Fishermen

'As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen."Come follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.'

Many families in Benin still rely on fishing for their survival, with one generation teaching the next the necessary skills. We see the small hand-made canoes going out past our ship every day. Some are propelled by a father and son paddling, some use sails made from old sacks, whilst other more prosperous boats have outboard motors bolted to the side. None of them look sea worthy enough to leave the harbour yet they go out every day to catch fish to feed their families and to sell in the local markets.

The differences between their lives and ours are as marked as the differences between their boats and the Africa Mercy, yet Christ loves us the same and died for all of us - we are all called to be fishers of men.