Visit to the Doulos ship (for the last time)

Have u heard about the Doulos ship?

For those who don't know about Doulos, the ship is world famous. It is owned by a private, non-profit charitable organisation in Germany. Apparently, it is the oldest ocean-going passenger liner & it carries the world's largest floating bookstore. It has been touring many countries worldwide over the years, sharing God's Word & helping people in need. Many many people have come on board the ship for tours, programmes & of course, to visit the floating bookstore. The international crew & staff of the ship come from many countries. In a nutshell, they spend time on the ship serving God. Do visit the Doulos website if u want to read more about the Doulos: http://www.doulos.org/

After having a fish & chip lunch at A Salt & Battery after church today, I went with a few church friends to visit the Doulos ship at Portside Wharf, Hamilton. It is in Brisbane until 18/8/2008, with the next destination being Sydney. The ship is doing a last world tour, because it will be retired in 2010. So for us, it represented a last chance to visit the ship. Most of the church friends I went with are from the Unicell study group (which is mainly made up of international university students); I was one of the few non-Unicellers. This was actually my second time on the Doulos. My first visit was in 1989 (if I recall correctly), when the ship was in Singapore & I was staying in JB (which is just across Singapore) at that time. Back in 1989 (or was it 1988?), I went with my family, & I believe my parents bought some books. Man, talking about the late 1980s bring back childhood memories - ahh, those were the days......

Anyway, today, I didn't actually do a tour of the ship, because the tours were all fully booked out. Instead, with a gold coin donation, I had the chance to visit that famous floating bookstore. I was happy just to be able to be on the ship, even if only to see the bookstore. From memory, the bookshelves were the same as it was in 1989.

The bookstore was packed, & it was really good to see so many people. I bought a few books. The books were priced in Doulos international currency units (100 currency units = AUD3.50). The books I bought are as follows, for a total cost of AUD24.50 (see the pic below):

101 Ways to Find God's Purpose for Your Life (by Natalie Gillespie)
101 Ways to Enjoy God (by Candy Paull)
Sought by Grace (by R Kent Hughes)
24 Keys That Bring Complete Success (by Paul J Meyer)
Low cost cooking (by Trident Express International)

After the book shopping, I quenched my thirst with a can of Mello Yello, a drink I haven't had in ages. Then a few of us went to the other side of the ship & sat down to relax & enjoy the view of the waterfront. Then when we departed, a crew member handed me a few materials, including a tract named "Living Water", which talked about the Gospel of John with some notes.

Overall, it was a very nice day, the visit to the Doulos was very satisfactory. The ship will be retired/decommissioned in 2 years time, as new new SOLAS (Safety Of Lives At Sea) rules will be implemented in 2010. A new ship will then continue the mission carried out by Doulos over the years. It's rather sad to think that we will never see the Doulos again. It is special to the lives of many people worldwide that have been touched by its crew. But at least there's that new ship to continue the good work of Doulos. God bless Doulos, & its crew & staff.





The books that I bought from the Doulos bookstore (ohh, yeah, there's the Mello Yello can, too)