Bahia Blanca, Argentina :: Crewmembers mobilise a group of young believers to take a step towards serving God.
A local church invited a team of crewmembers to lead its youth service, with the aim of mobilising teenagers and young adults for mission. The youth had been looking forward to meeting the international volunteers and hearing about Logos Hope.
The crewmembers explained to the young people that they are just like them, and that they have decided to go and serve God in other nations. Pastor Montes said the young people were as yet unaware about global mission, so the crew's visit was an opportunity for them to discover a new perspective.
Carolin Kluepfel (Germany) told the young church members about her journey to serve on board. She joined Logos Hope as a ‘STEPper.’ STEP (Short Term Exposure Programme) is a programme for volunteers who stay on board for a shorter time than most crewmembers: three months. Before coming on board, Carolin worked with prisoners and studied social work. When her sister mentioned the idea of volunteering on the ship, she thought living with people from many different cultures would be interesting.
Carolin prayed about the idea and received her answer through a Bible verse. “I applied to come on board and said, ‘OK, God, if this is your plan, then it will happen.’” When she was accepted, she sold her car after having an accident. The insurance money she received covered the amount she needed to raise to serve on the ship.
“It all came together, and I was able to come here,” explained Carolin. She wanted to show the young believers that nothing could stop them from going to serve God. “A seed was planted, and I believe God will be working in their hearts,” Pastor Montes commented, as he drove the volunteers back to the ship.
“Today we learnt that we must share the good news with people around us and realise that we must all be missionaries,” Pastor Montes said, as he reflected on the message another crewmember had given. “But not only where we live – the message of the gospel must be shared with the entire world. This is why having this time with Logos Hope’s crewmembers was so important.”
The pastors and church members thanked the volunteers for their visit and for the message shared with their youth. Many had a lot of questions and showed their encouragement and support through praying for the crew and their mission work.