While the previous week was a bit quieter than anticipated, we had a pretty busy weekend with over ten thousand visitors for the two days coming to the ship. This made for some long lines outside as people waited their turn to come aboard and experience the ship for themselves. While we are striving to be more than just about books in this visit, it was exciting to see the equivalent of one Bible purchased every minute that we were open on Saturday. We’ve also seen more school children visiting through the weekdays although it seems more manageable in this port than it was in Montego Bay. We expect that the end of the port will be the busiest time for the visit.

We are also enjoying a visit from a group of students who attend The King’s Academy in Florence, South Carolina. Some of these were here last year on the previous visit and it’s great to see them on board and experiencing some of ship life first hand. We find it’s not until people actually come to the ship that they really understand what it’s all about and so when we have young people like this here, we hope it will be a life changing experience and that some might come and serve with the ship in the years to come.

Speaking about what is to come next, we have now been on board Logos Hope for two and a half years and in June our commitment will come to an end. Our time on board has been an incredible experience with many opportunities to share God’s love with others. While it has been a real joy to be here through this formative time of the new ship, it is also a very intense environment (like being at Summer Camp every week for 2+ years!) and we realize the time has come to continue our ministry off of the ship. We’ve looked into various opportunities and one of those is a strong invitation to continue working with OM Ships International from the US office in Florence, South Carolina. Here I would take on a role in Communications based from that location. The exact details are still taking shape but it will be more strategic for the organisation to have me there and I hope to play a part in helping the ministry become more sustainable. We are still praying about the right role for Holly but hope to see her continue in actively sharing God’s love with people who don’t yet know him.

While we look forward to the change, with it comes many prayer requests and things that need to come together. Some of the things we are trusting God for are:

-A smooth transition for the boys, finding good friends in our neighborhood.
-Finding the right schooling situation (especially for Zac as he has some special needs).
-A suitable vehicle (the boys have been praying for a van with DVD in it! What faith!).
-Finances for furniture and things we need to fix in our home after having it rented for almost 3 years (specifically paint and carpet).
-We need to see a significant increase in our financial support.
-As we travel for the month of June to see friends, family and our support team.
-That we will get rest and refreshment before we begin another role and that Jon’s new role to be a great fit.
-For God to continue to guide us in several other decisions we need to make.

If you would like more specifics on any of the above, please write to us. Thanks for participating in our updates!