环球英语 — 644：Logos Hope
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Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Steve Myersco,
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And I'm Robin Basselin. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Manila, the Phillipines. Long lines of people are waiting to get on a ship. Many of the people have never even been on a ship before. They do not know what to expect. But they do know that they are not going to travel to another place. The ship will stay in the port. All the people will get off the ship again after a few hours and go home. So what are they hoping to do - or see?
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Many of them are going to visit the bookstore. The ship's bookstore is huge. There are books on all kinds of subjects. They do not cost much money and some of them are free. The most popular book is the Bible. Many people want the chance to buy one.
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Other people want to listen to a talk on the ship. More than five million people have attended talks or other events on ships like this one. The ship has health talks - such as how to avoid the spread of the HIV virus. Other talks are more unusual. For example, one talk teaches young people about fire fighting equipment. The officers on the ship show the young people how to fight a fire at sea! Altogether, more than 39 million people have visited a ship like this for one reason or another.
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The ship is called "Doulos". The idea for ships like the Doulos came from an organisation called OM Ships International. It began its work in 1970. It wanted to use ships to bring ‘knowledge, help and hope to the people of the world'. Today, the ships do this in many ways. They carry aid to people in poor countries. They help people of different races understand each other better. They provide good literature for people to read. They also help to share a message of hope in God.
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In 1970, OM Ships International had just one ship. It was called Logos. It travelled to many ports around the world. Logos succeeded very well in its work. But there were too many countries to visit. So OM bought another ship to help with the work. The second ship was the Doulos.
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The names of the two ships have special meanings. In the Greek language, Doulos, means someone who serves. This is exactly what the crews of both ships want to do as they travel the world. They want to serve the peoples of the world in as many ways as they can.
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Logos is also a Greek word. It means ‘word'. The workers on the ship are involved in speaking and teaching with books and words. Ancient Greek thinkers used the word ‘logos' to mean ‘God working in the world'. And the Bible describes Jesus Christ as the logos. The ship's crew believes Jesus is God's message to the world.
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The work of OM has not always been easy. In 1988 the Logos ship had an accident. It hit land during a terrible storm. Nobody was hurt, but the ship could not be saved. So OM Ships International then bought another ship. It continued to do the same work as Logos. So they called this ship Logos Two. But even with this newer ship OM Ships did not have enough space to do everything they wanted to do. Sometimes people had to wait for hours just to get on to one of the ships. OM decided they needed a bigger ship. So in February 2009, it launched a new ship! The ship is called "Logos Hope". It has now replaced Logos Two.
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Logos Hope is much bigger than Logos Two. It has more space for everyone. It can carry more crew members. So there are more people to show visitors around the ship or to help with projects on land. Logos Hope also has rooms for conferences. It has a film theatre. It even has a school for the children of the people who work on the ship.
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Hundreds of people work on each ship. Some of them keep the ship in good repair. Some of them cook the meals. Some of them meet the visitors and talk to them. Some of them teach. Some help with projects near each port where the ship stops. But they all have one thing in common. They do not receive any money for doing their jobs. Not even the captain - the man in charge of the ship! Each member of the crew helps to pay his or her own costs. They do their jobs because they want to help other people, not earn money. Each person has come to a living faith in God, and they want to share their hope in God with other people.
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The crews come from about fifty different nations. They all learn to work together. Together the ships have visited about three hundred nations.
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One team went to a poor village in Nicaragua. They spent seven days building a community oven, for cooking bread. The people are now able to make bread and sell it to earn some money. In Turkey another team helped a mother living alone with her children. Their home needed repair, and it was very cold. The team from Doulos worked on the house to make it stronger and warmer.
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It can be sad for people when the ship leaves the port. So the ship crew make their last night special. They perform a show. They invite all the local people to an International Night. The crew members wear national clothes. They play music and perform dances from their home countries. Sometimes they invite the people who are watching to join in. Everyone enjoys learning about other people's cultures and traditions. It is one of the many ways the crew bring joy to the countries they visit. When the Doulos left Malaysia, an official said,
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‘We are very pleased that you came back with a treasure house of books and a treasure house of knowledge to share with us.'
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After the Doulos visited South Africa, the King of the Zulus said,
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‘Through your efforts I believe the world will become a better place to live.'
