Countdown to Christmas!
Christmas snippets from Colin in Cork...
The smallest gift for a seafarer can really make a big difference! When I was up North in November, it was such an encouragement to collect gifts and knitted items from many supporters such as Ballywillwill Presbyterian, First Holywood Presbyterian and Lighthouse Church in Donaghadee. Betty Smyth filled my car boot with hats, cuddly toys and other goodies, while Sandra Mayo presented me with 1000 hats which she had knit for the seafarers over the past year!
A massive thank you to everyone who made up Christmas presents, knitted woolly hats for the seafarers this Christmas time!
It's been a busy couple of weeks in Cork. We had our dear friends, Kenneth, Victor and Norman, deliver a full van load of presents to us - all the way from N. Ireland. The Lord blessed the men's 14th annual visit to Cork. During their 2 days here, we were able to visit 3 ships each day. One of them was a 'stone' ship which looked like a quarry! They have the job of burying the electric cable from the Ireland - France Celtic Interconnector! This is not only for safety reasons, but also security- to reduce the risk of ships deliberately dragging their anchors to destroy cables!
We also visited the MV Matthew and were able to have a short Carol service. On another small Spanish ship of 8 people, there were 5 ladies! The lady Captain proudly told us that her husband is the Chief Engineer. It was lovely visiting this ship and sharing about Jesus with them. The last ship visitation was with a full Indian crew. They were thrilled to meet us and have some spiritual conversation. And a present for everyone, which will remain hidden away until Christmas Day!
During winter the oceans are even more dangerous than usual. Thanks for praying for seafarers' safety. The ships keep sailing over the holidays. Many seafarers cannot go home for Christmas. The ship with the Indian crew passed through the big recent storm we had on their voyage from Canada to Ireland. The stress when out at sea in a storm is maybe one reason why we see sailors smiling so much while they are in Port and have some time to relax and recover. These Ukrainian crew had also just arrived coming from Canada through the storm. Some ships which arrived in Port over the past couple of weeks have encountered over 7m waves in the storms! They said it was frightening.
Click on the photo below to see a short clip shared by some seafarers of the stormy seas they face...
We also had a Christmas Presents Wrap in the Cobh Crew Lounge. The presents wrap in Cobh was sponsored by Serve the City charity in Cork. They bought many treats for the crew. It was great to have some young people involved in making up gift packages for the seafarers.
You can view a video of the Christmas Wrap in Cobh by clicking on the photo below:
There have been many taxi service trips into Cork taking seafarers shopping or to carol services. The crew of one ship wanted to go shopping to buy food for their Christmas party on board. It was a joy to have 6 crew members accompany me to church last Sunday for a Carol Service. Along with 4 Filipino crew I was able to bring along the Greek superintendent and the Romanian captain. They loved every minute! Afterwards I was their tour guide - all day long! One of the crew got an amazing thick red and white woolly hat which he wore with pride the whole time!
