Logos Hope Arrives in Gothenburg, Sweden - Fri, 20 Feb 09

Logos Hope arrived safely and docked in Gothenburg, Sweden this morning at about 9.30am local time - we were all outside on the outer decks and it was freeeeeeeeezzzzing but fun!! A lot of the harbour and especially in our docking area, the water is full of big, chunky ice blocks and it was snowing on arrival.

The city looks beautiful with much snow around - I can't believe it has been 10 years since I was last here!

The sailing was smooth and calm all the way.  We stopped for some time to do life boat drills with the starboard side life boats which had not been used for approx. 6 months; all went well. Unfortunately, we had some drama with our new generator which blew a transformer and had to be shut down so hopefully, there won't be any problems fixing it up!

We will sail for The Netherlands on Monday, 23 Feb 09, expecting to arrive in Harlingen on Wednesday, 25 Feb 09!

Greetings to all from Sweden!

Logos Hope Sails into Ministry : Thurs, 19 Feb 09

A historic moment in the history of Logos Hope was achieved today, Thursday, 19 Feb 09 when the Logos Hope departed from Køge, Denmark and commenced it's maiden voyage with PSSC (Passenger Ship Safety Certificate) status, heading towards Gothenburg, Sweden!

It felt really surreal being able to leave the port whilst being ON the ship ... sailing ... after 18 months of being tied to one or another quayside or watching the ship sail without me, it was both exciting and overwhelming to be part of this moment!

We arrived in Gothenburg this morning around 9.30am - it was snowing and freeeeezing cold but we braved the elements to be on the outer decks for the arrival - so much fun!! We also became a bit of an icebreaker as much of the harbour, especially around where we have docked is iced up! The sail was smooth and calm which was awesome ... no sea sickness, only very tired!

I have now only got 6 weeks left on board before I depart on 3 Apr 09 and head back to Australia on 9 Apr 09 which is also exciting!! I am ready to leave the ship, I think that despite the excitement of sailing, it is just not as much fun without having Brad here with me, sharing this time together and serving God together! However, I'm looking forward to being home with him and I'm excited about how God will use us for ministry together in the future.

If you would like to view a video of the maiden voyage departure which features me at 00:51 ... check out the link below:

http://www.omships.org/share/index.php?id=2009-02-Maiden_voyage

Photos will be uploaded at a later date ... we have such a slow internet connection now that loading photos is just not feasible unless I wait for hours on end! In addition, we no longer have access to Gmail, Skype, FaceBook or any other web based email accounts except for our ship email: vanessa.archibald@gbaships.org

Don't forget to track the ship on: www.logoshope.org

God Bless!!