Faith
In Hebrews 11:1 we read the well-known sentence about faith: ... being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Actually it is a strange sentence, because 'hope' and being 'certain' are both things we cannot touch or see. It means that sometimes we do not see that our work carries the fruit of faith, but we know that you see it less often than we do. Yet, we are certain of the things we do not see!
We sing that we SEE a new heaven coming, based on Revelations 21.
You and we believe in what we see. Together we are convinced that heaven should be a reality for each on earth. That is why we receive the seafarers as the foreigner migrants of the sea. The love of Jesus Christ that teaches us to reach out to them, is mostly strange news to them.
All strangers together, but in Jesus, at last all one! That is what we hope and believe. That is our conviction, even though all do not always see the results.
For that we thank the Lord from our hearts.
During the year under review, the Lord gave us the opportunity to speak to more than 8 000 seafarers and talk to them about Jesus Christ. During this period we issued no less than 15 000 pieces of literature, such as Bibles, New Testaments and CDs to the men that work at sea. We also visited many congregations and attended sermons to introduce others to the wonderful world of the CSO and to tell them about our work among seafarers.
Through His mercy, God also foresaw the possibility of appointing a new Evangelist in the Cape Town harbour as well as Saldanha harbour. Our hearts rejoice about this opportunity!
When we think about this, we immediately think about all the loyal supporters. You are part of the eyes that help the men see heaven – here and now. Your prayers and your testimony about our work make our work so much easier.
Please rejoin His team where you have felt so at home for such a long time. Let us pray, hope and be certain of what we do. Let us be convinced together, even of that which we cannot see.