'GOD'S SHIP' : LOGOS HOPE IN BELFAST

Yesterday morning I made my way down to the Belfast docks to have breakfast on the O.M. (Operation Mobilization)missionary ship Logos Hope.To be honest, as I was driving up towards the docks and saw the ship, my breath was taken away. Then on greeting the OM-er at the gangway I got so emotional that I was nearly in tears as I gave him a hug ;so this was the great ship that I had heard so much about for so long: the ship that God gave George Verwer and his friends to bring Christ to the world!

The Logos Hope is funded by Christians throughout the world and at the moment the crew consists of Christians from 45 nationalities. The morning I spent there was a great blessing as I talked to the missionaries, listening to their stories about how God has used them to change the lives of those who are without hope, and also of course, buying a few books on their great bookshop(it is in fact is the largest floating bookshop in the world!)

If you are in Belfast this week,or hear that the Logos is in a Port near you in the future, please take the opportunity to pay them a visit and learn how they seek to bring hope to a world in pain and need.Below I have listed their three main purposes which was taken directly from their website.AK

THEIR PURPOSE-BRINGING KNOWLEDGE,HELP & HOPE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD

1.BRINGING KNOWLEDGE

Logos Hope visits port cities throughout the world, supplying vital literature resources, encouraging inter-cultural understanding, training young people for more effective life and service, promoting greater global awareness, providing practical aid and sharing a message of hope in God wherever there is opportunity.Aid and relief work, is an expression of God's love and concern for needy people. In terms of Logos Hope’s future destinations, this will include providing medical aid, construction projects, major donations of literature, as well as spontaneous gifts of food and clothing.

2.BRINGING HELP

Aid and relief work, is an expression of God's love and concern for needy people. In terms of Logos Hope’s future destinations, this will include providing medical aid, construction projects, major donations of literature, as well as spontaneous gifts of food and clothing.

Ship’s personnel will also be donating textbooks and reference volumes to schools, libraries, colleges and universities, distributing medical or food supplies, renovating clinics and orphanages, and assisting in the construction of schools and church buildings.

3.BRINGING HOPE
The Logos Hope community lives and works together on board as a practical outworking of their service for God. In today’s troubled world this example of harmony and unity among international diversity, is a powerful witness.

Each crew member has a personal, living faith in God, stemming from a restored relationship with Him, bringing hope, meaning and focus to his or her life. The ship community desires to share this message of hope in a restored relationship with God in the ports visited. This is done with greatest respect for and sensitivity towards the culture of the community hosting the ship.