Doulos Hope Diaries: Our Love Story (1/4)

It was my first month on the ship, April 2023.

One night after we've finished our work, me and my friends Evangeline and Rui were sitting on the floor of our squeezy tiny cabin, chatting.

"Okay guys, don't think I'm weird, okay?" Rui began, grinning. "Who would you date...if age is not a problem?"

There was a pause...then the both of us burst out laughing. "That's so weird!" we shrieked.

"I know! I know!" Rui protested. "But hear me out: John the old bookkeeper is SO handsome!!"

"Mark looks good too!"

"EW no! He's my boss!!"

We giggled and groaned over each other's list, rating everyone from the elusive electrician to the adorable Korean to the old bookkeeper of the ship. But not once did any of us thought of the guy who gave us the WiFi passwords.

We did not remember him, or know his name.

I was often on food line duty. My tasks were to ensure that the food, cutleries, mugs and juices did not run out. But there were so few people that everything was always more than enough.

I knew everyone by name. Back then the Filipino crew ate with us. I knew all their names, and their surnames. They were friendlier than the Europeans. But I also knew all the Europeans' names. Each person that passed, I greeted them by name.

One time, the line was moving slowly, so I decided to strike up a conversation with a random person in the line. I happened to be opposite the line from the I.T guy. The only other interaction I had with him before this was when he gave me some WiFi codes before leaving in a hurry.

"Hi, what's your name?" I asked.

"Evert."

"Oh that's a nice name, Evert. Which denomination are you from?"

Evert, a slender man with thick hair. He had a thick beard and glasses. Both of these hid most of his face. Always wearing fitting shirts and trousers. His lanyard was made out of nylon cord—different from everybody else's standard ribbon. He has a deep, deep voice. And an accent that was almost Russian.

He gave me a look. I remember this moment clearly. He lifted an eyebrow, and instead of giving me an answer, he questioned me instead. "Does it matter, when we all serve the same God?"

And then he walked away.

I stood there. Surprised. Taken aback. I thought about that question for a long time. Evert had a point.

I didn't get the chance to talk to him for many days after that. He always arrived when the food line opened, and would leave immediately after finishing his meal. He always sat at the table where all the Heads of Departments sat.

He never hung out in the dining room after mealtimes.

One night, me and my friends were in the Piano Lounge. Rui and Julie (a girl from Paraguay) were doing their assignments at a table opposite me and Evangeline, who was playing the piano. I was cutting my toenails.

Then Evert appeared from the hallway, on his way to the dining room. I remembered being a little surprised to see him, as it was a known fact that you can never spot Evert after dinner time.

"Karaoke?" he said cheerfully as he passed by.

"It takes two to karaoke!" I replied, grinning. I was so witty.

He went on his way and I continued to cut my toenails. I finished cutting my toenails and went to throw the clippings in the dining room bins.

But lo and behold! There was Evert by the bins, standing there looking like a lost child, not knowing what to do or where to go. The dining room was quiet, and empty.

"We meet again!" I said. Evert smiled at me. I was friends with the Filipino crew, and the only other European friend I had made was Julie.

I wanted to make more friends. "You look lost." Evert laughed and nodded.

"What are you planning to do tonight?"

"I...don't know," Evert said.

"Do you want to karaoke with me and my friends?" I said, grinning. "It takes two to karaoke, and the more, the merrier!"

"Ah, yes please! That would be nice."

"Do you play any instruments?" I asked.

"I do," Evert replied. "I play the keyboard." He grinned.

I paused, and gave this guy an awed look. My entire time on the ship I had been dropping puns here and there in my conversations with my Galley colleagues and friends, but no one appreciated my humor. They always seemed to die when I slipped a pun into our conversations.

But that night, I found a kindred spirit.

I remember making our way back to the Piano Lounge, but for some reason, that short passageway became a long hallway. Evert and I had a beautiful pun-filled conversation. Every sentence had a pun. Every pun led to another pun. We were giggling and chuckling and punning.

At the end of the hallway, we stood at a distance, not yet joining my friends as we were still talking and not wanting to disturb them. I had done a course with my friends earlier that week, where we were encouraged to share our God Story, and find out other peoples' God stories. At it's core, a God story is a sharing of our life experiences with God.

Naturally, that was what I asked Evert when we had finished with our conversation.

"What's your God story?"

And that led us to the dining room, but it had become noisy with people. So then it led us to Deck 5, an open deck overlooking the night scenery of Penang and her twinkling city lights by the sea. We sat at the second to last table.

I didn't know it then, but it was there that we had the first of what would be countless late night conversations together.

❤️