Update: So close I can feel it!!

Well, More time has passed then what I had expected… It’s March 1st. God has his timing and planning. Sometimes I just get too impatient. For that I need much prayer. God granted me a Visa for the UK which I am super excited for! We all thought that was going to be the difficult part. As it turns out, I think it was the easiest. I submitted the application on a monday and had it by Friday. It was incredible! So all that is keeping me here is the funding. Living costs in the UK are a little higher then the ships. I’m looking at a total of around $1500 a month. So far I have about $1300. Only $200 to go!! So close. Please pray that God would provide more and new supporters! I have two speaking engagements this week. Both in Wisconsin. Please pray that they would go well, and God would be glorified. Also that he gives me the right words to speak. I still am very much not comfortable with public speaking but it is getting a little easier. This last week I spoke at a rotary club. It was really fun. Lots of questions and people came up and talked to me afterwords so it must not have gone to terribly!

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support!!

In Christ,

Adam

Re-Entry Take 1

How does one transition well? Your in one part of the world, hop on an airplane and within 24 hrs your on the other side. The side that you once called home. But thats the thing, is this home? It looks kinda like home, the people are from the home that you remember, but it doesn’t feel like home… What happened? At some point there was a shift. How, and when did that happen?

I am reflecting about this last year, about all that God has done in my life. The relationships that were created and fostered. The memories and experiences. The pictures that will not escape my mind. The ache in my heart for my home. The people on the ol’ ship have left a deep chasm within me. I find myself wanting to head up from section two, walk down main street, enter the photoshop and sit and chat with my friends. From there move on out and up near info, onto AV. Hoping to past people along the way for conversation. I want to ask them how they are doing… Why didn’t I talk more with them? Why was I not more bold? More conversations could have been had. More opportunities could have been taken. Did I waste my time?

America… Land of the fat and happy … I don’t want to spend time wishing my country was better, every country has its issues, I just find it hard to fit in here. It’s loud, busy, and for the most part so comfortable that we don’t need anything more than we can provide for ourselves. It is so hard to see God moving here. I know he is, but it’s so hard…

Where do we go from here? The UK. But my heart is still in asia… I hope to find it again someday.

I guess I just miss my home…

Pray

Just pray

The End is Nigh

Dear family and friends,

My time thus far onboard the MV Doulos has been nothing short of incredible. From the different countries I have seen, to the people I have met, and the opportunities that God has placed before me have been some of the best times of my life. I have so many memories and experiences that I will draw upon for many years to come, God willing. All of this has been possible because of Gods grace and your support, and to that I say THANK YOU! from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

In my time onboard I have seen the poverty and loneliness among the people of the Philippines. It was there that God broke my heart for his children. The voyage from the Philippines to the beautiful country of Taiwan left me speechless as I witnessed the holy power of God through wave after wave crashing against the hull of the ship. Realizing how small we are, and that it is good to have a fear and awe of our great and powerful God.

The actual culture of Taiwan made me fall in love with Asia, and God has just reinforced that love for this strange and intriguing part of the world. Hong Kong followed Taiwan. In this busy hustle bustle of a modern asian city, God showed me that the world is truly globalized, yet even on the other side of the world, man still suffers from the same problems universally. Sin is the same no matter where you go. From the greatest city in the world to the smallest village, godlessness is everywhere.

Next came Cambodia, a place that haunts me to this day. Its beauty leaves me speechless. Not just within its countryside, but its people are truly beautiful. A country that has seen so much pain and suffering yet there is hope in Cambodia, God is working there. God gave me a unique opportunity to drive a van cross country to deliver donations to a school out in the middle of nowhere, literally no where. A village that from the looks of it had never seen a white person. The curious look on the faces of the little ones is one that will stay with me forever.

Thailand, Malaysia, and now singapore. All incredible in their own unique way. Never have I been blessed so much, and had so much revealed to me. God has been and continues to work in my life, showing me areas that I need to work on as well as helping me to see my gifts and talents. But with all of this, as all good things must come to an end, the Doulos is no exception. Below is the official press release.

World’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship to stop sailing

Mosbach, GERMANY – 20 November, 2009

The ministry of OM’s ship Doulos will come to an end on 31st December 2009. Doulos is the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship, now 95 years old, with the hull built in 1914, just two years after Titanic. In spite of the all year round maintenance that has taken place, the amount of steel replacement and other repairs needed for her to continue sailing are overwhelming. The ship is presently in Singapore and has been undergoing the annual period of dry dock and surveys.

Early indications are that the work would cost over €10 million and take five months to complete. The OM Ships executive leadership team and board believes that is not appropriate to invest resources of this scale into the ship, since Doulos would have a limited ministry future.

Chief Executive Officer of OM Ships International, Peter Nicoll, said, “The outcome of this is that Doulos will not be able to continue in ministry. This is not what any of us wanted, and has serious consequences for everyone on board, those about to join and for ports we planned to visit.”

“We are committed to operating safe ships and complying with the requirements of our classification society, RINA, as well as the International Safety Management requirements for ships,” affirms Peter Nicoll. “We have been praying that God would use this five-year ‘special survey’ to give us a clear picture of the way forward for Doulos and that He has done.”

The well-being of the 280 crew and staff onboard is of paramount importance. Each person will receive the guidance and support they need to decide what their next steps should be. Some are close to the end of their period of service, while others joined as recently as September.

Keeping the ship compliant with the highest marine standards has been a real challenge over the years. It is a remarkable testimony to the professionalism and dedication of the non-profit organisation’s technical personnel that the ship has continued to meet marine requirements until now.

CEO Peter Nicoll stated, “We recognise God’s faithfulness through these 32 years of wonderful service of the ‘servant’—Doulos—as an outstanding OM ministry, through more than 600 port visits in over 100 countries. Many lives have been transformed, both visitors and those who have served on board.

We are also deeply grateful to our partners around the world who have supported the ship in ministry through the years. Please continue to pray with us as we work on present challenges and seek the Lord for the future.

With Logos Hope now active and exciting ministry taking place, we are investigating possible options to charter another ship in the interim and have already begun working on the Doulos replacement project. Contributions should be given through your local OM office and designated ‘Doulos Project’.

As soon as I have more information, I will send out more updates. I do not know exactly what the future holds, which is what makes it exciting. A new adventure to take with God, who could ask for more? What I do need is prayer. Please pray for direction and for God to reveal to me my next steps. Again, thank you so much.

Bubble Tea, Scooters, & Prayer

Taiwan: bustling, beauty, and bubble tea. I can not believe how amazing Taiwan is. From the mountains to the dumplings, the culture to the smiles on all the faces, this is truly a wonderful place to be. It makes me so sad to think that in a few short days, I will have to wave goodbye to this lovely country. God has blessed us so much. His timing is perfect, his character unchanging, his gifts unfreakin believable! For me, Taiwan has been the place for answered prayer, much patients and Gods provisions coming to fruition. This is the place where he answered ALL, not just one or two but ALL of my prayers! But lets go back to Port 1: Kaohsiung. We sailed in around midnight. Still the nightlife of the port could be seen by the crew, as we anxiously held our flags and stood in awe of the neon lights shining in Chinese characters across the water. For some this would be a welcomed return, for others an unknown place of adventure, beauty and excitement. A group of local volunteers stood on the quayside to welcome us in. After a tremendously rough voyage, we all sighed a sigh of relief. We had finally arrived. In the distance, mountains could be seen surrounding the city. Rumors of Night Markets and bubble tea spread like wildfire on the ship. The veterans who had previously been here before spoke of dumplings, bubble tea and scooters. Those of us new to this place listen in wonder of this strange new land, excited to try such food. Upon trying bubble tea for the first time, we knew, this sweet nectar of life was a gift given by God himself to the world. That and Taiwan Dumplings. Most of Kaohsiung was spent exploring the culture, meeting local friends, and trying to figure out my place here. I came to the ship with the expectation of producing videos from around the different nations of the world, that could have an impact in peoples lives. So far I had experienced broken equipment, unmotivated people, and political barriers so high they seemed impenetrable. All of which I had not prepared myself for. So upon my arrival in Taiwan, I was feeling a bit discouraged, confused as to why God had me here, and with little to no direction from the leadership. Needless to say I was needing refreshment and direction. I decided I would focus on building relationships with those on board. I spent a lot of time in prayer petitioning to God for wisdom and discernment. Praising Him for not just what He does in my life but simply for who He is. Knowing he is a great God, Loving, and perfect. I kept coming back to the scriptures for encouragement. Finding solace in his word. Little by little God showed me pieces of the larger picture for how he would bring about and take care of all my needs. But I needed to learn to have faith in Him, to trust in His timing, and to simply enjoy Him and the ones he has placed around me. Being the inpatient American that I am, this was easier said then done. Hualien, the second port of Taiwan, was by far the most relaxing. Mostly a countryside port. No real major cities, except for the occasional small town, very peaceful place. This is also the place where we discovered how wonderful beef noodles are. Taiwan has the best food. Unfortunately this port only lasted 12 days. Most of which was spent eating beef noodles, and getting lost looking for sushi. Then came Keelung. Only a 30 minute drive from Taiwan’s capital, Taipei. The food discovery made in this port was dumplings. Wonderful fried, or steamed dumplings. Located near one of the largest Night Markets, which we throughly explored. I have to admit as wonderful as Taipei and Keelung are, Kaohsiung stole my heart. However, Keelung is the port in which God chose to full fill his faithfulness by providing the opportunity to receive our new editing station. It took 3 ports and I still don’t fully understand why, but long story short, God has provided EVERYTHING, and I do mean everything we need to start producing videos that will hopefully have an impact in peoples lives. From the Camera, to the Computer God gave us all that we need, through the faithfulness of his followers such as Village Church my sending church from back home in the states. As well as others praying and supporting faithfully. I love to see how God brings people together to accomplish his goals. It really unifies the idea that the church is one body, living and serving together. The encouragement doest stop at just the gift itself, it moves on in the form of hope throughout the ship. Countless people have stopped into my office and been shocked and amazed, and then filled with hope. God always provides for our needs, big or small. Our God is a God who cares about the details in our lives.  To those that have helped support us in prayer or financially I say Thank You and Praise God for His loving kindness to bring sinners together to complete His good works! Now we enter Sabbath week. A week full of rest, relaxation from work and the busyness of ship life. A time in which we as a ships company will grow together through our visiting speaker Dr. Philip Lyn. But most of all refocus on God, and our relationship with Him. Please pray for us as a community, that we would grow close together. In the upcoming future there will be changes in leadership which will inevitably affect the community as a whole. Pray for strength, to wether any storms we may go through. Most of pray a prayer of praise to our wonderful Father in Heaven, for all that he has done in your life, and will continue to do! For he is GOOD, and Great is His faithfulness!

The harsh truth

The harsh truth of life is that people are suffering. All around the world people are suffering. Starvation, abuse, prostitution, homelessness, and death, are rampant. This is a harsh truth to face, one that I saw first hand this week. Here in Manila, street kids are counted by the thousands. The population is so thick, so packed, to win a political office, all you need is to win district 1 because it is so dense with people. Partnering with a small church we went out at 4:30 AM to feed these kids before they start their day of work, collecting garbage or begging. With a few containers of milk and a little bread we ventured off, wondering how can this make a difference we are so few, and they are so many… 

Wondering through the back alleys of streets I would never walk alone on for fear of my own life, we discovered this harsh truth of life. Children sleeping in dirt and mud, some in carts, or upon pieces of old cardboard. With dirty hands and faces they reach out for this small morsel of bread and little blue cup of milk. Their eyes piercing with great sadness and hopelessness, how can this make a difference? But I tell you my friends, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” – Matthew 18:5 -6

The pastor that took us out, he himself was once a street kid. We do make a difference, giving these kids just the little taste of compassion and hope. They become curious, many want to get out of the streets. When they have no where to turn, they know they can go to the church, which also dubs as a free school just for street kids. “Christ & Education, thats what these kids need” Let me tell you friends, God is always at work, even when we fall into hopelessness. He sees every face, every heartbroken starving child. God knows and feels the pain and suffering in this world. He uses every situation, everything to his Glory. God is changing lives, he hasn’t gone anywhere. What we must do is pray, and move. Move together to help the peoples of the world. My challenge to you, the reader, Please pray that God will show you an opportunity to serve someone. Go out into the streets, to your neighbor, into the city. There are people suffering everywhere, serve them. Tell them about Christ, about the hope that is in you. Please move, act, help, obey. 

 

What to say?

Greetings from Bacolod, Philippines! 

I am going to be honest, I don’t know what to write about. Life is good, life is hard. God is Good. He provides, and is always faithful. 

 

Things are just so different here. Example: The other day we had an open day on the ship. Basically it’s exactly what it sounds like, we open up certain parts of the ship for visitors. My job during this is to be filming the different activities. While doing so, I was stopped so many times for either to have my picture taken, or my autograph. It’s so strange. I am not famous, not special in anyway. I’m just a big white guy with a video camera. 

People are attracted to this ship, there is something different about it. An aura surrounding it. People want to know what it is. They find themselves feeling different, questions come into there mind. “why are these people different?” “what’s different about theses people?” The answer: Christ Jesus. That is what’s different. It is really apparent that God is working in this place. Its a humbling feeling, and I don’t know what to make of it. But Praise God for using selfish, useless people, for using the big white guy with a video camera. I don’t understand why, but what I am starting to realize is, I don’t  always need understand, I just need to be obedient. Faithfully Obedient. 

 

On a more light hearted topic, I saw some amazing waterfalls, rode on a side car of a motorbike in the dark (that was insane). Saw a whole squid on a stick, watched the sunset over the ocean, went to prison, danced on the quayside, lost all my music and movies, and have been blessed over and over again with amazing friends and experiences!

 

I miss you all! Keep praying for me!

Requests:

New equipment: New camera, upgrades for computer, $$ 

Strength & Endurance: everything moves so fast here, its hard to keep up

Friendships with the locals: There are so many opportunities to talk with the locals, but i need courage to do so!

 

p.s. this was interesting and kinda fun, http://humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm once you have your personality type, go to google and enter it there to find out more about yourself, I am INTJ  its quite interesting

We interrupt your daily life to bring you this important message…

I just wanted to take a moment, and for you the reader to take a moment out of our busy lives. Just one moment. We are given so many moments, lets take one together. Think to yourself about the greatness of God. Not just the usual “yes God is great” But really think about it. What has God blessed you with today? Friends? Food? Family? A place to live and work, maybe just a smile, that was given to you. Praise God for his never ending gifts. For his complete faithfulness. 

Now think about this, what have you done today to bring glory and honor to His name? How have you pleased the Lord your God today? How do the decisions you make today impact the lives of others? For good, or bad? 

Both of theses thoughts have hit me hard today. I don’t thank God enough for the things He provides. And I don’t live my life in such a way as to live for anyone but myself. I don’t think about others, I certainly don’t concentrate on wether or not my actions will bring glory or honor to God. Why do we not keep this on the for front of our brains? Why is it that I can’t live fully for Christ? Are my arms lifted so high, that I can’t see the need around me? Is my voice singing so loud that I can’t hear the cries for help? 

My prayer request is simply this, That God would show not just myself, but everyone that reads this, everyone that worships God, everyone that loves Christ our Lord and savior, that God would change our heart and our minds, that we would worship Him not out of selfish desires, not just so we feel “good” but in a way that brings Him Honor and Glory, but we must realize that worship is not just a song, its how we live our life.

 

For Him? Or Me?

Greetings from afar!

Wow what a wild ride this has been! Currently we are in Bacolod, Philippines, We just sailed from Cebu, Philippines. I spent 2 weeks in Cebu, one week at the Sea Side resort for training, and 1 week onboard the ship. It is such a different lifestyle here, both in port and onboard. Never have I been so happy, and pushed before in my life. Pushed beyond, way beyond what my “normal” comfort zone would be. These are all answers to my prayers, and God is really at work not only in me but in the ports we visit. The ministry is so much larger then I ever realized. The lives this ship impacts is innumerable. From the project workers that come onboard and work with us for a month, or the kids lives that are forever changed by the love they received from a simple hug. It is truly humbling and amazing to experience and be a part of such a tremendous ministry. 

Thats not to say that everyday is peaches and cream! Life onboard is nothing that I thought it would be. Its great, and terrible at the same time It really is only by God’s grace that we are able to live and survive on this floating box of 95 year old steel. The people on board are amazing, fun, exciting, annoying, frustrating, and irritating! And I love everyone of them. Even though I have only been here for 12 days, I feel as though I am apart of a family that I have known all my life. Odd as that may seem, life onboard is unique, unlike any place on this earth. 

For those of you that are interested as to what life is like, well let me give you a bit of a breakdown of my day. I live in the lowest section closest to the bow of the ship, Section 1. This is the roughest place to be during voyages, due to the fact that its literally in the bow of the ship, (the bow is the front, it goes up and down, up and down, repeat) I share my cabin with about 15 dirty, smelly, loud, Godly, loving men. They are something else. Great great group of guys. However sharing a living space so small with so many guys, can be… difficult. My bunk mates, Kenji and Yuri are wonderful. Kenji is from Japan, and  may be the funniest person I have ever met in my entire life. We have a lot of fun. Yuri is from Ukraine, and has the most loving heart for the lord I have ever seen. It is such a pleasure to live with these guys. As far as the rest of the cabin goes, I have my American brothers, Mike, Drew and Josh. They are so American its wonderful. There are of course many others who share our humble cabin, some of which I’m sure I will mention in future posts. 

Continuing on, now that you know my sleeping conditions, we wake up at about 7:00. Breakfast is from 7:20 to 7:55. Director Devotions is at 8:00, Work starts at 9:00 (my department does prayer and devotions from 9-9:30 or so) Lunch at 12 back to work at 1 until about 5 or so. This of course is all based on the idea that everything happens between 9 and 5, which is never the case. My hours are in reality all over the place based on when we have programs and special events that need to be captured. But this is what it says on paper, so that must be accurate right? right… We work on a Tuesday to Saturday schedule. Sunday is church day, Monday we have off. Somewhere in the week we have what is called an E-Day. Which is our evangelism day. We go out on an eteam to do evangelism in the communities. That could be a church team, or work projects, or street teams. Any number of activities. Dramas and mimes are a big part of these teams. When we were in Cebu, we spent a lot of time with the street kids out on the quayside (the side the ship is docked too) Never has my heart been broken so much for children. Some of which have never been or shown love. That was the best had most difficult part of Cebu. Please pray for those kids, that there life would be impacted by the Doulos crew, and that God would reveal himself to them in such a way that would change there lives forever, leading them to the arms of Christ. 

Alrighty, so there you have it, there is a little picture of what life is like. Forgive me if my updates are not as frequent as I had originally intended, but Internet access is far and few between. The internet onboard is not quite as advertised. A more accurate statement is that we dont really have internet. We can send email and Instant message, but thats about it. No web browsing or really anything else. That all must be done at an internet cafe. 

I do have some requests, if anyone can help, or just be praying for answers that would be so so very much appreciated!

First, the equipment here is less then ideal, and by that I mean its terrible. Far worse then I expected. We have 2 cameras. One works, sorta… Its about 6-8 years old and is falling apart. The other is worse then the first. Neither one of these are acceptable for real work. PLease PLease PLEASE pray for funds or a new camera(s) Ideally we need 3 good cameras, but to at least function we need 1-2. The cameras that are ideal for what we do onboard are about $5,000 to $6,000. 

Second, We need to upgrade our software. The mac we are running is about 4 years old, but it will work for a few more years, if we can upgrade the RAM and Hard drives, & the software is 3 years out of date. 

There are so many amazing stories that are taking place on this ship. The history alone is incredible. The ship is 95 years old, and has a tremendous story to tell. Currently we are working on a project to tell this story, but we desperately need new equipment to complete this project.

 

Pray that God would give us discernment and direction as to what to do about this. If you, or if you know anyone that would be able to help, please contact me at adam.natrop@gbaships.com 

Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated, and needed!

 

God is doing amazing things onboard and in the ports we visit, please pray for Bacolod, Philippines, that God would help us to be effective in ministry. That peoples lives would be impacted and changed forever. Pray that God would bring many to his side. Thank you so much for all your prayers!!

 

In Christ,

Adam

The Philippines!

Greetings All!

 

Wow what an adventure! I have traveled 16 hours from Mosbach Germany to Singapore, to Devon, and then on to Cebu, Philippines! Let me tell you, this is a very different world from America, or even Europe! Never have I seen anything like this place. So much beauty and poverty at the same time. There are people everywhere, and I mean Everywhere! As we got off of the plane, a wall of heat and humidity hit me. I knew I was in a different place, but it did not hit me until we had 20 people crammed into a very small van, much like the ones you see in any movie about third world countries. It was crazy! and the way people drive here is an experience in it of itself! Goats, people, motorcycles, bikes, old ladies, kids, these are just a few of the many obstacles to avoid hitting when driving, not to mention the other vehicles that are also speeding along. Its awesome!

 

It is really a great joy and pleasure to be here. The hotel we are at is kind of like a resort, by the sea! I get to look out my window and gaze upon the sea, and the ships. The hospitality is second to none, the people here really have a heart to serve. It is really quite humbling. Already God is showing me so much about myself, and pushing me to grow in ways I’m not even sure yet. Being around so many cultures is showing me how selfish I can be, not only in my thoughts but my actions and even prayers. I so badly want to be able to serve people without my pride getting in the way, or expecting something in return. It is difficult to explain, but its amazing to see so many cultures and witness first hand how different people can be, yet we are all apart of the same body of Christ, serving sacrificially alongside one another. Mind blowing!

 

As for some details, I will be in Cebu for 2 weeks. Our first week will consist of ministry training, and the second week will be basic safety training. Our schedule is similar to the GO conference in Germany. We get up for stretch time at 7:20, which means I will be waking up at 6:30 again. Then breakfast at 7:30, then on to sessions, lunch, session, tea break, session, dinner, fellowship group, session, free, sleep. They will be keeping us busy. 

 

Also, I wont be able to keep in very good contact, as It is hard to find internet here. There is an internet cafe, however, getting to it, and finding time to get there is a bit difficult. It also cost about 20 peso, which is really cheap, but still, it cost money! So in short, please don’t be mad if I don’t do as many updates right away. I should be good when I get settled in onboard. 

 

Time to run! I love and miss you all!!

 

Prayer Requests:

Build relationships with the men here. I am the only American Male,(there are only 2 Americans, me and Rachel)and the language barrier is difficult to leap over. 

Courage to step out of my comfort zone

I would be an encouragement to other, and that God’s name will be glorified.

My parents, as they are without both of there boys now, (josh moved to cleveland) 

In Christ,

Adam 

 

p.s. Hopefully some pictures will be up soon, but I haven’t had time to take any yet!

The Quest continues…

Greetings all!

The time has come, the closing of one chapter, and the start of another! It is time to travel to the Philippines! Please pray for safe travel for both our team as well as our luggage! There will be 14 of us traveling together on singapore airlines. The journey will take about 16 hours! This will for sure be the longest flight I have ever been on. But don’t worry we are in God’s hands and no matter what happens its all to his glory! May his will be done in my life as well as yours! I love you all!

In Christ,

Adam