We recently caught up with five of our 56 new crewmembers who joined Logos Hope in Richards Bay, South Africa, this January 2024.
Their backgrounds and stories are unique and reflect the many ways in which God has been shaping and equipping them to serve on board. As they follow His leading, they are stepping out of their comfort zones and offering their talents, gifts and passions for His service.
1) Alba, Spain
Alba’s heart for students and previous experience working with young people was preparation for joining Logos Hope for two years in 2019, when she became leader of the People Development team. After her time investing in the onboard community in this way, she took up the offer to become executive assistant to CEO Seelan Govender (South Africa) at the Ship Ministry headquarters in Germany. But Alba still had her heart set on returning to the ship one day and saw God provide the opportunity to do so this January.
"You can share your faith wherever God puts you,” says Alba, “but coming on board meant having more opportunities and working more with people as well.”
Today, she is serving on board in the Talent Management and Leadership Development team, a role well suited to her passions and gifts for training and equipping others, and seeing their potential during and beyond their time on board.
2) Mish, Australia
Mish remembers the emotion she felt arriving to the ship in January and seeing the crew outside the decks ready to welcome the new crew with shouts of joy, waving flags and playing drums.
Joining the ship has been on her heart since she was thirteen, as her parents, who served on board Doulos, shared their experience with her growing up.
Mish had no preference as to which department she would be allocated to work in on board, trusting God to send her where He wanted her to work and learn. However to her great surprise, she has just been placed in the engine department!
"This was the department I least expected, because I don't know anything about engines," she admits. "However, my grandfather was chief engineer on [OM’s earlier ship] Logos II from 1998. The current chief engineer on Logos Hope worked under him, and now I work under him too, so it's like a full circle!”
3) Chandra, India
Before coming to the ship, Chandra was in business and ran his own hotel. But due to COVID-19, the business suffered many losses and had to close. Seeing him deeply affected by that situation, his family encouraged him to join the ship. He had first come to know about the Ship Ministry from his brother, who had previously explored the possibility of joining. Six months later, in the time it took him to learn English, Chandra joined the ship in Richards Bay.
He recalls: "My plans were to become a good businessman and earn money to reach people near my business, who were also having a hard time, and tell them about the living God.” Now Chandra is relying on God's plans and praying for His guidance as he looks forward to connecting with those he meets in the ports the ship visits.
4) John, Germany
John spent the first six months of his life in Kenya, where his parents worked. He had the opportunity to visit our previous ship Doulos when he was a teenager and eventually decided to apply as a crewmember himself.
John explains, "I was thinking of going to Africa like my parents, but I wanted to experience [new] cultures, because on the ship there's a lot [of] diversity.”
John is now working in the deck department, where his professional experience, particularly as a painter, will be useful. While this job puts him in less contact with visitors to the ship, John looks forward to the opportunities he will have, as well as sharing with other crewmembers, learning from each other and growing together.
5) Wumi, Tanzania
Wumi first served on Logos Hope from her hometown in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in October 2023, as a port volunteer. Initially, she aimed to finish her two-week commitment and return to her work in a micro-finance company. However, an experience she had one day on the Visitor Experience Deck changed her mind, when she felt God guide her towards two young people. Through her story, they found answers to the difficulties they were facing in their university environment, and lives in general.
"I never imagined that just my story could really affect someone else's life,” says Wumi. So, when she was asked to join the ship for the Short-Term Exposure Programme (STEP), she quickly said yes!
However, en route to Madagascar, Wumi received the sad news that her grandfather had passed away. She remembers: "This loss hit me hard, especially because I was experiencing it in a new environment… I was very close to going home. But God reminded me that he knew this was going to happen while I was away, [and] if He allowed me to go, then [this is] where He wants me to be."
Wumi then prayed for peace. With the STEP coming to an end, she felt that she had not finished what God wanted her to do and decided to extend for a year, joining the latest group of crewmembers in Richards Bay!
Thank you for praying for Alba, Mish, Chandra, John. Wumi and all the other new crewmembers as they invest their lives in serving with the ships and make use of their gifts to impact others on board and on shore.
Have you been thinking about joining?
As a Jesus follower, YOU also have a vital part to play! Don't worry about your background, your experience, or your skillset. If God is inviting you to serve with the Ship Ministry, He will equip you with all you need.
Just come as you are!