Mission to Seafarers Tauranga

14/03/2024

John Hill Has been a faithful Mission to Seafarers volunteer for many years, ship visiting every Thursday. Today we joined forces and went out together. During our time onboard Pacifoc Pioneer crew talked about our previous visit back in December where all crew received a Christmas gift from us. They showed us photos of their Christmas celebrations and unwrapping of the gifts while sailing at sea.

07/03/2024

International women’s day!!!

Last night I was invited to be part of a forum and discussion panel in Tauranga. The event was to acknowledge International Womns day and the theme was “women working in a male dominated industry “.

I always love an opportunity to raise awareness about seafarers, particularly female seafarers and the challenges they face while delivering 90% of what we use everyday.

There was also interest in my own journey, being one of the few women working as a welfare officer in New Zealand.

11/12/2023

Collected 168 gifts donated by Anglican parishes in Bayfair, Papamoa & Te Puke to gift to seafarers this Christmas. We are so grateful for all the support these parishes have given MTS Tauranga this year.

11/12/2023

Got an email from a captain arriving in port later this month. He asked if we could do him a favour.
He asked us to please make up 24 Christmas gifts for him to give his crew on Christmas Day. Here they are ready to deliver..

I bet this is a great ship to work on 😊

24/11/2023

Was great spending time with Sharyn Forsyth & Matt Dean from MNZ Wellington at the port of Tauranga today. We look forward to working together over the next wee while to progress seafarers welfare services in Tauranga.

21/11/2023

Our first Tauranga Mission to Seafarers AGM held at Holy trinity Church yesterday. Was great to bring everyone together and elect a committee to lead MTS through the next season.

25/10/2023

When you’re a smoker, not having access to ci******es soon becomes a welfare issue for yourself and those around you. These were very happy seafarers when we delivered them some goods earlier today, lots of hugs and smiles all round.

12/10/2023

03/10/2023

20 care packages for 20 crew of Achilles Bulker. These crew have been in port since the beginning of August after their rudder broke. They have had their departure date moved a few times and today were told they will likely be in port for another month yet. We really feel for this crew and wanted to especially encourage them today. They were so blessed they presented us with a gift of Chinese tea and spices (unfortunately this couldn’t go home with us).

29/09/2023

SWO Joel spending time onboard Maersk innoshina. The crew invited Joel for lunch and expressed their appreciation for the work our team does. Visiting their ship, checking on crew and offering support. They said they really appreciate how we care for them.

10/09/2023

A picture says a thousand words…

08/09/2023

A few weeks ago we were visited by Father Arnold. We reached out to Father Arnold and asked if he would be interested in working with our team in offering spiritual support to seafarers that request it. He was excited to learn about how we support seafarers and was keen to collaborate with our team when he’s needed. Recently our team of chaplains were also presented with Mission to Seafarers Preaching Stoles during our national gathering in Tauranga. We continue to expand and explore different ways to serve visiting seafarers.

28/08/2023

Had a great meeting yesterday hearing from MPI, customs, security and the police. Was a great opportunity for the volunteers to learn and ask questions. We made some great connections and good conversations. Officers we’re keen to connect with our welfare team, and use our services when crew are effected by their operations.

13/08/2023

Our first full church service on a ship as chaplains. The crew of Lady Rosebud enjoyed the service, setting up a wee sound system, volunteering to read the scriptures and were very grateful for the spiritual support. We felt very honoured to serve seafarrs in this way.

12/08/2023

What we get up to in a day…From our ship visits today we have done personal shopping, taken crew some warmer clothing, spent some time with a seafarer from Slovakia missing his family terribly, made an MLC complaint to MNZ and ITF regarding denied shore leave, taken some pizza out to a crew whose morale was low (the vessel needs repairs and the crew have been onboard for 20 days straight with no decision on how it will be fixed and where they go next) and have been asked to go out to take a church service on a ship tomorrow. Never a dull moment at the port of Tauranga 😊

11/08/2023

Kev and Mike wearing their new MTS vests. Mike has been volunteering for the last three years in the USM Centre, coming in twice a week. He loves collecting knitted beanies for seafarers every Sunday and has written to all the centres around the country about supporting seafarers in this way. Mike loves chatting with the seafarers and has a few stories to tell. Thanks for your commitment and service to seafarers in Tauranga.

25/07/2023

Wahoo! On Sunday our team were licensed as Honorary Chaplains, giving us freedom to provide spiritual support to visiting seafarers. Big thanks to Holy Trinity Church, Tauranga for their ongoing support and Mission to Seafarers Regional Director Lance Lukin for your vision, direction and part in making this happen. 😊