Port: Downtown B dock
Crew: 19 Filipino
Names of Ship Missionaries: Frank Sciarpelletti, Grant Sandeman- Allen
Result: Ministered the gospel to the 3rd officer
Items taken on & given out: 22 gifts, 1 Tagalog New Testament
Two things in my schedule cleared, and Frank was available to join me to visit the ship this evening. I called security and he booked me in, but also said that another party was scheduled to visit the ship between 5 and 6pm. He also said that they didn’t identify themselves. I contacted Frank about the arrangements and prayed the other party would be cancelled. I also managed to get off work early and after picking up a bag of gifts I made it to the ship before 6:30. After checking through dock security I asked about the other party. The security officer said that they called and cancelled because they couldn’t get another party to join them this evening. I was so excited at God’s reply to my prayer and how three things worked together to make this visit possible this evening.
Frank arrived shortly after I did and we boarded the ship. We were greeted on deck by the 3rd officer and then after checking through security he took us to the smoking room. There we met Archie and chatted with him for a while and, as Jeffrey the 3rd officer was getting us a crew list, we transferred over to the crew mess where we thought more of the crew would come in to see us. As it turned out, almost half of the crew were in town and some of the others were resting. So we visited with Archie and Jeffrey.
I touched on a spiritual topic briefly and soon after that Archie excused himself to go into town. So Jeffrey stayed with us and soon we were talking about his spiritual condition. He said that he was a Catholic, but he seemed to have a good sense of security in his salvation. He was reading the King James Bible and seemed to have a walk with the Lord. Most of the Catholic seafarers that I have asked have never read the bible and don’t even own one, to his reading the KJV is a good sign that he’s interested in God’s word. He said that there was a time where he really needed help with something and he prayed to God and then there was a release where he felt his burden lifted off of him.
Both Frank and I took turns ministering the gospel to him and he seemed solid in his understanding of what we were talking about. Frank asked him where he lived in the Philippines and so he showed us on his phone the very small island that he lived on in the central area of the Philippines. I encouraged him to join an evangelical church when he returned home and he though that was a good idea. He said that there was one right near the Catholic Church, and that he would check it out. He had said earlier that he didn’t like how the priests preached sermons and yet their personal behaviour did not match their position. A sign that someone is of the elect (those chosen by God from before the world was made, see Romans 8:28-30 and other scriptures on election) is that they recognize the religion they are in isn’t true. So Jeffrey definitely showed signs of not being happy as a Catholic (whereas others dig further into their Catholic roots and reject the gospel). Two other seafarers came in; the 2nd officer greeted us and thanked us for the gifts, but then left, and a very young crew member (age 36) who turned out to be the captain! He thanked us for coming to visit, and the gifts, and then left as well.
We finished by praying for him, the crew, their voyage to China tomorrow, and their families back home. We took pictures and disembarked the ship.
With such an amazing beginning to the evening I was expecting more of a crowd to meet with us, but later on I realized that meeting one-on-one with Jeffrey was a real blessing. I sensed that he needed some spiritual counselling and encouragement, and it was a pleasure to minister with a seafarer who was genuinely interested in spiritual matters.
We praise God for His insights into this visit, clearing our schedules and paving the way for only Frank and I to visit with Jeffrey. It was a beautiful night and such a blessing to be a part of His ministry to the seafarers.
Report submitted by: Grant
