By Donna Kane

"I'm so glad I'm only here for three days". That was my initial reaction when walking aboard the Logos Hope. I had a friend working in the project, so I had heard a bit about this ship that was being refitted, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine how big it was, or how much work needed to be done.

I had come to Europe in October to travel for three weeks and catch up with some friends along the way, one being the friend working on the Logos Hope project. As soon as I arrived in Trogir we were taken to the shipyard to see the ship. From the outside it was quite an impressive sight, but walking across the makeshift platform into the dusty, dark corridors of the ship was something completely different. As I wandered around the ship seeing how much there was to be done, I really couldn’t wait to get out of there. This was a huge project!

Over the next couple of days I did some work onboard with the deck team, and also did quite a lot of thinking and praying. I have never felt God so clearly change my heart. The first day of work I started to think, "This isn't so bad", and by the next day I was really enjoying it. By the time I came to leave, God had given me such a heart for the project that I just couldn't imagine not coming back. The community of people was incredible, but mostly it was being a part of something that was bigger than me, something that God so clearly had his hand upon. That was something I wanted to be a part of.

I left Trogir to continue my travels and within three days I had extended my trip to allow me to spend another two weeks working onboard. I just couldn't wait to get back into it again. Something about it really drew me in, and I can see now that it was obviously what God wanted me to be doing. I arrived back in Trogir and the first week went by so quickly, and with each passing day my passion for the project grew. By the end of the first week, I had again changed my plans, and had extended for another two weeks.

That month was the most amazing experience of my life. It certainly wasn't easy. I went from living in a house with my parents and never having shared a room or worked full time, to sharing a room and living in a house with 16 people from seven different countries, not to mention the full week of physical work. I came home each day feeling exhausted, but I got up each day feeling excited. God was teaching me so much about myself and His strength. When it came time to leave, I really didn't want to go. This was really strange for me, as I had certainly never seen myself as one to do voluntary work such as this, let alone in a foreign country. But again, I can see how God can change our hearts to be in line with his will.

Going home to Australia was also quite a surreal experience as I really struggled to settle back into routine. I was there in person, but my head and heart were still overseas. I just had to go back. I thought maybe I could do another six weeks in June. But, once again God had other ideas. Within two months of being back home I had raised the necessary support and was on my way back to Logos Hope. As I flew back over the ship that would be my home for the next six months, I couldn't help but laugh to myself: You really can't judge a book by its cover.