JAMAICA Wrap-Up

Since returning from Jamaica, my days have been filled with tasks, meetings, email, family, and sickness.  This is why I have not blogged at all the past two weeks.  So here is my long-overdue wrap-up of our trip to Jamaica to visit the Logos Hope (“wrapped” around an acrostic to reward you for your patience).

 

Just one of the crew
The entire Logos Hope crew did a fantastic job of making us each feel like we truly were part of the ship’s crew for the week.  As you read in my previous posts, we got to experience a wide variety of jobs, had our own badges, participated in everyday ship life, and got involved in the ship’s ministry to the local region.  (This photo of Erin is with one of the crew members, a gal from Australia named Pippa.  Erin will remember Pippa quite well since they were lost together in downtown Montego Bay while out doing street evangelism as part of their "E-day" (experience day) off the ship.)

 

Amazing Ministry
All six members of our vision team came away highly impressed with the ministry of the ship.  They are truly aiming to share the gospel, partnering with the local churches of the country they are visiting.  (In the above photo, Andrew is leading a Sunday School class at the church he, Erin, and Mark attended as part of a Church Team.)  It was an honor to be a part of the "local ministry" for 6 days.

 

Made to serve
The Logos Hope is a fantastic place to learn more of what it means to be a servant - whether working in the Galley (aka Kitchen) like Kandy did one day, or the engine room like all the guys got to one day, or on the ministry deck of the ship, or wherever they assign you to work.  Both Mark and I (as well as the rest of the team) would highly recommend to graduating high school seniors or single young adults interested in overseas missions to consider serving two years on the ship.  The potential for personal growth is very high. But even more importantly, the opportunity to be part of a Christ-centered community that is aiming to make a Gospel difference in the world is a wonderful gift for anyone.

 

All isn’t glorious
It became very clear through conversations with crewmembers and witnessing things first hand that not everything is "glamorous" aboard the Logos Hope (I think the photos from the engine room revealed that!).  Every crewmember we talked with admitted there were really difficult days, whether from rough seas or frustration in the daily grind.  We heard firsthand during one morning Ship Devotion that two crewmembers had to be sent home because of ongoing poor choices.  We saw visitors to the ship upset about waiting in the hot sun to board the ministry deck.

 Yet in the midst of these painful moments, we saw grace.  Crewmembers saw the bigger picture of what God had called them to do through the ship.  Gentleness and care was communicated through words and deeds.  Smiles, prayers, and gifts were still offered to visitors on the brink of belligerence.  These instances reminded us it often takes difficult moments for grace to shine brightest.

 
It Probably Can’t Be Done
Some of the thoughts we had going into the trip are proving to be more difficult than we had hoped.  For instance, before departure our team dreamed of future teams from New Covenant flying to the port wherever the ship was located and doing ministry in the local area with the ship as the hub from where ministry took place (as well as the place the team could eat and sleep.)

 It became clear to us that it will be difficult to make this dream a reality.  The ship often knows its future ports only 3-6 months out, which is a short time frame to prepare a team from NCBC to go. Some of their potential ports in the Africa/Middle East region (where they are headed beginning in April) will be near impossible to send a team to.  And, our team from New Covenant would have to get linked with the ship’s line-up team, who already has a very large task of preparing a port for the ship’s arrival.

 

Can Be Done
While it might be difficult to send a team to work in a country in partnership with the Logos Hope, it wouldn’t be as difficult to send a team to work on the Logos Hope itself.  We were told by one crewmember in the Engine Room that she would estimate about 5 years of projects that work teams could help with (even with “unskilled” members).  This is something New Covenant should pray about.

 

And finally…
The other part of our trip was to investigate ministry opportunities in Jamaica (and the Caribbean as well).  Jamaica is not only a beautiful country, but a paradoxically fascinating one as well.  Like Iowa, Jamaica is very “churched.”  In fact, we were told that Jamaica has the most churches per capita of any nation on Earth.

 However, also much like Iowa, those in the churches don’t appear to have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ.  One bit of evidence is the high crime rate in Jamaica.  Another evidence is the easy ability to obtain drugs (I personally was offered marijuana at least a half-dozen times when I was on the Hip Strip of Montego Bay – you’ll be glad to know I politely turned each offer down :o).  The citizens of Jamaica may claim a church affiliation, but the culture reveals a deep need for the Gospel to penetrate hearts, minds, and lives.

 We met with a local pastor one afternoon to inquire about opportunities (that's the photo above).  It became obvious that needs exist – but we also realize that needs are everywhere.  We could send a team to help with the orphanages and children’s homes this pastor told us about.  We could also help build church buildings in the poor towns located in the mountainous regions.  But it is my personal opinion that the deepest need Jamaica has is an understanding of the gospel.  Just like I long for my home state to understand who Christ is and what He truly has done for us, I would love to see the Jamaica church completely infused with this understanding and begin to send their own missions teams to the nations.

 On behalf of the Logos Hope Jamaica Vision Team, thank you for your prayers.  If you would like to hear more about our trip, as well as see many more photos, you are invited to the Missions Lunch on Sunday, March 14th in the New Covenant Activity Center.  Our team will be sharing further highlights and insights about our trip, as well as hearing an update from Pastors Bob and James who will be back from their trip to India.  Please join us for pizza, prayer, and more at 12:30 pm following the third service.
 

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Jamaican Bobsled Restaurant

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Logos Hope Jamaica Update 4 - Share & Share Alike #lhjvt

Before I share our latest update, we as a team want to thank those of you who have prayed faithfully for us.  I believe that your prayers are probably part of what God used to keep Erin Boone safe when she was lost yesterday while doing street evangelism (I happened to see the area she got lost in yesterday, and it truly is God's work she made it out safely!) and what kept my E-day team safe last night as we entered a very dangerous neighborhood (more on that below).

The theme for this update is "sharing".  And the first person I want to share about is the "lost one", Erin Boone.  She found herself working in the Galley (kitchen) yesterday.  When I captured her in action, she had just finished dicing onions to share with the 500 people who would be sharing the noon meal together (and the meal was very good!).

Then I headed to the Engine Room to catch Jay and Andrew sharing in the work Mark and I had done on Wednesday.  And they were just as dirty as we were!  Unfortunately for them, the place was a lot smellier than when Mark and I worked on the tank, and it was MUCH hotter.  Just standing down there for a few minutes taking pictures and I was sweating as if standing out in the sun in 90˚ weather.

The good news for them was that the dirty stuff was done by lunch time, and they shifted from removing old paint and rust to applying primer and a new coat of paint to prevent further rusting.

I tried to find Kandy to get a picture of her in action, but I could not locate her in the book fair where she was assigned.  That's because she was relocated for a while into the book hold, which is the ships' version of a book warehouse.  She later came and relieved me after her lunch break at the cashier line (I had some time over lunch where I had no assignment, so I went in to the book fair to help with crowd control).  It's a difficult job, but Kandy accepted it with a smile on her face!

Mark and I were scheduled for E-days (experience days).  Unfortunately, Mark's trip to do a school assembly was cancelled, so the team instead had a 2-hour Bible study on evangelism that Mark really enjoyed.  Then being the incredible servant he is, Mark shared the rest of his time in the book fair, Icafe', and taking cold water to the crowds waiting outside in the hot line.

My E-day team (made up of 4 other crew members from the Logos Hope) took off immediately after supper to head into the mountains overlooking Montego Bay.  We were told we were going to be doing street evangelism, but it wasn't quite what any of us expected.  The lady in the photo above came to Christ in the past year or two out of a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol.  She lost two sons to violence in the Norwood neighborhood outside the city.  For us to head out into the neighborhood to do evangelism was considered too dangerous.  So instead, we basically helped lead a church service in this impoverished neighborhood.  We worked alongside the same ministry Jay and Kandy worked with on their E-day trip to a prison.  They set up a sound system, cranked the volume, and invited the neighborhood to come join them.  About 20 children and maybe a dozen adults showed up.

For the past 6 weeks, I've been spending Friday nights in a particular bar in Cedar Rapids, praying that God would open up conversations about spiritual matters with people (before they get too drunk for the night).  Before leaving for Jamaica, I was slightly bummed that I was going to miss a Friday night at the bar.  Well, by God's providence, I did get to spend my Friday night at a bar.  And this particular bar was turned into a pentecostal church meeting!

But what impacted me the most were the children.  Most all of them were there in the darkness without any parents.  And they craved the attention of our Logos Hope team.  Many of our team danced with them, the girls let the kids play with their long hair, and we just held them.

This particular 5-year-old boy was especially attracted to me because of my camera (and by the way, I want to thank the Lord for helping me get this camera off Craigslist just days before our team left!).  He was constantly looking over my shoulder as I crouched to take pictures of the kids. And even when I stood, he stood against my leg, leaning his head into my hip, wanting my attention and touch.  I couldn't help but think that this precious little boy is receiving scant attention and love at home.  I was so thankful I was chosen by God to share some love, attention, laughs, and more with this precious little guy for a couple of hours outside a bar in a pitch-dark poor neighborhood in the Jamaican mountainside.  But I wanted to give so much more!  There are kids like this little one all over the world - who is sharing with them?

The biggest reason I chose "sharing" as the theme is because of what I experienced in the afternoon before my official E-day began.  I slipped into the Hope Theater to see one of the school programs in action (see photo above).  I then helped out around the Icafe', sharing cold water with those in line, and overseeing the Kids' Zone (that is the children's play area, where you see Mark in the photo several paragraphs above).  While in the Kids' Zone, I saw a lot of popcorn that needed swept up, so I grabbed a broom & dustpan and got to work.

Well, there was so much popcorn and trash on the floor that I ended up doing almost the entire Icafe.  As I swept between the tables and people, I heard numerous conversations.  Many of them were about Jesus.  I heard the cross being preached, Christ's resurrection, and what it means to surrender one's life to him.  Children, moms, dads, business men, single ladies, grandmothers, school children, teachers, and more were engaged in conversation with local Jamaican Christians and crew about the man Jesus Christ, and the significance of the cross.  It was so encouraging to me as I heard Jesus' name being shared table after table.  Most people came for books, but many left with a new faith in Jesus.  And that's the best thing, I think, that was shared yesterday.

Share in Prayer:

- Strength.  Mark & I are especially tired after staying up late helping the book fair prepare for the next day.

- Outreach.  I typed up all of the above, but did not get it sent because we had a last minute trip come up to a homeless ministry in Montego Bay.  (More on that in tomorrow's update if I have time to do one).  Also, we head to different churches tomorrow (Mark, Andrew, & Erin to a Church of God, Jay, Kandy, & I to an Assembly of God).

- Mental sorting.  We are still trying to figure out what ways and opportunities our church family can be involved, whether with the Logos Hope or in the Caribbean region.

- Preparation.  We have been fully integrated into ship life and ministry this week. Pray for us as we fly home and jump right back into life with our families, jobs, schooling, and ministries.

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Logos Hope Jamaica Team Update 3 - Lost in the Crowd #lhjvt

Previously on "Lost"...

Sorry I didn't get this update posted last night.  I was simply too beat to find my laptop for an hour and instead chose to get lost in sleep.  Why so tired?  The Logos Hope Jamaica Team had an extremely full day. Our respect for the crew continues to increase everyday based on the experiences we each are having.  Here's what occurred...

The day started with a "Cherry Red" drill.  Drills are a regular part of ship life - fire drills, man-overboard drills, etc.  "Cherry Red" drills are basically an abandon ship drill when docked in port.  While we knew the drill was coming, most of the crew did not.  But we still managed to get the entire crew (except essential workers) out in less than 15 minutes, which they seemed very pleased with considering almost half the crew is new to the ship in the last 3 weeks.

Once the drill was complete and we could get back on board, our crowded schedules began.  Andrew and Erin Boone each got to experience E-days (experience days).  Erin's E-day was street evangelism in partnership with a local ministry down on the "Hip Strip" (the "tourist" section of Montego Bay).  The ministry team set up a sound system to play music and perform dramas that would attract a crowd (which they did).  Then the group split up into teams of two and headed out further into the streets.  Unfortunately, Erin and her teammate, Pippa, got lost.  Thankfully God provided two teenagers who helped them find their way back before the sun set.

The other Boone had a much different experience.  Andrew headed out with a team to a local Bible School to encourage the students and staff, tell them about the ministry of the ship, and teach the Word to them.  The preaching part got assigned to Andrew.  Andrew had only a day to prepare, so he took a message on the life of David he had done not too long ago and tweaked it for this new audience.  It went really well, he said.

While the Boone's headed out to the Jamaicans, Mark, Jay, and I stayed put and welcomed the Jamaicans on board.  We got to experience what Andrew & Erin experienced yesterday in the book fair.  We welcomed thousands on board yesterday, helped control the crowds, and then thanked them for coming.  As you can see in the photo above, it would be very easy to get lost in the crowd and feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people in the book fair alone.

Here's how the fair works:

The ministry deck (Deck 4) can only hold 800 people.  Once the deck is full, those arriving have to stand in "queue" outside.  Once 100 people or so leave, another 100 are allowed on board.  Those waiting in line are given water or can purchase snacks at extremely low costs.  Some staff walk through the line talking with people and sharing their personal stories about their faith.

Once on board, people sit in a "lifeboat" to watch a video that talks about the Logos Hope. (You can see Mark in the left part of the photo.)

Then people are allowed into the book fair.  Over 7000 titles are on hand, with about half-a-million books total on the ship.  Books range from children's activity books to Bibles.  Some books are simply for sharing knowledge since many countries don't have much access to educational materials.  But many titles are by Christian authors who write about the hope we can have in Jesus.  There are also some free magazines and other items that are given to those who visit the ship.

After purchasing their books, visitors then pass through to the ICafe (International Cafe').  Here they can watch a film that shares the gospel through personal stories, kids can enjoy a play area, snacks and drinks are available at extremely low costs, and tables are available for people to sit and chat with crew from the Logos Hope. (Andrew spent some time yesterday evening chatting with people in the ICafe'.)

After enjoying some ice cream or popcorn, people then make their way out of the ship.  Mark worked the exit in the morning, and I worked it in the afternoon. (I think the guy in the photo is wondering why I have such short hair - good thing it was me and not Mark at the exit at that time!)

On top of the people visiting the book fair, thousands of school children enjoy theatrical performances and programs by some of the crew members each day.  Here in Montego Bay, thousands more school children have shown up than ever anticipated.  It's a great problem to have!

While Jay, Mark, and I worked with the public, Kandy worked behind the scenes.  She enjoyed a day in the "galley," the food preparation area of the ship.  Over 1500 meals are served up every day, and Kandy said after watching all the work that goes into meal prep, her respect of those "lost behind the scenes" has increased to a new high!

After such a busy day of dealing with crowds, food prep, preaching, and getting lost, the evening ended with Prayer Night.  Every Thursday, the crew of the Logos Hope gather to pray for the ship's ministry, one another, and God's work around the world.  It was a great way to end a very tiring day (it felt really good to sit down!).

With thousands of people coming on the ship daily, some of whom are angry about waiting in line in the hot sun, it can be easy to just view the people as masses to be moved through as quickly as possible.  But as I stopped to snap a picture of the crowd in the "lifeboat" waiting for the intro video to start, three school girls wanted their picture specifically taken.  It was such a great reminder to me that the crowds are made up of individuals who bear the image of God and matter to Him.  Logos Hope doesn't want to see just "people" reached for Christ - they want to see each person who comes on the ship reached for Christ.  Those who are living apart from Christ among the masses are lost in the crowd.  But Logos Hope is trying to help "find" them.  And it was an honor to be part of this for one day.

Coming up next for your LHJV Team...

- Today it is Kandy's turn to be lost in the crowds in the bookfair.  Pray for strength for her.

- Andrew and Jay get their turn in the engine room.  I'm hoping to go find them here in a little bit to capture some photos that I can send out tonight or tomorrow.

- Erin Boone is in the galley, helping with food prep.

- And Mark and I get our "E-day" experiences.  Mark is helping some in the ICafe', then he heads out with a team to do a school assembly.

- I, on the other hand, get to see what the other Erin experienced yesterday (I hope to skip the "lost" part of her adventure).  I'll be out late, which is why I have time this morning to type this up.  Pray that we have good interactions with people on the streets and have opportunities to tell people about the hope we have in Jesus.

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Logos Hope Jamaica Vision Team Update Two-and-a-half

I've been meaning to put our schedule out there for those of you praying for us, but I either haven't had the schedule with me when I've been typing these updates, or I've been too tired to remember.  But now that I no longer have those two obstacles before me at this particular moment in time, I thought I would get this out before Mark, Jay, and I have to head to the bookfair.  (All times are local Jamaican time, which is equal to Eastern Standard Time Zone.)

Overall Schedule:

7:00 am - Breakfast

7:45 am - Ship Devotions

9:00 am - Work (10:00 am for bookfair)

12:00 pm - Lunch

1:00 pm - Work

5:30 pm - Dinner

Evenings:

Wednesday (Last night) - overview of Operation Mobilizations values, focus, and work around the world

Thursday (tonight) - Ship wide Prayer Meeting

Friday - Open

Saturday - Work

Sunday - iCafe (see below)

Individual Work Assignments:

Andrew and Erin Boone:

Thursday - E-day (Andrew is preaching at a Bible School, Erin won't know her assignment until this afternoon)

Friday - Andrew will be in the engine room, Erin will be doing catering

Jay and Kandy Schlichting:

Thursday - Jay is in the bookfair, Kandy will be doing catering

Friday - Jay will be with Andrew in the engine room, Kandy will be back in the bookfair

Mark Forstrom and Erin Bird:

Thursday - bookfair

Friday - E-day (we do not know our assignment yet)

All:

Saturday - Hopefully we will be helping at the Open Heart Charity (a local ministry to the homeless)

Sunday - Church (possibility Mark and I will be preaching in different churches), Review of the week after lunch, then the iCafe in the afternoon and evening (the iCafe is an area on the ship where visitors to the bookstore can hang out and have conversations with crew about life and Jesus)

Monday - return to Cedar Rapids (first flight is at 8:15 am)

Thanks for praying!

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Logos Hope Jamaica Vision Team Update 2 - With Dirty Pictures!!! #lhjvt

"Dirty" seems to be the key word for today.  Well, perhaps a better word is "messy."

Andrew and Erin Boone spent the day helping with the book fair.  Andrew assisted customers when they entered the ship.  He said it was wall to wall people.  The ship allows 800 visitors on the ship at a time, so if more than that show up, the rest have to wait in "queue."

(By the way, during our lunch break, Mark and I enjoyed a little sun and fresh air after working in the bowels of the ship all morning (more on that in a minute), and we estimated the queue to be about 30-60 minutes.  Several school groups were in the queue, so it was a full day for the book store. And now back to our regularly scheduled blog post...)

While Andrew was assisting at the entrance, Erin was assisting on the other end. It was her job to make sure things stayed organized and controlled as people left the ship.  One male Rastafarian wanted to take Erin home with her, and school children were overly excited.  Needless to say, the day was fairly "messy" for the Boones dealing with the crowds, but a good messy, because these are people who heard the gospel several times in various forms while on the ship.

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Jay and Kandy, on the other hand, had a different type of "messy."  They got to experience an "E-day" (experience day) with a team from the ship. The Schlichting's team partnered with a local group... that showed up an hour and a half late! And that's only the beginning of the "mess."

The prison wasn't a very welcoming environment. The prisoners (both male and female) were kept behind bars in one courtyard while the ministry team did their presentation on the other side of the bars (they were allowed to hand literature through the fence).  While waiting for the local ministry partners to show, the Logos Hope group asked for a room in the prison to pray in.  They were led to the police office in the prison - complete with a full bar and "dirty" pictures of unclothed women decorating the walls.  Amazingly, the head of the prison was thrilled to receive the literature for the prisoners and promised to hand the extra out to new prisoners when they arrive.

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Back at the ship, Mark and I endured a completely different type of dirty.  We were assigned to the engine room.  Eleanor from Texas was our leader, giving us safety instructions upon our arrival, and then informing us of our job.  And that job was completing the work another vision team had begun - removing the old paint and rust on one of the sewage tanks so it can be repainted.  Our tools mostly included electrical wire brushes, while looking beautiful in our nearly-impossible-to-see-through eye protectors and oversized work gloves.  Mark, Eleanor, and I received a lot of stares when we emerged from our work zone!  So here are the "dirty" pictures, beginning with Eleanor and our tour of the ship's bowels:

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Logos Hope Jamaica Vision Team Update #1 - #lhjvt

The Logos Hope Jamaica Vision Team left the Eastern Iowa Airport in a de-iced airplane at 9:30 am, just before the snow started to become a problem for the area.  Travel was very smooth the entire day, moving through Chicago and Miami, arriving in Montego Bay at 8:30 pm local time (which is also Eastern Time).

Accommodations on the ship are very simple and nice.  We all slept comfortably, ready for breakfast at 7:00 am, Tuesday morning.

After breakfast, we joined in ship devotions.  We heard an excellent message on being a willing servant for Christ, looking at Mary's willingness in Luke 1 to obey God's plans.

We then moved on to orientation, where our excellent coordinator and host, John Benn from South Africa, gave us the 411 on the ship and our jobs for the week.

Some of us were humble enough to actually learn something! ;o)

After explanations of the ships operations, our schedule (which I will post later, hopefully), and more, John led the 6 of us, along with our host, Stephanie Perry from Miami, on a tour of the ship.  Because the ship was closed to the public today, we saw the bookstore, the "iCafe", the Hope Theater, the engine area, the book hold, outside decks, the "school" for the children on board, and much more.

After the grand tour, we got our photos taken for the photo badges we have to wear while on the ship.

After lunch, we headed out to see more of Montego Bay and determine if the rumors were true that the sun still existed and warm weather really was still on the earth (we discovered it is true!).  We topped off the afternoon with a fantastic supper of Jamaican jerk chicken (and jerk pork and jerk sausage and...).

Tomorrow we all split up onto different ship teams.  Jay and Kandy have an "E-Day" (experience day) out at a prison.  Mark and I are working in the engine room.  And Andrew and Erin, I believe, are in the bookstore (but I'm doing this from memory, so I might be wrong).

By the way, there are over 400 crew member here from over 47 nationalities on board the Logos Hope.  Besides South Africa and America, I have also met people from England, Ireland, Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Netherlands, and South Korea.  And I'm sure that number will double tomorrow.

Continue to pray for insight into what God might want us to do for the future.  Pray for safety as we jump into various jobs on the ship.  And pray for the Jamaicans that are coming to the ship for books and the programs, that they might learn about Christ and be encourage to truly follow him.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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