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This has been the fifth year we have had a Mission home in Whittier, as well as in Seward.,. In Whittier we have appreciated so much the extra room with the other studio apartment across the hall. We can use the two rooms for our church services, music, counsel, and to discuss and distribute Christian material. This leaves the original rooms free for the lap top, telephone, and internet users. The whole set up works beautifully, and was never planned. Thank you Lord! We are about the only hot spot in this tiny town, and this has proven to draw more crew than we ever imagined. Thank you Lord! These technological hooks serve to develop our spiritual outreach in wonderful ways. Another detail that the Lord has taken care of is that the school gymnasium is just across the street. The crew are able to play basketball inside any time of day. We also provide the transportation back and forth to the ship. The baptisms performed at the mouth of the creek have been memorable, as it always seemed to be blowing a gale whenever a seafarer was dunked.

It was a wonderful luxury to have the new Honda van to commute the 180 miles roundtrip from Seward. Some of us do this two or three times a week.

There was an increase in the number of cruise ships in Seward this year, although the number of visitors from some of the regular ships was down, due to increased workload for the crew. We experienced the joy of many wonderful church services in our Music Room, and the mad cap times of good fellowship around the dinner table. In both locations we have had numerous interactions with the cannery workers who come to work in our ports. Many of them are Muslims, and they often show a keen interest in who we are and what we do. We again had regular access to all of the ships that have visited our two ports; this enables us to minister to those aboard who are unable to come ashore. This is especially helpful to Jeannette and her counseling ministry and for me to meet with the fellowship leaders.

This involves a great deal of work and sacrifice for all who volunteer. We have had a marvelous team. God again brought the right people at the right time. Thank you Lord!

Ship's Fellowship Leader Shares His Heart by Ben Yaoyao

This is a big opportunity and blessing for us as members of the family of Christ at sea to sound the whistle of High Seas Christian Fellowship to relate to shore-side brothers of how the Lord Jesus Christ works in us in a very unique way.

Distance and time we spend away from our loved ones back home is really not an easy thing for us. There are times we don’t feel well onboard, which of course is the time we long for the tender caress of our wife who looks after us at such a time. Vice versa, the same situation back home with our respective families takes place. Sometimes with pressure from work, being bored, lonely, the affects of bad weather also cause problems. In spite of this, the show must go on so that the US dollar will be sent home every end of the month. We are so blessed that we have our living God and the Lord Jesus Christ that takes care of us. We have peace, safety and assurance, but what about those unbelievers, those souls that don’t know our Lord Jesus Christ?

In the human perspective, it is very difficult being a long time onboard away from our families back home. But my family and I have put our Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of us and trust everything to him. We hear from the news about the sufferings of population caused by nature, ships catching fire, ships sinking, crew members being sent home, all causing countless sleepless nights, but we look with God’s perspective and rely on him. Distance and time doesn’t affect us because our Lord binds us and our families together.

Our Lord Jesus Christ also works in the midst of every Christian Fellowship on Princess Cruises fleet. Although most members of Christian believers onboard come from the Philippines, and a handful from other nationalities, each one of us has our own different church back home. Different churches with different systems and ways on how to run a church. Here onboard, we are one body, one soul and spirit, one belief and one God and Lord Jesus Christ. We set aside all our differences and work as one body of Christ onboard.

Our deepest gratitude of thanks to Whittier Seaman Mission for the support extended to us the crew members of Island Princess in logistics, materials, and spiritual help. The Lord used you and your team, Pastor David, as an instrument for our needs to be met, particularly the supply of Holy Bibles and other religious materials for free. Your team effort is part of the success of the Christian Fellowship onboard. Thank you in Jesus Christ name. Amen.

"USPH" by Jeannette Seale
Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

These four letters can strike terror into the heart of even the most seasoned ship's personnel. USPH stands for US Public Health. Each passenger ship must pass an extremely rigorous test by the USPH several times a year. Unknown to the passengers sleeping in the cabins on the upper decks, the galley crew cleaners, cooks, and chefs, spend extra hours cleaning every night in anticipation of this inspection. The USPH can come on in any US port and they come unannounced. They are feared and respected.

One day I was in the hotel manager's office when someone rushed to his door and whispered "USPH is in the terminal!!!!!" The hotel manager shot out of his chair like a jack in the box and I said a hasty good bye. I headed for the crew mess where I would hopefully be out of the way. Seconds later, as I walked along the main thoroughfare on the crew deck, a tall Indian man walking in front of me met each oncoming crew member with only a whispered "usph." I figured the news had already reached the 14th deck where the passenger buffet was already opening.

In the mess I sat with an Indian galley cleaner. He was newly married and his wife was a nurse working in Saudi Arabia. She was due to have their first child but he would not be home for the birth. He told me how much he had come to love her and knew that she was the bride that God had prepared for him. They often talked on the phone, but she pleaded with him to write a letter so she could see his hand writing again. He had tried to explain to her that the last two months had been taken up with extra cleaning for "USPH" and he was sleeping only a few hours a night. With tears and said, "This morning I was just begging God to give me enough strength so that I would have the time to write her a short note. When I heard that USPH was on board, I knew that God had answered my prayers! Tonight instead of cleaning, I can sleep a little longer and maybe I will have a few extra minutes to write her a letter."

How the dreaded USPH could be used by God to answer this young man's desperate prayer is just a marvel to me.

My Baby by Joe Seale

“Can I use the wireless internet?” she asked. Yes, of course, that’s one of the services we provide at the Seaman’s Mission. “I need to keep in touch with my sister who is taking care of my one month-old baby.”

Then she told her story: When she joined the ship last year on her first contract, she was lonely. She was attracted to a young man, who made friends with her, and eventually became her boyfriend. Needless to say, as time went on, they became intimate. When she told him she was pregnant, he was really shook up – because he was married to someone else back home! “But don’t worry”, he said, “I will take care of you and your baby.” A month later, he asked to be transferred to another ship, but he gave her his cell phone number and email address. “I will stay in touch”, he promised. But after he left, the phone was never answered, and the email account was terminated. She could not get in touch with him again.

When she went home, her parents were furious. They did not let her stay with them, and she had to go stay with her older sister. After the baby was born, her parents wanted to see their grandbaby, and relented somewhat. But they still would not let her come home. Soon she realized that if she did not go back to work, her sister would have to take care of 2 people – her and her baby – but if she went back to work, then she could provide the money needed for the care of her baby, and her sister would only have to take care of one person.

So here she was with a one-month old baby at home, and working on the ship thousands of miles away. And you know what? Several times young men on the ship have asked her, “Do you want to have a boyfriend?” What do you suppose she says now? And what kind of a mother can she be, at ‘long distance’? Throughout her story, she never mentioned her baby’s name; it was always only ‘My Baby’.

If only this story would have been told to her before it happened to her, perhaps this tragedy in life could have been avoided. It is a wise person that can learn from the mistakes of others. These are the kinds of situations where we can counsel and give her godly advice for her future.

Delay was in God's Plan by Kathy Martin

The Clipper Pacific came to port in Seward for what was supposed to be a one-day visit. God had a different plan for them! The ship was detained by the U.S. Coast Guard for repairs and the one day became four! During her stay, the Mission had the pleasure and privilege of staying open for extended hours in order to provide the crew with respite and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The ship musicians took over the Mission worship room and filled the house with music at night after dinner. By the time the Clipper was released to sail 4 days later, a church had been planted on the ship! Lucio, an engine mechanic from Honduras, answered God's call to lead the new fellowship. We thank God and praise Him for the repairs needed to the Clipper Pacific and the new church onboard!

Surprise Blessing by Jeannette Seale
so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

When I am in the crew mess of a large passenger ship, I try to be there at lunch time to meet and talk with the most number of people and hand out as much Christian material as I can. This does have drawbacks though, as there are so many in the room at one time.
Late one afternoon a middle aged Indian man in blue coveralls approached me. He said he had watched me in the mess and hoped I would come to his table and give him a devotional book also. I had gone the opposite direction and he could not get my attention. As I dug through my bag looking for a book for him, he happened to mention that his grand father was the first man in India to translate the Bible into Marati, one of the many languages of India! With much emotion in my voice I told him that we have NT in Marati in the mission here in Whittier. His grand father's labor of love had come half way around the world and the precious story of Jesus was available in Marati in our little mission. The radiant smile on his face said more than a million words.

Sofia by David Hawkins

Sofia is a Polish violinist who plays classical music in a quartet aboard ship. This summer proved to be the most difficult time ever experienced by this quiet, middle-aged lady, whose principle ambition in life is to draw closer to the Lord Jesus. We can hardly imagine the challenge for such a woman when she is required to share every intimate detail of her daily life with those who do not believe as she does. This sharing included her sleeping quarters, and her bathroom; as well as the work environment. She could barely speak any English, just Polish with her colleagues, whose focus was elsewhere. Where could she run? Where could she hide?

What a blessing that the church aboard was able to offer a place of holy retreat. "Church?" some would exclaim, ".... just a bunch of religious nuts." Maybe so, but this group of ordinary men and women, seeking Christian fellowship with one another, were able to offer her the sanctuary that Sofia so desperately needed. She couldn't understand too much of what was being said, but she did communicate with the other members in her own special way. She played her violin for them. This helped to inspire the idea of having a Christian music festival aboard. This caused so much enthusiasm among the believers that they approached a senior chef to see if it was possible provide food also. And so it happened. The entire ship's company was invited. To everyone's amazement, somewhere between 70 and 100 attended this special performance that included a number of other Christian musicians. It was a huge success. Similar evenings are planned for the future. Sophia was pleased with this success, but she would insist that the real spiritual support came from the love extended to her from the brethren, none of whom spoke her language, or were members of her particular church.

I Did My Job? by Kathy Martin
The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness" Jer. 31:3

Last year during the 2007 season in Seward I met the senior nurse from one of the ships. She spent her time at the Mission using her laptop. I enjoy technology so I began to have conversations with her about her laptop. We soon became friends. When the season ended we exchanged email addresses and an email friendship began...

She returned to port this year and invited me onboard to visit her ship, a visit I will never forget. I was able to see the crew in their "home" surroundings, at work and how they interact with other crew and with supervisors. This experience adds greatly to my ability to minister effectively to future crew. But...

The greatest part of this visit came when I was given the opportunity to share with her my own testimony of the power of Jesus Christ to save a life. As the season ended once again, we hugged and said goodbye, this time with tears. She said to me, "Kathy, you did your job." I answered, "What job was that?" As she laid her hand across her heart, she simply said, "My soul."

The Man with the Jaunty Ear Protectors by Jeannette Seale

Every time a certain ship was in Whittier, a young man with a goatee and dressed in white coveralls and ear protectors perched jauntily on his head would walk through the mess at noon. He was always accompanied by a Filipino in blue coveralls and they would be laughing and cutting up. I never saw him any other time or got the chance to talk with him. One day we received a call to perform a memorial service for an Italian engineer who had gone home on leave and died in a motorcycle accident. I was puzzled that his name was not familiar to me so I looked through two years of my daily notes and could find no mention of this man who had died.

Pastor David and Betsy prepared the service and music and I went to the ship early to make sure everything was ready before they arrived. On the ship’s bulletin board was a poster announcing the memorial service with a picture of the young man who had died. To my shock and horror, it was a picture of a laughing young man dressed in white coveralls with a goatee, with his ear protectors set jauntily on his head.

Dear Lord, open my eyes anew to this lost and dying world and use me to bring others to you.

Oh to be known as a mission that lifts up and magnifies the name of Jesus!!

Quotes

I am 36 years old and I have been missing that light of Jesus my whole life. India