She has spent the last three years vacuuming an enormous ship, performing in its auditorium, visiting prisons in far-flung destinations and handing out books to the world’s underprivileged children.
Now Gonubie resident Caylee Good is back in East London waiting for her ship to sail in.
Good, 22, is one of the 400 crew members of the Logos Hope, a Christian ministry vessel with the world’s largest bookshop, which will be docking in East London on May 20 for 10 days.
Having joined the ship in the Philippines, Good has sailed her way around Asia, from port to port in Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, as well as the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Mauritius, Madagascar and Tanzania on the ship which promotes international understanding through humanitarian efforts.
The impetus to join the ship was sparked when she was five-years-old and visited the Doulos – the precursor to the Logos Hope – with her mother.
“I can remember seeing all the young people in the bookshop and wanting to be like them. They were warm and friendly and everything about them seemed perfect.
“As I was leaving the ship one of them handed me a book called The Most Important Story Ever Told about how God wants to be my Father.”
While studying dance and drama in Bloemfontein, she became compelled to volunteer her services to the multicultural ship, which is owned by the OM Ships International floating ministry.
“I joined when I was 18, but I was so disappointed because I was tasked to be a cleaner. I didn’t realise that those perfect bookshop people also had jobs like cleaning.”
Scrubbing 200 toilets and a library floor, vacuuming, and toiling in the laundry took up her days, but before long she was promoted to housekeeping leader before moving into guest relations and finally being appointed a project coordinator.
“I am now part of the team that goes to a port to do advance preparation in the cities where it will dock,” she said.
But Good has also seen the sad and seedy side of life on her travels.
“I’ve seen scary, crazy things like the bar streets in Thailand where there are entire streets of brothels and foreigners buying young girls.
“I also visited fishing villages in Thailand which had been destroyed by the tsunami and where traumatised people were still living in containers, while waiting for their names to come up for a house. It was heart-wrenching,” said Good, who also got to visit prisons in Mauritius, where she provided comfort to South African inmates.
But once the ship Logos Hope sails out of East London on May 30, Good will no longer be on it.
“I have decided to stay behind because I want to work with abused children in the Eastern Cape.
“My ideal is to start a children’s village where children live with house mothers. I can’t live an ordinary life.”
Serving on the Logos no ordinary life choice
Now Gonubie resident Caylee Good is back in East London waiting for her ship to sail in.
Good, 22, is one of the 400 crew members of the Logos Hope, a Christian ministry vessel with the world’s largest bookshop, which will be docking in East London on May 20 for 10 days.
Having joined the ship in the Philippines, Good has sailed her way around Asia, from port to port in Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, as well as the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Mauritius, Madagascar and Tanzania on the ship which promotes international understanding through humanitarian efforts.
The impetus to join the ship was sparked when she was five-years-old and visited the Doulos – the precursor to the Logos Hope – with her mother.
“I can remember seeing all the young people in the bookshop and wanting to be like them. They were warm and friendly and everything about them seemed perfect.
“As I was leaving the ship one of them handed me a book called The Most Important Story Ever Told about how God wants to be my Father.”
While studying dance and drama in Bloemfontein, she became compelled to volunteer her services to the multicultural ship, which is owned by the OM Ships International floating ministry.
“I joined when I was 18, but I was so disappointed because I was tasked to be a cleaner. I didn’t realise that those perfect bookshop people also had jobs like cleaning.”
Scrubbing 200 toilets and a library floor, vacuuming, and toiling in the laundry took up her days, but before long she was promoted to housekeeping leader before moving into guest relations and finally being appointed a project coordinator.
“I am now part of the team that goes to a port to do advance preparation in the cities where it will dock,” she said.
But Good has also seen the sad and seedy side of life on her travels.
“I’ve seen scary, crazy things like the bar streets in Thailand where there are entire streets of brothels and foreigners buying young girls.
“I also visited fishing villages in Thailand which had been destroyed by the tsunami and where traumatised people were still living in containers, while waiting for their names to come up for a house. It was heart-wrenching,” said Good, who also got to visit prisons in Mauritius, where she provided comfort to South African inmates.
But once the ship Logos Hope sails out of East London on May 30, Good will no longer be on it.
“I have decided to stay behind because I want to work with abused children in the Eastern Cape.
“My ideal is to start a children’s village where children live with house mothers. I can’t live an ordinary life.”
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