Tomorrow is.......OCTOBER 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you know what that means? That means that tomorrow marks the day, that one of my best friends entered this world....MANY years ago! ;) Just kidding! :)

I actually have internet access on the ship this morning, and thought that I would take the time to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY KACI LEA SLATE!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so thankful to God for you and for your friendship. Thanks for the way you always point me to Christ, and help me get my focus back and keep the main thing the main thing! :) Praying that this will be one of the best years yet, and that God teaches you SO MUCH during your time in NOLA!

Thanks for being my friend! LOVE YOU!!!


ANDREA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's your birthday as well! :) I hope you have an amazing birthday too, and that God teaches you and continues to take you on this journey of following Him....however that looks! LOVE YOU Friend!

So.....I'm sorry its been SO long!

Hey Everyone!

I'm sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything! I am now in Las Palmas! We will be here for another 10 days, then will be going to Tenerife!

I will try to keep you posted as to what is going on! Today, I was on e-day, and we went to a Church. I definitely wish that I would have paid more attention in Spanish. I also wish that Karina would have taught me more Spanish! :) All of the Latinos on board are really loving the opportunity to minister in their mother tongue! It is a blessing to see.

Last night, we had "Hope Night" (like I-Night) at the Santa Catalina Square downtown! It was so fun! Sigrid and Ruben did an amazing job MCing! Alot of contacts were made with locals who have since visited the ship! :)

Love you all and am thankful for you all! Stay in touch!

~Bethany

Monrovia, Liberia

It's EMILY YOST and I!!!!!!! :) That's right, she visited the Logos Hope last week...and today!!! I am with her at the Samaritan's Purse house hanging with people!

What a WONDERFUL time....

Hey everyone!

I wanted to write really quickly so that you don't think that we've dropped off the face of the planet...However, I have pretty much dropped off facebook! :) Haha! I am so thankful to be able to get emails and to be able to receive phone calls while in West Africa!!!!

A brief recap....

On Friday, a week ago, I worked half a day with my roomie, Emily, and then we set off on our adventure! :) We were planning on taking a Tro-Tro to the Airport in Accra, to go pick mom and dad up! :) I think the suspected that I would show up, but i never told them for sure! It was so exciting to finally arrive at the airport, and wait for Mom and Dad! :) While at the airport, we met up with Jimmy and Sylvia again! :) I also met a few people from TN, and LA who are working here in Ghana. We made it back to the ship with all the luggage! Wow...
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for ALL the goodies that y'all sent with mom and dad! I appreciate it so much!! What a blessing y'all are to me. I am so thankful!

On Saturday, I worked in the laundry, and mom and dad helped! We had a great time. It has been fun introducing mom and dad to all my friends here on the ship! It's kinda crazy, the fact that my two homes have collided! :) It's very exciting that mom and dad are here, but at the same time, its weird! :)

On Sunday, we went to church here on the ship, and Jimmy and Sylvia joined us! We had a great time of fellowship, and then had lunch with them. Sunday afternoon, we walked around Tema a little bit.

On Monday and Tuesday we worked, then Wednesday, was really exciting! Mom, Dad, Isabel and I traveled 2 hours each way to Rosewood School. It was an awesome time with the kids. We did the Ship Presentation, sang songs, shared the gospel, and played games with the kids. Surprisingly, the kids had prepared some poems and songs to share with us as well. It was such a blessing!

Please be praying for Dad...He isn't feeling the greatest. We will have another E-day on Sunday! I am sooo excited---We will be going to a Deaf Church with Jessica, my big sister. :) Woo Hoo!

I will try to post more, but as always, email and phone is the most reliable form of communication with us.

We are praying for everyone at MVBC, and Barry Smith and family. Praying that God's grace and peace will be an overwhelming comfort in these hard days.

Have a great evening! :) I am so thankful for y'all!

For His Glory and Renown,
Bethany

Hello from Tema Ghana!

Hey Everyone!!!

Alot has happened since I last posted on my blog! Sorry about that! :)

Since the last time I posted, we have spent about 2 weeks or so in Sierra Leone, sailed 5 days to Tema, Ghana, and have been here for 3 days!!
I had some really great conversations with people in Sierra Leone. We saw many people come to know Jesus in a personal way, it was AWESOME!!! I had 2 e-days while we were in Freetown, one was going to different sites around the town and sharing our testimonies and praying with people, then other, was on deck 4! Here are two pictures from both of them! This was a picture taken as we were sailing out of Sierra Leone!

Since then, I had a visit with Uncle Andy Norman, here on the ship in Tema, Ghana! :) That was such a blessing to meet 3 others who live here in Ghana, and are faithfully serving the Lord here! We had a great time of exploring the ship, and I had the privilege of sharing more about what the Ship is all about! :)

What is amazing, is that I get to show 2 more people around the ship on FRIDAY!!!! I am so excited, mom and dad will be coming to experience ship life for a couple weeks, and to minister to and with the crew here! Daddy will be speaking in devotions a couple of times, and they will be working in different departments! Please pray for safe arrival and everything to go smoothly! :)

I hope y'all have an amazing day! Please email me if there is any way that I can be praying for you more specifically! I thank Jesus for you daily!

For His Glory and Renown,
Bethany

Sierra Leone!

Hey Everyone! I am so thankful to report that we have arrived in Sierra Leone! :) We came into port around 10:45 am or so....(6:45am for you people at home!) I am now 4 hours ahead of you!

I am also proud to annouce that I made Baked Oatmeal this morning! :) Haha! It was alot of fun, and it was yummy! It is so nice to be cooking again...I've missed it.

As I prepare to serve the Lord here in Sierra Leone, please pray that I will love with Christ's love. Pray that my heart will be in tune to what God wants to say to me, and that I will be sensitive to His prompting in my life.

Thank you so much for praying for me. I work Tuesday and Wednesday, and have an E-Day Thursday! I am excited to see what I will be doing.

Hello from Roseau, Dominica!

Hey Everyone!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for those of you that prayed for me while I was away from the ship on the Challenge Team! It was an AMAZING time of growth, challenge, learning, fun, excitement, building relationships, and SO many other things! :)

I cannot believe this, but the Logos Hope is open for ONE MORE DAY in Dominica.....and only ONE MORE DAY in the Caribbean! We will be sailing to West Africa on Monday!

Please pray for smooth seas, and an amazing time of fellowship and growth as a community, and as individuals!

Be watching you mailboxes, there will be a summary from my first 5 months....coming to a mailbox near you! :) Haha! (Don't hold your breath though, because I am not so sure as to how soon you will get it!)

(This picture is actually from St. Kitts!) I was going for a walk one morning in St. Kitts, and I was kidnapped by some AMAZING Asians!!! :)

Goodbye Antigua, Hello St. Kitts!

Hey Everyone! I am so ashamed to say that I did not post one blog from Antigua! We had a fantastic 2 weeks there in St. Johns. We left Antigua around Midnight on the 12th and arrived in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis around 6:30 am Thursday(13th).

The city of Basseterre skirts a 2-mile bay on the southwestern shore of St. Kitts, Basseterre Bay. The city lies within the large Basseterre Valley, Almost completely surrounded by lust green hills and mountains. (wikipedia)

Hello from Hamilton, Bermuda!

Hey Everyone!!!

I am so thrilled to let you know that we arrived safely in Bermuda about a week ago. We have one more week left here in this beautiful country. I am so excited also......to let y'all know that I did not get seasick during this 4 day voyage!!! Praise the Lord!

After we arrived in Hamilton, I had the rest of the day off, so 2 of my roomies and I went out to explore! This us Juki from Germany and Emily from Michigan! They are awesome! (And so is Rorie from France, even though she wasn't in this picture!!)
This port has been fairly quiet so far, with some nice opportunities to really relax and have some great conversations without feeling rushed!

I had the awesome privilege to worship with Cornerstone Bible Fellowship this past Sunday. It was such a "God-thing"!!! Honestly, this past Saturday night was a little difficult for me, I was just really missing home, and things/people/anything really that was familiar to me. I signed up to attend church this Sunday, and was questioning whether I really wanted to go or not. I decided that it would be a good experience for me, so I went! Boy am I glad I did! It was such a blessing to worship with them. Their Choir sang, "My Help" by Brooklyn Tab Choir. That is definitely what I needed to hear Sunday. I am so thankful for the way God used the song service especially to really help me get my focus back to where it should be.

Today was my E-day, so this morning, I went to the Staff Devotions at Cornerstone. It was a blessing to be able to be apart of that this morning, and just see first hand the heartbeat of the church. After devotions, we went to a little cafe across the street from the church and had breakfast/lunch! :) After we came back to the ship, we were on Deck 4 from 12-3, connecting with visitors. Honestly, today, there were not many visitors at all. I was able to chat with a few people, but not many.

This evening, I had the awesome opportunity to go out and explore the island a little with a local volunteer. Veronica and her husband have lived here in Bermuda for a little over a year. She is taking time these two weeks to volunteer in the book fair. It has been such a blessing to get to know her. Tonight, we went to Horseshoe Bay Beach. It was So beautiful.

ShipSHOTS!!!!

Hey everyone! This is a short clip produced by our Communications Department onboard the Logos Hope! This episode is called "Lovin' the Crowd". You can view this on the ship's website: www.omships.org/shipshots

I hope you enjoy seeing just a glimpse of what we experienced in Kingston! :)

Happy Resurrection Weekend!

Happy Resurrection Weekend!

Hey Everyone! This weekend has been a different weekend for me, but it has been a really good one. This weekend has truly been a weekend of Reflection for me. It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, that we don’t really live life in the reality of the Resurrection.

Thursday evening we had prayer night. This week’s prayer night was a special Passover theme. We met in the Hope Theatre and had communion together as a ship’s company. It was such a blessing for me to really meditate on the four cups of the Passover feast.

• The Cup of Sanctification – based on God’s statement, “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians”
• The Cup of Judgment or Deliverance- based on God’s statement, “I will deliver you from slavery to them”
• The Cup of Redemption – based on God’s statement, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm”
• The Cup of Praise or Restoration – based on God’s statement, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God”

Friday morning we had a time of reflection. I was so thankful that our schedule for the day was different! We were able to participate in the quiet time on the ship. Devotions started at 8:45, and then from 9:45-11am we had personal quiet time. At 11:00 we met with our ship family for a time of sharing, hanging out, and whatever else each family decided. Our family had a great discussion about a few different scripture passages, and then spent time in prayer together. Let me just say that I am super thankful for my Ship family. Each person adds such a unique and special aspect to the family. (Thanks to my brother Josef, who is from the Faroe Islands, for the pictures!)

Saturday in Devotions, Pastor Chet Lowe, (Calvary Chapel, Ft. Lauderdale) challenged us to examine if we were living in the Saturday before Resurrection Sunday. Am I like the disciples who rejected, refused, and resisted the truth? Am I living life as if Christ is still in the tomb?

I was sleeping VERY well this morning, and contemplated not getting up for a “Son Rise Service” this morning, I am so thankful that I did! I went to Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island for a service that the Adventure Learning Center put on. It was a very nice time of worship, drama, and a message from Pastor Chet. He spoke on Matthew 28:9. A song that I had heard SO much before I left for the ship was “Jesus Messiah”. I think because I had heard it so often, I never really reflected on the words. It had been awhile since I have heard it recently, and we sang it this morning. I challenge you to really think about the lyrics to the songs that you hear so often. They are really good…

We had a super nice breakfast this morning, with all kinds of nice food. The part I enjoyed the most about breakfast was the FRUIT! We had strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe, pineapple, and tangerines! YUMMY!!!!

What an amazing Creator we serve!!!!!

This is Anna and Pippa (steppers from Wales) and Jennifer King from USA! Her family was at my commissioning service! She joined in September, and her sister joined with me in January.

This is actually taken in Kingston, at Fun in the Son. Thanks Koen for the Picture!

Most Sundays after service, people can have Open Cabins. This enables us to visit with the people and get to know others more. I went to the Crowe's Nest today! :)


This is Maddie and Anne (My Shift leader in Accom).

More people in the Crowe's Cabin...that is Jon and Holly standing up! Such a sweet family...too bad they are leaving next month!!!!

Welcome to Cabin 238!!!

WOO HOO! Praise the Lord! He is so good! I loved having several amazing cabin mates in Section B-1, but I have to say, it is such a blessing to have only 3 other cabin mates! I have 3 amazing cabin mates that have been so sweet in welcoming me into their room. Also, all of the D-2 girls have been so welcoming! I even got Origami on my door! :)


This is a picture of my bed! I am now on the top bunk, and it is going really well! Also, It is such a blessing to be able to sit on my bed, read my notes from all of you, and pray for you as well! Thank you for praying for me. Thanks again Allison and Mary Helen (and "Mother") for my beautiful quilt! It is so dear to my heart!



This is a picture of my wall! I love all my pictures and different notes that I have on my wall. It makes me smile! Thank you all for your love and support. God is so good. I am so blessed by each of you.




I pray you each have a wonderful Resurrection Sunday tomorrow! I will post later about my weekend. It has been such a joy to be able to take time this weekend and reflect on what Christ did for us so many years ago. Praise His Holy Name!

A few more pictures

We tried to get to the Lighthouse, but we didn't succeed. However, we ended up in someone's really nice garden/dock. It was really fun! We shared a picnic together on someone's property...:) Our picnic consisted of 2 pop-tarts, a bottle of water, an apple, and Bahama Goombay punch soda! (Jessie took this picture!)

After we braved the sandstorm, and swam in the ocean for a while, walked to the Marina Village at Atlantis and ate at Johnny Rockets. It was REALLY yummy. I had the Houston, which had a spicy sauce and jalapeno's on it! :)


This is Atlantis....I took this picture as we were walking across the big bridge.


This is Rob, Liz, and Ryan posing in the grass! Haha!



A random picture of me in front of my "home" for the next couple of years.

This is Emily, Stephanie, Amanda, and me! An all-american picture....a rare occurrence.

This was at a school! I loved getting to love on the kids!!! :)

The Logos Hope is in Nassau, Bahamas!

Praise the Lord! I want to thank each of you that have been praying for me, especially over the past 3 days as we’ve been sailing. As many of you know, I typically get very motion sick. I was so nervous about this 3-day voyage from Kingston to the Bahamas. Praise the Lord! We arrived safely into port in Nassau, Bahamas on 26 March. I am so thrilled to say that I did not get sea sick! There was one afternoon that I was feeling a little strange, so I decided it would be a good thing to take a little nap, but after that, I was feeling much better!

I have thoroughly enjoyed these 3 days of sailing. A highlight for me has been going up to Deck 8, standing in the wind, watching the ocean. God is so good to me. I thought, Wow, wouldn’t it be awesome to see a dolphin or SOMETHING?!?! Guess what!!? I was able to see dolphins!!! There were several dolphins swimming alongside the ship one afternoon!

God did some amazing things during our time in Kingston, Jamaica! I am so overwhelmed but His grace and strength that He gave the entire crew while we were serving in a very long port.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a "Buddy" to the Deep Volunteers! I am so thankful for the friendships that I have made with the volunteers from both Montego Bay and Kingston and look forward to getting to know the Volunteers here in the Bahamas.

Every Thursday night, we have Prayer night. This week was a special prayer night. We had our prayer service on Deck 9 as we were sailing around the Bahamas. It was amazing sitting up on top of the ship, singing "How Great is our God", watching the sun set over the beautiful ocean, and praying for the time that we will be here in the Bahamas.

Please pray that we will not get caught up in the "tourism" of this port, but that we will take every opportunity to share the Hope that we have within us.

Tomorrow (Sunday, 28 March) I will be going to a Haitian Fellowship with 5 others to do Sunday School for the children, as well as a Drama, Songs, and testimony. I am really excited about this opportunity. I will also be on Deck 4, talking with people who visit the ship. I am very thankful for the opportunity to learn the “official” tour route of the ship today, and was able to connect with several people both from the Bahamas, as well as tourists that are in the area.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I love you all!

Kingston-A brief summary of this week!

Hey there!

I wanted to post a quick blog, and just let y’all know how things are going! I have survived the 10-person cabin now for 1 month and 3 days!!! Praise the Lord! I have to admit, the 10 person cabin is not as bad as I had expected, but don’t get me wrong, there are challenges! :) God is definitely teaching me a lot throughout this process. I don’t know for sure how long I’ll be in this cabin, but it will probably be until we leave the Caribbean.

God has definitely been working and moving here on board, as well as here in Kingston.

One of my favorite parts of this week was actually when I was vacuuming early in the mornings. I have taken the advice of some of the previous Angels to pray for different people and different activities while I’m cleaning different areas of the ship. For instance, when I’m vacuuming the Hope Theatre, I am praying for the people that will be sitting in that very room later on in the day. When I am cleaning in the Logos Lounge, I am praying for my home church, Mount Vernon. When I am climbing ALL these stairs, I am thanking Jesus for who He is and praising Him, as well as thanking Him for each of my supporters and prayer partners. When I am cleaning the toilets, I am praying that God would teach me the lessons that He has for me that day. So, that’s just a few of the locations that I am frequently cleaning and the things I am praying about while doing it.

Today, (Saturday) was my E-day. We sent 3 hours on Deck 4, connecting with people, and just talking with the visitors on the ship. For about 2 hours, I was face painting! This evening, I was team leader for a team of 5 that went to Trenchtown. We went and did an hour long kids program. I really didn’t know what to expect, so it was interesting! :-) I absolutely love the children here in Jamaica. They are so precious and are so anxious for someone to love them. They love playing with your hair and petting your white skin! We did a quick mini presentation of the various jobs on board the Logos Hope. We had a Galley uniform, an Angels shirt, a book fair shirt, a deck uniform, and the engine room jumpsuit. The kids dressed up in the uniforms, and we explained what the different jobs entail.

Another aspect of the ship that I really love is the Devotions each morning. It is such a blessing to be able to come together as a ship’s company and thankful for the encouragement and challenge each morning. This week, we have had a guest speaker, and he challenged us to really take time out of our busy days and schedules to encourage one another.

I had the privilege to work with a Vision team this past week and get to know some great girls from Florence, SC. They were here with their school for 1 week, working in each of the departments.

I hope you all are doing well. I am so thankful for each of you! God bless you! Keep serving Him!

For His Glory and renown,

Bethany

Hello from Kingston!!!!

Hey everyone! First of all, I want to apologize if some of you are getting the same info a couple times. I am going to put this in sections, so that you can pick and choose what you want to read! I hope you all are doing great! Love you all and am so thankful for you.

PST MOBAY!

We had an amazing time with our PST (Pre-Ship Training). I got to know several trainers, as well as the 69 people that joined the ship the same time I did. I absolutely loved our venue for the training; with the exception of one thing…There were BUGS and MOTHS everywhere! It took some getting used to, but I finally got used to them. Another good thing about that is that we were VERY excited to get warm showers and no bugs!!! I enjoyed the opportunity to hear many amazing sermons, as well as practical trainings.

BUS RIDE TO THE SHIP

Praise the Lord! We were able to leave during the day, and I was able to sit up front and watch where we were going, as did several others, so the bus ride was not nearly as bad as it was to the camp. It was very exciting the first moment that I got to see the water! Since we were in the Mountains, and we arrived at night, that was the first time I’ve seen water THAT BLUE and BEAUTIFUL! Wow!

ARRIVAL TO THE LOGOS HOPE

WOO HOO! The long awaited time had arrived! It was so exciting going through port security, knowing that on the other side, the SHIP was right there! After passing through security, we loaded back onto the bus so that the bus would hide our view of the ship. We piled out, and then the bus left, exposing the ship and the ship’s company to us! I was very exciting! The crew was cheering and made tunnels that led up to the gangway, using their country’s flag. After we got inside, we had a welcoming party in the Hope Theatre.

MY CABIN!

So—as most have probably heard….I am on Deck 1, in a 10 person Cabin! Honestly, when I first found that news out, I was scared to death! I was thinking….how is this going to work!?! THANKFULLY, our cabin is the bigger of the two 10-person cabins! My cabin mates are precious. They are from Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Malaysia, South Korea, Holland (2 from there), Australia (2 from there) and ME! We are getting along very well.

MY JOB!!

I am a part of the Accommodation team. We are called the “Accom Angels”. We clean the ship. I am actually enjoying it! My hours are 6 am-3 pm. It is really nice though, because we can attend crew devotions each day at 7:45, as well as Angel devotions! I am enjoying getting to know the people I am working with. They are such a blessing and encouragement.

MY FIRST VOYAGE!!!

I am so proud to say, that on my first voyage from Montego Bay to Kingston, approx. 17 hours, I did not get sick!!! There were about 5 fellow angels that were sick this morning. We were able to go up to deck 9 as we sailed away from Montego Bay. It was SOOO beautiful! Wow! I really enjoyed that.

A LITTLE LH LINGO!!! (I think until the day I die, I will still think LIGHTHOUSE when I see LH! :)

Well, we have E-days. This is experience days. Sometimes we will go to different places onshore to do ministry, and other times we will stay on Deck 4, and share our stories, do face painting, serve in the i-café, or something along those lines. My E-day was this past Saturday. I went with at team of 5 others, and we went to the Care Center. This is a building in downtown Montego Bay that different organizations feed the homeless breakfast and lunch. We actually got lost, so we missed feeding them, but we helped clean up and had some great conversations with people. I was able to share with several people, and pray with 3 ladies who had various medical or emotional issues. I loved it! Then, that evening our team went to Deck 4 and assisted with the large crowds in the book fair. So, in a typical week, I work 5 days, and one E-day, and one off day. Also, as Angels, we do activities on Saturday afternoons together. This past week, they went to play soccer against a local team. I didn’t go on this outing because it was my E-day.

COMMUNICATION WITH ME!?!

If any of you are wondering, the easiest ways to contact me are email (either bsmith8121@gmail.com or Bethany.smith@gbaships.org) I actually have my g-mail account forwarded to my gbaships account. Also, one of my FAVORITE things is that I can receive phone calls! The ship has a satellite phone, which for you, is like calling Florida! The phone number is 954-518-7256. Feel free to give me a call if you want to, anytime after 3 pm. :-)

Well, I am going to go, but I hope you all are doing well! I will try my best to respond in a timely manner! :) I love hearing from you all!

For His Glory and His renown,

Bethany

A glimpse of my Adventure thus far!

This is in Mosbach Germany! There was an Aldi! I got to go to in honor of Mom and Sarah M and crew on Wednesday! :) The next picture is at PST @ Moorland Camp. It is Hema (Trinidad and Tobago) Me, Emma (Netherlands) and An Na (South Korea). It's cool....Me, An Na, Jessie, and Thera were roommates at the GO Conference. Then, at PST, An Na, Thera, and I were 3 of 10 people....and now, on the ship, Jessie, An Na, and I are 3 of the 10 people. Sooooo, An Na and I have been together since Jan 12! :) We went for a walk one afternoon that we had free time at PST, and this was all our feet!

This is what we saw as we arrived out of the bus! It was so special to be welcomed by so many people from many different nations! I can't wait to get to know them! This picture is on Deck 9, we were up there celebrating Alison's Birthday! :) It was so pretty! I enjoyed getting to know some people outside of our PST.

This is an awful picture of me on my bed, but just so y'all can get a slight idea! Pippa's bed is folded up at the moment!! what a blessing that they do that! I love y'all and thankful for y'all!