Thilini: MV Logos Hope

Logos Hope, the floating library arrived Colombo, Sri Lanka on 21st October 2015. I’m not sure how many times they have visited Sri Lanka before, this was my first visit to the famous book fair on a ship and I really enjoyed the experience and planning to start reading the books that I’ve bought from them, right after I publish this on Facebook.

We were at the entrance of the harbor around 10 a.m. on Chaithya road, Colombo 01 waiting for the shuttle. As you can see in the pictures, a diverse crowd was waiting in the line impatiently. You can see the excitement and joy in kids’ faces. Yes, I’m also excited, my first visit to this vessel J.

Little bit about Logos Hope before getting into the ship; as I learnt from http://www.gbaships.org, MV Logos Hope is the fourth ship in the mission, launched in February 2009 to take over the work of Logos II. The ship reached the Colombo harbor from Myanmar, will start the journey again on 13^th November to their next destination, Seychelles.

There are nine decks in Logos Hope and you will find the book fair happening in the fourth deck. Thank you Yasmin Henry from Australia for showing us around J, it was a great pleasure to meet you and others in the crew. The unity and dedication we noticed in the crew is truly impressive and amazing. I saw the ship as a global village. I think the love for God and faith have created the immense bond with each other.

You will find a huge collection of good books, music in many genres and kids’ toys in the book fair. The crew is very friendly and helpful. You can buy souvenirs of Logos Hope such as key rings, pens, world maps, mugs, jewelry, etc. Don’t forget to say ‘Hi’ to the wonderful crew members.

The beauty of the crew is, everyone from the Captain to the cleaning team (The cleaning team also called as ‘Angels’) work as Volunteers. There are some volunteers serving in the ship with their children. So that, they run a school in the ship for those nearly thirty number of children. Marvelous, isn’t it? I guess they love the idea of learning Geography as they wake up every day in a different location.

They have a separate cafeteria for the book fair visitors in the same deck. If I’m not mistaken in the sixth deck they have a large cafeteria for the ship crew. I went inside the kitchen as I was curious to know from where my Turkey sandwich came and the smell inside the bakery made me more hungry.

The crew members start their day by gathering in the cinema area (which used to be a vehicle yard when the mission bought the ship) to pray and then they concentrate on their duties and tasks throughout the day. No one commands another or act bossy, everyone contributes and perform their duties willingly. The meals are served thrice a day, but if any crew member feels hungry, the cereals, milk and bread are readily available anytime.

If you join as a volunteer, you’ll be starting by doing the angels’ work; cleaning and cooking. I’ve to say the current angels are very efficient. It was very clean inside the ship and the food they served was delicious. Tip: Try their Chocolate/ Vanilla mix Ice cream at least, worth the price. J

About Yasmin Henry, our kind and generous friend offered us a tour inside the ship; Yasmin is indeed a beautiful soul. A music teacher from Brisbane, Australia. She has joined as a volunteer about one month back when the Logos Hope was in Malaysia. Currently, she helps back office work on the ship and before joining Logos Hope, she has volunteered few charities as Pyjama foundation (I wish if we have something like Pyjama foundation http://www.thepyjamafoundation.com in Sri Lanka) Yasmin loves the idea, bringing knowledge with books and share the love of Jesus. Her natural friendly personality and listening her experiences in the ship will make your visit more enjoyable.

So everyone, I recommend you to visit Logos Hope with your kids. It’ll be a good experience for them spending few hours inside a ship. I find the books, comparatively cheap and affordable, they really have an impressive collection of children’s books and toys.

Yasmin and all the crew members, I wish you good luck and a safe journey. Hope we will meet again J Bon Voyage!

Note: The photographs were originally taken by the author, please do not copy the original content and the pictures without my permission.