Since August….

GO Conference

On the 21 August 2007, around 230 new recruits gathered together at a conference centre in the Netherlands for our second Global Orientation (GO) conference of 2007. Each year we run these conferences, one in January in Mosbach, Germany, and one in the Netherlands to help people in their preparation for going to various OM fields around the world. Some of these recruits have joined our work in places like Kazakhstan, Albania and Germany, while others have joined either the Doulos or the Logos II/Logos Hope ministry.

There was some great teaching covering many different subjects including our relationship with God, ourselves and others, as well as practical training on how to respond if you get challenged by customs and immigration officials when entering the country you are going to work in.

As most of you know, while I have been waiting in Bremen for the Logos Hope to arrive, I have not had too much to keep me occupied, so I decided to go and help out at the GO Conference wherever I could. To begin with I was going to work in the Dining Room, serving and clearing away at meal times, but a few days before the conference began, a good friend of mine, Christine was unable to come and fulfil her role of helping the Programme Team with all their administration. So, I quickly was asked to step into Christine’s shoes!

To be honest, this sort of admin work is much more up my street, and it was a joy to serve using the gifts and skills that God has given me. It was two rather intense weeks, but full of fun and excitement, although it had a few challenges too!

One of the fantastic things about attending such a conference is meeting up with old friends from around the OM World, as well as connecting with some new friends too. I had the opportunity of getting to know many who will serve onboard Logos Hope with me.

Returning to Bremen

On returning to Bremen, I was told that soon the Bremen team would be moving to Kiel, also in Germany to live onboard the Logos II (the ship that Logos Hope will eventually replace). This was a bit difficult for me, as I did not anticipate having to make yet another transition. Having only left Carlisle in May, I was still trying to adjust to my new surroundings and a new country, now I would have to get used to a different crowd of people and rather small living conditions. Logos II is quite a bit smaller than Doulos, and very much smaller than the Logos Hope!

Anyway, after the initial shock and realisation, I began to be a bit excited about this new phrase. Thankfully, through much prayer and pondering, God showed me many positive points about the move.

Quite trip to the UK….

A couple of weeks before moving, my boss (Brian) and his wife (Miriam) were making a trip to Trogir, Croatia to visit the Logos Hope. When they are away from Bremen, there is absolutely nothing for me to do, so Brian asked what I would like to do during their time away.

I had been thinking quite a bit about all my friends in Carlisle, and had also been in touch with a friend, David who works with our sports ministry in OM, SportsLink. David was in need of some help in getting on top of some of the SportsLink admin, so I decided to make a quite trip over to the UK for week. During that week, I managed to visit a few friends in Carlisle. Sorry, I could not see more of you but time was limited. David and I also managed to get some of the SportsLink admin done, although more was achieved in actually putting some of the processes in place to help SportsLink run more smoothly.

Some of the highlights of my little trip were watching the World Cup Rugby on TV. Here in Germany they were not showing it on TV, so it was great to watch a couple of matches. And, of course, I’m writing this after the grand finale where South Africa are once again the World Champions!

Another highlight was a brief walk along the coast at Morecambe Bay in Lancashire watching the sunset (see below)

Saying Thank You….

While we lived in Bremen, there were a number of people who made our stay possible and helped to also make it enjoyable. Towards the end of our time, we wanted to thank these friends and give them a small gift to show our appreciation. We wanted something special, but could not think up what to give them. Then one morning on the way to the office on the bus, I came up with the idea of hand painting the Logos Hope logo on hand towels! Great idea, but of course, I got the job too.

As most of you know, I love being creative and so I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of painting 23 hand towels. We then wrapped them with little ‘thank you’ labels and gave them to all those who had served us in this incredible way. Thank you to our friends in Bremen!

Move to the Logos II….

On Monday 8 October, after packing up again, Brian, Miriam, Louria (another South African awaiting the arrival of the Logos Hope), and myself made our way up to Kiel. Kiel is about two hours drive from Bremen. We arrived at about 4.30pm to a warm welcome from many onboard, and spent the evening settling into our new accommodation. Louria and I are sharing a small cabin on the B-Deck which is still well above sea level!

I had never imagined that I would get the opportunity to be part of the Logos II community, but I can now say that I have lived onboard all 3 of OM’s current ships, Doulos, Logos II and Logos Hope! Not too many of us can have that claim to fame!

I am slowly getting used to ship life again. Of course, it is a BIG adjustment from living on land, and your prayers for this transition will be appreciated. The main things I have to get used to are, meals being served at certain times, and not just eating when I am hungry. Not having much natural light (no porthole in my cabin). Making sure I actually get off the ship each day for some fresh air. Unless you plan to go out, you can go the whole day with not stepping off the ship because everything is provided onboard!

There are also regular meetings that you are expected to attend, such as Devotions in the mornings and our weekly prayer evening. All of these are normally very good, but getting out of bed in the mornings to be at Devotions by 7.45am, and having eaten breakfast, showered etc, beforehand, can be a bit of a challenge!