On a very nice evening recently, my wife, Mona, and I served at the Fraser Surrey Docks Seafarers Center. Nearby, three ships were at berth. Several groups of Filipino seamen arrived at the Center that night and, at one point, there were more than 30 of them enjoying warm hospitality and services. Some had rushed in to communicate with loved ones by telephone (of course!!) and others used their laptop computers. The ping-pong and pool tables were also very popular, the exercise seeming to invigorate the visitors. Hot coffee and cookies were also available for those wanting to rest and talk. As always, our main focus was to care for the seafarers’ souls, hoping they would come to know the Lord Jesus before leaving the Centre. In this regard, we invited those present to gather at 8:30pm for a short time of worship.

By the grace of God, almost all of the seafarers joined us for worship, including the Captain of one of the ships. We sang two beautiful songs together --- “Blessed Assurance” and “Amazing Grace”. Then, we asked the crew members if they were assured of their salvation. None of them were, even though all of them claimed to believe in Jesus. As a result, we took the opportunity to explain to them the full Gospel of Salvation. As per Ephesians 2:8, we told
them that people can only be saved by grace through faith, and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God and that by this grace we are taught to fear God even though the fear of eternal judgment is removed. The seafarers were stunned by God’s amazing love and their eyes were filled with hope and joy. They had learned that if they took Jesus into their hearts and followed Him wholeheartedly, they would be with Jesus in eternity. Everyone took a Bible and a copy of Our Daily Bread and promised to read and pray to God everyday.

How wonderful it is that we can tell others the good news of Jesus Christ, giving them the assurance of God’s saving grace, leading to a healthy fear of God but not His judgement!

Praise the Lord!!