Westhaven

Wick Jackson was a member of a Vision Team from Florence, SC that visited Logos Hope in early 2010. Here is his account of a visit the team made to a Jamaican children’s home, the Westhaven Center for Emotionally and Physically Handicapped in Jamaica.

As we rounded the curve on the rough Jamaican mountain road, the tall chain-link gates seem to open automatically, leading us into the Westhaven Center. Spying our car, a young man let out a piercing scream that would have delighted Alfred Hitchcock. He galloped way too close alongside our taxi as it slowed to a stop. I took a deep breath and got out of the car.

 Our nervous group looked around at those disfigured children who could not walk or run on their own. The screamer had made his way to the other end of the compound letting out screams as he went. Everyone knew that visitors had arrived and several residents headed for us. A few employees also coming our way helped us to relax a little. They had children hanging on them as they approached to welcome us. One young man had a huge smile, twisted legs, arms he couldn’t control, and a Frisbee in his right hand.

 As I approached, his head snapped back, hard enough to make the two ball caps he was wearing almost fly off. In one jerky motion he shoved the large white Frisbee under his left arm and stuck out his right hand. All five fingers on that hand looked as if they had a mind of their own. When his hand came forward again with a jerk, I was able to anticipate where to catch it in mid-air, and did. To my great surprise, he spoke in a clear quiet voice and said, “Hello, my name is Keno. What is yours?” I held on tight to his hand, looked him in the eyes and told him my name, saying “It is a real pleasure to meet you.”

 Trying to position his body, he asked, “So why are you here?” I said that we just wanted to visit. “Would you please take me over there?” he asked, motioning toward my group with his chin.           (Click on Articles to read the rest of Wick's moving story.)

Donation made to Florence crisis pregnancy center

The OM Ships Help Ministry operates in every port that OM Ships visit, and we also strive to be a blessing in the local areas where our shore-based offices are located. Here is one recent example:

Joe Parker and a team from the OM Ships Help Ministry in Florence, SC recently visited A Choice 2 M8k crisis pregnancy center in Florence, bringing a donation of 300 copies of Randy Alcorn’s book "Why Pro Life," 250 study New Testaments, and many practical personal items.

Carla Wright, Executive Director, and Ben Maynard, Board Chairman and Pastor of Ridgecrest Baptist Church, gratefully received the gifts on behalf of the center, sending the ships office a gracious thank-you letter.

Click on News & Events for more on this story.

400 orders were received by Biblestore on January 12, 2010! To help cover expenses connected with OM Ships' literature operations in Florence, an internet book store called Biblestore was started in 2009. Bibles in a wide variety of versions and many books are for sale online through Biblestore.

• Westhaven
  
• Donation made to Florence crisis pregnancy center
  
• Biblestore doing very, very well
  
• Daniel and Helen Chae visit Florence
  
• Update from James Sinsel
• Bookstore mini-tour

• Jahn Hultgren   Businessman with a heart for missions
  
• Nick and Emily Stewart   Prepared for life at sea
• "Memories of miracles"    God did many miracles to enable Doulos to visit Peru in 1980; Lawrence Tong remembers

Meet the Team:  

Onni Hytti
Technical Manager (Maintenance, Purchasing and Quality)

Onni Hytti, his wife Eva and two sons, Esa and Ari, have recently moved to Florence, SC. As a Technical Manager in the Marine Division, Onni works with the computer program AMOS (Asset Management Operating System). International maritime regulations require that all ocean-going vessels perform regular systems maintenance and provide documentation of that maintenance. Software which was created by the Norwegian company SpecTec Group, AMOS is used for that purpose around the globe by many maritime and land-based organizations. Athough most of his work will be done from the OM Ships Florence office, crew training and monitoring of equipment will require regular visits to the ships. Click on Meet the Team for more about Onni.

Help Packs are a simple way for OM Ships crewmembers to meet some physical needs of children and adults during visits to orphanages, homes for the elderly, hospitals, prisons, schools, and homes for the abused.  See the story in Articles about a Florence volunteer's recent trip to Trinidad, where she helped distribute Help Packs.

Click  Help Packs  to learn more about them, how you can participate in creating and/or providing Help Packs.

Carolina Connection is published by the OM Ships International Florence Office in Florence, SC and is designed for supporters in North Carolina and South Carolina, USA.  If you are ever visiting in our area, please give us a call and plan to stop by for a visit to our office.

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