Your chance to do good: “Seafarer, Call Home”

Annoyed about Homeland Security overkill? The demise of American hospitality? What about just doing the right thing?

No, I’m not going to ask you to write a letter, but send money to the New England Seafarers Mission, a good organization I know a bit about. From their website:

On Christmas Day of this year, one of our ship visitors went aboard the ships tied up at the Connely container terminal. The Longshoreman wouldn’t unload ths ship until the 26th, and so the seafarers had the unusual gift of more time along shore than the usual 5-6 hours. Unfortunately, because of visa issues, the FIlippino working seafarers on one ship were restricted from setting foot on US soil and have been restricted for all of their time in US Ports. They were unable to go to the nearby pay-phones and call their families to wish them a good Christmas, and they would be unable to call until making port in Europe in mid-January.

Their families have no knowledge of why they’ve not heard from their loved one in over a month.

The Boston seafarer ministries have a cell phone for use on occaisions such as this. We bring the phone up to the ship, and the seafarers use it with the pre-paid calling cards which they would use if they were able to get to a payphone. But the cell phone was unavailable, already in use on the other side of the harbor, and we were left without the ability to get these lonely, homesick men the treat of a few minutes in conversation with loved ones.

The bad news is they need $2,600. The good news is they take PayPal. (Hint.)

Site: New England Seafarers Mission

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. Psalm 107:23-25