LIT working during dry dock

As the Logos Hope is registered to Malta, a yearly dry dock is required so that we are allowed to continue sailing. Usually this is just a few weeks routine thing to check everything is okay, do a few maintenance things and updates. This was planned to be a 9 week dry dock because there was more substantial work to do on our generators. We settled into Subic Bay docks, next to Olongapo, Philippines.

During this time, I was part of LIT (Logos Intensive Training). This was a 10 week training for a group of ten people. The aim is to grow us physically, spiritually and mentally. Our theme verse was Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind". Everything that we were asked to do was done with the intention of helping and teaching us to do the above. 

We lived in a house in Olongapo, about a 40 minute walk from the dry dock yard where the ship was located. Two days a week, we joined the ship to work in a department and help out with a dry dock. We had one day off and the other four days were filled with 6am exercise, Bible study, training, assessment and ministry. 

LIT was split into three phases and we had assessment due each phase. 

Phase 1: *research a Bible character (I chose Esther) and present a 10 minute powerpoint presentation about it, *read and do a book report on John Piper's "Seeing and Savouring Jesus Christ", *memorise 6 Bible passages

Phase 2: *research a theme of the Bible (I chose repentance) and present a 10 minute powerpoint presentation about it, *read and do a book report on Oswald Sanders "Spiritual Leadership", *memorise 8 Bible passages

Phase 3: *research a book of the Bible (I chose Ecclesiastes) and present a 10 minute powerpoint presentation about it, *read and do a book report on Peter Maiden's "Discipleship"

Work on the Logos Hope in dry dock is ten hour days, Monday - Saturday. So Mondays and Tuesdays LIT left the house at 5:45am to walk to the ship for a 6:30am breakfast and then we started work at 7am. We spent 4 weeks working in the engine room, we did a few days doing fire watches in deck and a few afternoons with the angels (hotel services), deep cleaning bathrooms.

Maintenance team laying down the flooring that will protect the carpets

Sailing the lifeboats around from our current berth to the dry dock berth

We were in a floating dock - you can see the forward deck as LH sails in.
First the dock was flooded and submerged, allowing the ship to sail in.
After we're in, the dock was drained and the dock rises, lifting the ship
above water level to be worked on. 

The ship is now in the dock and mooring lines are tied. The water
begins to be pumped out...

As a deckie (replete in the blue deck shirts), I did many fire watches for
the dockyard workers who were doing grinding, welding and using
oxygen cutters in our tanks. The responsibility of the fire watch is to
keep an eye on sparks that no fires are started or allowed to grow.
Behind me on the wall are all the hot work and tank work permits and as
I was in a very smoky area, I had on a breathing mask (hanging around my neck)

the car deck became our dumping ground for scrap metal and piping. I helped carry much of the scrap metal you
can see on the far left and later on would carry many larger pipes such as you see on the bottom right.

Underneath the Logos Hope in dry dock

To get into the ship while in dry dock, we had to wear steel-capped boots and hard hats to enter the yard, then walk
under the ship and up all the scaffolding and these stairs to walk alongside and enter via one of the shell doors.

Alain (Sth Africa) next to the anchor, showing you how large the ship's anchor is.

Dressed and ready for work as an angel - off to deep
clean the bathrooms!

I spent alot of time in many of the various tanks at the bottom of the ship.
In this picture I was using the tiger saw to cut pipes out of the starboard
ballast tank #2. I was told that there might still be some liquid coming
out of the pipes but that it was fine and to keep cutting. What Steven
neglected to tell me was that they were black water pipes (sewerage) and
I spent the day sitting in awkward positions as the various pipes dripped
sewerage on my shoulder. I couldn't find a friend to sit at lunch with me
that day - mystery! ;)

This is the Logos Lounge. Usually a meeting room for devotions, worship night and events, we laid down
flooring and brought in benches to turn it into the crew mess for dry dock as the real dining room has been
closed up to keep it clean and protected.

the dry dock team in front of the ship!