Rob Flinders reports about some well travelled DVDs.
Faustino is the second mate onboard a ship. He is a Christian, along with Rolando, the ship's Bosun. Faustino told me that last voyage his wife Regie traveled from their home in Iloilo in the southern Philippines to Manila so that she might be with him while the ship was in port. Unfortunately the ship was only in Manila for eight hours and for six of those Faustino was working on deck supervising the loading of cargo!
I asked Faustino how his wife passed the time while he was working on deck. He told me that he gave Regie two DVDs to watch that I had loaned to him the last time he visited Port Botany. The DVDs were evangelistic films provided to SCFS Australia some time ago by the Film Ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. It is of course a great disappointment that Faustino and Regie were able to have so little time together but I was pleased to learn that our DVDs were used to good effect.
Something similar happened onboard another vessel. Robert is the Fijian second Mate onboard a ship. He too is a strong Christian. Robert's ship visits Sydney every four weeks. After departing from Sydney the ship visits Melbourne, Lautoka, Suva, Apia, Pago Pago and Nukualofa. The ship then returns to Suva again before calling at Brisbane and returning to Sydney. One voyage lasts four weeks. Because of this, Robert has the opportunity to see his wife twice each voyage.
Robert told me that while the ship is en route from Sydney to Suva he watches the DVDs he has borrowed from me. On arrival in Suva he then passes these to Praneeta, his wife. Praneeta watches the DVDs while he is sailing to Samoa and Tonga. When the ship arrives back in Suva she returns them to Robert who, on arrival in Sydney then returns them to me!