OM Ships will just have one ship (Logos Hope). So with this change, we'll now just have one ship website -- www.omships.org. So please begin using that website instead of the Logos Hope website. We also have another website www.gbaships.org (which is where you'll be redircted from www.logoshope.org), but it's a more technical website for suppliers, government authorities, marine authorities, etc. So please begin using www.omships.org for all of your Logos Hope news! And just a reminder that every few days, there is a new story on the homepage, so please make sure to check the website every so often for the latest happenings on the Logos Hope.

Haiti

2010-03-12T15:43:00.002+01:00

Last night during our ship prayer night, our OM Caribbean Field Director shared about Haiti. He's traveled there many times since the earthquake (he was just there last week!), so he was able to share last night about his experiences and show us lots of recent pictures. God is moving in AMAZING ways in Haiti.

News sources didn't cover the fact that one month ago, on the 12th of February, the President of Haiti canceled Carnival and called for three days of Prayer and Fasting instead. You've got to watch this video about the three days. Over 1 million people in Haiti gathered together to seek the Lord. You can watch the video on You tube. Click Here Praise God.

A.W. Tozer Quote

2010-03-11T20:40:00.001+01:00

This quote was on our daily calender this week and I love it so much that I want to share it with all of you.

"An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others."

May this quote become real to all those reading this blog.

AIDS/ HIV Seminar

2010-03-11T20:26:00.002+01:00

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 the community. 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 Jamaicans to take action in the fight against AIDS. In the global AIDS pandemic, the Caribbean is the second-most affected region in the world (first is Africa). Among adults aged 15–44 in the Caribbean, AIDS has become the leading cause of death. Pray for those infected and affected by AIDS in Jamaica, the Caribbean and throughout the world.

GPS Seminar

2010-03-11T20:20:00.003+01:00

On Tuesday, I coordinated an all-day seminar for crew members that have been on board for 18 months (the crew members that we joined with in September 2008). GPS stands for "Global Purpose for Self." The day included sessions on Spiritual Gifts, Personality Types, Strengths & Abilities, Holland Codes, and Passions & Values. Thankfully, I had many people assist me in leading the different sessions. I'm so thankful that the day went well and many people seemed to really benefit from the sessions. The purpose was to give direction and guidance to these crew members as they begin thinking about their life after the Logos Hope.

Our Sunday

2010-03-08T19:08:00.004+01:00

We had a terrific day yesterday in Jamaica. In the morning, we had the honor of attending the home church of a fellow Jamaican crew member and friend Tami. We really enjoyed being a part of her home congregation. We were made to feel very welcome and really enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people.

In the afternoon, John was a part of a team that put on a youth program in a small village about an hour from our ship. I was supposed to go on the team as well, but I have a horrible cold, so couldn't muster up the energy. boo hoo. Anyhow, John really enjoyed helping put on the program for 200+ youth ages 5 - 19! The highlight for John was connecting with two young boys at the end of the program that both made decisions to follow Christ. Praise the Lord for His amazing work in Jamaica.

Day out on Monday!

2010-03-05T01:06:00.002+01:00

On our off day on Monday, our Jamaican friend (and former ship son) Terrance took us out for a local taste of Kingston. We took the bus into town and had quite an interesting day exploring the inner-city of Kingston. The first picture is us on the bus ride and the following three pictures I took from the window in the bus of the local market.

Christian Businessmen's Luncheon

2010-03-04T23:41:00.002+01:00

For lunch today, I (John) had the opportunity to share my testimony with men and women from the Kingston, Jamaica business community. On the first Thursday of each month, the Full Gospel Businessman's Fellowship of Jamaica has lunch together. FGBF is an international organization of business men and women who are united in Christ, and have a desire to leverage the gifts and talents that God has entrusted to them for Kingdom work. They meet regularly for prayer and fellowship in a non-denominational setting and are encouraged to bring non-believing business associates along to hear testimonies of the transformational power of Jesus. It was a great privilege to share and fellowship with these wonderful community leaders.

Enjoying Jamaican Jerk!

2010-02-28T22:17:00.000+01:00

Hot off the grill!

Are you excited enough Jennifer? ;)

Yummy!!

Doesn't get much better than this!

More Photos from Majestic Gardens

2010-02-26T01:10:00.002+01:00

See the below posting for a full description of these photos ~

Teaching the children a few fun songs about Jesus!

Kids love fun hand motions!

Reading to the children.

Lots of hugs for John!

Majestic Gardens

2010-02-26T01:09:00.004+01:00

We spent this morning at an extremely impoverished area in Kingston called Majestic Gardens, where 5,000+ people are living in make-shift housing. Within the community, there is a center called St. Andrew Settlement, which houses a medical and dental clinic, a preschool, vocational training, a library, a church and more! The center is sponsored by St. Andrew Parish Church and has been in the community since 1965. Their aim is to "encourage residents to be self-sufficient, despite their depressed social condition, and to build a healthy and productive community."

We spent the morning at the center with several others from the ship's company. What an incredible morning! The first part of the morning was spent at the preschool. We put on a short program for them with lots of fun songs with hand motions. The kids loved it! Then I read a story about friendship and told them that Jesus can be your best friend if you invite him into your life. Then we headed to the area where senior citizens were awaiting their free lunch meal. We spent time connecting and sharing with them about the love of Jesus. The morning concluded going into their clinic (which mostly serves pregnant moms and babies) and spent some time with a few new mothers and their babies. What a special time. We are so blessed to have gone on this team this morning. Thank you to God for speaking through us today.

Arriving at the center

A friend John met while he waited for his free lunch meal. John was able to share with him about God's mission for your life and encouraged him to be a light in his community.

One of the sweet babies at the clinic. Her mother is in the pink shirt in the back of the photo.

John gives a little lovin' to this new born baby girl.

Full Day!

2010-02-24T14:35:00.002+01:00

We had an incredibly full and rich day yesterday. I (Jennifer) had the privilege of leading the crew members that have been on board for one year through a "Life Direction Check" yesterday morning. The purpose of the morning was to give them time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the remaining time they have on board. I trust it was a good and rewarding experience for them. Then in the afternoon, John and I lead a training session for our local volunteers on God's Love. We had 30+ people in our training and we really enjoyed the opportunity to connect with them. Then in the evening, we welcomed a new ship family child -- Chrissi from
Germany! There are still people slowing arriving on board from our sister ship the Doulos (which is in the process of being decommissioned). Thank the Lord for wonderful, rewarding days like yesterday.

Wonderful Day Off

2010-02-23T22:45:00.003+01:00

We had a wonderful day yesterday exploring more of Jamaica! A group of about 30 of us from the ship's company set off for a trip to Fort Antonio, Jamaica. Our first stop was the Blue Lagoon, which is among the greatest natural attractions of Jamaica. The Blue Lagoon is constantly changing colors from azure blue to deep emerald, to sapphire and turquoise. It was originally called “The Blue Hole.” The area was made famous by several movies, particularly Brooke Shields' movie "Blue Lagoon" and hence the site was re-named from "The Blue Hole" to “The Blue Lagoon." The Blue Lagoon is a water hole fed by underground fresh water springs and connected to the Caribbean Sea. Initially thought of as a bottomless hole, it gave rise to fables and fantasies (there is said to be a dragon at the bottom!). However, exploration has confirmed its depth to be 200 feet, which renders its fabulous colors. When we arrived a little before noon, the lagoon was a beautiful turquoise color. The top layer of the water is fresh water and the bottom part is salt water, so the top layer is very cold (by your shoulders and arms) and the bottom is very warm (by your legs). It definitely was an interesting experience!

The second stop on our tour was Frenchman's Cove. The cove was a beautiful beach area, also famous for many movies: Club Paradise (with Robin Williams), Treasure Island (with Charlton Heston), and The Mighty Quinn (with Denzel Washington). We had a wonderful time enjoying the water and waves!

The last stop on our outing was the home of Jamaican jerk seasoning! Our van pulled into an area with about 10+ vendors trying to direct us to their jerk stand. What an experience! If you're not familiar with jerk, it's a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats are dry-rubbed or marinated with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and chicken. Jerk seasoning principally relies upon two items: allspice (called "pimento" in Jamaica) and Scotch bonnet peppers (among the hottest peppers on the Scoville scale). Other ingredients include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, and garlic. Man oh man, is it ever HOT and DELICIOUS!! We loved every minute of it.

We are so thankful for this opportunity to see more of the beautiful island of Jamaica! What a day!

Home page of the Logos Hope website!

2010-02-20T19:14:00.003+01:00

Every few days, there's a new lead story on the Logos Hope website. Make sure to check it out today! (www.logoshope.org) There's a picture of our CEO speaking at our one-year celebration last night and you can see us intently listening from the front row! ;) I put the picture below as well (taken by our ship's photographer Marina Maddock-Lyon). We had an incredible time celebrating our one year of ministry. Over the past year, we've visited 23 ports, 18 countries and had 565,000 visitors! Thank the Lord!

Hosting

2010-02-19T21:35:00.002+01:00

John and I are so blessed to have had so many opportunities to be hosts at on board events on the ship. Last night was our opening ceremony on board, so we were invited to help host the event. We met many fabulous people. The most exciting part was meeting two really nice young Americans that work in the US Embassy in Kingston. We really enjoyed meeting them and connecting. What a blessing!

Then this morning, I (Jennifer) had the opportunity to help host an event put on by a local non-profit organization called Faith and Deeds. Again, I really enjoyed meeting many local people. During both events, I gave tours of the ship. Even after 1 1/2 years, it's still such a privilege to show people my "floating home."

One Year Anniversary

2010-02-19T21:28:00.002+01:00

Today marks one year since our maiden voyage out of Koge, Denmark! It was one year ago today that we sailed the Logos Hope into full time ministry. It's quite funny to think about the weather differences between last year and this year. Our first port of call last year was in Sweden, so we were literally breaking through the ice to get into port. It was snowing like crazy and FREEZING! A year later, we're in sunny Jamaica enjoying weather in the high 80's! ;) God is so good. Over the past year, we've sailed to Sweden, Netherlands, Scotland, Faroe Islands, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Wales, England then across the Atlantic to St. Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curacao, Aruba and now Jamaica! What a blessing to experience so much of the world and to meet such incredible people. We feel so blessed to be a part of what God's doing on the Logos Hope.

Great start to Kingston!

2010-02-18T16:15:00.002+01:00

Yesterday was our first day open to the public in Kingston and we had 4,283 visitors! Praise God! Tonight will be our official opening ceremony for Kingston and John and I have been asked to host the event and help give tours. Should be fun!

Goodbye Montego Bay, Hello Kingston

2010-02-17T14:45:00.003+01:00

Monday evening, we sailed away from Montego Bay, Jamaica and arrived in Kingston, Jamaica yesterday afternoon. We spent four weeks in Montego Bay and now will be spending five weeks in Kingston. This is the longest we'll be in one country since we left Denmark a year ago! Montego Bay was an incredible port for the ship. In our four weeks there, we had 83,474 visitors! And considering the population of Montego Bay is about 96,000, I'd say that's pretty amazing!! The most exciting part of Montego Bay is the thousands and thousands of school children that came for our school programs. We had 16, 513 children attend one of our our many school programs that we put on while in Montego Bay. Our school programs are quite incredible. We can fit about 400 kids into our theatre where they watch a really cute play about pirates searching for the "greatest treasure" which turns out to be the Word of God. We also play games with them, tell them about the ship and share about the love of Jesus. We thank God that all 16,000+ of these children heard the message of Jesus. Thank the Lord for what He is doing in Jamaica!

Our Only Valentine's Day Pic

2010-02-15T02:34:00.003+01:00

So Jennifer and I (John) went out in Montego Bay, Jamaica for Valentine's Day and had a great time. We took lots of fun pics at the Jamaican Bobsled Cafe and some great self-portraits at this local restaurant: The Pork Pit. We wanted to take some videos and take more pictures so I was looking at how much space the memory card had left, but I think that I accidentally formatted the memory card and deleted all the pictures. :( So this is one of two pictures taken after that. The Pork Pit is written up in a book called 1001 Places to See Before You Die. It is a total local hangout and the Jamaican Jerk chicken and pork was out of the world, the hot sauce burned the lips right off of my face. We had a great Valentine's Day in Jamaica... it's just too bad we only have one picture to prove it. ;)