Dulos is people. Hundreds of people from many nations, from different backgrounds,
different cultures and traditions. All coming together to work towards a single
cause, to know God and to make him known to others.
Jun Diaz is from the Philippines. As an electrician he's one of the specialists
who keep the ship running smoothly, maintaining equipment, making sure
everything is up to standard. He's also happy to show his country's music and
dance on international nights and he also faces daily challenges.
First place God commanded us to pray. He said pray without ceasing. It is best
example in the life of Christ himself. I read God's Word and I saw so many times
that the Lord spent time in prayer and at the same time in prayer also you can
harness God's strength and power in order to face problems, trials and
obstacles, any obstacles in my Christian life. And I think that I believe also
that that is the desire for every Christian to be in his will. Because doing
things not in line with God's will is a waste of time. I find God's will in my
life through prayer and spending time in his Word. And I've got only one life to
live and I want to live it according to God's will. And through prayer and
spending time in his Word I can have his power, his strength in order to act his
will in my life. This is Catherine Rodriguez from Colombia, a girl who is
very much aware of God's living presence in her daily life. I think that helps me
to make difficulties more easier and understand them better and learn things
out of it too. Through prayer I've seen that and I have experienced that Jesus
is my friend, that he is my friend. And in times sharing with my friend she kind
of taught me to see God in another point of view. And I see him more as a friend,
as a close friend that is interested in how I feel, how I react and also what I
think of him and I don't have to be very special in talking to him because he's
my friend. Kim Jean Hee is from Korea. As with everyone who joins this
international community she's had to learn a fresh dependence on God in
helping to relate to other people. At first I wondered if I could fit because I
don't know anything, I can't share with people. I only have very simple
faith and that was all. So I didn't know how I can be a missionary. I read the
Bible but so many things were in my mind and I was homesick and you know all
these discouragement so I couldn't really hear God's voice first. But I had
to pray because God was the only one that I could really ask for things that
I needed. So I prayed to the Lord that Lord please help me to go through all
these difficulties and to understand people and to adjust the ship life
quickly and God answered to my prayers. So after about four or five days, one day
I did my quiet time, I went to the library and I read the Bible and I don't
remember which chapter it was but it was in Psalms and he assured me that he
still loves me and he is going to help me through all these difficulties and he
convicted me that I can do, I can adjust the ship life, I can overcome this
language barrier and I can relate to people. So I started trying to speak
with people and I tried to get along with my cabin mates. I was so, at first I
was so afraid of just speaking with people because I knew that my English was
so poor but I get excited when I have to meet with others and live with others
and I want to learn something from them, from their personality and I know that
God will help me to adjust this person too. Life on the doulas was never meant
to be easy. On board it's the same as anywhere else except that complications
develop quicker and need to be dealt with sooner. One of the people who hopes
to solve these problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week is Australian Lloyd
Nicholas. I think one of the difficulties of my job or in fact I think
of everybody is walking closely with the Lord. God speaks to us every day and God
is at work in our lives every day but in many ways I think he is limited by the
responses that we make. Many times we read the Bible, we pray and sometimes
or it appears that God is far off and yet God is never far off. He's always
close to us. We place a very strong emphasis on board the ship on prayer and
prayer is God's means of working in our life. So often we think prayer is the
means of changing God but actually prayer is God's means of changing us and
he changes our life as we spend time with him, as we listen to his voice, as we are
ready to respond to his voice. Lloyd is a senior staff member, one of those who is
constantly meeting and influencing people and yet he's also a family man.
Recently I asked myself the question can I impose my own commitment to God on my
children and as I was thinking about that and praying about it God showed me
very clearly that that he doesn't call me only but he calls my whole family and
therefore I have great confidence that the way that I am responding to God as I
respond to him in faith and obedience will only be not only blessing for me
but blessing for my whole family as well. Laurie Gent is from Zimbabwe. She once
thought that being a missionary meant going somewhere far from civilization
and living in rags. Now she has a different point of view. I can remember
once we had a big lecture, a big seminar just going through the needs of the
world how there's just absolutely no hope in the world around us. You know the
finances, the health situation, the famines, the fighting, the wars. There's
just no hope in the world around us and just how corruption and just moral
decline is just going down so fast now and the man that was giving the lecture
was trying to bring out how we as a church must pray and just must really
move God's arm to intervene in these different situations to stop it totally
being destroyed and I remember going to him afterwards and saying you know what
can I do? I'm one person. You know what difference can I make to your famine in
Ethiopia or fighting masses? You know I'm just one person. If my church won't move
what can I do? And then just praying and going through the incredible frustration
of just being one person. I just really felt one day that the Lord was saying to
me you can make a difference. You as one person you can pray and I can touch the
one person who can make a difference in a situation. To me I've just learned that
the abundant life is found in obedience to God and just being where he wants me
to be. I just want to... Often he prepares you for what he's asking you to do.
Like for me to come to be a missionary was just the most exciting thing I ever
wanted to do. You know to serve him where he wants me to serve him is just... that is
the abundant life. There's nothing better.
Duloss is people. Ordinary people from many many countries who have taken a
faith step on board by becoming a part of this unique international community. As
we live and work together on both the Duloss our first desire is to know Jesus
and to make him know. That means we want to spend time in prayer together and we
want to also grow in our obeying his word. That makes a change to our own
lives and of course to the life of our community and we hope and pray also to
the whole wide world. And what about you? What will you decide to do? Will you
decide to spend time with Jesus in prayer? Will you decide to obey him and
his word? That certainly will make a difference to your own life and to the
life of your community. To the life of the world that you live in. Duloss is
people. Ordinary people. People that have decided to spend time with Jesus in
prayer. People that have decided to obey him and his word and that makes their
lives full and rich and it can make your life full and rich. May God bless you.