I'm leaving today (Monday Dec. 6) for seven days on the Drama challenge team in Guyana!!!
We'll be doing lots of drama and music, I'll be with Alison (UK), Lilian (Chile), Liz (TandT), Martin (France), Marsha (Netherlands) and Brad (South Africa).
Our time in Barbados is up! We finally did get into port for a few days and scrambled to get as many things done as possible...
I can't say I'm sad to have left such a hectic port! We then traveled to Vieux Fort, St Lucia, once again, but this time to spend a week together as ship's company to relax. We are now ready to get back on the road, so to speak! We have now traveled down to Georgetown, Guyana and are officially in South America! I haven't had the chance to get off the ship yet (groups of four people minimum are recommended) but will take part in a 7 day team doing all sorts of things in a few weeks time. Just the view from the ship shows us that we're in a much different environment than we have been so far...
It's been way over a week now that we've arrived in Bridgetown, Barbados, we had a few very busy days and had lots more planned. Yet God had other things planned: a big storm brewed on the other side of the Island and created rough waves in our berth causing us to leave so that we would not further damage the ship. We have now been at anchor outside the port the past week giving the people on the ship a time to breath. I t also gave me the time to participate in a two day leadership training, seeing that Phips (my boss) is leaving beginning of January and I need to be ready to replace him (he's irreplacable). Sunday, I was able to go on a church team (with Steve and Woo young) to a local church and had a really good time there! (we had to take a lifeboat to get onshore) If all goes as planned we will enter the cruise ship terminal Tuesday morning (see picture, that's the difference between a cruise ship and a missionary ship) and change to our first one Wednesday evening (complications involved). Lately, I've not been very motivated and don't feel like doing much (so I end up wasting a lot of time), I appreciate your support! I know which desires of my heart are from God, I just can't seem to get my will in gear!
-Pray for Barbados, there are many different things we can do to serve here, pray that we may be busy and catch up the lost time during our last week here! -Pray for motivation on my part, strength from God to follow his desires using all my will and energy.
Do NOT hésitate to send me news about yourself and prayer subjects, I'd love to know what you are doing and to pray for you!!!! (jeremiekapi@gmail.com)
For those not following, I've just got back from a week long excursion in St Lucia being part of a five people "challenge team". It's been one of the best weeks I've had while with the Logos Hope!
We were given 30 ECD each (around 10 USD) for transport and packed what we could including gospels and ministry tools, letting God direct where we would sleep for three of the nights and having Him feed us. I must say that food wasn't my worry from the beginning (the Island has a bountiful crop of over 20 different kinds of fruit trees) but God's providence was. I've always thought that I was a person of faith... this journey showed me just how weak I am and that God can still use me just as I am. The first night of faith we barely began speaking with a woman in a public bus and she led us to Winston, a young elder of a 7th Adventist church. He let us use the church's mission house for shelter; I had the privilege of sleeping on a rough bench... I slept like a baby! Though before going to sleep I prayed that God would provide us with something to eat the next day (yes it does sound childish... my faith is weak and I wanted to see God work), through different people he provided three breakfasts... I didn't pray for food again! (Don't want to over-eat!). We started our trip in Vieux Fort at the southern tip and worked our way up the western coast in six days ; Vieux Fort, then Debreuil (between VF and Choiseul), Choiseul, Soufriere, Canaries, Anse La Raye and back to Castries, interacting with churches, pastors, schools and people.
I'm an introvert. Yes, I like to make people laugh but I still have a hard time talking to people and going towards them. Well I must say God had me work on that during this trip, I didn't have much choice in the Canaries primary school when a crowd of young boys wanted to learn more about Jesus and flocked around us, so we all took a dozen, sat down with them and talked! (see picture) We had the unique opportunity of really getting to know the kind people of St Lucia and being able to experience St Lucia. Being French was also an advantage and was often a good way of connecting with these people who speak Creole (a mix of French-English and African) and English. St Lucia is mostly Christian with a problem when it comes to commitment (as it is for most churches in the world of today), I pray that God will continue blessing this country and we may see it blossom for Christ!
- Pray for St Lucia's youth, that they may be committed.
- Pray that I may apply on a daily basis what I have learned during this trip (Faith and Interaction with people)
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. " Pro 19:21
I am leaving today (the 17th of October 2009) for a week long trip with four other people from the Logos Hope (here in St Lucia)! We will évangelise, visit schools and churches encouraging people for missions! We'll take with us what we can carry on our backs and will trust God to provide during this time (we will not take money or food with us) and three of the days we have no idea where we are going to sleep... It is going to be quite interesting!!! I will update you all in a week with photos and info!
These past two weeks have been full of unexpected happenings.. One of the things that I miss of home is knowing when you get up what you're going to do and how your day is going to be more or less. But I do enjoy being able to fully rely on God not knowing what each new day is going to bring, even if it is exhausting at times!
We have now been in Port of Spain, Trinidad the past three weeks and have had thousands of visitors (Sunday we had a line of almost 800 people waiting outside) keeping the whole ship quite busy. I have been able to work some with Jo (picture) having a great time and have also been training the new recruits in the engine room (which I will be doing again this week starting tonight at 00:00: night watch with a trainee).
Not only is my work schedule quite hectic but I've been assigned the position of coxswain of Life Boat 6, which means more responsibilities and extra stress on Wednesday mornings (drill day). But I do enjoy the position and realize that God is teaching me so much.
I've also taken the initiative of signing up more often for ministry opportunities (my work schedule only gives me two or three days a month), which has allowed me to play soccer against YTC (Youth Training Center, aka a youth prison) and will go play with them again on Tuesday, as well as eat and talk with them! I also went to a prison one Sunday and enjoyed playing my trombone during our worship time there. The men joined in the singing and listened to a message and a powerful testimony...
The following two Sundays I was part of church teams who went out to local churches. I was able to do a mission's presentation at the first one of about 250 people (quite an experience) and was asked to be the team leader of the second one which was at a small church of about fifty. Both Sundays were experiences in themselves and I was especially struck by the fact that the second Church was in an area totally surrounded by Hindu and Muslim congregations...
Well that's what's been going on. I'd try to say more but we're having a scheduled black out and I should get off the computer before I lose everything! God bless and thank you for your prayers (you can pray for my night watch and the Tuesday soccer game)
Yup, you guessed it! This is the French community on board the Logos Hope. I don't believe that OM France has ever had so many French people on one ship at one time! (Going from top left: Betsy Nussbaumer, Ruben Nussbaumer, Lucie Thomas, Alice Ly Tin and Martin Boulanger. From bottom left: Joan Margeault and Jérémie Kapitaniuk).
Lucie and Joan (who goes by the name Jo) joined us a few weeks ago with the new PST (Pre-Ship-Training) of 90 people. Lucie has become an Angel (who clean the ship) and Jo has become a fellow plumber. Which, by the way, seems to have been set up by God, for his English is very rudimentary. He has a hard time communicating sometimes, so we get along just fine! (Yes, yes, for you teachers, mothers and other concerned people, he has three hours a day of intensive English and we do speak English as well as French together. He is learning fast!)
Please pray:
-That Jo will not get discouraged by so much English every day
-That we will bond as a French community
Sunday, I was able to go on a church team (with Steve and Woo young) to a local church and had a really good time there! (we had to take a lifeboat to get onshore)
feed us. I must say that food wasn't my worry from the beginning (the Island has a bountiful crop of over 20 different kinds of fruit trees) but God's providence was. I've always thought that I was a person of faith... this journey showed me just how weak I am 
and that God can still use me just as I am. The first night of faith we barely began speaking with a woman in a public bus and she led us to Winston, a young elder of a 7th Adventist church. He let us use the church's mission house for shelter; I had the privilege of sleeping on a rough bench... I slept like a baby! Though before going to sleep I prayed that God would provide us with something to eat the next day (yes it does sound childish... my faith is weak and I wanted to see God work), through different people he provided three breakfasts... I didn't pray for food again! (Don't want to over-eat!).
We started our trip in Vieux Fort at the southern tip and worked our way up the western coast in six days ; Vieux Fort, then Debreuil (between VF and Choiseul), Choiseul, Soufriere, Canaries, Anse La Raye and back to Castries, interacting with churches, pastors, schools and people.
sat down with them and talked! (see picture) We had the unique opportunity of really getting to know the kind people of St Lucia and being able to experience St Lucia. Being French was also an advantage and was often a good way of connecting with these people who speak Creole (a mix of French-English and African) and English. St Lucia is mostly Christian with a problem when it comes to commitment (as it is for most churches in the world of today), I pray that God will continue blessing this country and we may see it blossom for Christ!
each new day is going to bring, even if it is exhausting at times!
position of coxswain of Life Boat 6, which means more responsibilities and extra stress on Wednesday mornings (drill day). But I do enjoy the position and realize that God is teaching me so much.
playing my trombone during our worship time there. The men joined in the singing and listened to a message and a powerful testimony...
and was asked to be the team leader of the second one which was at a small church of about fifty. Both Sundays were experiences in themselves and I was especially struck by the fact that the second Church was in an area totally surrounded by Hindu and Muslim congregations...
Yup, you guessed it! This is the French community on board the Logos Hope. I don't believe that OM France has ever had so many French people on one ship at one time! (Going from top left: Betsy Nussbaumer, Ruben Nussbaumer, Lucie Thomas, Alice Ly Tin and Martin Boulanger. From bottom left: Joan Margeault and Jérémie Kapitaniuk).
