Ships come and go like the tides. Today they lie proudly in the harbour, tomorrow they are a mere spot on the horizon. Owners and names change. Bows are sanded down and the past deleted with a fresh coat of paint. The sea does not remember names. The waves delete every trace without effort. Wherever a ship manoeuvres the waves majestically for a few moments, the sea only shows blue water without a trace of what had been. But, God never forgets. He remembers every ship, every trip and every meeting that He arranged. 

The KILIMANI is just such a ship. She has been anchored in the harbour since 2017, at first with another name and now, finally back wearing a new coat. She is freshly painted and repaired as if it is a new beginning. But, it is on board where the biggest change took place... 

A new crew from Nigeria moved in. Chris barely stepped on deck when they asked unexpectedly: "Do you perhaps have Bibles for us?"  Chris has two Bibles in his backpack and when he takes them out, the smiles are broad. They eager way in which they are accepted, tells a story of its own.  

How often does it still happen that people hunger so for God's Word? The men come from a country where faith often comes at a price. There Christians live, in some parts, with violence and prosecution as an essential part of their choice for the Man on the Cross. Perhaps because of that the Bibles they are holding now are so dear to them. It is light. It is hope. It is life.

The Captain appears. When their eyes meet, Chris realises that they have met before. Then something happens that no statistics could ever explain...

The Captain turns on his heel and walks away, before returning with a Bible in his hand. He shows it with silent pride. The pages are no longer crisp and white, they are soft and pliable from use, some folded back to mark beloved passages, others darkened from hands that opened them again and again. The cover bears scars of years at sea - salt, sun and storms - but also serves as a silent witness of a Bible that had been read, protected and lived with. 

It is the same Bible that Chris gave him, many, many years ago in Durban! It is a gift that was handed to him many years ago in a harbour, but it is still travelling with him over the oceans. 

It is easy to wonder whether a single visit, a short talk or one Bible could ever really make a difference. But, God's work is seldom measured in moments. It works over years and much travelling. He works through people that open His Word again and again when no one else is watching.

The CSO does not have an Evangelist in Nigeria. Yet, the Word reaches Nigeria every time a man working at sea returns home with a Bible in his bag and Christ in his heart. Ships become missionaries. Harbours become missionary areas. The sea that divides continents, becomes a road for God's Word to travel. A Bible given with love, seldom ends up where it had been received. 

That Bible, the one that travelled more than ten years over the oceans of the world, was bought with money donated by a donor. Don't you want to become part of our work among the men working at sea? Don't you want to support us financially to achieve just that? A Bible could change a life today, tomorrow, the day after or years from now.