Doulos adventure - Part 1

This will be my last entry from the Doulos. Here follows the journey so far…summarized J

21 January 2006 my family and I entered the Johannesburg International Airport. As the glass doors opened so I could enter, I remember seeing someone else entering at the opposite side of this tunnel-like entrance. She was a young lady, about the same height as me and also dressed in what can only be described as a missionary’s outfit. Both of us where modestly dressed so that the elbows, knees, neck area and ankles were covered. We made eye contact and I knew then that she was also going to the Doulos. It sounds strange I know…but this was one of those God-moments I will never forget. This moment was the beginning of one of my most treasured friendships!

Magda and I, together with 2 other South African ladies, said goodbye to our families and entered the departure hall. As soon as I was out of my mother’s sights I broke down in tears and hugged magda. This was my first time leaving the country, first time on an airplane, first time to be away from home for longer than a month! I hugged Magda and we picked up our hand luggage and boarded the bus that took us to the airplane that took us to Abu Dhabi where we were introduced to the MV Doulos.

After 2 weeks of safety training we drove to the harbour in Sharjah where the Doulos was docked. My thoughts were captured by the scenery that flashed passed the bus windows. The first time I saw the ship was unbelievable! Walking up the gangway, being greeted by 300 crazed strangers and walking into my walk-in-closet-cabin was all a blur of excitement.

I spent the next 6 months learning the ins and outs of the Doulos Kitchen (ship term: galley) before becoming a shift leader. During my time as shift leader God taught me so many lessons about working as a team. Valuable lessons that I later applied in some of my other adventures onboard. I had the opportunity to work with an awesome chief cook. He took the time to teach me little details like the correct way to sharpen a knife, how to chop vegetables without losing fingers and countless other details that helped us to become better galley-workers. Did I mention that he was also my ship’s dad?

His high standards and constant striving for excellence encouraged me in the next department I worked in.

February 2007, after spending a year in the galley I moved to the Programme Department. The Programme Department is responsible for organizing all the onboard events. We have teams of people flying out ahead of the ship (we call them line up people) and they go and try to determine the spiritual needs of the country and as a programme team we try to put together programmes that cater to these needs. I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Okay maybe not every single minute. J  We did have some difficult ports but here I had the opportunity to let my creative juices flow. As a behind-the-scenes person I had the chance to be part of the ministry to the public by putting together the programmes. My favourites were the out-of-the-box programmes, like the one where we shared the Gospel through a movie-themed night! Awesome! My leader at this time taught me so much about focusing on the purpose of the programmes and she helped me to develop my eye for detail. My passion for programmes was definitely influenced by her love for it!

After spending many months here, the Programme Manager asked me to take over the responsibility of planning I-nights (biggest onshore event). This is basically a programme that involves about 100 crew members and we get the opportunity to share the Gospel or to challenge the audience for missions. The audience varies from 250 to 2000 people.

Up to this point in my life, it was the biggest thing I had ever done. I spent many nights crying on my bed, praying that God would use ‘my’ little programme to bring glory to Himself. I prayed so hard during these times and I saw God reward my faith and trust many times over.  During one of these I-nights everything went wrong. I was standing backstage crying (it’s what we girls do!) wondering how bad this really was. Next moment the speaker is challenging the audience to renew their commitment to following Jesus and to get involved in missions. It was as if God’s arms and hands where reaching off stage and stirring the hearts of everyone there. I was amazed and humbled. I learnt that night that God is in control, no matter what I think, or how bad I think things are!

In this season of I-nights and stomach ulcers (not really but almost! J)  I was asked to join the Line-up department, something I wanted to do since joining Doulos.

- End of part one :) -