BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – VISITORS to the islands have always been reminded to take only memories and leave only footprints—a quote adopted from ecotourism—but in its five-day visit the LOGOS HOPE is expected to leave two ships, friendship and fellowship, throughout the sister isles.
LOGOS HOPE comes from a family of popular vessels owned by Good Books for All (GBA) Ships e.V., a Germany-based non-profit organization. Currently berthed at Port Zante, LOGOS HOPE is backed by its predecessors LOGOS (1970-1988), LOGOS II (1989-2008) and the DOULOS (1977-2009).
HOPE was originally used to transport cars, but after being purchased in 2004 a paint job, extensive construction work and the help of over 3000 volunteers have made the HOPE a reality. The new ship is three times larger than its predecessors and is decked with book galleries, a children’s area, international cafe and a small theatre accessible to the public.
Everybody knows the LOGOS as the ‘Book Ship’ and it is almost equally accepted that every family in the Federation has at least one book from past visits. However, the investment to get the old car transport into a world-voyaging vessel, with its nearly 400-member crew, was not made simply to sell books. According to LOGOS local coordinator Andrea Choi, this new boat is indeed “more than just books”.
“The book fair is just a small fraction of what we actually do. It’s about the onboard programmes and the onshore community programmes. We hope to have a personal impact on individuals.
“Because we are only here for five days, we see ourselves as planters of seeds. We sometimes don’t get to see the fruit of what we plant but what we want to see is a renewed sense of fellowship and people living out their love for Christ and living out their love for one another,” Choi told SKNVibes.
Though the book fairs offer an impressive collection of over 7 500 titles, covering a range of subjects such as education, sports, hobbies and religion, the LOGOS crew wishes not to function as a bookstore, but to impact the lives of people in the communities. The LOGOS HOPE aims to bring knowledge, help and hope to the nations of the world and according to Choi the ministry is touching the future of St. Kitts and Nevis with its programmes.
“We want to be able to leave behind a ship; that ship is friendship and also a renewed sense of fellowship. We want interaction between the people of St. Kitts and Nevis and our crew. It’s not about selling books but it’s about living out our love and showing love through our actions,” she added.
Teams from the ship were specifically tasked to live out this message of love and hope by engaging various communities in both St. Kitts and Nevis.
Saturday (May 15) was a busy day for the volunteers. The teams tried to touch every social corner stretching from the Cardin Home to Her Majesty’s Prison, from the JNF General Hospital to the St. Christopher’s Children Home. Teams on Nevis worked closely with pastors there to do community programmes for the five days and on St. Kitts a partnership with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment proved worthwhile as volunteers painted two public bathrooms in St. Johnston’s Village and Newtown. The volunteers also reached out to the Special Education Unit and the Unique Touch Christian Centre among other institutions.
In the last three days, the ship has been visited by over 6800 persons and numbers are expected to climb rapidly for the remainder of the stay.
Geoffrey Hanley of the Ministry of Youth Empowerment was very upbeat about the work the LOGOS is doing on the islands. He commended the ship for its programmes, which strengthen every member of the family and by extension the communities from which they come.
“I believe that the goal of leaving strengthened fellowship will certainly be achieved. We must commend our local volunteers; they applied in droves! And that bonding and fellowship would be manifested not only on the ship but also on the ground,” Hanley said.
The community can be assured, Hanley said, that the LOGOS Ministry is giving back to the communities in both hands-on community work and in donations. Even the diversity of people and cultures on the ship should remind locals that unity and love are not distant concepts.
“I believe that the LOGOS HOPE will inspire others to work well together. It is an opportunity for the interaction of cultures and ideas. It is a truly a diverse way of imparting positive values.... It provides a fantastic opportunity for everyone!” Hanley said.
The LOGOS HOPE has been able to spread its message of knowledge, help and hope around the world – St. Kitts and Nevis being its 25th port of call. In Africa, the ministry was able to donate bicycles to pastors to aid their travel; In Jamaica, public baths were erected for the less fortunate; and in St. Kitts and Nevis, the community involvement has been on a smaller scale.
For Chantel Minaar, LOGOS HOPE Media Relations Officer, the most rewarding experience is the unity and diversity onboard the vessel. She added that sharing the love of God through helping and giving their testimonies has also been a source of great inspiration.
“People just see us as the book ship and that’s all, but it’s just about sharing the love of God. It’s also about the crew on the ship, that stands out most for me.... We have different colours, different races and that’s just amazing! It’s so awesome that the people out there can see that this is a community, kind of like the world, full of all different kinds of people and it’s this unity what really stands out for me.
“We can show the people that we can love each other despite where we come from. By seeing people coming together... the community onboard can inspire people to live in unity. It’s a short time we are here but we want to make an impact on people,” Minaar said.
The ship sets sail tomorrow (May 17) to spread this same message of hope to neighbouring Dominica. It is not certain when the LOGOS HOPE will return, but what is for sure is that the Ministry has made an impact on the friendship and fellowship of the twin islands.
