10 June 2007 Update
Thu Feb 14, 08 9:05 pm
I am travelling home on the train from Croatia after flying into London. I really enjoyed my time on board the Logos Hope. It was great to see my brother and sister. I was able to get some time with both of them to talk. The weather was great. My ankle is still bothering me a little and limiting what I can do. I have to be really careful with it. I can walk as much as I want. I just need to be careful to not twist it at all or hop on it. During the time on board the ship they played football twice which I had to pass up because of my ankle.
*Split Church Service*
My brother, Lucas, and I travelled 50 minutes by bus last weekend to attend church in Split, Croatia. We knew that it would be the only time we would have to see the sites of that city. I did not know what to expect from the service. The church we attended was attached somehow to the Assembly of God from what I gathered. The service was in Croatian of which I only know one word. Half the songs I knew the English equivalent although I found it very hard to sing still because everyone else is singing in Croatian. The sermon was translated for us.
What was most encouraging was to see a growing church in spiritually depressed country. Croatia is strongly Catholic without much faith in a living Saviour. The church we attended of 300ish was likely one of the largest ones in Croatia. Many church members came up to us and said thank you for coming. Our being there was a great encouragement to them. And to hear the ministry they are doing in Croatia was heartening to me. On Friday last week, this church started a Bible study in Trogir for which we can pray will blossom into a church.
After the service, Lucas and I quickly walked through Diocletian's Palace which is one of the best preserved Roman ruins in Europe. We then grabbed the bus back to Trogir.
Diocletian's Palace
*IT Work*
I kept very busy on the ship. I split my time between IT work for Carlisle and the Logos Hope. I usually spent an hour or more each day working on ICT work and also had a full work load of things to do in Croatia.
Server room
My main task on board was to get a Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment 2007 (BDD) solution to work for the Logos Hope. They have 135 computers that they need to be able to install Windows XP onto with a standard set of applications. BDD provides the framework and methodology to install an operating system and applications in a consistent manner.
I spent the first day cleaning up the environment for BDD to work. I had do some clever troubleshooting to get it work for which I was quite happy to figure out. I then started trying to figure out BDD. BDD is a brilliant solution (just poorly documented and bleeding edge) for the needs of the ships. I spent many long hours wrestling with it and finished getting it sorted on the last day with a few hours to spare! The timing was great. I know people were praying for me.
*Walk, Swimming, and Games*
I am coming back to Carlisle with a little bit of a tan! I spent a lot of time working on computer issues as that was why I had gone to Croatia. In my spare time I did make it off the ship a few times. On Saturday morning a week ago I went on a walk up a hillside overlooking Trogir and the shipyard. I also went swimming a few times in the ocean. The beaches were rocky, had no sand, and the water was cold. Care had to be taken to not cut my feet or twist my ankle. In the evenings I played cards, talked, or went into Trogir for ice cream. Ice cream was the big thing going on in Trogir. Most every night we would go for it. I made a number of friends among the OM workers.
Ice cream photo
*London*
Lucas and I left our sister on board the ship and flew into London Friday evening. The flight was slightly delayed so we did not make it to bed until 0100 (0200 Croatian time) Saturday morning. We were up early on Saturday to get into London and go site seeing. After a full day we napped in a park before getting dinner and going to see Wicked. I really enjoyed it. It was a really fun musical. This morning I slept in prior to grabbing the train home.
Punch & Judy in Russell Square
*Photos*
My photos from the trip can be found from: Flickr
Photos my brother took on the trip: Picasa
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