Last month we had the incredible privilege, in partnership with the Premiere Foundation, to represent World Hope again on the Music Boat. The Music Boat is a chartered cruise ship that sets sail for a week with some of today’s top Christian artists on board. Artist such as Chris Tomlin, MercyMe, and the Newsboys performed each night and mingled with passengers. It’s been such a blessing to have already been on three of these cruises because the connections that are made impact the ministry in a grand way, and the offerings that have been raised on these trips have helped Hope advance the work for Hope Academy more than we could have ever done on our own. The offering that was raised this year exceeded $20,000! The Music Boat 2010 passengers raised the money to build the exterior structure for Hope Academy high school, and this year’s passengers raised the money that will help outfit and “dress up” the classrooms and necessities for the new 9th and 10th grade classes at the Academy beginning in January.
Another blessing was the presence we are able to have on board. Every day, at our exhibition table on board, we had our team speaking with passengers about Hope and giving them information as to how they could partner with us. There was also a running announcement about World Hope on the ship’s overhead players anda pop up piece that was on every dining table on board, everyone heard and read about us more than once a day. Dr. David Janney was given numerous opportunities to speak to the crowds that came to the concerts before their designated dinner times. He shared with those in attendance the vision for Hope Academy Senior School in the upcoming phases, and how “just a little goes a long way” in Kenya. On Thursday morning, we had an hour-long segment to speak more in detail, with a smaller group of passengers about Hope and about the upcoming trips.
The new promotional video for World Hope was also unveiled the last night on board. It is a beautiful piece, one that we look forward to you viewing. Be sure to watch it HERE.
Part of the offering was proceeds that came from a live auction held on the final night of cruising during the concert. An artist from South Carolina painted, with his bare hands, two incredible portraits of Jesus. It was quite the sight to see this artist dip his hands into numerous paint cans and splattered the colors onto the canvas to create these masterpieces. The first sold for $4,000 and the second for $6,000. What a blessing! We feel so blessed and honored to have been the chosen ministry to be represented on these ships. We look forward to seeing how these connections develop into friendships and partnerships for World Hope. We’re thrilled to see how doors are opening up for the ministry to continue to expand around the world!