Reflections From a Deckhand
By Sophie Gage, CIU Student Writer
‘Some went out on the sea in ships… They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he… stilled the storm to a whisper.’ – Psalm 107:24-28
Every alarm possible blared on the bridge of the Logos Hope in the dark of an Indian Ocean night. Lights flashed red that I didn’t know existed; a cacophony of beeping raised my hair on-end. I held onto a windowsill as our ship rolled to the portside. Chairs, maps, binoculars, and anything else in the control center of the ship flew to the side as I watched a wall of water rise above my head out the window. The helplessness that I felt in this moment remains unparalleled. At the time I was 19 years old and serving as a volunteer on a ship called the Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating bookstore, partnering with local ministries around the world. We had unknowingly sailed right into an unyielding storm off the coast of South Africa. When I stared at that towering ocean wave, I was confronted with the reality that our lives relied solely upon God’s merciful help.
Missionary Kid
The idea of “help” is pivotal in the Christian faith. I grew up as a missionary kid watching my parents raise support and battle the questions of why God does not provide in the ways we expect. My parents may not have been facing a literal tidal wave at the time, but they were in a storm of financial need that revealed our total dependence on God. After four years, God paved the way for us to move to Germany. Many people ask my parents why they chose Germany as their mission field. Isn’t Europe a Christian continent? We moved to a village in southwest Germany in 2014, and I grew accustomed to beautiful, empty churches and a culture of self dependence. I attended an international school called Black Forest Academy, which houses a community of many missionary and third culture kids. Outside of school, I went with my mom to work with refugees from North Africa and the Middle East. This made a big impression on me as I saw the contrasting needs of the immigrants and Germans. I learned that material possessions are not a measure of satisfaction, and it highlighted the need that we as Westerners have to pursue things of true value.
After High School
As graduation neared, I heard of the Logos Hope for the first time. I didn’t think much of it until God placed a series of unexpected people in my life who had served on board the ship themselves and encouraged me to join. I took a leap of faith and, after raising support from my incredible community, flew to Kenya to climb aboard. At first, life on the ship was difficult. I joined with a large group of strangers from around the globe who all had just about one thing in common: Jesus. After our training, we were handed an envelope with our job assignment inside. I was to become a deckhand, which meant six weeks of further training in security, navigation, mooring and gangway operations, and a lot of other things that were on the technical side of keeping our home ship-shape. I could hardly believe that this was my job (and neither could my parents) but I learned countless life lessons as we sailed around the coast of Africa and eventually crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean region. Every day I had to sacrifice my own pride in order to submit to God’s strength, and trust that everything would work together for good. In a way, the fast-paced and difficult lifestyle on board made me draw closer to God than I ever had been, and the storm off the coast of South Africa was no exception. If I trusted that God had a purpose in bringing me to the ship, then in the midst of that storm, there was no reason to fear. Now at CIU, I hope to remember to wholly rely on God in a very different life circumstance while I pursue studying Disaster Relief and Emergency Management. I still have a desire to help others, but those times in rough seas serve as a reminder that God is our ultimate source of help.
Let us remember Who is carrying us through the storm.
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