One verse that was on the calendars given out to the seafarers over Christmas is found in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 5. It reads, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

This was the theme of many of my conversations with crew members. On one ship, I was with the Captain, the Chief Officer and the Chief Engineer for over three hours. On another occasion while I only saw the Chief Officer, I was with him for over 2 hours. These have been wonderful opportunities to talk about the true meaning of being a Christian. On another ship the cook, from Romania, had me engrossed in conversation with him for over one and a half hours.

I must point out that these are the exception and very welcome, yet they place a lot of pressure on the missionary to think of appropriate responses and not to leave them with pat answers.