Logos Hope

Ryan and I recently found a church nearby to attend called Watermark Community Church. It is a fairly new church that was planted off a larger church on Hong Kong Island a little over 2 years ago. After attending our first service at Watermark, I was given information about a women's group that meets at the church's community center near our apartment. I began attending the following week and have been so blessed by the women I have met through it. It is so refreshing to be able to meet so many people that were once in your same situation and are open and willing to help you out in any way. Ryan and I both have been able to meet so many people through Watermark and are looking forward to making friendships with many of them. 

Last week our women's group was invited to board the Logos Hope ship, which was docked nearby on the island. The Logos Hope is a mission boat that travels around the world in order to bring knowledge, hope and help to all the countries it visits. It brings knowledge by housing the world's largest floating book fair. The ship carries more than 5,000 books including cook books, children books and Christian help books. They also carry text books that have been donated by manufacturers that were extras, to be able to donate to developing countries. They bring help to countries by having the crew perform service projects for places in need such as eye exams, dental & medical aid or helping neighborhoods with community service. They bring hope to others through their relationships between crew members and visitors in order to help others build their relationship with God.

The Logos Hope ship

Women of Watermark before boarding the ship

The Logos Hope houses more than 400 unpaid volunteers from over 45 countries. The volunteers can work from any amount of time, depending on the job they volunteer from. Some of the women we met had signed up for 2 years, while others were there for 3 months. The boat normally docks in a harbor for 3-4 weeks before departing to the next destination. In Hong Kong, the ship will be dry-docked for over a month following its time in the harbor for maintenance. During that time, the volunteers can either go home, travel or stay in apartments provided in Hong Kong.

Having fellowship with the Logos Hope women's group

Enjoying time on the ship

Many of the volunteers have families on the ship as well. We were able to look into a couple of the cabins which house a family of 5. The rooms were not as small as I assumed but really made me appreciate our apartment and realize it could be a lot smaller. On board the children go to school under the British School System and are taken off the boat as much as possible for exercise since running is prohibited on the boat for safety reasons.

Read more information about the Logos Hope and other OM International Ships here: 
http://www.omships.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=278
 

Natalie and I on the ship

It was such a great morning to meet women from around the world who are doing amazing work on the ship to help others. If you ever get an opportunity to board the ship, take it! We hope the women from the Logos Ship enjoyed their time with us as much as we did and hope to see them soon while they are staying in Hong Kong. 

And my weekly photo of Ahri, with her new friend