The Doulos during its yearly maintenance in Dry Dock
Official announcement to the Crew of the Doulos
Its hard to believe that life on this old ship is coming to an end and quicker than anyone ever imagined. Shock covered the crews thoughts as we were told from the ships Director Seelan Govender, that The Doulos would not sail past December 31st. Many factors contributed to the end of the ship and its ministry as we know it but the decisive factor was the amount of steel replacement and other repairs needed for her to continue sailing which turned out to be overwhelming. This absolutely necessary work would cost over €10 million and take five months to complete. The OM Ships executive leadership team and board deems it not appropriate to invest resources of this scale into the ship, since Doulos was planning to retire at the end of 2010 anyway.
Quite a number of work projects have been identified, but the primary one is replacing sections of steel on the main deck. An initial quote has been received from the shipyard in Singapore where Doulos has been in dry dock. This, together with other additional costs, would be well over €10 million. The work would take at least five months and, because of other commitments, this yard could not even start the work until September 2010.
For me personally the news of this had an immediate and tremendous impact on my future. Once hearing it my mind began to swirl with all kinds of thoughts,upon further reflection most of those thoughts were of selfish nature. Things like “What’s going to happen to me? Lord I still have 12 months left on my commitment, how can you let this happen?” The crew was adamantly looking forward to the upcoming months in the Arab peninsula that was only weeks away.
Some of the ships Americans during our annual community picture
Where this leaves me and how do I trust in God
Empty, alone, confused, and frustrated I came to the lord many times that week following the news. I found a quiet, soundproof and available spot in the bottom of one of the book holds and met with God there 3 times a day looking for answers and most of all peace. Some days I shouted at God, reminding him of His promises to us in the Bible, other days I was completely silent and just listened, every time though I made it a point to ask for peace from the holy spirit. I desperately want my will to be done less and less and God’s will to be done more, this is far from my fleshly desire however so each day I take up my cross and die of myself and let God take control.
doing some work on the ships side, had to pull ourselves up those ropes afterward
As I practiced this everyday i began to see results and the Lord answered my prayers and deep desire of having his peace during such a difficult and uncertain time. This has taken place for the last month and even as I write this I have no confirmation on my next move from God. So often in my christian life I pray about things but ultimately just do my own will or be too impatient to wait for final confirmation on things from God. I believe I have not fully developed on blessings and other maturation tools such as patience and being content directly because of this. While Going through this my eyes have been open to things I never noticed before, and I am blessed to be around such mature christians who offer advice, prayer and support for us, being in place to watch and learn how veterans handle situations is invaluable and for this I am so grateful to God for guiding me along this journey.
Rebuilding the ships 8 room school
The attitude of the Ships coommunity
The biggest testimony to God’s grace through all of this has been how people on the ship have handled this possible devastating news. 65 people had just joined the ship 2 months before the announcement of retiring including five families. The community is so strong and united now over this issue its amazing to see the faith and trust that these christians have. Only through God’s grace could so many people be so content and trusting in an otherwise chaotic situation. For some their commitment was near an end and they were prepared to leave the ship and start a new chapter in life, but for the vast majority of the 350 crew including myself this comes as an absolute shock.
The end of a day
One last stop in vivo city
With still hundreds of thousands of books and other items on board for sale, leadership has struck a deal to have one last opening to the public here in Singapore. From December 15-27th the Doulos has been granted permission to be alongside a beautiful berth just next to a large and rather fancy shopping mall on a harbor right in the heart of Singapore. This has a been a miracle in itself, due to the very strict marine politics throughout this city, several times we have had huge favor from God in allowing us to do things that no other ship would be allowed to. Christmas on board the ship is a special time and a lot of work is put in to the week allowing us to make the most of this special time even though we are on the other side of the world.
Doulos at anchor a day before heading alongside Vivo City Singapore
Enjoying fellowship with Dirty friends after stabilizing the anchor back on the ship
Spraying off the forward deck after the mudding anchor was brought back on board
Future possibilities and a call for prayer and support on the next things
As I have previously mentioned I do not have clear direction from God on where he wants me next. I still have 10 months left on my original 2 year commitment with Operation Mobilization and I would like to honor that. There are many options inside this organization and I have been going through the many possibilities seeking peace about one for the remainder of my commitment. I would really appreciate your prayers concerning my future and that I am open to to hearing and listening to God on this big decision. I plan on keeping you all involved and informed on the decision process and I a really excite to see where God will put me. I can guarantee that any place that I will go to next after serving on the Ship will be very different and challenging in its own right.
The ship has not put a date in which we must be off the ship which allows a lot of time to think, listen, and decide patiently what the next step will be. I am really grateful that the ship’s leadership has been so open and helpful in this manner, it has made the community atmosphere light and open to creativity and a good safe place to be in a difficult time.
The Mosque @ Arab Street.
Still Ministries going on here on the ship
While many of the leaders have their hands full here on the ship, there have been many ministries opportunities for us to share with non believers and do good deeds in the community here in singapore. While we were in Dry dock for 2 months during heavy duty maintenance many of the yard workers( over 50 ) gave their lives to jesus and I was able to share to many through God’s grace.
One afternoon while walking through the arab section of Singapore called Little Arabia, I met a man from Iran who sells carpets. At first the conversation started when he tried to sell me a rug, but as we talked more he realized I wasn’t interested in buying a carpet but wanted to hear what life was like growing up in Iran and how he got here in Singapore.
Ali, a Persian Carpet salesmen and proud owner of a new Bible.
We talked for close to an hour about Carpets, Iran, and then he asked me the question, ” so why are you in Singapore”? Now the Holy spirit had put on my heart from the very beginning of meeting this man, that he was a Muslim and I was careful not to offend him with any trigger words or christian phrases but at this point I thought to myself, “well you asked for it buddy so here it is”. I began to share my testimony with this guy right out front of his carpet store as people came and went right in between us and asked questions about different rugs, after every interruption he would look me in the eyes and say, “tell me more about what you were saying”. I finished telling my story and learned that he spends 7 days a week here at this job from 10am- 10pm most often just people watching as business has been slow lately. Immediately i told him that I would be back soon with a gift for him, I felt he was a little nervous and unsure about what I was saying but he bashfully told me to come back he would be there all next week. As I returned to the ship I prayed for guidance on which book to give to this man, something more impact-full than just an english dictionary.
Ali's Carpet store
3 days I returned to the same store but my friend was gone, I asked a guy who was standing at that same place I was just 3 days prior and he said he was down the road at another carpet store location,( This street in little arabia has over 50 carpet stores) I thought oh great, thanks for the clear directions buddy. As I walked down the street with a Bible, the purpose driven life,The Jesus film in his native language, (Farsi) and 5 other books in hand I felt sense of fear and panic inside.
Doubt started to overwhelm my thoughts and I was convinced that this guy would not want a Bible or even want to see me again, all of a sudden my mood changed and i began thinking I had offended him greatly on my last visit and it would be better to not even see him today or ever again. Of course these were all lies, that Satan was trying to fed me so that I would not be bold and deliver this man the truth, realizing this I immediately stopped, sat down at a cafe, took out my journal and wrote this. ” Lord give me your boldness to share your love with this man whom you love and cherish more than I could ever know, Holy spirit guide my way, my thoughts, and my actions with this situation. Give me encouragement for this man beyond earth but only of heaven, your kingdom. Give me peace, your peace, and allow me to speak life in a way that nobody else of this world will speak to him. I dedicate this man to you Lord and submit this process into your spirit, Amen.”
Right after writing this prayer to the lord, 2 muslim men siting next to me asked me what I was writing in this book. Shocked, I looked up and smiled, blanketed with peace I explained to these two strangers the gospel and what I had just prayed for. The men smiled and kept asking questions until they both understood, Jesus gave me the words to share, I don’t even remember what I told them.
I ran across the street and found my carpet salesman friend, he was smiling huge and surprised I actually came back. I took out the books one by one explained them to him and asked him if I could pray with him right there. Next thing I remember he was trying to give me a hand made persian rug as a gift, I didn’t take it and told him I won’t be forgetting about him anytime soon, please take some time to pray for this man, his name is Ali.
Hey Jeff! love hearing about what Jesus is doing with you there. . . sounds awesome, scarry and exciting all at the same time! Merry Christmas to you and thanks for the update.
By: Rebecca on December 23, 2009
at 7:26 am