I first heard that the Logos was coming to Trinidad sometime
late last year when I was serving at an ITNAC booth at a missions conference. Operation Mobilization, the parent organization of the Logos ship, had a booth right next to us. They were asking for volunteers,
but I figured I was already a part of so many groups I didn’t need to add to my
already full plate. I consoled myself with the thought that there were many
others who would volunteer, so I would not need to. However, at the beginning
of this year God started talking to me about signing up, even after the
deadline had passed. Before I could contact them to find out if they still
needed persons, one of my ITNAC friends forwarded me an email from the
recruiters saying that they were still many vacancies and if they knew anyone
who was free to encourage them to apply. My only hesitation was if I would have
the time to do it, but I really felt God’s hand in this one, so I decided to
make the time.
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| Steering the ship ;) LOL |
Working on the Logos was a wonderful experience of being
able to demonstrate the love of God to difficult people: from the persons who
refused to listen to the 2 minute mandatory orientation for first time
visitors, to those who skipped the orientation and got upset when they got to
the cashiers and realised that they could not pay with a debit card – we
managed them with smiling faces and kind words. On reflecting on his visit to
the book fair, one young man commented on how light the atmosphere was - not
heavy like in some other places he had visited – and how much he appreciated
the smiles and kindness that was evident from all the workers. A young lady who visited with her family told
me that what she loved about the ship was that it was more than just about
books; it was about bringing people closer to God. I was really moved that she
said that, because in the training sessions we had, they encouraged us to look
for opportunities to bring people one step closer to Jesus.
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| What it means to bring people one step closer to Jesus |
Working in the book fair was an exercise in the game of
Memory, as we tried to put back books in their rightful place after visitors
did not return unwanted books where they belonged. Additionally, it was a great
physical workout, as we changed positions every 45 minutes to one hour, and
this involved lots of walking up and down and all around. It was very encouraging
to interact with the crew members as we worked alongside them, hearing them
share their life stories and the lessons God had taught them while they worked
on the ship. Finally, it was a tremendous opportunity to see people that I
knew, including someone who I had not seen since 2003!
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Wendy Fitzwilliams was one of the
local celebrities who passed through |
The experiences which I valued the most, however, were the
one on one conversations that I was able to have during my time there. There
were so many opportunities to have God centered conversations with the visitors,
who were very open to sharing where they were in their relationship with God,
and listening to what we had to share.
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| An added bonus were the spectacular sunsets we were treated to! |
The crew put on a
theatrical production of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which was really
excellently done. Afterwards we had an opportunity to interact with members of
the public who came to the show. I approached a family with two children and
asked if they understood why Aslan represented Jesus and they said no. When I
told them it was because Jesus died for our sins, just like Aslan died for
Edmund, the little girl asked, “What is sin?” It turned out that they were from
India so they were not familiar with the gospel message. I was so grateful that
the mother gave me permission to share the good news with them.
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| Some of the local volunteers I spent most of my time with |
One of the book fair visitors I spoke to was a lady from China who was visiting her Chinese
friend working in Trinidad. She wanted to know how does a person deal with bad thoughts
which are in their mind. After I explained to her where these thoughts come from
and what Jesus had done to take away our sin, she responded, “But that isn’t
fair! Jesus never did anything wrong. Why should he have to die for our sin?”
It was a good stretch for me to explain the gospel message to someone whose
first language was not English. At the end, she understood what I shared with
her, but said she wanted to think about it first before making a commitment, so
I prayed with her and then pointed her to a Chinese crew member and left them
to talk in their native tongue.
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Crew members interacting with members
of the public by writing their names in Mandarin |
I also met a Christian school teacher who shared her
struggles with her form 1 class who were stressing her out with having to deal
with issues from alcohol to drugs to prostitution in the classroom. I shared
with her an experience I had over the Christmas vacation where I reconnected
with a young lady who had been progressing well at school until she was
molested by a family friend, which ended up with her failing all her exams and
pursuing relationships instead of her studies. After a series of bad choices,
she has now, more than 5 years later, decided to get her life back on track. I
encouraged the school teacher not to give up on her students, but to continue
building relationships with them and imparting whatever knowledge and fear of
God she could, because she would never know the impact it could have on them in
the future.
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| All volunteers received training in sharing our faith and other relevant topics |
We were joined by a crew member who shared her experience of
when they were coming to dock in Port of Spain and they were praying for the
country, seeing a dark cloud over the nation with a ray of sunshine peeking
through. By the time they were finished praying, the dark cloud had dissipated
and the sun came shining brightly through. She felt that this was a metaphor
for the darkness that is presently over our land, and the power of prayer to
dispel the darkness. We encouraged the teacher to commit with other Christian
teachers to pray over the school on a weekly basis, and also for her to pray in
her classroom before the students arrive. We also reminded her to recognise
that she was not fighting a physical battle but a spiritual one, so she needed
to stop stressing about what she could not change in the physical and focus on
how she could impact the spiritual. She was tremendously encouraged, because
these were the same things which her Christian co-worker was encouraging her to
do, so for her it was confirmation of her need to act.
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People waited in lines for hours to
board the ship |
Before leaving the ship, everyone had to walk through the
“Journey of Life”, which was actually the story of the Prodigal Son illustrated
with pictures, in a modern day setting. It was incredible for me to see people
of all faiths, including entire families, taking time to listen as the
volunteers shared the story and challenged them to consider the consequences of
the choices they were making in life.
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Bring knowledge, help and hope
|
After taking one lady through this section, she shared with
me that things were very bad for her at home, and she knew that she needed to
rededicate her life to Christ. Her husband was not a Christian, and was
treating her very badly, but she knew that she needed to fix her life first
before praying for her husband to be saved. On enquiring I found out that she
did not own a bible, and did not have the funds to purchase one, so I was very
happy to be able to go back into the book fair and help her choose one she
could read and buy it for her. She prayed a prayer of repentance, asking God to
forgive her and cleanse her from her sins. She also committed to finding a
church in her area where she could continue to get the spiritual food she
needed to grow in her relationship with God.
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| No two sunsets were the same :) |
I was also able to pray with a lady who had a friend who is
experiencing some terrible domestic challenges, a man whose family is in a
dispute over land, a man who is recovering from a 2 year long tabanca, and a
man who was trying to turn away from a sinful lifestyle, but was not yet
willing to totally submit to God. I trust that God would be faithful to
complete the work that He started in the lives of these people who we were
privileged to minister to.
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| With some of the crew at the Pitch Lake |
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| With my Latino hermanas - they made me speak in Spanish! |
One of the highlights for the crew when they go to different
countries is the opportunities they get to explore different parts of the
country. I had the privilege of taking two sets of foreigners on the “Tour of
South”. They all thoroughly enjoyed their time in the south land, visiting the
beach, the Pitch Lake, San Fernando Hill and the Wild Fowl Trust. Some of them
said that it was one of the best experiences they have had on their off days
since they have been on the ship. I really loved seeing how much they enjoyed
themselves, and I now have friends who will be happy to host me if ever my
travels take me to Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, Indonesia, Colombia or Bolivia!
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| Facilitating workshop at Next Step Missions Conference |
Finally, I had the pleasure of being a part of the Next
Steps Missions Conference on board the ship. This was a conference designed to
help persons who were interested in missions to know what are possible next
steps they could take. I facilitated a workshop entitled Using Technology with
Partnership Development and there were other workshops covering topics which
would help prepare persons for life on the mission field. I was also part of a
panel discussion covering issues affecting persons on the mission field. It was
a wonderful time of sharing lessons learnt, and many persons who attended
responded positively to the call to missions.
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| Showcasing Trini culture at our farewell function |
I thank God for speaking to me about volunteering on the
Logos while they were in Port of Spain, and I am very glad that I was obedient.
It was an experience that has implications, not just for the future, but for
the rest of eternity.
