Baths of Joy

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!

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!

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.

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

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!

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

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!