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You may recall that this Mission opened a new work in the port of Whittier last year. As before, a team of 5 have traveled the 180 miles roundtrip from Seward at least twice a week to join Joe and Jeannette there. What could have been especially taxing this season was having ships in both ports on the same day. Fortunately, we were blessed with some new team members, who, like the cavalry, arrived in the nick of time and relieved the regular team from trying to split itself into two. Another blessing has been the studio on the ground floor of Begich Towers has remained available to us to rent. While it is cramped, it has served us well in a town were accommodations are limited and very expensive. The situation has been relieved on occasion by the local community church and the BTI resident's association sharing their facilities with us. For this we are indeed grateful.

A distinct area of expansion for us has been created by holding more of our church services aboard. The cruise ship companies have been most supportive of this move. The response from the crew has been mixed. We have come to realize that we must do things a little differently in the future to best meet their needs. Furthermore, we are not altogether sure that this is always the best option for the crew, as just the act of getting of the ship can be of benefit to the individual. It certainly helps us with our space restraints and it assists those crew members who have a limited amount of free time.

Many seafarers have made decisions for Christ in both ports this year. We have been so encouraged by the return of seafarers who made their decisions for Christ at the Mission during previous summers. They have grown in faith. We have heard how the lives of friends and family back home have been blessed because of their decisions. Acts 16:31

What on Earth Did He Read? by Jeannette Seale

On board I went to encourage the Filipino pizza cook who is a Christian who can't attend the fellowship because of his working hours. He wasn't there at the time, but I met an assistant waiter from Mexico who looked extremely tired and sad. I chatted with him awhile and he told me he would like some literature. I didn't have much with me in Spanish, but I gave him a little booklet that was a topical Bible study. The only problem was that he did not have a Bible or NT. I got a Spanish NT for him and we looked up one verse together. Then I let him look up the next one by himself. He read the verse aloud, grabbed his chest, and fell against the table! Astonished, I asked if he was ok and he said no he wasn't. He righted himself, then held the NT up and read the verse aloud again and grabbed his chest and fell against the table again!! I was thinking, oh my goodness, what is he reading? If he collapses here in the restaurant, there will be a scene and I will be the cause of it!!

Quickly I pulled out my little NT in English and flipped through the pages frantically trying to find the verse while he stood in front of me leaning against the table, looking pale and ready to collapse. I read "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Gal. 5:1 I asked him what was wrong and he gasped the words, "I'm a slave to sin." I asked if he wanted to be free and he blurted out, "yes." His boss, who knows me, came along to see what was happening and I asked if we could just have two minutes to go to the nearest crew stairwell, but the answer was "sorry, no."

As the boss walked away, I looked at the waiter and told him we would pray right then and there. We stood looking at each other: he prayed in Spanish and I prayed in English. The heavy burdens reflecting in his eyes lifted and he was astonishingly a new man standing there in front of me. The whole scene lasted maybe three minutes.

As he had to go back to work, I walked away amazed at the power of God to transform a life in an instant.

Each time his ship was in, I went back to see him. The smile got bigger, he read more in his NT each week, and his grateful heart overflowed with love for his Savior. God demonstrated to me again that His word will not come back void, even if the encounter is only 3 minutes long.

A Purpose Filled Life by Lyn Oerting (Lyn and her husband volunteered for several weeks last summer)

The missionary staff at the Seward Seaman's Mission know what it means to be ready "in season and out of season to give an account of the hope that is within you."

Believers and nonbelievers from many countries who compose the crews on the cruise ships or foreign young people from the fish cannery found solace while waiting to use the telephone or internet. The freshly baked cookies and hot coffee nurtured the souls while volunteers inquired if they knew that the Bible says they may have their sins forgiven and dwell eternally with God. Others explored Bibles in their own language and were shown what God says about any problem they may be having.

And do they have problems! Americans have no concept of the struggle for survival in the lands from which the crew come. A forty year old woman from Bulgaria told how she was thankful that she could financially provide for her mother and two teenage daughters. Otherwise they would be starving. At a worship service a beautiful young Filapina cocktail waitress could not keep back the tears while singing Christian songs in her own language. The songs made her long for her little children back home and her husband who works on a different ship. An Italian woman felt like she was in a small cage working with back biting young girls who made her life miserable in the nail salon. A Canadian singer was embarrassed by off duty carpenters who were assigned to help her change dresses rapidly for the next performance. ( this type of "side job" is common)

The lyrics of a song state "Jesus is the hope in a weary land." He is indeed our hope. But what about those who have never heard and those who have no hope? That is why all the volunteers shared any way that the Lord gave them to share. Some shared directly, some shared by doing the behind the scenes jobs. Whatever God gave us to do, we were there to serve.

There Were No Words by Jeannette Seale

Two summers ago I met a young man from South Africa who is a sailor. He impressed me in every area. He supported his mom and siblings, he was good at his job. He said he knew the Lord although he could not attend the onboard fellowship because of his working hours. He got along well with people and had impeccable manners. He was not the stereotype sailor that people think we meet.

I had promised to send him a Christmas card, but I have to admit that was all the letter writing I did in his direction. This spring I saw him working on the gangway and he called a hello and told me he got the card and thanks a lot! Then I promptly forgot to write his name down and I looked for him for weeks before I could find him again. When I did, he was in the messroom with five minutes to gobble his lunch. I rushed over, plopped down on the chair facing him, and said "well, Steven, tell me all the exciting things that have happened to you since I saw you last Sept." He pushed back his baseball cap, swallowed hard, and said, "well mam, my younger brother was murdered the day after Christmas, we buried him on Jan. 1, and I left to come back to sea on Jan. 3."

I just sat there shocked, I had no words.....Finally I could ask how it happened and he told me his brother had been stabbed with a kitchen knife because of a lie that was told about him. As he explained what had happened, his eyes filled with tears, he pulled his baseball hat down over his eyes so that the other 100 people in that part of the room could not see his tears. I pulled my chair nearer to him, covered his hands with mine, and we cried.

I was shaken up the rest of the day over that meeting. I often prayed for him and with him, wrote him little notes, made sure I saw him every time the ship was in, even if it was only time for a hello. He is home now and he has to deal with the fact that the young men in jail may not get much prison time for the murder.

As we walk up and down the passages on the ships, I wonder how many other tragic stories inhabit those halls, the ones we never hear?

Fish and Fellowship by David Hawkins

The call came directly from the state fishing vessel while I was having dinner with Ina and the kids. “This is Mike. We’re just coming into the harbor and should be by the Mission in an hour to drop off some fish”. "Some fish" turned out to be 200lbs of ling cod and yellow eye fillets that needed to be skinned, washed, and wrapped ready for the freezer. As I have often said before, God sends the help when we really need it. On this occasion the blessing came in the form of three homeless fishermen/cannery workers who had stopped by earlier looking for a night’s shelter. In no time at all we had our big kitchen table covered with a plastic sheet and filleting knives sharpened. When the windfall arrived, we had our production line ready to roll. Within two hours the trimmings had been returned to the ocean, the surplus had been distributed, and the remainder of the fish was safely stowed in the Mission freezer. The real joy of that evening came in the companionable interaction. It would be easy to assume that these men had been pressed into service through a sense of obligation. Nothing could be further from the truth. The pleasure that these men took in having the opportunity to give something back was very apparent. What is more, they had a genuine desire to acknowledge God's provision even though they had so little. They said that He had always been there for them after the bleak times of being adrift. We concluded our project by standing together for a time of prayer. So what is the eternal destiny of these ones who live such a rough life? That’s for the Lord to answer and for me to ponder. I can only say that the Name of Jesus was proclaimed that night and we all enjoyed the time of sweet fellowship.

Joanne and the Barrel by Joe Seale

The day was almost done. David said, "OK, use both vans to get the men back to the dock, and off we go." So we said goodbye, and off they went or so we thought.

A few minutes later, Joanne came back in, looking bewildered handing me a little sticker with a phone number printed on it. In amazement she said, "I have a problem! There is a barrel attached to the van!" She had parked across the street, in the restricted area owned by a private citizen. I called and someone said they would be there in 5 minutes. The tension mounted as we knew we had to get the crew to the ship, the van free from the barrel, and loaded to make the 5 minute tunnel opening!

Jan, our young Dutch volunteer, and I went across the street to take a look. Sure enough, someone had attached a 55 gallon barrel to the van using a cable around the front axle. It was locked with a huge padlock! We couldn't believe our eyes. We had heard of this happening before, but had not had the pleasure of experiencing it for ourselves.

What could we do now? Nothing, but wait for someone to come and unlock the cable. Jan and I opened the rear gate of the van and sat down to wait. It was then that we noticed that all over the 15 story building people were watching this drama unfold. A man on the 8th floor was taking pictures - with a tri-pod! People on the 15th floor (a B & B) were pointing. People were looking out their windows on the 2nd, 7th, 10th--lots of floors!! We were the evening's entertainment in Whittier.

Soon, a rough looking man drove up in a huge truck and said he had come to unlock the barrel. We apologized and told him we had a new driver today. He said flatly, "It will still cost you 50 bucks." Knowing that the testimony of all the Mission personnel was at stake, I paid him and thanked him for coming so quickly. What else could I do, since it was obvious that mercy was not in his heart?

As the man was under the van unwinding the cable from the axle, I realized Joanne had apparently tried to back up before she noticed that the barrel was attached to the van. Thank God the van was not damaged, but I cam imagine that poor Joanne and all the crew had quite a surprise when the huge empty barrel rumbled after her as she backed out of the parking spot! We could not convince her to drive again the entire summer!

Oh Roeli! by David Hawkins

In June we were surprised to discover a beautiful sailing ship tied up in our port. She was the Cuauhtemoc, a Mexican naval ship used for officer training and diplomatic purposes. The elite crew of 200 traveled the world in this three-masted barque, which truly belonged to a different era. They had just spent the previous 21 days at sea and all aboard were anxious to find a present day necessity - a telephone. We found ourselves inundated for four days by these men who wanted to speak with their families before anything else.

Only one of us spoke Spanish, our regular team member from Holland, Roeli. This dear sister had spent part of two winters working in a Christian bookstore in Madrid so that she could learn to speak Spanish. There had been times when she pondered the wisdom of this commitment. Now, her hour had come. As the rest of us scrambled to assist these smartly uniformed sailors, we continually sought her linguistic skills. “Oh Roeli!”, could be heard throughout those long days. “Oh Roeli! Could you help this man over here please?” Sometimes in more stressful tones, “Oh Roeli! Please tell me what this man wants”. That this sister's strength held out is remarkable. Her physical limitations normally required that she only work every other day, and that she should have adequate rest periods. Astonished, we witnessed God’s empowerment. She never faltered during that critical time. Nothing was too much trouble for her. When she wasn’t coming to our rescue, she would be deeply immersed with an individual, sharing with him from the scriptures. Incredibly, she also ran the telephone room most of the time. The Lord blessed. Two crew members accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We gave away volumes of Spanish Bibles and quality Christian materials. We answered many of their questions, for example, “How can I pray to God when it is against the standing orders of the Mexican Navy to do so aboard?”

We also had a great deal of fun. We performed many services to meet their needs and our vans ran non stop. How much less would we have accomplished if we were not able to continually call out, "Oh Roeli!"

"My metabalismo is revolutionized." by Jeannette Seale

To most people, that statement would be incomprehensible, but to me it sounded absolutely beautiful. Paulo was an Italian waiter that I had known for at least 20 years. Over those years we talked often about the Lord and the message of salvation. Being Italian, Paulo was a nominal Catholic, and seldom attended church even when he was home. He did believe in God though and we worked on what he already knew about Jesus. Yes, it took about 20 years of being his friend in the good times and the sad, like when his little boy died, but one day he told me he was attending the onboard Christian fellowship. That was astounding, since Italian head waiters do not see themselves needing to get together with other nationalities of workers below their rank. But the day he came and told me about his metabalismo, and told me how he had trusted Jesus Christ's death on the cross for his sins, I was overjoyed!

It was such a wonderful privilege to sit with him in the empty passenger dining room and show him how to look up verses in his NT. He said he just could not go to the fellowship again and not know how to look up the verses for himself! As we read specific verses his Italian exuberance and excitement as he discovered the richness of God's word, made me think of his sister-in-law in Italy. He had told me many years earlier she was a Christian and that she prayed daily for him. What a joy to be part of her answered prayer!

A Significant Victory by David Hawkins

One the most discouraging things for a pastor is to witness a believer gripped in the clutches of a cult. This happened with my dear friend Jun. In previous years he had shared his hopes and his dreams with me, and we had prayed together often. How it grieved me to learn that last year he had become a member of a personality cult, a cult whose very identity is marked by antagonism and division (see Galatians 5:15, 25-26). What would become of this young man’s bright and sincere faith? We discussed the issue several times. Unfortunately he was already in deep. He also was working alongside a long entrenched disciple, Tina, in this contentious movement. In addition to my entreaties, his fiancée, Vera, a solid Christian, knew the dangers he was facing. He wouldn’t, or couldn’t, hear us, and then a miracle happened. During his last vacation, very early one morning, God gave him the strength to break the chains by which he had become bound. As dawn was breaking, he ran to Vera’s house to give her the good news. We discussed this in my office earlier this summer. This story does not end there. Jun had told me that now Tina was anxious to “get out” too, and that she wanted to talk about how she could accomplish that. Later in the season she showed up at the Mission asking questions. She expressed both despair and a desire to repent during her brief visit. Please pray for her release and to give thanks for Jun and Vera who are to marry soon.

I thank God for bringing you in this field and spreading the Good News of Salvation to the people aboard the cruises ships. I always prayed for your strength, safety and wisdom from God to praech the Gospel and helping people to know HIM. Philippines

It's such an encouragement to hear from you and know that we are in the same battle--fighting the good fight. UK captain

God Bless you all for all you do-you have no idea how much I leaned on your friendship and guidance. You all make a HUGE difference. Canada

I don't believe in your God and I don't believe in my god either! India

When I am thinking at the mission, I am glad to have seen you all and your beautiful work you do. It's an exemple for me. I never will forget. France

Thank you for the paper Dilemma. Its very touching. It really understands the life of the seafarer. Philippines

It really nice to have you who bring us closer to God. And be Anchorage is one heavenly place who given us a very warmth welcome and most friendly them all. My boys had great time everytime we were there. Captain Korea

Praise God for the work that God has called you to do amongst the seamen. I needed someone to tell me about Jesus, and I know that there are more sailors out there that are waiting to hear the good news about Jesus Christ. USA

I always read your bible, it is a great company and inspiration. Italy

Thank you for supporting me, thank you for reminding me to put my family over my job. Indonesia

I wish we could sit together and talk again. Every time I have a conversation with you, I am always filled with new courage which I need. By the way, you made me so excited when you ask if I still want to go to Bible College. Well, your question sounds easy but it was penetrating sharply to my heart. Indonesia

David and Ina Hawkins	Joe and Jeannette Seale
PO Box 2742	PO Box 143316
Seward, AK  99664	Anchorage, AK  99514
(907) 224-8482	(907) 338-1425