We had a big Kid’s Open Day on Saturday this week and thanks to those of you who have helped provide balloons and clown gear, Holly was able to lead a few clowns into the fun of the day. She spent quite a bit of time in the nearby town square handing out invitations to the ship and balloon sculptures. And that was fulfilling for her to see many of those faces she had met on board the ship later in the day. Once on board, kids were able to enjoy a number of different activities centered around Bible stories as well as take tours and meet crew members from around the world. For many, it was their first visit to the ship.
Meanwhile the boys and I went for an adventure of our own to try and find a nearby forest we’ve been hearing about. To give us energy for the quest, we first stopped and got a bit of ice cream and enjoyed that on a bench on the way. Then we headed into what we thought was the forest but in the end, I’m not sure we were in the right place. However, we found a cool lamp post which the boys decided was just like the one in Narnia. So we took a photo with that also. We followed a trail a little further and in the end found a huge house which I had gone by a couple of weekends ago in the kayak. There was a little swing set there so we hung out for a bit before heading back to the ship.
On Sunday afternoon, I was able to share for a few minutes with a visiting church group about the ministry and how they can be a part of it through partnership with us. One of the members commented on how encouraging it is to see the vision and potential of the ship. We would love to see more Danes able to step out and become a part of the ministry personally.
On the work front, I am preparing for some personnel changes on the team as our video producer ends his commitment with the organisation and our journalist will also be moving into a new role on board. Thankfully we have two people ready to step in and fill the roles and I hope the transition will be smooth. I would appreciate your prayers for this.
Vegiemite posted a photo:
The boys got into the Narnia stories a bit lately and while out and about on the weekend we found our own lamp post.
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The boys enjoyed a jumpy castle that was set up for the kids on the Kids' day.
Vegiemite posted a photo:
Dad and the boys enjoyed some ice cream while on their way to find the fabled forest (where the lamp post was).
Today we had a special opportunity to visit Legoland here in Denmark. This sponsored trip was for the whole ship’s crew and staff (although not everyone went today - some go next week) and was a great experience designed to give people a chance to have some fun in what is quite an expensive part of the world. We have had the opportunity to visit Legoland in California a few years ago and so it was familiar but still a lot of fun. The weather was a little wet but it didn’t dampen the excitement too much and we got to do a good number of the bigger rides and also enjoyed the ‘4D’ movies which are 3D movies with some atmosphere effects (water spray, smoke, etc.) The drive there was almost three hours each way so it was an early start to get there by 10am and we ended up leaving at 5:30 so as not to have too late a night. However, school is out this week on board so the boys and Holly can catch up over the next few days. Some of the families were able to take the ship vans while everyone else were in a couple of coaches. Thankfully one of the other dads drove both ways for our van so it was pretty relaxed.
On Saturday night we enjoyed being table hosts for OM Denmark’s celebration of 50 years of OM. The founder George Verwer has been on board for the past few days and was the speaker for the event. It was held in the ship’s Dining Room and was a nice evening with a formal dinner and various speakers and the like. We got to meet a Dutch couple who were friends of our current Captain but the husband is a Captain as well who has worked with the ship ministry in the past. He was actually the Captain on Logos II many years ago when our family sailed from Ivory Coast to Togo with the ship for a week once. So it was a small world type of evening in that sense and he had some fun stories of their experiences with the ships.
Vegiemite posted a photo:
Vegiemite posted a photo:
Vegiemite posted a photo:
Vegiemite posted a photo:
As we kick off a new week I would like to get back to some shorter, more regular updates rather than making it several weeks between each mammoth post. For those of you getting the updates straight to your inbox it will mean some more frequent messages but we hope you’ll appreciate the added insight to our lives here on board. For our Flickr photos, I will also try to geotag them with where they were taken for those who might be interested.
The team from Florence arrived safely on Friday after a bit of a delay on the way and it is great to have them here with us. They enjoyed a slower paced weekend start but will be into the practical work as of tomorrow morning. They were able to bring some mail and some goodies which was a nice blessing for us.
Yesterday we opened the ship to the public for the first time here in Denmark and had 150 people visit us which was a good start. We will have the ship open each weekend for the next few weeks so hopefully we’ll see many more able to come on board.
This afternoon I borrowed a kayak and went on a paddle up the river which empties into the harbour. It’s more a stream than a river but it was something fun and different and I enjoyed the trip and getting to know one of our shipmates who I haven’t spent much time with before.
Tonight we had a live video link with TeenStreet Germany, which is a big event held each year “motivate and equip Christian Teens to have a real friendship with Jesus and reflect Him in their world”. We have a team down at the event representing the ships and had the fun of connecting with them live. Our ship’s company can make a lot of noise and hopefully we might see some of those teens on board in the next years.
Vegiemite posted a photo:
Some of our crew who came to represent the ship for the live video link with TeenStreet.
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Jon was able to borrow the kayak of one of our engineers and with one of our chefs went for an adventure up the little river that feeds into the harbour.
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Zac took a spill from his bike (which I don't think has ever happened since he learned how to ride) and scraped up his forehead and elbow. However, the bandaging was more for the photo than the need.
Vegiemite posted a photo:
We received a gift of moon sand which is sand that you can mould a bit. The boys enjoyed playing with it and their monster trucks.
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Holly, Jon, Zac, Mel and Justin. We were the MCs for the event that these three put the big effort into organising. All in all, a great evening of fun and laughter.
Our Sabbath time has been and gone and in the end was a bit too short but a nice break from the normal none the less. We enjoyed some good teaching from a guest speaker which hit some of the highlights from the journey to Jerusalem as recorded in Luke 9-19. We also enjoyed a slightly relaxed schedule although in the end it was fairly full due to evening events and our preparation for hosting the LogOscars, the amateur video competition we have on board for all the wannabe film directors (some of whom really have a lot of talent).
Due to the number of videos submitted we had to change our plan or it would have been a very long evening. We watched all 15 submissions a few times and then came up with what we thought was an entertaining script to string it all together. Holly found a dress in the costume collection and with a bit of accessorizing made it look great and I went with a suit and tie as it was billed as a formal occasion. Holly had her hair done by our hair dresser onboard and it looked great. The LogOscar trophies were hand made by our ship’s plumber and we were able to give away 9 of them for various things such as best picture, directing, actor, actress, etc. All in all it was a really fun evening for Holly and I and from the feedback we got it sounded like everyone enjoyed it.
One of our friends was willing to keep an eye on the boys for us but it didn’t all go as planned. First Zac collected a good size bump on the head when they were playing on fun deck and then Nate had a nose bleed all over his fancy white shirt which he was dressed up in as he had a movie in the competition. But they were able to join the fun of the event itself and got to stay up late.
Now we’re back into the full swing of a new week and a new month approaching quickly. During July, as many as possible who have office jobs on board have been helping with the practical work as possible. To facilitate that, the ship had no organised ministry opportunities during that time. But as we roll into August, there will be tours every weekend for local visitors as well as a number of event for certain groups. This coming weekend will kick this off and I’m looking forward to having these opportunities again. However the work focus continues as well and we’re excited to have a team from Florence here at the end of the week as well as the next person who will be doing multimedia production on Jon’s team visiting for a couple of days to have a hand over with the current multimedia producer.
The temperatures are also heating up and as the new chillers aren’t online yet, we’re at the mercy of the breezes and our ability to bring cool air into the ship through windows and doors. There is also work underway as part of the generator setup which means we’re running on less power generation capacity than normal which in turn means the normal ventilation systems are not running. So all that to say, it’s pretty hot on board and we appreciate your prayers for relief from the heat and grace to deal with it.
Today brought the return of my boss and his wife from their furlough during which I was covering that responsibility. It has been a good experience to have a wider experience of what our team is responsible for but it was also a lot of extra work and so I am happy to be able to hand back those added responsibilities and refocus on our communications efforts.
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