2021 brought a nautical milestone for OM as we thanked God for His faithfulness through
50 years of ship-based ministry across the globe. In 1971 OM's very first ship Logos made her maiden
voyage from Rotterdam and since then we have been blessed to operate three further ships:
Logos II, Doulos and now, Logos Hope. We celebrate an amazing combined visitor count of 49 million
and many more people have heard the gospel through onshore outreach in over 150 countries. We have
seen that the coming of the ship, our encounter with them, helped to give our ministry a definition,
helped to give our ministry the resources and the tools that was needed for us to go out and
reach our lost people. It is not just about the ship sailing and going from nation to nation,
but the impact it is making is sometimes just far too greater than what they could ever imagine.
But this year the coronavirus pandemic still meant restrictions on our outreach and a season of
not receiving visitors on board the ship. I'm just so overwhelmed by our crewmembers, by
our family on board and how well they did. How we knit together as a family,
as we prayed together as a family, as we worshiped, as we laughed as a family and sometimes we
cried. I just saw us come together as a family like never before. Logos Hope extended her time in the
Caribbean region, shifting focus to connecting in more meaningful ways with local people.
Staying longer in port will hopefully give crew and the local church the time they need
to build relationships, to have the opportunity for more ministry and to mobilize the church.
Reconnecting with friends from previous calls in the Caribbean was a particular highlight,
especially as crew had the opportunity to make a return visit to The Bahamas. Teams travelled to the
Abaco Islands to continue the relief work we were involved in with partners in 2020, helping those
who had been affected by hurricane Dorian. We've been working on roofs and, and your team is doing a
great job helping us with that and appreciate all the ministry you guys have done with Logos Hope.
So when we look at the nations that we are invited to go to and what we were able to do
there, you just go back to God and say, 'Wow, it was amazing. You had this whole thing figured out.'
We know that God had a plan. In April, God's timing was in the arrangements for us to simultaneously
receive coronavirus vaccinations and offer immediate help to the people of Saint Vincent, just
after the eruption of the island's volcano. We pumped out our entire fresh water supply.
40,000 gallons to people whose water had been contaminated, gave out provisions, and prayed with
those whose homes had become uninhabitable. And they came in their cars and their trucks and their
bicycles, motorcycles, everything you can imagine. People walking with jugs and water buckets and
whatever and through the night, all the way through the night, we were able to give them fresh drinking
water, just exactly what they needed. Following the ship's annual maintenance we returned to
Saint Vincent for a further nine weeks. Teams cleared ash debris and reached out to those living
in temporary accommodation, which particularly please the kids. Especially when they play with us,
'specially when they read stories. Our ship transported supplies donated from Curaçao
and we joined the efforts of partner organizations on shore to help restore this beautiful island.
We're excited here to be offloading a container full of donations from people
all over the world. We have hygiene packs, we've got playgrounds, we've got Bibles; all for the
people here in Saint Vincent and The Grenadines. With pandemic restrictions continuing, our crew
got creative to continue sharing knowledge, help and hope. Pop-up bookstores in the open
air allowed us to engage in island communities and meet people beyond port cities. Still it was
a momentous day when Logos Hope's bookfair was permitted to reopen and our public gangways rang
out with the sounds of visitors footsteps again after 16 months. This year we saw a total of 43,521
visitors come on board, as Logos Hope made stops in 12 ports of call, across six different
countries. Over the course of this year more than 95,000 Christian and educational books were sold.
We are thankful that although the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us, we have adapted,
We have learned and we've moved on with our ministry. Departing from the Caribbean which
had provided Logos Hope a safe haven during a global travel shutdown, was bittersweet. Yet with
great anticipation, we set off on a two-week voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, destined for West Africa.
We're here in Sierra Leone. There's a lot of excitement on this ship I can assure you, well,
because we just travelled almost 3,000 miles across the Atlantic. It's our second longest sail in the
history of this ship. We celebrated the arrival of new shipmates, more than 40 short-term volunteers
from various African nations. This wonderful group brought new energy to our floating family and was
an answer to prayer for more people to join the ship at such a complex time. I'm really
privileged to be part of the great family, the great community, to see people from different
nationalities and how we all join all together to be like Christ is just amazing. It's probably
the biggest group of Africans we've ever had on board. We're making a statement that Africa is
ready to participate internationally. We're not just the continent that needs everybody's help.
We have the people to be part of the the mission of God. If we're going to reach
the whole world, we need the whole Church. As we reflect on 2021, we are truly grateful for your
part in enabling us to serve at sea. My heart is full of joy and gratitude as I think about His
protection upon our ministry and life and His provision of people and resources and of course,
His presence among us. As I look back during the pandemic many things stopped in this world, but God
never stopped working in and through our Ship's Ministry. Where we started off the year in the Caribbean,
in the midst of a pandemic, not really knowing what would be next or what would unfold and now to be
where I am right now in Sierra Leone in West Africa is in itself just a great testimony of
God's work, bringing the ship and the community to a very different part of the world, bringing new
people to the ship when we thought that was not possible, with all of the travel disruptions around
the world and yet there was still this commitment of people to come and join what God was doing.
You could just see God putting the pieces together to make it happen and I'm just thrilled to have been able
to be an observer of what God was doing. This year has stretched me in so many ways but I have been
able to form beautiful friendships, I have been part of amazing ministry opportunities both on
board and on shore that I've seen Jesus work through in new ways that I've never seen before
and I know that I will never be the same again. Join us in 2022 as the next chapter
unfolds in God's story for the Ship Ministry and thank you from all of us on board and onshore.