Europe Bureau Chief for ASSIST News Service
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND (ANS) -- The captain of Youth With A Mission’s Next Wave missionary sailing ship, currently docked in Liverpool, England is taking on the LiverBird Marathon on New Year’s eve this week to raise vital funds for new sails for the vessel.
 |
The Next Wave |
“Over the last two years the Next Wave has been sailing in the Mediterranean. But all the sailing has left our sails worn out and damaged,” said Captain Herman Barkmeijer from Holland.
He added: “This slows us down and increases fuel costs. Through sponsoring me to run the Liverbird Marathon December 31, we want to raise the £30,000 ($50,000) needed to completely replace all five of the sails and make our operation more financially and environmentally sustainable.”
The Next Wave is a sea-going sail training ketch owned by Youth With A Mission (YWAM). The vessel serves YWAM in its efforts to raise up, train and disciple the next ‘wave’ of missionaries. This is achieved by equipping and releasing young people, and the young at heart, to work in many different types of community and missions projects around the world. The vessel will organize a number of outreach events while docked in Liverpool over the next five months before setting sail again throughout Europe.
 |
Herman & Nellike Barkmeijer at the helm |
Over the past eleven years Herman worked his way up onboard cargo ships. He started as a signal seafarer and ordinary seaman doing rust chipping and painting and after a few years he got my mate’s license and just recently got his captain’s license.
 |
ANS Founder Dan Wooding interviews Mr & Mrs Barkmeijer |
Herman describes the journey they’ve taken since he’s been captain onboard the Next Wave: “We came all the way down from Sicily in the centre of the Mediterranean which took three months to get to Liverpool on the last day of October before the Autumn storms came. On the way we docked in Ibiza, Southern Spain, Portugal, Northern Spain, France, Plymouth and now here in Liverpool. We’ve sailed with fifteen students onboard who were actually involved in everything we were doing.”
Herman describes a typical day for student life on the Next Wave:
“We wake up at about seven o’clock and have our quiet time and then we start our morning exercise for about an hour then we have breakfast. After that we have an hour of worshiping or interceding for other countries and then lecture starts. So we have an international teacher coming over and they will teach for a week about a certain subject.
“After that in the afternoon I’ll have the students do maintenance so that will mean deck washing, chipping, rust painting and cleaning. It’s also integrated into their school so they are doing practical work at the same time. Then we would have lunch dinner and then an evening either an outreach activity or a fun activity. We have a weekly community meeting so that we invite people onboard our ship to join us in a kind of church service or we have an evening off and we just go to town and have a drink.”
Herman says they’re always looking for new crew members or students to serve on the Next Wave:
“We always have opportunities for short termers that want to come for like a few weeks or a few months just to get to know life onboard of a missionary ship. We’re always looking for qualified people with marine training, engineering, welding. Cooks are very important to run a ship to run whatever ministry. So we’re always on the lookout for people that have these qualifications but they are not a requirement.
Herman’s wife Nellike describes what people can expect when they join the Next Wave crew: “You can expect to become part of a loving and caring family and on the other side you can expect to work hard as. We don’t have just man or woman jobs women can do all the jobs and we also need people to serve in administration, hospitality and communication . Actually we need more people who love the Lord and who love to serve people and who will be trained in that by being on the ship.”
To find out how you can sponsor Herman in the LiverBird marathon December 31 or to find out how you can become a crew member or a friend of The Next Wave is go to:
Or email
ANS would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this interview.
| Peter Wooding is an award-winning TV, radio and print journalist and media consultant under the name of Peter Wooding Productions (www.peterwoodingproductions.com). Having previously spent 10 years as news editor with UCB Radio in the UK, he has travelled extensively reporting from countries including Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Dubai, South Korea, Zambia, Gambia, Mozambique, Croatia, Israel and India. He now reports regularly for CBN News, ASSIST News Service, GDOP London, Russian Ministries, Whispering Word and Sorted Magazine. Peter and wife Sharon live in North Wales, UK with their three children. Passionate to see God’s Justice and Mercy impact lives, Peter is director of a new UK ministry Mercy Projects International (www.mercyproject.org.uk) to help at-risk young people in Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Kosovo, the Middle East and beyond. Contact Peter for consultation at: peter@peterwoodingproductions.com or tel. +44 1244 549167/+44 7500 903067 |  |
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment