.png)
Out of the Harbour
Author : Choo Jiamin
Publisher : LifeHope Books
Pages : 307
The fifth challenge on the list for the “32 Books Challenge” was to read an autobiography. I knew instantly that I just had to read Choo Jiamin’s ‘Out of The Harbour’. I had bought this book the last time Doulos sailed to Kuching which was about 10 years ago but it was still as good as new as I had never taken the time to read it. Now, with this challenge, I had no excuse not to read it.
Out of The Harbour is a wonderful collection of Jiamin’s journals over a period of four years while she served onboard Doulos, also known as the floating book fair. It chronicles her joys and challenges volunteering on the ship as well as stories of meeting with various people; from governors to politicians to orphans and prisoners from around the world. It was humbling to read of her experiences onboard Doulos; cleaning dishes, clearing food waste and washing crewmembers’ clothes. She surrendered everything to God and found joy in serving Him even while doing menial chores.
Out of the Harbour is more than just a travelogue to 31 different countries. It is about a young girl’s journey of faith and hope and how she learnt to love the world one port at a time. In this book, she shares openly her fears and failures as well as spiritual victories throughout the journey. Jiamin inspires us to be a generation that cares enough to make a difference in someone else’s life.
I have to be honest; I cried multiple times while reading this book not because it was sad but because I felt so blessed and grateful to be living in Malaysia with access to education, food and clean water. Jiamin’s journeys really tugged at my heartstrings because I realised that a lot of times, we tend to take things for granted. This book serves as a call to young people worldwide to take up the challenge and serve God in missions. Yes, it can be tiring volunteering and serving God but at the end of the day, seeing the smiles you paint on people’s faces is very rewarding indeed.
I challenge all young people with a heart for God to read this book and be inspired be Jiamin to love and serve others. All it takes is a willing heart and mind to change the world and you could do the same too! Read on and be inspired! 
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment