A local man and a real Spanish character stood playing hymns on the trumpet to see us off.
Great is thy faithfulness, Amazing grace and When the Saints go marching- it was so moving to hear him play, our language barriers no barrier to Christian fellowship and brotherly love. Some of the crew joined in song.
As we moved away for the dock the last audible song was very fitting Onward Christian Soldiers:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!
Here stood roughly 400 Christians lining the decks headed for Lome, Togo; to confront poverty and it’s affects, to bring new hope through the gospel of Christ to a nation gripped by Islam and traditional witchcraft. A team united as Soldiers for Christ, from many nations and with many skills going to serve Christ by His Grace, in His strength, for His Glory, with Him as our leader in the mission -A scene that brought tears of joy and a feeling of been overwhelmed at how great our God is.
For now the foe these soldiers are facing is rough seas and seasickness and what a comfort it is to know that “The Lord on high is mighty than the seas, than the waves of the sea” Psalm 93:4 .
The smooth start to the sail............(Above)
We sailed into a stunning sunset last night and then the night sky was graced by a full moon and small meteor shower.
Naomi,
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog through a link on Mercy Ship's Facebook page. Thank you so much for going to serve the people of Togo. You will see that the needs are great and you will be a blessing to them.
I lived in Tabligbo, Togo -- a small town about an hour and a half from Lome, for 5 years; I also lived in Benin for 8 years; during that time we were able to visit the Mercy Ship Anastasis on several occasions, but I have not yet visited the Africa Mercy.
I will be leading a small group to Togo in early July--we will be visiting the churches in the Watchi area that I previously worked with and doing medical and nutritional work in and around the town of Vogan. I will be traveling with my wife (who worked as a medical missionary in Ghana), a nutrition professor, her husband, and several of her students. If there were an opportunity to meet you and perhaps visit the Africa Mercy, that would be great. You can reach me at anthony@albanychurch.net
Blessing!