By:  Doreen M. Badeaux

Secretary General

   

I have a beautiful story to share with you this Christmas.  The story actually began in July, when I was contacted by Reni & John Chamberlain, who are 3 Star Mariner Club Members of Holland America Line.  

 

They were on a cruise last Spring onboard the STATENDAM, and were thrilled by the fact that the ship collected clothing items, school supplies, etc for inhabitants of Fanning Island, a small island in the South Pacific. 

 

Passengers actually visited with islanders and brought them gifts. Reni  met a lady named Lupea and her family, and was so moved to see how happy they all were, despite their meager living conditions. So she determined that she would like to send more items to them.

  

Thanks to Fr. Frank Wagner, who was the Cruise Ship Priest onboard, she got my contact information, and once she returned home, Reni called.  She  said that STATENDAM would depart Oct 3 from San Diego, (where she lives), and though she could not take that cruise, she would like to find a way to collect supplies, and send them to Fanning Island via the STATENDAM. She hoped we would have a priest onboard who could assist.  

  

Thanks to Deborah Meador, Supplemental Staffing Supervisor at Holland America Line (HAL), who handles the Clergy program onboard, we were able to confirm that HAL would accept packages onboard for the trip.  And truly, the company was excited and honored to help. As Deborah said, "I'm so thankful for people like the Chamberlains.   They give me hope!"

 

Over the months, Reni would give me updates, and I could tell that her excitement was contagious! In one note she wrote:  Just wanted you to know that my donation effort is going well:  many of my Curves (where I exercise) friends have put school supplies into the box I left there.  I set a deadline of Sept.15th to leave me enough time to get the right size boxes and have them ready to take down to the pier on Oct.3rd.

 

The manager of my local Walmart authorized  10% discount on anything I purchased, plus $50 off the entire bill.  So I bought more school stuff including mechanical pencil sharpeners, blunt tip scissors, coloring books, glue sticks, colored folders and several packs of loose leaf paper.  Also 16 kids' t-shirts, 8 each red and aqua blue, all different sizes. (Lupea had told me the kids like to play team sports)"

 

Indeed, we are all truly blessed, and this story is my way of saying how truly blessed I am to be a part of AOS-USA.  Working with our Mariners, Port Chaplains, Cruise Ship Priests, Maritime Deacons, Lay Ecclesial Ministers, Cruise Passengers, Travel Agents, and so many others, is always unique, interesting, and a true honor.

 

May God Bless each of you with a Blessed & Merry Christmas!

Doreen 

 

Fr. Walter Smith, SJ, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest delivers gifts from Cruise Passengers to Lupea and her family in Fanning Island in the South Pacific.

 

 

  

As the Catholic community gathered to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the crew of the M/V CF Chrystal called at the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and were visited by the Diocese of Lake Charles' Apostleship of the Sea's maritime minister, Deacon Patrick LaPoint.

Because the crew did not have D-1 visas, they were unable to have shore leave, but Deacon Patrick visited the crew, and brought them phone cards to help call their families thousands of miles away.

Around December 10, the CF Chrystal completed cargo operations, and set sail for Port Arthur. She arrived at the anchorage off Sabine Pass, and dropped anchor, waiting for orders to proceed to PabTex in Port Arthur. While at anchorage, on December 13, one of the seafarers was working over the side of the vessel, when he fell into the water.

Channel 12 reported that USCG Sector Houston/Galveston received a report at 9:00 a.m., that a 29-year-old Chinese seafarer, Qian Chun Hua, had fallen overboard while painting the vessel's hull.

The crew threw the seafarer a lifering, but they couldn't get it to him. Soon thereafter, the seafarer went under, and was lost.

On Sunday, December 14, Deacon Patrick contacted me about the tragedy. I had already known about the issue, but it was great to know that Deacon Patrick was also on the alert and following up on the crew that he had just seen.

That same day, the ship arrived in Port Arthur. On Monday morning, December 15, our AOS Ship Visitor Alvin Adams and I visited the vessel, and met with the Chief Officer. We expressed our condolences to the crew, and offered them the services of the Port Arthur International Seafarers' Center even though the crew could not leave the vessel.

Finally, I asked if it would be permissible to go forward, and offer a prayer at the place where Mr. Hua was lost. The Chief Officer kindly agreed, and I headed forward along the starboard side of the vessel, accompanied by Mr. Adams and one of the AB's.
 
At the site of the tragedy, we prayed the Catholic prayers at the time of death, and sprinkled the location with holy water.

The M/V CF Chrystal completed loading of petroleum coke on Tuesday, December 16, and sailed. The crew sailed away knowing that they were leaving one of their ship mates in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico, but hopefully they also knew that there were Catholic communities in Port Arthur and Lake Charles standing with them in their loss, and keeping them in their prayers.