Since the day when Jonah told the seamen of Tarshish to throw him overboard, ships at sea have long been places where the reality of God breaks through. The ship which carried the apostle Paul towards Rome had 266 people – sailors, soldiers and prisoners – when it was wrecked at Malta. The cruise ships which call at Invergordon can carry as many as 4,000 people, both passengers and crew. And, yes, these ships too can be places where people hear about God and pray.

The Seafarers’ Centre, hosted by Invergordon Parish Church, offers a bible to crew members in their own language. This year, Blythswood provided Bibles and New Testaments in 22 languages for this purpose. Mary who has been a volunteer there for many years recognised a crew member from a previous visit.

“Two years ago she and another crew member had been overjoyed to receive a quantity of bibles to help them disciple young Christians aboard their ship,” Mary says. “There had been more than enough to go around, and ten left over had been placed in the ship’s library.

“Now working on another boat, she checked her emails on our internet, and called me over to share her news. She had just learned from her former shipmate that more crew members on that ship have been reading those library bibles. There have been conversions every week and baptism services every month.

“’God’s word is powerful,’ she reminded me. ‘Sharper than a two-edged sword!’”