ALL AT SEA WITH OAC

by Ben Van Den Akker

Every year, over 5000 ships visit the docks in the port of Antwerp. They come in to load or unload and leave again after two, three or four days.

Every week, I spend a day visiting these ships. Most sailors cannot go ashore and have nothing to do in the evenings. At sea most of them are very lonely and have a lot of time to read and think. So when we visit them they are happy to have a chat and take some literature. In this way we hand out many booklets, New Testaments, Bible comics and video tapes of the Jesus film. We have these materials in many languages.

Some weeks ago, we met a sailor from India. He told us he had been at sea for more than 22 years and that his life had always been filled with the 'pleasures' of much alcohol and many women. Then 5 years ago he met a Christian who gave him a Bible. He started reading it and gave his life to the Lord. From that day on he wasn't interested in alcohol or women any more and became a witness to Jesus on his ship.

More recently, we visited a Syrian ship. We expected to be turned away when we told them we were Christians, as we knew that most Syrians are fanatical Moslems. However, they welcomed us and slowly we were able to make friends with them. They were surprised we had made the effort to come to the port and visit ships just to make friends with people we had never met before. When I gave the Engineer a booklet called 'Questions Moslems ask about the Bible' he took it with great interest and read it, completely blocking the doorway in which he was standing.

Meanwhile, the First Officer was reading another booklet about the Christian faith. It was the first time these men had heard the Gospel, and at the end of our visit they promised to give us a call when they come to Antwerp again. Please pray for this First Officer, called Aly, and please pray for this work amongst seamen.