British authorities want to know if two men who hacked a British soldier to death outside an army barracks in London on Wednesday were part of a wider terror plot. (PHOTO: CBN News)

Originally published in Charisma News

British authorities want to know if two men who hacked a British soldier to death outside an army barracks in London Wednesday were part of a wider terror plot.

Witnesses to the gruesome attack say the men shouted “allahu akbar” before running over the victim and then savagely stabbing him with butcher knives.

“The guy was already dead in the road,” eyewitness Jamie France said. “But that’s when I saw the other guy with the axe and a gun. Then after that I was looking out for about 20 minutes before the police came.”

After the killing, one of the suspects approached bystanders with bloody hands and a chilling message: “We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you.”

The killers called the attack an “eye for an eye,” accusing British soldiers of killing Muslims overseas. Police shot and wounded both men, who were later taken to nearby hospitals.

Authorities say one of the suspects, Michael Adebolajo, was born in Britain and raised a Christian but converted to Islam in 2003. He changed his name to “Mujahid,” which means “one who wages jihad.”

The London Evening Standard reports that detectives are investigating whether Adebolajo was radicalized after attending meetings of al-Muhajiroun, a group known for praising the 9/11 hijackers and encouraging young men to follow their example.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron has called the attack an act of terrorism, and police are now searching several locations, trying to determine if the suspects were part of a wider plot.

“The people who did this were trying to divide us,” Cameron said. “They should know something like this will only bring us together and make us stronger.”

Cameron also hailed Ingrid Loyau Kennett, the woman who confronted the suspect and may have saved lives.

When asked by a reporter why she intervened, Kennett replied, “Better me than a child because, unfortunately, there were more and more mothers with children stopped around. So it was even more and more important that I talk to him and then ask him what he wanted.”

The prime minister lauded Kennett’s bravery, vowing the country will not be cowed by the violence.

“When told by the attacker he wanted to start a war in London she replied, ‘You are going to lose. It is only you against many.’ She spoke for us all,” Cameron said.

Was Wednesday’s attack an isolated incident or something more sinister? CBN News Terrorism Analyst Erick Stakelbeck addressed that question and more on Newswatch Thursday.

Earlier this year Jean-Mikyle Roos a Gr12 scholar at Andrew Rabbie High School received a word from God to produce an album aimed at young people dealing with their daily struggles.

Writing lyrics is a natural talent of Jean-Mikyle. Being a part of the media team at Victory Ministries International has contributed immensely to this gift.

Without any training or mentoring, Jean-Mikyle for the first time recently starting composing beats, which he claims is God inspired.

“God has been with me every phase of this album, the Lord has provided me with lyrics, beats and titles for each of the tracks” he said.

To date 9 songs are completed, however he later said, “I am in no rush, when God says the time is right the album will be released”.

Jean-Mikyle’s “Genoeg is Genoeg” (Enough is Enough) rap struck a chord with young people in Helenvale in 2011 as the SA Police Service, together with VMI and other community stakeholders ran a week long talent show and school outreaches encouraging young people of the Northern Areas to rise above drug and alcohol abuse and crime.

Jean-Mikyle’s message is simple, “the joy of the Lord is my strength – Nehemiah 8vs10”. He encourages young people to dream big, to honor God in all that they do and to be the change they want to see in their communities.

On fire for God, this young man is waiting on God to direct his next steps.

Christian music veteran Carman, who was diagnosed with incurable cancer earlier this year, has raised more than $233,000 to fund his first independent album in a decade.

He credited kickstarter.com, a “crowd-funding” website that raises money for creative projects, to help pay for his first independent album and music video.

Launched April 19, Carman’s campaign exceeded its $200,000 goal in 25 days, making it the second most-funded music project on Kickstarter, the singer and evangelist said. The campaign’s deadline is June 18, and fans can continue to make donations.

“I’m so excited about this incredible opportunity we all have through Kickstarter to make something happen as a team and a family,” Carman said. “Cancer pronounced a death sentence, but you have been life to me, rallying me back into the fight and praying me back to my feet. As one fan said on my Facebook page, ‘Look at what Jesus did in three years.’ So as for you and me, with this new project and us working together, the next three years are going to be a blast.”

In addition to the music project, Carman has announced a 60-city, 28-state summer tour, with concerts planned for New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and Dallas.

Carman, 57, announced on his Facebook page Feb. 14 that he had been diagnosed with myeloma cancer, and was given “a three- to four-year window of time.”

His latest album, Anthems of a Champion, was released in January by Sparrow Records/Capitol Christian Distribution. Carman, whose full name is Carmelo Domenic Licciardello, is known for concerts, that “are more like a rock ‘n’ roll Billy Graham crusade than a Christian music event,” his website noted.

Originally published by ICC

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Burmese President Thein Sein was warmly welcomed by President Barack Obama to the White House on Monday even as reports of ‘severe’ human rights abuses, including persecution of Christian ethnic groups, continue to emerge. The historic visit was the first in almost fifty years by a national Burmese leader and came as a result of major political reforms made by President Thein Sein’s nominally civilian administration to a government dominated for more than five decades by a military junta.

President Thein Sein’s White House visit came only a week after human rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) issued a 25-page report detailing ongoing repression of various Burmese ethnic groups, including the predominantly Christian Kachin. CSW noted that testimony from displaced Kachin Christians in Burma included “some of the worst accounts of human rights violations” the organization had ever documented.

In the report, the wife of one current Kachin Christian told CSW of seeing her husband after he had been tortured. “He was covered in blood, and his nose was broken…An iron bar was rubbed along his legs. He was forced to engage in homosexual sex …He was told that as he was a Christian, he should kneel on very sharp stones with his arms outstretched like Christ on the cross…He was beaten on his hands and arms.”

As many as 100,000 Kachin currently live in refugee camps in the mountainous north of Burma after being displaced by Burmese military attacks. The Burmese military, which is dominated by Buddhist soldiers, has been known to discriminate harshly against the Kachin for their Christian beliefs. According to the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand at least 66 churches have been burned down in Kachin State since June of 2011.

“The Burma army came into our village; without warning, they burned and destroyed our village. Since we are all Christians, our church was immediately burned down and we lost all the Bibles we had in there as well. None of us can or dare to go back to our village, it is surrounded by the Burmese Army and we heard that many land mines were placed around our village” one Kachin Christian told an ICC affiliate last month.

Ryan Morgan, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said “While we applaud the many political reforms being instituted in Burma by Thein Sein’s government since 2010 and understand the desire of the current U.S. administration to encourage further reform, we believe Monday’s White House visit was a step too far. Horrific accounts of torture and discrimination against the Kachin by the Burmese military under Thein Sein’s government continue to emerge. Churches are being burned to the ground while prisoners are mocked and tortured for their religious beliefs. Only very strong, concrete steps will be able to counter the institutionalized discrimination that grips most of the Burmese military and much of Burmese society. The United States should not continue to reward the Burmese government with diplomatic favors until these steps have been taken.”

Michel Djotodia, CAR President. (PHOTO: Crispin for World Watch Monitor).

Catholic leader’s letter challenges Djotodia on ‘desire to turn CAR into an Islamic republic’

By Illia Djadi — World Watch Monitor

The Catholic Church in the Central African Republic (CAR) has written a letter to the former rebel leader and new President, Michel Djotodia, raising concerns about his past and asking him to speak out against the suffering inflicted on civilians by his Séléka guerrillas.

Several rebel groups joined forces in December under the banner of Séléka and within weeks had taken control of much of the country’s north, northeast and central regions, forcing President Francois Bozizé to flee the country on March 24th.

In the letter, titled ‘No more things like that… Standing up against impunity’, the Church implores Djotodia to break his silence against Séléka’s members for acts of violence including rape, looting, extortion and robbery, and to explain the existence of a letter that appears to show Djotodia’s desire to turn the Central African Republic into an Islamic republic.

“Why shouldn’t you condemn [Séléka’s members]? Until when would you keep silent?” the Catholic Church writes, in a letter signed by the Archbishop of Bangui, the CAR capital, Mgr Dieudonné Nzapalainga and fellow senior bishops.

“Wherever Séléka’s members have passed, the population is left in tears and sorrows. The inhabitants of Central African Republic cities are subjected to rape, looting, extortion, robbery, vandalism, and other misdeeds orchestrated by Séléka elements.”

In a letter to the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Djeddah (Saudi Arabia) in April 2012, a scan of which has been seen by World Watch Monitor, Djotodia introduced himself as the defender of the Muslims’ cause in Chad and the Central African Republic.

He told them the two countries “have no respect for us” and asked for support from his “brothers”.

“In Central Africa, Muslims are insulted and despised every day and they are considered as foreigners… That’s why we decided in 2006 to organise ourselves, thanks to the support of some Muslim brothers from Sudan – to claim our rights,’’ said Djotodia, who was the leader of the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR), a rebel group operating in Northern CAR, a year ago.

In his two-page letter, Djotodia claimed that “all Christians are liars’’ and revealed his project for CAR.

“If by God’s will, we reach Bangui, we will set up an Islamic regime in order to apply the sharia [law],” he wrote. “Even if we fail to drive out Bozizé, we intend to transform some parts of Central Africa, Chad and Darfur, into a new Islamic republic.”

The Catholic Church has criticised Djotodia for not yet denying the authenticity of the letter or distancing himself from it.

‘‘Would you be effectively the author of the letter sent to the Organisation of Islamic Conference in Saudi Arabia, dated 17 April 2012?” the Catholic Church wrote. “How does one explain the fierceness of Séléka against our institutions?”

Acting for peace
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) agreed on Saturday (May 18) to more than double its peace-keeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR).

The number of regional peace-keeping forces deployed by ECCAS will be raised from 700 to 2000, with the aim of restoring order in the capital, Bangui.

Two months after Séléka’s rebels took power, the country has plunged into chaos. The collapse of the defence and security forces, following the fall of the former regime, has left a security vacuum in the country.

The UN Special Representative in CAR, Margaret Vogt, described the situation as “horrifying and intolerable” in a recent report to the UN Secretary-General.

Vogt, who also heads the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA), urged the UN Security Council to impose individual sanctions against the “architects and perpetrators” of human rights violations in CAR.

The new authorities have pledged to tackle security issues, but Séléka elements, which are said to be composed mainly of foreigners from neighbouring Sudan and Chad, appear to be out of control.

On Sunday (May 19), fighting with small arms and heavy artillery erupted in Bangui, the capital, when a military-police unit tried to retake vehicles allegedly stolen by Séléka elements and hidden in a house. At least four people were killed and others wounded, including a young girl hit by a bullet, local sources told World Watch Monitor.

The persistence of insecurity has prompted the government to seek assistance from France, the former colonial power, whose troops were stationed in the Central African Republic for years.

Worrying trends
The current situation in CAR has revealed a social malaise among the population, remarks the Catholic leadership in its letter.

‘‘If not dealt [with] properly, the crisis could have lasting consequences on national cohesion regarding cohabitation between Christians and Muslims,” warned the Archbishop’s letter, a copy of which was sent to representatives from the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) in Bangui. ‘‘It is an evil that should be discussed before frustrations and resentments become unmanageable.”

The Archbishop’s message was supported by the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, which denounced a ‘‘rebellion characterised by religious extremism, by evil intentions for the programmed and planned desecration and destruction of Christian buildings, and in particular Catholic and Protestant churches”.

‘‘All over the country the Catholic Church has paid a high price,’’ said the Episcopal Commission, which enumerated a number of violent acts against Christians and their properties.

The dioceses of Kaga-Bandoro, Bambari, Alindao, Bangassou and Bossangoa are among the most hit by rebels, said the Commission.

A number of priests, such as the President of the Episcopal Conference in Central Africa, Mgr Edouard Mathos, and the Archbishop of Bambari have also been attacked, while others have been kidnapped or hunted by rebels. More than 100 of their vehicles have also been stolen, the Catholic Church reported.

In March, nine people were killed in the village of Ouango (close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo) by rebels who set fire to 400 homes, looted the Catholic Church and profaned the tabernacle, reported the Catholic News Agency, Fides.

Protestant churches have also been targeted by looters and armed men. In April, World Watch Monitor reported that three shells fired allegedly by Séléka landed on a church, killing seven and injuring many, including the pastor of the church.

The hostility of Séléka towards Christians has raised the fear that the Central African Republic could become a hub for Al Qaeda.

‘‘My fear stems from the fact that the Central African Republic is a country as big as France, with only five million inhabitants. Now that the little state administration has been completely destroyed, who can control it?” warned Father Anastasio Roggero, a missionary who has worked in the CAR since 1975, in an interview with Fides.

“We are in the heart of Africa, and the danger here that a centre of terrorism is set up is real, in my humble opinion.”

The prevailing violence has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), some 173,000 people were displaced internally, and almost 50,000 made refugees – mainly fleeing to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, but also to Chad and Cameroon.

Last week’s declaration of a state of emergency in three states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe has received the official endorsement of the umbrella body of Christians across the country, especially from among the most affected faithful in the troubled region, reports Sam Eyoboka .

In separate interviews, the National Secretary of CAN, Rev. Musa Asake, Secretary of Southern CAN, Dr. Joseph Ajujungwa, CAN chairman in charge of the North East region, Rev. Shuaibu M. Byal and the Borno State PFN chairman, Rev. Haruna Maidoki were unanimous in their support for the president’s action which they argued was in accordance with constitutional provisions.

Reacting to the president’s speech, CAN secretary, Rev. Asake said the 1999 Constitution gives him the right to take any action he deems fit to restore normalcy to any part of the country, noting that he therefore exercised that right by declaring a state of em-ergency in those states.

“Our prayers are with him while we hope that this current measure will adequate address the question of insecurity in that region which has been bedeviled in the last couple of years,” Asake stated, adding that the president action had avidly justified the position of CAN that an amnesty for the Boko Haram members was uncalled for.

“When the CAN president, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor said the amnesty deal would not work some Nigerians took up arm against him, but today they have come to realize that he was right,” he stated, adding that the amnesty committee that was instituted should be scrapped with immediate effect because, he said, it is a waste of tax payers’ money.

“It beats my imagination that certain persons in the country are opposed to the emergency rule. These are the same persons who have never expressed disgust in the deliberate plot to annihilate Christians and their places of worship,” Asake stated, adding “while fellow Nigerians are being mauled down daily and we cry out they ignore our cries.”

CAN in the 17 Southern States has also thrown its weight behind the emergency rule in the three North Eastern states over the activities of Boko Haram and the destruction of lives and property.

“We cannot continue to watch devils destroy our dear country just like that. Enough of these senseless killings in the North. We’ve seen enough bloodshed and let the sponsors stop and remember that human life is sacred and must be respected,” the scribe of the body, Rev. Joseph Ajujungwa stated.

It also condemned the killing of the Secretary of CAN of Borno State, describing it as “a barbaric act and we call on the Federal Government to do everything to bring the culprits to book.”

Also speaking, Rev. Byal described the emergency rule declared on the three states was a good omen, urging Nigerians to pray that this new approach to tackle the insecurity in the country will solve the problem.

On his part, Rev. Maidoki expressed mixed feelings over the state of emergency, saying that while it is a welcome development, he wondered why the political structures in the affected states were allowed to remain.

Nigeria
Nature’s Fury Coming
A building collapse in Bangladesh killed more than 1, 100 people. In Lagos, Owerri, Calabar and a few other Nigerian … see more »

The twisted cross of National Socialism flew for all to see over a mosque Monday in the West Bank, according to the Israel National News Service.

In the predominantly Arab-Muslim town of Beit Omar, the large, black swastika that once symbolized Adolph Hitler’s Third Reich was clearly visible to astonished Israelis living in the southern suburbs of Jerusalem.

“I felt we were going back 75 years, losing our hold on the land,” said Uri Arnon. “The Arabs no longer feel the need to hide their murderous tendencies (by) announcing out loud that they wish to annihilate us.”

As the flag was affixed to a live electrical line, technicians were tasked to safely remove it.

The connection between Nazism and Islamism goes back to the Second World War when the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haji Amin al-Husaini, not only politically supported Hitler but helped Heinrich Himmler form several all-Muslim Waffen SS units; one such unit, the 13th SS Handzar Mountain Division, carried out ethnic cleansing operations in the Balkan Mountains in order to carve-out an autonomous Bosnian Muslim state.

Both Hitler and Himmler would eventually develop stratagems employing Islam to advance the geopolitical goals of the Third Reich; after all, Nazis and Muslims already shared a common “theology” of racial purity as well as a mutual hatred of the Jews.

Protesters opposed to lifting of ban on gay Boy Scouts. (PHOTO: usnews )

Originally published in WND

In a historic vote today that threatens to splinter the iconic organization, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America revised its century-old policy to allow “open and avowed” homosexuals to join its programs.

The new policy maintains the exclusion of adult leaders who are openly homosexual, however.

The BSA said the resolution was approved by 61 percent of the approximately 1,400 Boy Scout leaders from across the nation who voted at the organization’s annual conference in Grapevine, Texas.

In a statement issued after the vote, the BSA said the policy change is effective Jan. 1, 2014, “allowing the transition time needed to communicate and implement this policy to its approximately 116,000 Scouting units.”

The statement said the resolution “reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting.”

Responding to the vote, the Family Research Council “expressed deep disappointment at the Boy Scouts of America.”

“Sadly, the Boy Scouts’ legacy of producing great leaders has become yet another casualty of moral compromise,” said FRC President Tony Perkins. “Unfortunately, Boy Scout delegates capitulated to strong-arm tactics and abandoned the timeless values that have served the organization well for more than 100 years.”

Perkins said the delegates “succumbed to a concerted and manipulative effort by the national BSA leadership despite the BSA’s own survey showing 61 percent of its members in opposition to changing the policy.”

The new policy, devised after an extensive survey of BSA members, is a revision of a proposal issued in January that would have allowed local troops to decide whether or not to accept openly homosexual members and leaders.

The Scouts count more than 2.7 million members and more than 1 million volunteers.

The BSA said in its statement today that the National Executive Committee, which just completed a lengthy review process, has “no plans for further review on this matter.”

“The Boy Scouts of America will not sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement, by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue,” the statement said.

The BSA said that while “people have different opinions about this policy, we can all agree that kids are better off when they are in Scouting.”

A coalition of parents, scoutmasters, Eagle Scouts and other scouting leaders opposing the policy change, called OnMyHonor.net, said after the vote that the BSA can no longer use the phrase “timeless Values” in good faith.

“It is with great sadness and deep disappointment that we recognize on this day that the most influential youth program in America has turned a tragic corner,” the group said. “The vote today to allow open and avowed homosexuality into Scouting will completely transform it into an unprincipled and risky proposition for parents. It is truly a sad day for Scouting.”

Pascal Tessier, a 16-year-old Boy Scout from Maryland who became one of the faces of opposition to the old policy, said the vote today allows him to earn his Eagle Scout award.

His older brother, Lucien Tessier, launched a petition on Change.org in favor of the resolution.

“Just a few hours ago, I was thinking that today could be my last day as a Boy Scout,” he said. “Obviously, for gay Scouts like me, this vote is life-changing.”

Defenders of the old policy have argued that many scouts who are homosexual have participated in the program without making an issue of their sexuality.

Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Institute in Sacramento, said the BSA leadership “has cowered to the financial bullying of homosexual activists.”

“The Boy Scouts are an organization that takes in approximately $500 million a year,” she said. “The homosexual activists have successfully worked their ground-game of pressuring donors and bullying the board members of this iconic institution.”

The BSA’s decision to propose a change in policy, as WND reported, coincided with a sudden drop in major corporate funding that began last summer after a “gay”-rights blogger for the Huffington Post published a collaborative report that named the donors and chastised them for violating their own policy of not discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Call to prayer

Amid emotional public demonstrations today outside BSA headquarters in Dallas and the nearby convention site, OnMyHonor.net posted a call to prayer today on the organization’s Facebook page.

“Would you join us in a time of solemn prayer for our country and for the future of America’s youth? Please pray that He has mercy on the BSA and all of us,” the post said.

Meanwhile, in an op-ed in USA Today yesterday, BSA President Wayne Perry called on the National Council to approve the resolution.

“The BSA’s executive committee unanimously presented this resolution because it stays true to Scouting’s mission and remains focused on kids,” said Perry. “No matter what your opinion is on this issue, America needs Scouting, and our policies must be based on what is in the best interest of our nation’s children.”

OnMyHonor.Net founder John Stemberger has contended that a change in the membership policy would “gut a major percentage of human capital in the BSA and utterly devastate the program financially, socially and legally.”

He has called the policy change “logically incoherent and morally and ethically inconsistent.”

“Opening the Boy Scouts to boys who openly proclaim being sexually attracted to other boys and/or openly identify themselves as ‘gay’ will inevitably create an increase of boy-on-boy sexual contact,” said Stemberger in an open letter to the voting Scout leaders.

This week, the Alliance Defending Freedom delivered a petition with 18,724 signatures to the BSA urging the organization to adhere to traditional American values. Meanwhile, the homosexual-advocacy group Scouts for Equality said it delivered nearly 300,000 petition signatures asking the BSA to end its ban on homosexual members.

Twenty U.S. House Democrats sent a letter to the BSA urging an end to the ban. The Congress members said excluding homosexual scouts and scout leaders “is counter to BSA’s mission to teach our youth to combat discrimination.”

OnMyHonor.Net’s Stemberger says internal estimates by the BSA project an estimated $44 million of lost annual revenue if the policy is changed.

He points to BSA’s own “Voice of the Scout” surveys that indicate tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of parents, scoutmasters and scouts will leave the program if the proposal is adopted.

A member of the National Council previously told WND a decision to change the policy will prompt many at all levels of the organization to quit.

Homosexual-rights groups have said the proposed policy change doesn’t go far enough, because a scout who is homosexual must quit the organization when he turns 18.

John Eastman, a constitutional scholar who has advised the Boy Scouts against broadening the membership policy, told the Washington Times before the vote he believed that some local councils will break off from the BSA depending on the outcome.

“Quite frankly, I think that if anybody’s going to leave, it ought to be the ones that are seeking to change the organization into something it’s not, rather than those who want to adhere to what it has traditionally always been,” Eastman said. “I’m an Eagle Scout myself, my son’s an Eagle Scout and my grandfather was an Eagle Scout. This hits personal.”

About 70 percent of local Scout troops are supported by churches or other religious groups, most of which teach that homosexual behavior is sinful.

Southern Baptist Church leaders urged the Scouts to maintain the membership policy, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the largest sponsor of Boy Scout troops in the U.S., affirmed the proposal.

The Catholic Church, the third-largest Scout troop sponsor, indicated it wants to work with the BSA even if the policy is changed.

Core values

Last July, after a thorough two-year study, an 11-member committee of professional scout executives and adult volunteers unanimously concluded the policy of not allowing open homosexuals should be maintained.

The BSA executive committee announced that while not all board members “may personally agree with this policy, and may choose a different direction for their own organizations, BSA leadership agrees this is the best policy for the organization and supports it for the BSA.”

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of the Scout organization to exclude homosexuals, because the behavior violated the core values of the private organization.

© Copyright 1997-2013. All Rights Reserved. WND.com.

Caption: Crew and staff who worked on Logos Hope during the time in dry dock at Yiu Lian Dockyards.

OM Ships International’s vessel Logos Hope has launched back into service from Hong Kong, SAR China following the annual dry dock and maintenance time required for ongoing operation.

The ship is now sailing to San Fernando, Philippines which will be the first of two stops planned for the 2013 visit to this country of many islands. The second port of call, Puerto Princesa, will be the fifth port Logos Hope has visited in the Philippines after stops in Cebu, Manila and Subic Bay in 2012.

While many of the crew stayed on board to complete technical work during the time in Hong Kong, many others moved on shore to work locally or in surrounding nations on “challenge teams”. In total, 22 teams were sent out from the ship to 10 different countries including South Korea, Japan and China as well as the United Kingdom and United States.

“We are grateful for a safe and reliable ship. However, it is the people who express the hope of transformation in the communities we visit,” explained Peter Nicoll, CEO of OM Ships. “We are also dependent on the prayers and financial support of Christians from around the world.”

As in previous dry dock times, crewmembers were joined by numerous project workers. These short-term helpers volunteered their expertise in a variety of areas to work alongside the ship’s technical staff on the many projects around the ship. At the same time, the professional team of the Yiu Lian Dockyards focused on the significant work required to do the five-year survey on the propellers and rudders amongst other works.

A significant accomplishment was the correction of the controllable pitch system for the propellers, which had been installed incorrectly during the refit of the vessel seven years ago. This fix was only made possible by the help of a Danish service technician who had experience with the uncommon system in place on Logos Hope.

“I see this as a provision from God as the service technician ‘happened’ to have experience with this particular type of controllable pitch system,” explained Elon Alva, Marine Superintendent for OM Ships. “There are only a few of this particular type still in operation worldwide!”

Meanwhile, there were also many stories of God at work through the various teams from the ship visiting communities on shore around Asia and beyond. In nearby Macau, SAR China, Emrae Corpuz (Philippines) met a Thai boxing coach while sharing the message of hope in Jesus with people on the streets. Despite the language barrier, Emrae shared her faith with the man and put him in contact with a local church. Many others were also presented with the Gospel message and around 1 000 Chinese Bibles were distributed in this region renowned for its gambling. “Continue to pray God will plant His seeds in the hearts of the people,” said Emrae. “Pray that there will be a fresh wind blowing in Macau.”

On hearing the experiences of crewmembers during this time, Lloyd Nicholas, Logos Hope Director, said ” Each one has experienced God in different ways, thankful for wonderful hospitality, seeing people connectedwith God and going through challenging situations realizing ‘…if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’ John 15:5.”

The community on board Logos Hope looks forward to returning to the Philippines where it is expected that many more thousands of Filipinos will make the most of the quality literature available at a fraction of its retail value on board Logos Hope, commonly known as the “the world’s largest floating book fair”.

The revenue generated by literature sales is a key element of the financial sustainability of this not-for-profit entity. However, with the current expenses of the dry dock work, OM Ships is facing a significant financial need of around 400 000 Euros in expenses anticipated over the next weeks. Donations to help keep Logos Hope sailing into the future are gratefully received online at www.omships.org/donate or via local offices: www.omships.org/contactus

Last week I sincerely hoped this thing with my classes would not end with me in a jail cell singing,

“He had it coming! He had it coming! He only had himself to blame,
If you’d have been there, if you’d have seen it,
I bet you you would have done the same!”

Dragon lady is still roaming around but it seems that the children have upped their game too. There are some children that are coming up as heroes (knights) in an attempt to slay the dragon. As a newbie in this game I am barely holding on. I am sad to say that every day for the past two weeks I have had other teachers come into my class to try and help control my classes. I have tried every trick known to man to try and control these children, but so far I have not found anything that I can say is truly effective. I even had them pray to the Lord in the hope that they’d feel convicted and change…no such luck!

But that has been my problem I think, it’s been all about me. All about my performance, me maintaining discipline, me getting through the work, me, me, me! I realise that all of those things are important but I watched a TED talk recently by Rita Pierson entitled “Every Kid needs a Champion” that reminded me of a basic fact that I overlooked. Children cannot learn in an environment where there is no significant relationship with the teacher. In all my zeal to be a good teacher I have missed the fact that I have to appear to be human to the learners in order for them to learn from me. I guess I may have alienated them in my efforts to control them.

Rita Pierson talks about an occasion where she had to apologise to her learners for messing up a lesson and teaching them the wrong thing. It is that kind of humility that she encourages teachers to show in their classrooms. Because it is from a common place of humanity that connections are made, and meaningful learning can happen.

So this week’s article is less about what I have learned and more about where I hope the Lord takes me. I am officially retiring the dragon. Sadly, I fear that the dragon slayer committee will not rest until they find the dragon’s weak spot (Singing: He had it coming! Pop, Six, Squish, Uh-Uh, Cicero, Lipshitz). So while I will remain firm when I have to be, perhaps cracking a smile every now and then will contribute towards a less stressful learning environment for the rest of the term. I pray that I will become the champion in the lives of the learners I encounter.

As Rita Pierson says, they need someone who will believe in them no matter what, and when they only get 2 things right in a test…encourage them by pointing out that they didn’t miss every answer! Right now that feels like it is a long way off, particularly when I think back to how cross I was yesterday with my Grade 7s for failing their Natural Science test! But again, I can immediately recognise it as an issue of pride. The way I have been looking at it; their failure has less to do with them, and more to do with my perceived teaching abilities. While the Lord uses this teaching stint to grow me and change my heart; my prayer is that I will be faithful to change under His guidance. I want to be a champion to my learners, someone who really believes in them, even in the face of horrible behaviour or marks!