A few months ago, a Captain from the Philippines asked me if I could help him procure two large batteries for the ship's generators. A port state control on board had determined that the generators were no longer working, and the ship would not be given permission to sail. The captain was quite desperate. I explained to him that it would be difficult to buy these batteries in Germany, as I had no idea where they could be purchased, especially as these batteries were produced in Singapore.

Would it be possible to find these batteries in Hamburg? I prayed in my heart to Jesus and asked him for concrete help. After calling numerous companies and receiving one rejection after another,  I didn't know what else to do. I phoned my wife, who advised me to contact a friend who works for a forwarding company. He then gave me information about companies that might have such batteries in stock. Together with a ship's engineer, I went on a search and visited various companies.

After five rejections, we received a tip and we actually found exactly the batteries we needed. When I arrived on the ship, the Captain hugged me and said: "You're our saviour!" I replied: "No, Captain, Jesus is our Saviour." He was so happy that he invited me for dinner with some officers.  While having dinner with the Captain and his officers, I  had the opportunity to tell them more about Jesus.

Martin Otto, Port Chaplain