TTDIGC YOUTH MISSION SHARING

Evelyn Tan

3RD JULY 2013
http://www.gbaships.org/

Hello again!

We arrived at Puerto Princesa yesterday morning at 11am. There were a bunch of people waiting for the ship's arrival. Many of the crew members went out to the highest deck (deck 9) with their flags to greet the people as we entered the port. Puerto Princesa is apparently the cleanest and greenest place in the Philippines.

The sail here was amazing! At some points, it was quite rocky but most of the time it was a smooth sail and the weather was good. On our second night of sailing (Monday night), the night sky was amazing! Can you believe that the sky here becomes almost fully black at 7.30pm? there were already many stars in the sky. Later in the night, around 10pm, many people went out to Deck 9 because the weather was good. It was a clear sky, literally FILLED with stars! I cannot even begin to describe how beautiful it was but it was a very breath taking sight! I also saw many shooting stars! That night, many people slept in their sleeping bags on deck 9(yes, it is allowed).

On Monday night (1/7/13), there was Worship night. It's a weekly thing. Worship night on Mondays and Prayer night on Thursdays. The main theme that seemed to be recurring throughout the night was unity and surrendering all to Christ. You see, from the outside, the Logos Hope with it's 400 member crew look like a bunch of 'Super Christians', missionaries going out to share the Gospel, people who 'have already got it right with God'. The truth is, everyone on board is struggling in one way or another. And I personally believe that this ship is under very heavy spiritual warfare. Though there is unity on the ship (nobody here is trying to kill each other), sense of true unity, compassion and love for each other may sometimes be forgotten. And this is due to the struggles that each one is facing. It is difficult sometimes to live as a community with a lot of different cultures, nations, personal habits and principles. So during this prayer night, many people were led to surrender everything they were facing , all their struggles and doubts to God. Many people even went up to share spontaneously because they felt the need to. After the Worship night, i saw many people praying with each other.

One of the members gave an illustration - our hearts are like containers, stored with everything in the world - all our desires and worldly things. All our sins. And God wants to come into us but He is holy and therefore cannot come into our hearts if it's filled with everything else. If it's filled with sin. She went on to say how we need to continually empty this container, which means to continually empty our hearts by surrendering everything to God so that He can come in and fill us.

Then a thought came into my mind. I work in the Angels and I clean everyday. Most times, i clean the things that had already been cleaned the day before even tough at times, these things don't look dirty at all! But I thought about it and if we didn't clean these same things everyday, the dirt would build up and when we actually decide to clean it, it would be very difficult.

In the same way, we need to clean our hearts daily so that the sin within us doesn't build up.

So for everyone who is struggling, doubting, having something that's hindering their relationship with God, I hope that you can fully surrender it to God. Even in this seemingly great community, we struggle. But it really helps to surrender it to God and to trust that He will be faithful in pulling us through. :)

Have a blessed week!

 Talent Night!

TTDIGC YOUTH MISSION SHARING

Evelyn Tan
1ST JULY 2013
http://www.gbaships.org/



Hello TTDI GC Folks!

At this moment, 1.34 am, the ship just started sailing (For about a half hour already) to our next port, Puerto Princesa, Philippines. Initially, we were suppose to leave at 7am yesterday but due to the storms, the coast guards did not allow any ships to set sail.

Subic bay was a nice port to be in. It was not just the environment but the people as well. On my last trip to the bars to do bar ministry, I met a 20 year old girl who was one of the dancers/prostitutes. She shared with us her story - she has an 8 month old baby, stopped schooling since she was 13/14 years, has an alcoholic father and gambling mother. She has two younger brothers and the father of her child left them when she was a month pregnant. For her, working in the bar is the only job she can get because she did not graduate from high school. She explain how she had a bad relationship with her parents but since the birth of her child, she has really began appreciating her mum. She is a really pretty girl and getting to know someone who was so close to my age, with such a background, makes me feel compassionate toward her. It wasn't like she was forced into this job by someone. She chose it because it seemed to be the only option she had. She once had a dream to be an air stewardess. As I spoke with her, I thought 'wow, this girl has so much ahead of her if only she could see that.'

We invited her to the ship the next day but she didn't turn up. Her name is Anna and I would appreciate if you could keep her in your prayers. I know i will.

The bar ministry in Buretta, Olongapoo is really amazing. The kind of stories these girls have to share is amazing.

Im getting a little nauseous as I type this. So I shall update you again when we have stopped sailing. The stars here are AMAZING!!

toodle doo folks!

TTDIGC YOUTH MISSION SHARING

Evelyn Tan
18TH JUNE 2013
http://www.gbaships.org/

Hello dear TTDI GC folks!

I hope everyone is doing well. We are currently in Subic Bay, Phillippines, and we've been here since last Tuesday (11/6/2013). This port was not suppose to be part of the schedule but the ship's generators have encountered some problems. The crank shaft of generator two had been damaged and parts had to be changed. Then, a few days later, generator one started giving some problems as well. So the ship is currently in repair and we are expected to leave for the next port, Puerto Princessa by the 24th of this month but that is quite possible to change. Because this port was unexpected, there hasn't been many visitors on board the ship. On average about 100-400 people a day, which is significantly less compared to the crowd at San Fernando. In total, there were 90 000 visitors during the ships stay at San Fernando. It was so crowded everyday!

Last Thursday (13/6/2013), I went for bar ministry. It was my first time doing such a thing - I didn't even know it existed! In Subic Bay, YWAM Olongapoo has been actively going out to bars to minister and help the girls and lady boys there. What is Bar Ministry? It is when you go into a bar (over here its with scantily dressed women/lady-boys) and you try to connect with them and hopefully share God's love with them. After that, YWAM (Youth With A Mission) will do the follow up if we manage to get their contact. It's such an amazing ministry! I was a little afraid at first because i didn't know how i was going to get about with the conversations but before we went, we prepared our hearts with a session of prayer and worship. So there were about 12 of us and we were divided into 3 teams. 1 prayer team and two practical teams. It was raining so heavily that night!! And halfway through, there was a blackout along the whole street. That was such a blessing because it made it easier to talk to the girls without having to shout and challenge the booming background music.

We left the bars around 9.30pm and had debriefing. One of the team members shared that she prayed that God would show her how to love these girls and lady boys. That God would let her see them as He sees them. Then she said that at that moment it started pouring like mad and a thought came into her mind. It was like God telling her ' This is how i cry out for my children in this industry'. It was just really encouraging hearing everyone's stories of the night.

This experience has really opened up my eyes to the different kinds of ministry we can do. It doesn't just have to be in the church or in a 'safe and easy environment'. There were some struggles that YWAM has encountered over the years because the bars had become stricter with people just coming in to the bars and not buying any drinks. The girls at the bars are ever ready to share their story and lives with us but we have to buy ourselves a drink and sometimes buy them a drink as well, to buy their time. At the end of the night, we all agreed that the conversations we had were so easy and so smooth. I will be going again this Thursday night. Please pray for these girls and lady boys who sell off their bodies for money. Pray that whatever chains that are binding them there will be broken and that God's love will be able to touch their lives.

God bless,
Evelyn