Friday Night at the Mission

You never know what to expect when you open the door and spend an evening at the Mission! Will it be busy? What nationalities will come? Will the computer system crash when 10 - 20 computers are on - line. Are the seafarers going to buy a lot in the store etc., etc.
This Friday something happened I've never seen in the almost eight years working in the Port..........The telephone system crashed, that is to say, one phone inside the building and one outside the building worked. Four telephones did not work any more! We called a technician who told me that the problem was ' outside ' the building! ( A cable was damaged due to construction work )  What do I tell 43 seafarers who came that evening, many of them desperately wanting to phone their families? There was nothing I could do! I must say the seafarers that evening were very gracious and understanding. The computers didn't crash and the shop sales were very good. It turned out to be a very good evening!  ( The system was repaired Tuesday afternoon!........Three days later! )

Also, the seafarer you see on the picture is wearing new shoes plus he is carrying a bag with another pair of new shoes. He is from Mayan Mar and is a steward on one of the container ships that visit Delta Port. I noticed that he was wearing totally worn out slippers. This was Friday when he was serving  lunch. I told him to come in the evening to the Mission building. I promised him that I would bring him new shoes. And yes there he was....... he wanted shoes! I had brought two pair of  my own shoes......brand new ( Rockport and Nike )  but which were just too small for me. He tried them on, they were a bit too large but he accepted them gladly. I saw him walking to the ship. a very proud man with new shoes.
Today I met him again! He walked on  the Nike shoes and he was wearing a big smile on his face. He is going home two weeks from now after a 10 month contract. I am reminded of Jesus' words, " So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. " ( Matthew 7 : 12 )