Ripple Effect

Hey Everyone!
It’s been a while since I’ve been in contact so there’s quite a bit to tell. Our next stop after Sierra Leone was Tema, Ghana not far from the city of Accra. Only a couple of days after we arrived I got to go on a church team. The church was in a village just out of the city area and even though it was quite small you could tell the congregation was really on fire for Christ. My team did an hour presentation, including the preaching, and my part was to share the ship’s presentation. Everything went really, you could tell God was in it, and the church was so welcoming and hospitable. It was really encouraging to see a strong, healthy church that was so intent on reaching out to its community.

Whilst I really enjoyed meeting the African people and experiencing their culture, not everything is so enjoyable. The adults tend to be very aggressive in their expression and speech towards you and the men are very forward and sometimes not very respectful. For the second week in Ghana I was on gangway watch in the morning so I had to deal with a lot of people who had bad attitudes and I had a really tough times dealing with them sometimes. After my week of watch I had a ministry day on the public deck and I just couldn’t deal with the people any more. I remember that I really just couldn’t speak to anyone so I ended up just sitting away and praying. God really used this time to show me that I can’t love people in my own strength, only through His empowerment. Now it’s still not always easy but God has really placed His love for the African people back in my heart and through Him I can share that love.

We spent 2 weeks in Tema and then sailed overnight to another Ghana port called Takoradi. Takoradi is really different from Tema as its a rural port while Tema was right in near the city. I didn’t have a lot of opportunity to go ashore in my free time but God really blessed me with two amazing Edays! Number 1 was special right from the start because I was made team leader for the very first time. This was pretty exciting and challenging for me and on top of that it was my first school program plus it was for 1500+ kids! No Joke =D! The school was called Sekondi College and when my team arrived we were blown away by the sound of 1500+ kids singing hymns African style. Wow that is Powerful and Moving! They were all gathered in a big auditorium and as soon as we arrived we were straight on. None of my team was very outgoing so I wouldn’t say the program was outstanding but it was ok. Everyone gave their best and I believe God used that. My part was to do the introduction, I played in a drama and at the end tied everything together and shared a challenge that God can use anyone who is willing and makes themselves available.
The 2nd Eday was a visit to the Father’s love children’s home. I’ll just say straight up it was incredible. You know when we go on edays we go to bless others but I swear I always come back more blessed than the people we reached out to. My team was pretty cool to start off, we just sat down and came up with some ideas of what we could do with the kids and decided to leave it open and flexible. We left around 9am and drove for half an hour before arriving at the home. I don’t know about you but when I think of a children’s home in Africa I don’t exactly have a good impression but when we arrived I was pleasantly surprised. It was really set up like a home, each child had a bed and enough room and they ate together, went to school and had ‘parents’ just like a real family. God really has a hand in that place. Anyways, once we arrived everybody gathered in the dining room and then they introduced themselves before we shared who we were and played a game by mixing up our flags and getting them to guess which flag belonged to which person. After that we sang some songs with actions together and then everybody just split up and hung with the kids in different ways. Someone read stories, another person painted hands, somebody else played music etc. One of the teenage girls attached herself to me straight away and I spent most of the time just talking and sharing with her. It was really cool and everybody had a really great time and was really touched.

Africa in general hasn’t been a very easy time for me. God has really been challenging me in a lot of ways and the transitions aren’t always easy but I know God walks with me through it all. One of the things that has always helped me to connect with God and think things through is playing the guitar and lately I’ve really started practicing and worshiping with my guitar again. Looking back these last 6 months has definitely not been easy for me emotionally but I can also really see how God has been using these challenges in my life and how I’ve be growing through everything that’s happened. I used to think that growing in God meant that you always had a really good quiet time, studied the bible and did the right things but now I see that God also works through situations and mistakes that each of us make. So many things that I’ve learned growing up have become so real and true in my life now because I’ve experienced them personally. It’s true that you can learn from other people’s mistakes but sometimes you have to learn from your own. God’s been showing me that it’s not wrong to make mistakes so long as you learn from them and don’t make them a second time.
The ship is currently in Monrovia, Liberia where we sailed to after leaving Takoradi (incidentally, I was on sea watch AGAIN). This port is pretty intense for everyone on board because we are sending out as many help and challenge teams as possible which means all the departments are stretched thin for workers. I go on challenge team in two weeks time and it is going to be a very challenging time for me as I’ve been chosen to be the team leader. We are an all girl, distribution team which means we will be giving out a lot of educational literature and schools supplies as well as doing a few school presentations. I’m very excited about it and will let you know how it goes.
So that’s it for now. I go on watch again tomorrow for a week then I’m on challenge team and after that I’m back on watch straight away so life is going to be very whacked out for a while. Our next port will be in the Canary Islands and will be a lot more relaxed. I’m looking forward to the freedom of a western country again =D
God bless, Rosanna

PS. I randomly decided to upload this recent photo of (nearly) the entire deck department because I though you might be interested =D

You are in your cabin preparing to go out. You take off your jewellery, watches and anything else of worth, you’re wearing long pants, a loose fit t-shirt and closed shoes and in your pockets you have small amount of money and your I.D. so that you can get past the port security. You’re now ready to go.
As you step onto the gangway you’re instantly hit by the heat and humidity and in response your body produces litres of sweat that drips down your body. When you reach the security gate the guards let you out and you’re surrounded by street kids that beg you for food, money or anything free. You gently begin to push your way through the kids and start to become uncomfortably aware of your surroundings. The road you’re walking down is more potholes than road, the small ramshackle houses that line the street are made of bits of wood, plastic, material and cardboard and there’s a putrid smell rising from a drain that’s full of rubbish, sewage, dead animals and other filth. Continuing to walk, the streets around you begin to get busier and busier and eventually get so crammed that you only have the space that you take up, or less. The street side is now lined with small booths that are full of flour, vegetables, material, salted fish, cheap Chinese merchandise, brand fakes and all of that again. You’re in the markets and it seems that everyone has a small business that sells exactly the same thing as the last person. As you push your way through the crowds you’re nearly run over by a poda poda (small minivan/taxi) that is squeezing it’s way through the people and are constantly hassled by people saying ‘Hey I’m your friend…..now that we’re friends what are you going to give me?’

Welcome to my experience of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone where the Logos Hope was berthed for the previous 2 weeks. You can pretty much say that the whole ships community, myself included, is in major culture shock. The poverty and need here in West Africa is shocking and humbling. The physical hunger is big but the spiritual hunger is so much bigger. Even though I can think of many negatives about our time in Sierra Leone the thing that stands out most is the beautiful, open, sincere hearts of the people there. Oh and did I mention that the kids are adorable?! I had the opportunity to be involved in an event, for my e-day, where we invited 17 street kids on board the ship and encouraged them to be the leaders in their spheres of influence and eventually in their country. We broke the ice by singing songs with them and then played some games with them that showed the importance of working together and taking leadership. One of my friends, Andy, shared about how you don’t have to be older or powerful to be a leader but you do need to step forward and take responsibility. After the event we gave the kids lunch and then took them down to the book fair, where each kids was allowed to choose two books to take home. It was really cool to see that even though we can’t do much for the 100’s of kids on the streets, we can make a difference by helping to raise up leaders from the next generation.

1st person: Look, look!!! 2nd: What? What do you see?? 1st: Um, um I see... um, I see water! Yeah, and look more water!!! Wow, there's water everywhere! 2nd: Wow!!! (sarcastically), that'd be because we're in the middle of the ATLANTIC OCEAN!!!!!!
Well ok, I did spend 4 days on sea watch staring at; yep you guessed it, WATER!!!! You can cut me a bit of slack for my lame joke =D So we set sail from Dominica on the 31st of May and have been sailing for 13 days now. We were in Cape Verde for bunkering (filling up the tanks with fuel) 2 days ago and should arrive in Freetown, Sierra Leone tomorrow at 10am.

I have very mixed feelings as we transition from one part of the world to another. I had an awesome time in the Caribbean and enjoyed it a lot but I was ready to leave. On the other hand West Africa is going to very challenging for me as I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb and have to be much more careful about where I go, what I wear etc. but also the opportunities we have to bless the people there are mind blowing. For me it will my first visit to a true 3rd world area and I'm not sure exactly what to expect. I have a feeling of excitement but also of pain, as I know that God is going to break my heart for these people.
These last couple of ports have been very busy for me in many ways. I've been on and off watch for the last month and a bit which has really played havoc with my sleeping patterns so I would really appreciate your prayer there, that I sleep well, without interruption and wake feeling fully rested and able to put 150% into every day. Aside from trouble sleeping I really enjoy the watches as it gives you a lot of time to think and study and also the flexible hours means that I could help out with events in between working. I think I may have mentioned it but I've recently started working with the AV and events departments as a volunteer. I really enjoy these areas of ministry and service. With AV I have helped at with many events, such as the youth night/concerts, working as a camera woman, cable assistant and working backstage. I especially enjoy doing the youth nights because you get to see people around my age being touched by God and stirred up to serve Him. To think that I was in their position 2 years ago and seeing how much I've grown and learnt since that time convinces me that there is no way they can just walk away the same way they came. Working with events has also been a really rewarding time. It's so fulfilling to be able to take the professional skills that I've learnt working back home and use them for God's glory. So far I've served at three official openings, which is where we invite all the local VIPs to come on board the ship for a presentation and tour of the ship. I think we had the Prime Ministers of both Dominica and St. Kitts on board for two of the official openings that I served in.

When we arrived in Antigua it just blew me away! It’s such a beautiful cute island and the port we were in was soooo picturesque. I had an off day soon after we arrived and by chance I went out with a group that had been invited to visit a yacht belonging to a French family that lived on board and sailed around the world as a lifestyle choice (pretty awesome lifestyle!!!!). We took a bus out to the other side of the Island where we met up with the family and spent the afternoon with them. It was really nice just to see how open they were and to be able to share with them and just be a testimony by being who we are. It was also awesome to just be blessed by them and have such a great afternoon. I also had the opportunity to go to local church for one of my off days to just experience what it’s like and fellowship with local believers. It was certainly a new and very different experience of church but really nice in a different way. Yeah, I wasn’t so keen on having my hearing blasted away by the massive speakers that we had been invited to right up close too =( Oh well, that’s life I guess =D haha.

Our next port we really short. We only spent 5 days in St. Kitts and Nevis but I certainly have some good memories of those times. One of the days we had a Deckie Eday where the whole Deck department went across from St. Kitts to the smaller, neighbouring Island of Nevis. In the morning we set up a stall with books we had brought from the ship and then while we were waiting some friends and I went for a walk with some tracts and ended up talking to the local fire department for quite a while. Once we got back the whole group broke up and half went to the local hospital and half went to the elderly home. Or so we thought, turns out they were literally right next to each other and part of the same complex (Caribbean style planning =D). There wasn’t a whole ton of people to talk to but I got to chat and pray with a few elderly people and I can only hope that I brightened their day and made them think about their eternity. At about 12 we walked back to where we had the stall set up and then we were treated to lunch by some local believers. The food was amazing and it was so humbling to think that these same brothers and sisters had paid for all of our expenses so that we could be in Nevis for the day. What amazing, God given generosity! After lunch we took turns between manning the book stall and going on a tour of the Island. We headed home on the ferry at about 5pm after a stunning day. Thank you God, that we can be so blessed even as we try to be a blessing to others around us. Another day in St. Kitts was my off day where I headed to the beach with a couple of friends only to have it rain sporadically all day! Haha, we didn’t get a tan as we hoped but it was still warm and we had a good time anyway =D

Oh Yeah, one more quick story for St. Kitts!!! This will make you LAUGH!! So a couple of my crazy friends and I came up with this idea to go midnight swimming off the quayside. The water was beautiful, clear and warm and we thought it was a great idea. The first few nights we couldn’t go because of different commitments, so about three days in we finally got together and decided that we were going to go a 11pm that night. It comes to about 4pm in the afternoon and my friend comes up to me says ‘um, maybe we shouldn’t go swimming tonight cause I heard that they’ve been seeing quite big sharks swimming around the quayside each night!’ Ha, well we decided that we cancel that idea quick smart!!! Imagine if we hadn’t found out!!! That would have been a rude shock!!! =D haha

Dominica was our very last port in the Caribbean and now as I think about it, it was pretty jam packed for me. During the sail and for the first few days in port the ship had 4 days of Sabbath ‘week’. Basically we were all off work (aside from a few hours) and we had special teaching sessions and lots of time to just be quiet and think. I was kind of working through a lot of issues in my head so it was perfectly timed. I was also pretty busy during that time because I was organising the refreshments for a big community event we had call the Logoscars. How it works it that the ships community can create and submit short movies and then we have a big fancy evening where everyone dresses up and we view the movies and then award logoscars for different nominations. It’s kind of loosely based on the Hollywood Oscars. Tons of fun although I didn’t, personally, really enjoy because I was busy stressing out about everything I needed to do. Some of the other things I did were a day off at titou gorge (think a cute little natural pool with a river flowing into it through high granite rock gorge walls and then if you swim up the river a series of small waterfalls that you can climb, stunning), and Eday with a Pentecostal scouts group teaching them knots and rope tricks (kids are so cute and so much fun to work with), eating out with friends at KFC, the Caribbean’s favourite fast food store (No Kidding!), Serving at the official opening, working with AV on camera’s for the youth event and, oh yeah!, I week of watch!!! I told you it was jam packed!!! I was pretty tired by the time we left Dominica physically and also emotionally and spiritually. I had a lot of time to think while I was on watch and God is always bringing things to light that He and I need to work through. Painful sometimes, tiring most times but always fulfilling and strengthening.
So now we reach the part where I started! God’s really worked on my heart during this voyage and I’m now really looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in Africa and how I can be involved!

Hello everyone!
So here I am in Bermuda and what a beautiful place this is!! It's a the Caribbean with a European influence and a touch of America! Well technically it's not even part of the Caribbean because it's closer to New York but it still kinda has that feel, a little.
So the last couple of weeks have been very awesome. hmmm... wait just let me sit and think about what I did, everything blurs together after a while (that's not an opportunity to remind me to blog more often =D).
So obviously we sailed from the Bahamas to Bermuda. It was a beautiful sail (I wasn't on sea watch, YEEEEESSSS), the weather was calm, I wasn't seasick and one of the days I got this really cool job where I got to chip and needle gun rust of the starboard side gangway hoist. Not exciting, what do you mean not exciting??? Oh well I guess I have to explain a little more for you landlubbers. Working on the gangway hoist means that I got to wear a harness and sit outside that railing and hang myself, or my legs, over the side of the ship while we were sailing!!! Now you've got to admit that's EXCITING!!!
Oh I just remembered, I've got to tell you this funny story about when we arrived in Bermuda. So we sailed in on Monday morning but before we went to our proper berth we stopped off at the cruise ship berth to bunker (fill up with fuel). We were going to be there for about an hour and a half and I was told that we could go and be back at our mooring stations at 1300 (1pm) So I went and had lunch, looked at the time and decided that I had time for a short walk. The port was really beautiful and I had a great time looking around before heading back with plenty of time. So I'm walking at a good pace and as I start to get nearer the ship I hear this shouting and see someone running for the ship in front of me. Now I'm think OH MAN!!! so I start belting myself to get back to the ship, all the while with the rest of my mooring station is yelling and cheering me on. So I finally get to the ship, totally out of breath and exhausted, and race up the stairs to my mooring station. Turns out we were supposed to be at mooring station @ 1245! That's not the end though. Because I was late I was chosen to go to the aft mooring station to help out as it is generally less liked and Gareth (our 2nd officer who is in charge of the aft mooring station) tends to yell at you a lot. The walk was still worth it though!
Last Sunday I was on Eday and I had a really awesome day! In the morning I signed up to go to a local church, which has been really supportive of the ship's visit to Bermuda, along with 110 other ships company. It was really great we all dressed up and then got bussed out to the school where the service was being held. It's quite a large church and probably tends towards the Caribbean, charismatic side but everything was straight down the line and the sermon was great. The preach (Gary Simons) talked about purity and it's biblical basis. It's not a subject you hear preached on and it was really challenged you to raise the standards of how we live before God. After the service we got to mingle a bit and then we were bussed back to the ship. I had most of the afternoon off so I went for a walk around town with some friends and then at 5pm the rest of my eday started. Now I've deliberately left out any details about what I was doing to keep you in suspense cause I think this is pretty cool! I was helping out the AV team during an event as a Camera man/woman. I don't just mean on a home video camera I mean the real thing. I was in charge of camera 5 and learnt the basics that evening and then either used my initiative or followed the prompts to get live shots for the screens. It was pretty cool and I made a few little stuff ups but in general I did pretty good. I was on the camera from 6:30 to 9pm so It was quite tiring but very worth it. What an awesome opportunity huh. Where else would I get to learn how use this kind of equipment and use it during an event!! Plus I'll probably get asked to do it again so I'll have the chance to get better. Sweet huh?!
So that's it for me this time. I hope you enjoyed reading a few of my stories and got a taste of what I'm up to.
God bless...

Aqua water, beautiful beaches, largest cruise ship terminal in the world, a 5 star resort that takes up an entire island, American tourists, coffee shops, trinket shops everywhere!!!! Welcome to Nassau, capital of the Bahamas!!!
So we arrived in the Bahamas a week ago and the difference from Jamiaca is pretty radical. 90% of the Bahamas income comes from tourism and you can certainly tell. The place is crawling with American tourists who come here to do nothing except lay in the sun, snorkel, party and drink!
The Logos Hope is nowhere near as busy here because the bookship isn't such a unique or rare thing here but it's much easier to really connect with the people on deck 4 when it's less crowded. It's also been really nice as it's not as dangerous here so we're allowded to go out by ourselves during the day. I guess that doesn't mean so much to you but that simple freedom means a LOT when you don't have it. It's also nice that I don't get stared at quite so much because people are used to seeing blonde tourists all the time (even if they are bottle blondes =D).
I had a really fun E-day last Friday. I was put on a team with 5 other people to do a evangelical program with a local church. Our host church was quite small and it's numbers where dwindling so they decided to put on an outdoor evangelical program for the local community, or at least that's what we prepared for. At about 7:30 we arrived at the church all prepared with a casual, interactive 1 hour program only to find that we were going to be inside the church and it wasn't an evangelical outreach but the 33rd annual general assembly of the First Holiness Church of God! Oh! We did our program as planned and I really feel that it went well, especially as half of the 40-50 people there were youth and kids but as time passed it became pretty clear that we were pretty different from what they were used to in church. I don't think they've ever had someone unicycle or paint a caricature in church before and certainly not while they were wearing shorts! The pastor even apologised for the fact that we weren't properly dressed 'because we thought it would be an outdoor program' oops. But wait!, the best is still to come. Once our program was over half a dozen neighboring bishops, bishopesses and superintendents came up to give greetings and finally the home bishop announced that the offering would be taken up. So the music starts playing and the basket is handed around and then taken up the front. Then the music stops and a lady comes onto the the stage and announces that she needs another $60 to top up the offering before everyone goes home! I'm serious!! She stood up there for 15mins telling everybody that she knew they had the money and would they please hurry up and give it to her so that we could all go home. Our whole team was just sitting there going WHAT THE HECK???!!! We couldn't believe what was happening! I'm not really surprised that there church members are dwindling anymore. It was certainly a different and unique church experience! So not all E-days are quite that exciting but everynow and then you get a special story. Sometimes it's sad and touching, sometimes it's funny and entertaining but the most important thing is that people are touched with God's love. I still think that, even though our program was very different for this church, it was what they needed to hear and just maybe we encouraged some to get real with their relationship with God!