Leaving Kiel!

We are leaving Kiel!!! The ship is heading for dry dock in Sweden, and the ship's company will soon be following. Because the ship doesn't have her Passenger Certificate only 75 crew members can sail with her. So tonight, 100 of us will be having a "slumber party" as a local church then bussing to Sweden in the morning. It's exciting to be leaving a port we have called home for the past 9 months. Most of us joined the ships to bring the word of God to people around the world, it's neat to finally be leaving for another country.

While the ship is in dry dock there will be 10 land teams to 5 different countries sent out to work with churches and other Christian organizations. I'll be going back to Sweden, but this time to a city named Malmo. It has the one of largest immigrant populations in all of Europe. Please pray for team unity and opportunities for us to share Jesus with local youth.

All the teams will be rejoining the ship on June 17 in Koge, Denmark. While away I won't be able to check my gbaships.org address, but you can still email to it, or find me on Facebook.



I can't wait to tell you all what the future holds after dry dock. I still don't know the details, but hope to learn some plans when everyone rejoins the ship! In the meantime, I had a birthday and will share that with you in my next blog, along with photos.

HopeFest

Our time in Kiel is coming to an end. We have been in this city for 9 months and have been blessed by the churches and people we have grown to love. For a special Thank You to all the members of our new community we opened Deck 4 up to the public for a special two day program we called "HopeFest". I was in charge of orchestrating the open ship and everything that was to happen on Deck 4.

















For those who don't know, Deck 4 will be our EXPERIENCE DECK. The entire deck will be used for the public. It will include the book fair, an international cafe, along with gospel presentations and an area about life onboard. Right now, it's just an empty deck with really nice flooring.


















The weekend was a great success and over 1,000 people came to experience HopeFest. There were clowns, cultural tables, a magic show, dramas, and lots of people. It was so overwhelming to see how much effort the crew members put into making this day all about God and letting his Spirit shine through them to befriend the public, (along with showing off their cultures). God is good and filled an empty deck with his goodness.

New email

My new and final email is:

jessica.edwards@gbaships.org

Besides getting email, I also like to get snail mail and packages. The address for those is:

Jessica Edwards
LOGOS HOPE
Alte Neckarelzer Str. 2
D-4821 Mosbach, Germany

Sweden Pictures

Our Sweden Team, leaving, Emma (USA), SoHee (S. Korea), Me, Mateus (Brazil)


Some of the youth we hung out with at a local church.

















There was a main stage and 6 other stages set up around the city for Jesus Manifestation. All the venues marched together and joined in the main square, "King's Garden".


Marching with 15,000 at Jesus Manifestation, in Stockholm. "Jesus says: 'I am the way, the truth and the life'"





Views of Sweden

Sweden Summary

We prayed with a young pastor named David. He is starting a home fellowship in a suburb near the church we were staying. He is excited to have a small group of believers praying weekly, in hopes that more of their friends and co-workers will come to know the Lord. It was exciting to share this time of prayer with them and see the enthusiasm that Christ has given them for this church plant.

Jesus Manifestation
Being in the midst of 15,000 people was overwhelming, but when you realize that all those people were in downtown Stockholm to come together, praise Jesus and shout his name publicly, it's thrilling. Words can not express the emotions felt as we were able to participate in a city-wide march, that stopped traffic and had people asking questions. The march ended in the main park, King's Garden where there were speakers, music and booths from various Christian organizations. All the Churches of Sweden had come together, putting aside denominations or ethnic backgrounds, but in togetherness manifested Jesus'name!

Team Work
The trip was blessed to start off with a calmness and carried that theme all the way through. The programs we lead challenged youth to step out and be missionaries to their friends. We also filled many days with practical help. Helping to spread the word for the Elvacaffe. This cafe was started by the church, whose whole purpose is to connect with individuals and share Jesus through love, friendship and "fika". Good conversations were had, Jesus was at work. Each one of us in the team had different strengths and weaknesses, but with God's help and amazing grace, we worked together and He recieved the glory. The people of Sweden will remain in our hearts, as we now have a better understanding of how to pray for them.

Prayer Requests
*Much fruit for the numerous friendship ministries that many of the churches have begun.
*More and more people will accept Jesus and live lives glorifying him.
*Pray for the seeking and the lonely, many in Sweden live comfortable lives with no purpose.
*The Christian brothers and sisters, who took a stand for Jesus, will let their light shine everyday, not just when they march together.