Current News

It's the knitting...

2011-11-05T05:05:00.000-07:00

Haha, couldn't help but share with you the thought that I am doomed to be a family man, wearing a knitted sweater whilst renovating a "ever falling to pieces" house...

Who said students can't cook!?

2011-11-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Well, life has seemingly begun once again... I've started my two year apprenticeship in thermal and sanitary conception (broader plumbing studies) since september in the student town of Lille (a town of about 250 000 people).

I'm actually doing this apprenticeship with the French train company SNCF which is 6 minutes from my apartment by bike! Why a train company you ask? Well it's such a big company that it needs people that manage just the plumbing coordinating of all their stations and buildings. It could be interesting but it's also a lot of office work... My tutors being gone doesn't help and things have been kind of slow, hopefully it'll get busier soon!

I've also appreciated the liberty of living alone, learning to cook my own food, taking bike rides in this city, doing my own shopping and such. I guess I'm pretty much learning to live a boring normal life! Lille is also a nice change from my little village... yet straight away there are bigger needs: beggars, immigrants and such are not uncommon.

I was recently blessed by the visit of a ship friend: Maria Derksen who came by for a few days, we were able to spend an evening with Ruben and Betsy, two more ship people! Considering everything going on it was really nice to be amongst people that understand what you're going through.

I have one week break right now, but I am looking forward to going back to school, I really appreciate learning new things!

My student room that I'm renting in Lille, apple green, such a nice color!

Living proof that students can cook... (pyrogies, a polish specialty) One of the train maintenance centers, right next to where my office is.

Somewhere in the heart of Lille.

Ruben, Betsy and Maria spending "ship time" together, we enjoyed a funny bollywood movie afterwards!

2011-08-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

I thought I should share with you this special moment... The sign says: Today's Strawberries (open) Anyway.... :)

Big bike trip...!

2011-08-03T23:16:00.001-07:00

I know it's been awhile, the reason being that there's too much going on. My older brother Stéphane got married in Germany last week- end, I've been working for a month on an agriculture farm and just went through medical examinations to get accepted by the french train company SNCF for my two year plumbing diploma.

Other than that, I just started Tuesday 2nd a big bike expedition with Ruben, a friend, going from Marseille (south of France) all the way1300km back up to Maubeuge, in the North. We're doing this to raise awareness in France about the Dalit situation in India and have been able to raise funds as well.

We have an official website that we keep updating, though it is in French, you still can enjoy the daily photos until the 17th of August (the end of our trip).

The website is: www.1300km.org

Feel free to contact me if you've got any questions! (jeremiekapi@gmail.com)

Flowers were hurt in the making of the following image...

2011-05-26T23:53:00.001-07:00

Yes... weird. Well it started out as a Kapitaniuk picture taking outing, which proved to be quite long! I eventually lost it and took it out on a patch of daisies. I did come up with a scientific conclusion: Man was not meant to eat what cows do.

Check out the family photos here: http://fermekapi.blogspot.com/

Another exciting event has been the decapitation of our turkey, it got caught unguarded by a fox... it must have been having some sport, because it just took the head!

I requested the privilege of recuperating the kilos and kilos of meat.... (big bird)

I have been feeling a bit depressive since I've been back and have had to keep asking God to keep me by his side, not doing anything "specific" and exciting has been a hard blow for me.

Feeling useless and being bored are dangerous feelings for the human man (I can't speak for the ladies on this one, sorry).

I guess I'm still kind of hanging in here, waiting for June 13th where I'll be flying to Poland to visit and court "the one that makes me smile"...

I'll then work with Peter, my brother at some natural agriculture farm in Normandy for a month, attend Stephane's wedding (my older borther) and then I go on a crazy 1300 km bike ride from Marseille to Maubeuge!!!

I will be concluding this year with a family vacation and hope to start studies in September.

Yay! Well I guess life is about to get really busy... looking forward to that!

Back again, again... !

2011-04-30T03:54:00.000-07:00

Well that was that, I will be going home in less than twenty four hours! I feel that what I was called to do here has been accomplished, most of the sprinkler system that had to be installed is now in place, I can safely say that the work done exceeded expectations! Easily done when you have ten hours of work per day... and you do a job that you thoroughly enjoy.

I still got to appreciate the Sri Lankan culture and style of life, the three wheeled tuk tuks, the wonderful pineapple and the comical head nodding to indicate "yes". People here are very curious yet respectful at the same time, I do wish I could have spent more time within the community, but that was not my duty for this visit.

In general, work has gone relatively well, but there have been some delays, yet the ship is already afloat once again and we should be out of this drydock berth tonight. The work will continue and may still take a few weeks before the engine is ready and reequiped to go on towards India!

(some of the engine crew involved in the ships' Dry Dock in Colombo, Sri Lanka)

2011-04-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

The ship is ready for dry dock! No worries, it has a flat bottom and cannot fall over...

Sri Lankan dock workers starting work on the underside tanks.

Work in progress.

Sri Lankan "Astronauts" sand blasting the ship.

Lets get it up and running!

2011-04-10T00:52:00.000-07:00

Well I safely landed in Colombo, Sri Lanka after an approximate 12 hours of flight...! Walking out into the striking sunlight I was immediately rewarded with a heavy, muggy sensation… The heat combined with the dampness of this country have made is into a giant steam kettle! (Yet this is the “cool” season) Being onboard the ship as a "project worker" is in itself an entirely different experience. I am a stranger to the fifty new recruits yet everyone else on the ship knows me, making them the strangers! Dry-dock is special as well, in the sense that yes, you mostly work: you shake your self awake to eat at 6:30 am, sort of stumble into your job at 7 am and then regret having to stop around 6 pm. (with the breaks that makes it ten hours of work a day) Once we get into our dry dock berth (we're sailing there now) we'll learn to work alongside the dock workers of ill reputation (it is said that they steal everything from under your nose, even your moustache!). We’ll still be living testimonies for them through the way we work and interact alongside each other. We are about 180 people whom have stayed behind on the ship, (the 220 other having abandoned ship to rest, minister and serve in various other ways) the most left behind being from engine or deck department. Strangely enough I get to work in a fresh and clean environment; I've been given the job of modifying specific branches of our Hi-Fog system (fire prevention sprinkler system) to make them more effective. I love what I am doing (it IS different from working with loads of… well… other stuff.) and am soon done with the first big project; I'm looking forward to be able to work on some other Hi Fog areas around the ship!

I'm outta here!

2011-03-30T14:25:00.001-07:00

All packed and good to go! I'll be leaving Friday the 1st of April with a flight from Brussels (Belgium) to Colombo (Sri Lanka) via Doha (Qatar). I don't need to take much with me on this trip so I thought I'd stick to the strict minimum: me!

Please pray for the countries that I'll be flying over, remembering that there is major chaos going on at this time in the arab world... In countries like Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Marocco, Oman, Bahrain and Syria!

I'm back! Must re-turning back?

2011-03-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

Yup! I got home towards the beginning of February, finishing my two year commitment on the Logos Hope! It was a good two years, with its ups and downs, its people and experiences... I still am having a hard time digesting everything; what I need to remember and apply in my everyday life!

Things at home haven't changed that much, the big changes being our "changing room" (used to be where the baby's diapers were changed) has been redone and Peter has definitely grown taller than me (he's only 17!).

Going from the average 22 degrees Celsius of Dubai to the piddly 2 or 3 degrees in France was heart colding and I had to adapt (therefore the coat in bed).

What am I doing now you ask? Well, quite a few things, procrastinating for one, thinking back about all the things I went through, helping out at home with the wood, learning to drive again, signing up to schools to study plumbing and helping out in the garden with the spreading of manure!

Conclusion: I've ended up right back where I started! Shoveling poo! (for those who didn't know, I enjoyed being a plumber on the ship and yes I did get to play with crap quite a few times!)

Most importantly, after getting the ok of my supporters I will be returning to the ship the 1st of April (no it's not a joke) and will stay the whole month, returning home the 1st of May. Why? Because I will be assisting during the dry-dock (when we take the ship out of the water to do repairs for the coming year), working on various piping installations and helping out wherever is needed! The ship will not be moving at this time and will be berthed in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Thank you for your prayers for me at this time.

Salem Ya Allah

2011-02-23T05:40:00.000-08:00

« Entah azim ya Allah ! », You are great oh God ! Allah is a God of many names…Actually He has 99 names according to the Quran and folk tales have it that the camel is the only one to know the 100th name, which explains the smug look he has on his face!These Arabic countries we have been to and have learned to get know are quite a change… We’ve entered a whole new culture: the Islamic culture. As a child you can do pretty much what you want, as an adult you must act responsibly, modest women is a good thing and honour takes the head of the family.
Something I cannot manage to understand is the mentality of neglect for their own country, I though my small French region was quite unclean, compared to most of these places it is a very clean region!

It’s strange to think that we went to places like Libya, Egypt and Oman where at this point in time things are falling apart!

Come to think of it, when you have a closer look at these countries all you find is people… that feel oppressed, are frustrated and just want to make friends with the outside world.

Behind every Mohammed you find a lonely person like you and me, trying to make his place in the world. I’ve stayed in contact with some guys from these countries, and what they tell me is that this is for the better of their countries!

I’m not the type to adopt a “total tolerance bill” just for the sake of claiming to be culturally sensitive. But I do wish we’d change our perception of the Arab world, it’s not one big

mass of terrorist active people. It’s a group of countries like any other, with their advantages and their disadvantages, nothing less, nothing more, a people.

Pray that during this time of transition this part of the world would change and open up to the outside world. Not that we can overcome them with our materialism (which we will, and already have) but that we can build long lasting friendships with another part of the world.

From the African Continent back to firm roots in Europe?

2010-12-17T13:21:00.001-08:00

I naively believed that our going back to European ports such as Las Palmas, Spain and Valetta, Malta would be a good break from all the pressures and stresses of the needy, broken Africa. Boy was I in for a surprise…This transition has proven to be the greatest culture shock I have ever lived through so far… Some may call it going from poverty back to luxury or from “savages” back to “gentle folk” some even talk about changing planets… Talking of things they know not, pleading with us to help this land that is so “miserable”.
We’ve got it all wrong! Seeing this country should be a wake up call, catching just a glimpse of what to “struggle to live” means, I’ve realized that this continent has more hope than ours does. Please! Let’s not turn it into a mess with our materialistic approach! They didn’t need Televisions, they do not need internet, and they do not need our “solution to every problem” our “cool” technologies tend to lead people astray from God!
I’m not Amish…! Let’s help with transportation, basic necessities and yes communication, but let’s focus more on the “What” then the “How”! Let us help bring up men and women of God seeking to glorify Him in all that they do.

It stressed me out to see once again the superficial relationships (it felt like being at my high school) where guys play with girls bodies and girls play with guys feelings.
The make up, the gadgets, the money, the stores, the fast-foods all not making our world even a little better… Have they truly made a difference in peoples lives? Yes! B destroying us! Distracting us everyday from the truth that remains!Listening to John Piper talk about not wasting our lives I finally understand the sad hopeless status of our falling world… Churches trying to attract young people through frivolous fun, people calling themselves followers of Christ whilst quenching the holy spirits’ rebuke of their sin, or just families lost in the maze of making their small world better before they die. There is such a BIGGER PICTURE, oh how my heart cries for our sight to be restored! Let us learn from the past so as to build something that will last: A life of integrity and love built in our Saviour God.

Challenge..

2010-09-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

When we got to our third African Country : Liberia, we discovered another of the poorest countries, recently rebuilding itself from its civil war. I desperately needed to find a way to restock my energy and motivation level...The artificial African attitude of the big cities was wearing me thin when it came to my social capabilites and I wasn't sure what to expect of the challenge team I was going on.
I ended up doing on a 5 day challenge team with Ross Hickling (Canada), Daniel Hardie (Wales) and Ben Shutz (Switz.) at a missionary's home (2 hour ride away).
It turned out to be awesome!!! The vision of James (Libieria) and Kathleen (Canada) Ngenda was motivating and refreshing. The work involved some plumbing, but most of it was carpentry which was nice for a change! Not to mention that the Ngenda family had four kids at home (and one abroad) : with about the same age range as my brothers and sisters. This family environnement really boosted me and gave me courage to keep going, we eventually ended up extending our stay there a two extra days to finish helping out!

That also meant that I got to have my birthday at their house where they had accepted me as one of them.. =) With Josh, Joy, Noah and William (the youngest) whom gave me a carved girafe, one of his personal possessions.. it reminded me so much of Wesley back home!!! (the action not the girafe..)

When our time had come to an end we had built the second story primary floor and put in all the window or wall frames to mark out: two offices, a small bathroom, a small kitchen, the hallway and a nice sized conference room. (other small installations such as a drain, roofing and windows were also put in place)
The "Grassroot Center" will be used as a place for people to meet, talk, read (yes, they have a nice library) and educate themselves, with a vision for adults whom haven't had that privilege... yet!

Well, that's the end of West Africa, thinking of all we were able to experience of this wonderful continent, the Logos Hope gently pushed off from Monrovia... On its way to rejoin Europe after a full year of the Carribean and Africa. Fare thee well Africa and God bless.

Black Stars

2010-08-28T00:16:00.000-07:00

We just happened to sail into the African country of Ghana the day it played Uruguay in the world cup. We were secretly wishing that they’d win, but we ended up hearing the bad news that fell over the country like a veil of mourning, the Black Stars had fallen…

The Ghana Black Stars (the national team’s name) are quite a good parallel to the Ghana style of life and culture. A proud, independent, self-sufficient, yet extremely curious and friendly people, they benefit from a very rich and resource-laden country that has not struggled with the pangs of civil war like those around them. In Accra’s art center I had the pleasure of watching skilled men build drums right before my eyes: starting from a short log that they carved out, sanded, sculpted and equipped with a fresh goat skin recently dried, to a final product varnished and decorated. This of course, was right before I got swamped by men trying to sell me their wares, using every argument possible to make a few dollars..

I also had the privilege of taking part in an orphanage building project with a group from the ship.

A group of simple people already working at a small orphanage of about 30 kids have quite a larger picture: having only the first of a three two-story building project, they’ll be able to house a couple hundred orphans on a large piece of land when all the buildings are completed.

Sometimes these projects motivate me so much that I wish God would call me to stay and invest the next few years of my life to participate! Yet I do know that God has not called me to stay in Africa (well, not that I know of) so I just keep helping out and learning from these incredibly “bigger pictures.”

Africa is NOT what the media describes it to be. Of course, there are needy dependant people, terrible sanitary problems and many homeless children, yet there’s something else behind this continent… something I can’t find a word to describe, somehow linked to their culture. All I know for now is that sending money to these countries is not very effective: we need more people with a vision of the "larger picture," able to merge into the country's culture, bonding men together in order to rebuild these countries through their own people. They have what it takes, they have the time, they have the ressources, they just need a passionate motivation. If only they would turn from being nominal Christians to become a nation of true God-serving people, the transformation of this continent would be almost immediate and life-changing in the history of the world.

Welcome to Africa

2010-07-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

On our first day in Africa, I was waiting for the ship to be cleared so that we could go ashore in Freetown, Sierra Leone after our two-week trip across the Atlantic… I was kind of restless and apprehensive not knowing what to expect of a country that has been torn to pieces ten years ago, by war, famine and suffering. I finally heard the long waited page that we could go ashore, I joined up with Andy and Simon, two good friends, and we were about to go out the door when five girls asked to come with us (which we didn’t mind) because girls need to have at least one guy in their group in order to leave the ship.

With the help of a local we ended up spending the next half hour trotting through the streets of the City as well as fending off all the marriage offers given for the girls we were escorting.. !

When we finally made it back to the port entrance, Andy (Germany) and I let the others go in. We spent the next thirty minutes talking with a group of people which slowly built up with time. We got to get to know people like Peter and his little brother Mohammed (they haven’t got parents), Asi, Annar, BaiBai, Abou, Fedea and many more.

As we walked back to the port entrance, we were hand in hand with these young men (which is still an awkward situation for me) smiling, chatting and telling them that we would see them tomorrow on the ship.

They are very friendly yet desperate to leave their country, with no work, school that costs money and crazy situations, its no wonder that they want to marry in order to leave..

Yes, we are bringing knowledge to this people, but I pray and urge you to pray, that more than that, we would bring them hope through the time we spend with them, the good talks and especially the love we can share with them.

End of the Caribbean?

2010-05-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

Zoooming by, created in order to keep man accountable to God, this vague concept of time does not seem to ever slow. Yes, our last two visits to Antigua and St Kitts announce quite clearly "Our Caribbean time is coming to an end!", Dominica, our present port is the last port we are visiting before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to reach out to West Africa!

In St John's, Antigua I had the opportunity of playing soccer as the sun set (see above) enjoying the warm homie feeling of the Caribbean, for yes, I have gotten used to the "mindset" of the Caribbean. What mindset you ask? The one of "Yea Mon, it's gonna be alyrigh", a very laid back culture from the children whom always seem to be just "hangin" to the old men with their Bobcaps sitting on a wall. It will be very strange going from this very open culture to the more "restricted" countries in North Africa.

I've also been busy with my band on the ship, enjoying playing on Sunday mornings for church and Monday nights for worship nights. Playing trombone is one way for me to relax and just praise God for who He is. I do miss my euphonium and am looking forward to taking it in my arms when I get home..

We only stayed in St Kitts for four days due to our schedule but many people came and it left me the impression that it is a beautiful welcoming country. To get a feel of it's land, a group of friends and I climbed "Monkey Hill" and got an awesome view of its surroundings. We also discovered mangoe trees (which were ripe for this is their third season) and tree Crabs.

Ash, Simon (two of my close pals onboard) and I observing the lay of the Land...

Prayer Points:

-My leadership role in the Plumbing departement has proven to be quite stressful and I'm not sure I'm handeling it correctly, pray that God would lead me!

-The piping project in the Engine room is going well (apart for the fact that we still are waiting for specific pieces) pray that we would do a great job as well as finish with the project!

-Pray that God would lead me to do more personal ministry with people I meet (sewage guys, people in the streets or guys I meet on church teams.)

Thank you for praying,

BeeeerRRRRrrrmmMMuuuUUUUdaAA!

2010-05-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Bermuda? The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear "Bermuda" is the place where Merlin (The Sword in the Stone) went on vacation with his flower shorts... Well it isn't far from reality for Bermuda is made of numerous small islands somewhere in the Atlantic. With 60 000 citizens it is also the fourth richest country in the world! (in average pay per person) 7.00 US$ for a cheese... That's not cheap. But its economy is not its only strength, it also has beauty beyond imagination with its striking clear blue waters and pink beaches.

As we touched down in Hamilton a team of 12 (the "Gold Team") was put together to welcome at the Willow Bank Hotel between 150 t0 200 supporters of the Logos Hope ministry. I was chosen to be one of these 12, welcoming and just being available in any way for these people (transport, communications, food etc...). The first day of their arrival I got the immense pleasure of being the "luggage man", one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much is that I had a golf cart to help me... I miss driving so much!

We had five amazing days getting to know our supporters and explaining to them our futur projects for the ship.

Personally I learned how to take initiative when it comes to services (calling a taxi, giving info, contacting the right people). Yes, we did get to enjoy the island at the same time, the simple fact of passing in front of such a gorgeous view (first picture) every time you're putting luggage away was... well, a blessing. It is true that the Island is beautiful, yet I must explain that as it is a norther island it was very cool at the time and wearing long sleeves was not uncommon...

Fruit of this port:

-Motivated supporters having a new passion for our ministry

-A good donation for our school projects in __ (a futur port of call)

-Books and ministry (yes we did have many visitors)

Pictures of Atlantis (as promised)

2010-04-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

Easter in Atlantis

2010-04-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Easter! A very important day for the body of Christ. It reminds us why we are here, what we live for each day.
Being a part of the drama group on board the Logos Hope, we had the opportunity of doing a drama at the Atlantis hotel resort, Paridise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. About 500 people came to the Easter service, for the most part American and Canadian tourists, coming more out of tradition than conviction.
We were able to let God use us this morning through the drama, which clearly indicated the death and ressurection of Christ as being the reason for our existence.
Hopefully people have been stirred by God's Spirit and seeds have been planted to lead them to thinking deeper about the meaning of life.

At the same time we were able to have a look around and were taken in by the beauty of Paradise Island, We saw quite a few live marine species as well (see photo), other photos will follow soon.

Concerning work: these last days have been exhausting for me, pushing me a bit to the edge.. I'll finally be taking a short break (that has been planned for awhile) to rest and be restored so that I may keep serving Christ in a God-glorifying way.
Ben Sahlstrom (USA) and Jo Magreault (France) will hold the fort while I'm gone.
I leave tonight with Woo Young (South Korea) and Tim Brown (Northern Irland) staying at some local pastor's house the next four days, coming back the day before we sail for Bermuda!!!

Baths of Joy

2010-03-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Yes we are still in Jamaica! It isn't like we're lacking things to do... About a week ago I finished helping out with the Baths of Joy project which was helping to restore a wash area in Trench Town, a small town next to Kingston. Naturally I was involved with the plumbing side of things, wether it be the sink piping, the showers or an indoor bathroom in a broken down theater.

Only 30 years ago, a walking distance away from this place there was a "no man's land" where you couldn't walk across without getting shot. It still is a run down deprived area but the people were curious and relaxed about us being there.
Ben (a fellow plumber) helped out the first week and I got to go the second week, in two weeks we cemented, wire brushed, painted, installed plumbing and got to know whom we worked with!
This is the Baths of Joy in its final stages, we stated that the water pressure was insuffisant for all this and are in the process of contacting the local water distributor to hook it up to the main line, which will solve this. If asked what I'll miss the most of this experience I'd say (jokingly) that I'll miss the smell of weed coming from the local workers whom we worked with...

Aloe vera everywhere!

2010-03-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

I just finished a tiring week of watch in the engine room... I decide that I'd do something different on my off day instead of staying on the ship (which I've been doing lately). So I went with Elanor (Texas) and Fabian (Germany) at 8 am to climb a small mountain, or a big hill in front of the ship. Through brush, cactai, trees and millions of thorns we dug our way up inspired by our thirst for adventure!

At some point we ran out of food provisions and were obliged to eat the sourrounding Aloe Vera plants that grow in abundance here... =)
Yet it was well worth the climb! Four hours later we had climbed to the top of a tree and had a breath taking view of Kinston, Jamaica. Coming back down was easier and only took us two hours ripping ourselves to shreds like madmen.
Eventually we made it back to the entrance gate where the kind security personnel notified us that the hill was infested with criminals hiding from the police.. (oh well.)
It is true that Jamaica happens to be the country with the third highest crime rate in the world, yet we haven't seen much of this (which is good).

Already in Kingstown!

2010-02-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

Yup! We've come to the end of our visit in Montego Bay, yet this doesn't mean we're leaving Jamaica altogether! We will be spending the next three weeks in Kingston, Jamaica! Rumors have it that Kingston has less tourists and we'll have less "opportunists" bothering us for money. But they also say that this town has quite a problem when it comes to crime. These are the rumors, we'll find out soon enough whether they're accurate or not!
Honestly, I'm not sad to have left Montego Bay, with all the (almost) daily berth shifting, and the moving of the sewage discharge lines that go alone with each shift, (See picture, dismanteling the lines with Olya, Russia), not to mention the opportunists. These people are taken in by the hunger for money, going as far as faking friendships to make a couple of dollars. It's hard to face this reality, but I think Montego Bay was even more materialistic minded than people in Europe.. We've served God in this port as we have in every other. All we can do for those who work among these people every day is: pray!

Otherwise work goes on! I'm almost done retracing the fresh water pipe plans in the engine room, but may have to wait until the Bahamas to get certain copper pieces that I need to assemble everything.
You can also see by the picture that we've finished building the main work table in the plumbing shop (made of a steel structure and a aluminium plate top) which will make live easier for us!

Yeah mahn.

2010-02-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

Montego Bay, Jamaica.

I spent this Sunday leading a church team. we were in charge of the entire two-hour service in a local church of a couple hundred people. I had the greatest team ever! (from left to right) Sarah (Ireland) gave her testimony, Jayne (Australia) sang, Mariya (Russia) led worship, Doron (Germany) preached, Francois (South Africa) did a skit, I played trombone, Japheth (Curaçao) played drums and Wilfrido (Mexico) played guitar.

I was nervous the night before, preparing and praying that all would go well.. God led everything; I've never been in a church team that went so smoothly. A God who is there!

Back on the ship, work is going well. Things are relatively quiet (considering that everything is in my hands since Jo, my assistant, is away in Basic Safety Training), I'm working on the plumbing shop (picture) and things are coming along! Remember, things have to stay put when we are at sea, so that is a bit of a challenge. I'll have a guy helping me out soon. We will also work on a project in the engine room, so I have more planning to do..

Prayer points:
-That I may persevere in applying discipline to my everyday life
-That Jamaica may be transformed by God through our visit

Thank you soooo much for your prayers! God bless, let me know if ever there's something you're curious about and would like to know more about!

Aruba

2010-01-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

Aruba was quite similar to Curacao and our stay also went by very fast! But unlike Curacao, I was very busy with my work on board, and I didn't really get to know this beautiful country..!
We were given the permission during our weekly lifeboat drills to lower them all the way down and manouver around the dock! I took great pleasure in sailing around like that, even if it wasn't for long. (See above the picture of my lifeboat number 6. No! Not the picture below... That's another story, I said ABOVE! =) )

This is just a reminder for those who think I am on a cruise... This photo is of a cruise ship, NOT a missionary ship (the difference in size is quite shocking!) Cruise ships were created to make money, NOT bring hope. (We get to see quite a few cruise ships... always very impressive.)

The following story is about our drama group, a common ministry onboard: The small group that was created in Guyana came together to do a last evening of drama together (some people are leaving the ship shortly) to perform in a public area for tourists onshore. Problem... the owners of the shops around had not appreciated the previous drama group that gave a clear explanation of the Gospel and so, they did not let us perform. A reminder that we are not always welcomed everywhere we go even though we come to help. We were still able to perform on deck four for the visitors coming onboard, which was kind of cool anyway!

We are now in Jamaica! Land of the "Cool Runnings" champs! New challenges have come up at work (like hooking up the sewage pipelines to the sewers outside the ship) and following these challenge-filled days of work, I was exhausted! Thank God, I was able to take an off day with my friends and went to a very nice local beach to relax, read, swim and just do nothing! I'm refreshed and ready for a whole new week!

Project : Moving Pipes!

2010-01-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

Yep! Not many of you know that the Logos Hope is undergoing a major change when it comes to its fuel system. It's adding fuel lines to be able to consume very heavy fuel instead of just heavy fuel (right now we can use heavy fuel and diesel) so that we can save money on fuel! At the same time we are going to put in pipes so that the Generator 1 can also use this kind of fuel. This is going to take a looooooot of work and planning!
It will also require many pipe "transfers" (which pretty much means moving existing pipes around to make place for these new fuel lines). I'm the lucky one in charge of moving and replacing a fresh water line, a used water line and a toilet water line (yay!!!).(My friends on board are hoping I don't get the lines confused!) It's quite a challenge for me and is going to require quite a bit of planning ahead! So I'm going to need a lot of help on your side... because I need your prayers!
Thank you very much!

I'll let you know how things are going!

Curacao

2010-01-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've given you an update on what I have been doing and I am doing now! If I want to catch up on my lost time I need to go back to Curacao (or the Dutch Antilles), a small comfortable island of 250,000 people. I didn't like the idea of staying in such a country for a few weeks if it was just to entertain some of our donors living there.
Yet those few weeks really flew by! I was able to minister in the local prison a few times, sometimes playing soccer with prisoners, some having up to a thirty year sentence! Seeing this peaceful prison and the rapport among the 600 prisoners was a heart warming experience. A local pastor has been investing his time and energy there for the last 25 years and it shows.

The French and French speaking on board were able to have a "French day" on Deck 4 (the visitor's deck) and were able to interact with the visitors (no, that isn't wine or a wine bottle on the picture, it's all non-alcoholic..). I had a "divine appointment" that day meeting a French speaking woman from Quebec who was visiting her son for the week and we were able to have quite a good discussion.

Another opportunity given to us was being able to talk to the local Haitian population (numbering more than 18,000) through a radio program, hosted by Daniel, a Haitian living Curacao.
We also got to participate through drama, music and practical work (small maintenance jobs in a shelter for the homeless).

If there is one thing I will remember of Curacao for a long time, it is this: near the end of our stay, Daniel (the one who hosted us on the radio) came to see me on the Logos Hope with his family and told me:
"Jeremie, I thank God that he sent you to Curacao, this island has a great need for the hope you bring, you can do so much through your service to God, we will not forget your visit for a long time!"

So, even though I though we were at the wrong place at the wrong time, God showed me that I had no idea what I was talking about...
Happily, my small voice cannot change God's will for the world!

Ship Photo!!! (Curacao)

2009-12-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is the ship photo with (almost) everyone onboard, I happen to be touching the rail of the bow towards the bottom right. (both hands on the railing, wearing a black t-shirt)

Goodbye Guyana...

2009-12-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

I'm coming up with some kind of "theory" when it comes to getting to know a country; It takes only one week to fall in love with a country. The same thing happened in Guyana as in St Lucia, I got to know the culture and the people in just one week and fell in love with the country.
We had the privilege of having our own house for the week (the white one on the right) and participated in many different events. We started out with open air evangelism (which involves going door to door to invite everyone) and followed through with school visits, an orphanage visit, church programs, christmas programs and drama training for the church youth. Apart from that we got to know Guyana in a special way, whether it be tasting the sugar cane juice, seeing and bathing with the cows in the ocean, yelling from inside(!) to get people to come out of their homes, traveling on the back of the pastor's truck or climbing coconut trees, we learned to love this unique country.
Around 21 challenge teams were sent out in this port and God used them to impact many lives. Pray that these lives stay changed and that they may glorify God into eternity.

Drama Challenge Team

2009-12-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

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).

Thank you for praying.

Welcome to South America

2009-11-27T04:04:00.000-08:00

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...

Bring up the Anchor!

2009-11-09T20:54:00.000-08:00

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)

Unforgettable Week

2009-10-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

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

Challenge team!!!

2009-10-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

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!

Thank you for your prayers during this time!

In Christ alone,

Jeremie

Exhausting yet an amazing two weeks.

2009-10-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

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)

In Christ, Jeremie

The French Community!!!

2009-09-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

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

Drama team

2009-09-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

Just a little picture from Grenada showing a drama we played infront of people waiting to get onboard ( there were 800 people onboard at the time and when 70 people got off, 70 more could come on), there were a few hundred people waiting. It was my first drama experience, but doing it as a team was enjoyable (I'm the little black guy first from the left) and I hope to do it more often! I am now in Tobago and was able to see the independence day celebrations (including an impressive firework display right in front of the ship). It's strange how the world can be so drasticly different according the geographical positions yet still all contain the same need for God... May lives be changed for his glory!

Changes... !

2009-08-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ever since I've joined the Logos Hope (around seven months ago) I've had the privilege of working as an engine room watchkeeper, at least one week a month and doing odd jobs the reste of the time.
I've appreciated working there all this time, being able to learn and serve God while using my common sense.
Though after five months of work I noticed that three of my collegues had been given specific jobs (Welding, Main engines and Generator) while I was still doing odd jobs and lots of cleaning!
Yet the day where I was expecting to work with the plumbers, for a change I was told to clean floorplates instead... (job that you do over and over again as it just gets dirty again). After an hour or two of arguing with myself I finally came to the conclusion that what I was doing was for God's glory and I was able to take pleasure in what I was doing! The same evening I was asked if I wanted to become a plumber!!! I've now been working with Keith and Phips (the plumbers) the past few weeks and enjoy fixing toilets, showers, sinks and doing different piping jobs. There is a possibility that when Phips leaves in January 2010 I would take his place as head plumber (but that's still unsure), in other words I've got to learn all that I can before he leaves!!!

(Phips, my German boss, a really cool guy with whom I get along quite well!)

Prayer Point : Being able to use my time in a God glorifying way (I'm having a hard time being productive with my time and need your prayers!)

Another World

2009-08-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well it's almost been two weeks in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines! Going from a European mindset to the caribbean mindset is quite a change, yet a smooth one (so far). For example the light skinned people pourcentage here is very low and it is almost impossible to go into the streets without having someone ask : "are you from the Logos Hope?" (which is a good thing!) People love to talk and getting to connect with them is easier (I still struggle to go towards them). Yet despite our beautiful surroudings, one of this country's highest income is due to drugs (local source) and there are many broken families.. Yet God is at work and many have come to know Christ. We've already gone past the Logos II's reccord of 22,ooo visitors and still expect to have a few before we leave Wednesday for Grenada.

A real Coconut tree

An overview of Kingstown

Kingstown

2009-07-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

After an amazingly smooth twelve day voyage accross the Atlantic Ocean, with flying fish, whales, turtles and dolphins we've finally arrived in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines! I just got off with some friends and had a quick look around.. We were asked 6 times if we wanted a taxi! We visited the local fruit market and fish market... We're in a whole other world! Later this evening we went out on a prayer drive in small groups of four or five, I ended up going with four others to pray for the city in particular. We ended up talking to a few guys as well as inviting them to the ship, we also got to experience the night life of SVG (St Vincent and the Grenadines) which pretty much is loud tropical music, strange animal sounds, a warm wind and drug dealers.I'll keep you posted with how the ship opening goes, God has many things planned for this visit.

14th of July, France's National Holiday!

2009-07-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

We took this picture today as we sailed out of Cork in direction of the Caribbean!

Caribbean here we come!

2009-07-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

We've left London and now are at Cork, Irland. Yet our time here is already coming to an end. We've passed the ISM inspection (International Safety Manegement) two days ago and are in the final preperation phase for the Caribbean.
Which ports are coming up? Here's the list: St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinity and Tobago, Saint Lucy, Barbados and Guayana.
Towards the end of London (the 28th of June) I was able to go home for a few days for Melanie's (my sister's) baptism. It was an unforgetable moment and being able to see my family again did me a lot a good.
I am now going through life boat training, learning all the different positions, I must be able to take on the responsability for every one of the positions.
While I was home I was asked how I was doing at a spiritual level and to give them prayer points.
Honestly I find that I am getting closer to God every day but only to the limit of comfort (it means that I still have control over my life).
Though I have come to understand that God is calling me to give him control over everything and I'm having difficulty saying yes out of fear of not being able to do what I want to do. The first step for this is financial dependance on God.

Prayer Points:

- That I come to a point that I follow God fully without being afraid of losing anything for I have everything to gain!

- That I may have a long lasting love for those that do not know Christ.

- That I be ready physically, mentally and spiritually to serve God in the Caribbean where we will a whole different experience.

Thank you so much for your support! It does a great difference in my life!

Out of paper... (toilet paper that is)

2009-06-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the post title, yet it's there for a reason, a very strange one at that!
The ninth of June, after we had left Cardiff for London we had our usual security traning. Once the training was done, the Logos Hope community entered its normal day of work. Yet around lunch time the fire alarm went off towards the front of the ship.
The control team assembled as it was trained to ( inside the control team I'm part of the support team) and the attack team got to work!
After 2 to 3 three hours the fire was put out...
What happened? Some Welders were welding (as they normally do) some pipes together in the toilet paper stockpile room, a spark hit some toilet paper way down in some kind of chamber. I took a while for the fire to give off enough heat before the realized what had happened...
Good for us though, everyone reacted in the right way and the fire was in a isolated area. Even though the fire got hot fast and there was a lot of smoke we were able to control it and eventually put it out!
God is with us and protects us, it could of been much worse! It ended up being a very practical exercise and we were able to learn a lot out of it (including how to prevent this in the first place), may we all be more careful!
(Picture: the control team enjoying some kind of cake after the hours of effort invested to put the fire out)
We ended up not having much toilet paper, but no worries, we've received more in London!

Church team

2009-06-03T23:34:00.000-07:00

Our stay in Cardiff has been wonderful so far! Many people have been coming to the ship and the weather is just beautiful... (around 22-24 degrees C with a light breeze)
My newest discovery was going on a church team, which I've been avoiding for the longest not wanting to go and talk to people I don't really know. Well I didn't get much choice for I was assigned to a church team with Anitha (in the middle, from India) and Sohee (on the left, from South Korea). I was asked to give my missions testimony at this church of around 45 people, which somehow I did look foward to...
Honestly I spent the whole saturday evening and sunday morning fretting about it and asking God to speak through me without me just trying to speak with"eloquence". Everything went very well at the church and I can't wait to do it again! It is a fantastic way of getting to know our brothers and sisters from around the world as well as sharing a common passion for Christ.
We will soon me going to London... where much is expected for that port. With many events planned (around 20 000 people just booked for events onboard) and such a large population we're expecting to be very busy.
I pray that God will work, as he already has, in the hearts of many through the rest of our stay in Cardiff and for the future port of London.
(this is a picture of the Logos Hope theater in preperation of London, this room which used to be the ferry's Car deck entrance will be able to hold over 400 people!)

Belfast'n Books

2009-05-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

Well our time in Belfast is over and we are now in Dublin. Belfast was busy with over 18,ooo people and many different opportunities were available for the crew on board the Logos Hope.
I was able to help with "nightlife", which is a small group from an Irish Church whom set up a small stand with "biscuits" (sweet), coffee, tea and soup from midnight until 4 in the morning. Thus reaching out to the late and usually drunk people from the next door night club sector. It was more quiet than usual they told us that night, but I still got a taste of what the world really looks like... and getting drunk or drugged is what the world says it takes "pleasure" in...
While in Belfast I also discovered a "cubby hole" book store in which a purchased three books of Tolstoi, which I have been reading with great interest. It has gotten me to start thinking again and is a small part of the motivation pushing me to search for a more complete and healthy relationship with God.
I pray that he has much more in plan for this ship than anyone on board expects...

Back in the UK! (Ok, ok Northern Irland)

2009-04-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

We've safely arrived in Belfast! This picture shows the sun shining along the coast, like if God was telling us that there are yet many things to come... But lets not exagerrate, it has been raining the past three days! (yup it's just like home!) Let's not forget that we are in England! Oups, sorry, I mean in Northern Irland!

Islands, Friends and Fish

2009-04-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! We've just had an AMAZING time in the Faroe Islands! Home to the Logos Hope, the Faroe Islands is a place I didn't even know existed before joining the ship.
Around half of this country's population is christian making it a heaven on earth...
It has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, the people are very friendly and the landscape is breathtaking (one of God's most beautiful handiworks in my opinion).
Being quite tired because of the ministry start of the ship many of us were glad for the change, before arriving we were informed: in the Faroe Islands you will be spoiled! That's exactly what we've been. Pastry donations, Fish donations and visits to the people's houses have been the main blessings. On my last off day I was able to spend the night with Woo Young Jung (South Korea) at some relatives of people on board... We had a great time! We got there on Friday evening, spent the evening with a local youth group (until 1:30 am...) got up late on Saturday and spent the whole day fishing (Woo Young and I have done quite a lot of fishing together in the Faroe Islands, I love it!!!) catching five Cod and a flat fish in the harbour. On Sunday we went to a local Faroese church and had a wonderful meal of Cod (My fish consumption has gone up 98 % since we've arrived) cooked in curry, apples, ognions and bananas! I'm energized and ready to resume work tonight (night shift 00:00 to 08:00) having the three next night watches while sailing to Belfast!
Lately people onboard have been tired because of the lack of people to work on the visitors deck. God has blessed us and has given to the Logos Hope community what it needs to keep going!
May he bless all the Faroese and may they through him keep blessing those around them.

See you later United Kindom!

2009-04-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

We've come to the end of our stay in Scotland! With over 12 000 visitors and a strong partnership with the Scottish churches, God is and will continue working in this country.
We hope to see Scotland transformed through God's Spirit who's been at work the past 10 days.
I was able to participate in this work (in addition to my Engine Room job) by helping on Deck 4 in the International Cafe, welcoming visitors and distributing flyers in the Ocean Terminal Mall.
I also was able to spend the afternoon and have lunch at Alice Ly Tin's (France) aunt's house yesterday, enjoying the good food (homemade) and peace and quiet.
Our next stop is very exciting! Even though the Faeroe Islands are home to less than 50 000 people, the Christian population is quite active and they've taken care of everything for us. We are expecting to be greeted by a couple hundred people and the border/customs controls will be done while picking up the pilot, so that we may welcome people aboard as soon as we get there!
We left early this morning at 6:00 am and are expecting to arrive in port Friday evening!

Getting into it!

2009-04-10T10:56:00.001-07:00

I'm finally getting into the engine work routine! After having spent a week of night watch (from 12pm to 8am) in the engine room with Olya (Russia) I'm starting to get a hang of the engine machinery. Though I must admit that my sleeping schedule was totally disrupted and I didn't feel like doing anything during the day. This coming week I'll be doing day watch (first watch alone) which will be kind of exciting and stressful at the same time.

The picture above is of Jaimee Moses (one of my room mates from South Africa) and I cleaning out the starboard black water sewage tank (fun!!!).
It's the tank that stores all the toilet water... luckily this one hasn't been in use for quite a long time and all we have to do is scrape the sediments off.
The mask we got to wear is a BA set (Breathing Apparatus) connected to a pressurized air line. This air allowed us to breath because we were in an enclosed space where we could be lacking air which could lead to passing out and even dying. As I was scraping away, the thought of someone shutting the air line came to my mind... nothing of the sort happened but once I got dressed after work I got to thinking:

The BA mask could be compared to Jesus Christ that God gave to us, giving us air to breath and keeping us alive. People without the mask eventually pass out and need someone with a mask to help them out (in other words someone who is born again preaching the good news). On the other hand people with the mask could have the air line closed on them by satan trying to destroy them, yet when they start to lack air if they react fast enough they can turn the air back on. The last category is those with the mask who take it off and pass out, ending up in the same situation as the first people.
This is something I've learned the past months. God took the first step, gave us Jesus and let us know him. Those who've had that privilege are now responsible for keeping the mask on, staying close to Jesus and turning on the airline when satan turns it off. For many the first step has been taken, that's easy because God took that one.
The next step is ours to take... not as easy... !

-Please pray that I keep progressing in my journey with Christ, that I will not wait for him to keep working in me, but that I keep working and searching harder to know him better.

A big thank you to you all who are supporting me through your prayers... It really does make a difference! God bless you!

Family and Friends in Holland on board the Logos Hope

2009-03-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

With the ship being in Scheveningen I found myself only three hours away from home! In other words it was the perfect time for a few people to come and visit me.
The first ones to come and visit me (and Ruben and Betsy as well) were Nathan Philips (from my church) and David Edouart (the guy with whom I went on a bike trip) both good friends of mine!

We (the French people on board) then had the honor of welcoming aboard the director of OM France ; Jan Coetzer as well as his wife.
I was also able to welcome Kevin et Debbi Eggleston my "adopted grandparents" who are at the present moment working with my father.

And the best for last: I got to see my whole family! All eight of them and Debora my cousin were able to spend two nights on the Logos Hope and experience what it's all about. ( My Dad and Stephane are missing on the photo). You can see more pictures from this visit on my parents' blog.

It was really awesome to be able to welcome all these people on board and I've been encouraged by the time I spent with them (as well as spoiled by their gifts).
Our special time in the Netherlands is coming to an end, but I'm sure that Scotland has many surprises for us! (We leave tomorrow morning for Edinburgh)
I finally finished my classroom hours for becoming a watchkeeper and am going to integrate the practical side of things starting tomorrow morning!

Living as God sees it...

2009-03-05T01:58:00.000-08:00

For three days now that I've been co-watchkeeping the machines of the engine room from 8 am to 4 pm... Making sure that the boat has enough fresh water, verifying that the generators aren't overheating, cleaning the heavy fuel and diesel oil purifiers, keeping the hydraulic oil running, getting the KaMeWa pumps running (the ones in charge of the main propellers) and so on... Honestly, I'm really going to enjoy this job!
I must admit, though, that I'm starting to realize once I've entered the full time working routine I'm going to have to be very careful how I use my time.
I would already like to spend more time with God, just listening to Him, studying his Word, but I'm too lazy and cannot make myself do this.
I thought I was ready to sacrifice all I had for God, (in a way material sacrifice is easy for me) but this is easier said then done (I need to give him my time, energy and personal pleasures!).
I want to sacrifice ALL to him but don't have the will to do it, I know that this would change my way of seeing God forever, but in the end I'm afraid of this change.

If you would be so kind to pray for me:

- That God would put aside my pride so that I can really sacrifice everything for the good reasons.
- That God would give me the strength to invest in his ministry for Him only, His glory and not my own.

God speaks to us when we take the time to listen, I've personally experienced it... Our life resembles that of a falling leaf; how much more is eternity worth our time, energy and strength. Why do I persist in being blind, why am I deaf... ?

Netherlands Here We Come!!!

2009-02-24T22:01:00.000-08:00

Well, our three days in Sweden are over!
Everything went quite well taking into account that most events had been canceled by the line-up team when they heard that we needed another certificate...
They did resend the invitations out, but it created some confusion!
I was able to have my first E day (Experience day) and tried chatting with visitors in the I-café. But that wasn't my kind of thing so I switched with the poor Indian on the gangway greeting the visitors, (it was quite cold outside) and just loved it!!!
We had about 1300 visitors over those three days, which is relatively good for a short and confusing stop (not to mention in a European port).
Now we've been sailing for two days! The waters have been making us roll back and forth and a few have already been affected by seasickness... Personally I haven't been affected but may be with rougher weather.
As I look at the plot of our voyage on google earth I can see that we're at the border of the Netherlands! We should pick up a pilot who'll lead us into Harlingen very soon! (Yay!)

We are in Sweden!!!!

2009-02-20T05:31:00.000-08:00

Our maiden voyage is already over and we are in Sweden. If you missed it you can see the video here .

God working in us, working with us onboard the Logos Hope

2009-02-19T02:13:00.001-08:00

The 19th of February 2009 was the official date for the Logos Hope's sailing into ministry. But a few days ago the danish maritime authorities gave us a detention decree saying that we couldn't leave port until we had the BCC (Bunker Convention Certificate). This certificate could have taken up to a few weeks to obtain! But it seems like God wants us to get on the move... we received the original certificate yesterday and the danish maritime authorities have removed the detention decree! The departure date is maintained and we should be leaving around 3 pm for Gothenberg, Sweden!
Logically we were NOT supposed to receive the BCC so soon... God's hand is behind it, He is working with us and we for Him.

Adaptation

2009-02-14T03:03:00.000-08:00

Well things have finally started to take shape... PST Birkedal's security training is over!
We each received our job departments and have started to work in those areas since Wednesday. I had chosen engine and that's where they put me! :) They informed me that it's going to take 2 months training to become a "watchkeeper" (Person in charge of watching over anything going on in the engines) but it's going to be a mix of practical and theoretical training. So far we've been moving things around and lashing them tight so that they won't move around when we are ready to sail.
We should be ready to sail for Sweden on the 19th of February but it isn't quite sure yet...
We officially received the PSSC (Passenger Ship Safety Certificate) yesterday! A necessary certificate, seeing that without it we cannot sail.
As we all adapted to our new lives onboard we took time to visit Denmark and 11 of the PST Birkedal went to Copenhagen just to discover a bit (see picture).
In overall things are going relatively well, I've signed up to the worshipband with my trombone and to drama ministry... That is all on top of work... things are going to be quite busy.
On a spiritual level I've been growing gradually but could really use someone close to whom I could confide onboard the ship, please pray for that.

PST Birkedal

2009-02-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Denmark, 50 km from Koge (where the Logos Hope is now) I spent 8 days in a small place called Birkedal with 38 fellow pre-shippers. We learned to get to know each other, to work together and to have fun together. I learned a lot from this time yet it was a bit long especially that I'm tired of just sitting, I want to DO SOMETHING!!! I got onboard the Logos Hope yesterday (tuesday) and will have security sessions (Basic Safety Trainning) until next tuesday and hope to intergrate the engine team! Here's a small video of our PST team:

One big family

2009-01-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

I am now a part of OM’s big family! Hours and hours of worship, of biblical teachings, security instructions and relationship building with God. The preachers and speakers are excellent, the relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ are refreshing and love flows in abundance.

There are seven people in the French group; a young couple and a girl who’re going on the Doulos, a young man who’ll be going to England as well as a girl from Marseille and a guy from Madagascar who’ll be going with me on the Logos Hope.

I cannot stop learning and realize now that I barely know anything.

The two week conference is drawing to a close…

Tonight I will be leaving at 11 pm by bus with 29 people on a 14 hr drive to join the Logos Hope. We’ll spend Saturday and Sunday on the ship before leaving on our two week pre-ship training.

Thank you all for you support!

If you could pray for me I’d appreciate it! Here are some prayer requests:

-Pray that I may have a passion and a thirst for God’s word

-Pray that I may act with love and compassion every single day

-Pray that my relationship with God may deepen

-Give thanks that I was able to meet my best friend Jake at the conference ( going to south Africa )

I also wanted to share a story with you ;

When I met the young couple at a Parisian train station I found out that they had lost their train tickets. But they had brought their receipt with them and were able to board the train, our tickets were checked two times and both times the train personnel said that there was no problem!

God bless you, I will soon post some pictures!

Jérémie is off!

2009-01-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

Jérémie took the train this morning to go to Germany. He will have two weeks of OM orientation in Mosbach, Germany before heading out to Denmark to spend another two weeks of Logos Hope courses.

Please pray:

Safe travels.
That he would be rested and refreshed during the orientation and gain a greater vision of God.
Visas for all the new OM recruits that are supposed to join this week in Mosbach.

An awesome surprise

2009-01-12T09:53:00.001-08:00

Sunday morning, I had to pull myself from bed (I’d turned in quite late the night before). We had to hurry to get to church on time but we made it, after church we stopped at Mc Donald’s for lunch for one last fast food fix for me. After lunch we finally got home, I was in the mood to do nothing or just play some calm games.

I got kind of frustrated because Dad wouldn’t stop vacuuming, sweeping and washing the floors, on Sunday! At the same time Mom was encouraging me to go outside and play with the little ones while the snow lasted (I did not want to go outside…). She finally shooed me out of the house and I started an energetic game of hockey on our ice rink (that we created by pouring water on the blacktop during the freezing weather) with the siblings. After awhile Gaëtan (a friend from church) came out to watch us, I was a little surprised to see him but just thought he was passing by. A little while later David and Tabitha (friends from Valenciennes, a half hour drive from us) came out… now that was kind of strange!

I found out later, Mom had invited friends of mine to say goodbye. We ended up having more than twenty people : my family, my uncle and aunt (with their children, in other words my cousins) David et Tabitha Reihl, Gaëtan Lanthier, my former music teacher Philippe Vercruysse, Jacques Soufflet (a friend of the family), David Edouart (another friend from Valenciennes), Alvin et Valérie Kajé (friends from my church), Papy, Nathan Phillips (a friend that works with BLF Europe), Lucile Ribue (a friend from high school) and four friends from the church of Lambersart ; Stéphanie and Grâce Pira, Anne Debœuf and Adeline Bozzone. I was even able to see François Corder who dropped by to say hi (and bye)! (a friend from high school who’s started his first year of premed)

It was an awesome surprise before my departure on Tuesday morning!

Departure

2009-01-02T02:08:00.000-08:00

D-day is coming in fast, I'm officially leaving home the 13th of January.

I will join up with some other OMers in Paris to take a train to Mosbach (Germany) to have a Two-week long GO conference before joining the Logos Hope.