MORNING STAR
The story of the missionary sailing vessel Morning Star had its beginnings in the mid 1800s. The first Morning Star sailing vessel was built in Boston with donations from many Sunday School children in order to service the missionary efforts in the islands of the Pacific. The Lord used this vessel to ferry the first missionary to the Marshall Islands and through a series of providential events, introduced for the first time, the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of the Marshall Islands. Throughout the following decades (covering almost 100 years) several Morning Star vessels were used in missionary work among these same Pacific islands. Pictured at the right is a reproduction of the front cover of a book published in 1866 telling the story of the first Morning Star.
It is the last Morning Star,
that was built in 1976-77 by Global Youth Evangelism that we describe now.
In the mid 1970s without any previous knowledge or
connections with the other missionary vessels named Morning Star,
Global Youth
Evangelism felt led by the Holy Spirit to build the Morning Star for the purpose
of sailing to the Marshall Islands. However, the first
extended missionary trip to the Pacific did not
include the Marshall Islands.
Instead, in the late seventies, she visited the Samoan and Tongan Islands
with stops
in Hawaii. Then in early 1982, without knowing the full reasons for the
trip but sensing
that "God was in it", preparations were made to sail to the Marshall Islands. During the six month
preparation time,
which included painting and installation of new equipment, the crew was
aware of a constant
urging and providential provisions of supplies. A
clear understanding of the purpose for the Morning Star's
building and trip to
the Marshall Islands became apparent at the close of a small church
service on the Marshall
Island atoll Ebon, Ebon. An elderly
Christian gentleman came forward and through an interpreter expressed his
gratitude
to God for the return of the Morning Star to the Marshall Islands.
He expressed, "Now I know that there is a
God in heaven who hears and
answers prayer." When asked if he had been praying for the Morning Star to
return
to his islands, he responded in the affirmative. Like a bolt of
spiritual lightening the Lord spoke to our hearts
and said: "You now have your
answer. This is the reason you brought the Morning Star to the Marshall
Islands,
to be the answer to this man's prayer." We will never forget
the impact of that experience! God loves His
servants so much that He will
interrupt the lives of dozens of people at a cost of thousands of dollars in
order
to answer the prayers of His loved ones. In the second phase of the Morning Star's missionary
service, she was used
to ferry tons of Bible study materials to
Central and South America and Puerto Rico over a period of about 2 & 1/2 years.
Then after a period of about 1 & 1/2 years of non-service, the Morning Star entered into her current phase of
missionary service.
She is now being used in the Lord's service by the Hellenic Ministries in the Mediterranean area, touching some of the same areas visited by the Apostle Paul during his New Testament missionary travels. The Morning Star continues to be used extensively as a tool for evangelism in fulfillment of the Great Commission. She still faithfully serves the One Who berthed the vision to build her and waits the coming of her name sake The Bright and Morning Star! (Rev. 22:16) Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.
For further information about the current ministry of the Morning Star contact: info@hmnet.org.gr
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