The International Seamen’s Center buzzes with activity when ships are in port in Mobile. One group might be gathered around the big-screen TV watching a soccer game — or playing on the field outside. Others might be gathering for a ride to the local Wal-Mart, while still others chat over refreshments with local volunteers. But for Aias de Souza, director of the center, the focal point of the evening comes as everyone is asked to gather in the chapel.
During one such service, de Souza asked representatives of four nationalities — as well as one of the teenagers volunteering that night — to read John 3:16 in their native languages. “Isn’t that a wonderful message,” he said as the last one finished.
“I wish I had a better message than that one, but I have been in this place for the past 22 and a half years and tell that story every day,” he said. “God’s love: we don’t always understand it, because we don’t even know how to love ourselves.”
Thus begins a presentation of the gospel finely tuned for the seafarers, most of whom do not have a relationship with Christ but are willing at least to listen because of the kindness displayed by the local Christians.
It’s a classic modern-day application, de Souza said, of a methodology employed by Jesus Himself.
“He always met the physical need first,” said de Souza. “Meeting the need creates a relationship that affords the opportunity to present the gospel.
“Our welcome is to the center,” he added later, “but most important, it is a welcome to unite with the family of God.”
De Souza and his wife, Gecina, are featured missionaries during the 2003 Week of Prayer for North American Missions, March 2–9.
Their path to the Southern port city actually began in the late 1970s when de Souza — a seminary professor in Brazil — was completing his education at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Neither Aias or Gecina had any particular interest in staying in the United States, but when the call came to consider leading the work of the seafarer’s center they accepted.
Since then, the de Souzas have become respected leaders in the community and have grown the seamen’s center’s ministry and influence.
In a sense de Souza, who also directs language missions for the Mobile Baptist Association does the work of an international missionary, but with the added opportunity of having impacted 128 nations over the years. He often visits seafarers on the ships, giving them Bibles and inviting them to the center.
When they come to the center, the men are given opportunities to make private phone calls at a reasonable cost. They can unwind with a game of soccer or basketball, or just relax in a family environment with volunteers and other seafarers. And when the conversation does turn to Christ, they tend to listen. More than 10 professions of faith are recorded each month, on average.
De Souza told of a time seven members of a Chinese crew accepted Christ at one time. On still another occasion, four Venezuelans responded, returning the next day to learn more about following Christ.
“We reach those guys,” de Souza said. “They go back with the Bible, with the gospel, with a new life, and they are going to multiply that gospel and that new life with their family. And that family would multiply with many other families. And consequently we are doing a tremendous work to propagate the gospel with millions of people.”
But the motivation is not only the seafarers themselves. The ministry also gives local volunteers international missions experiences on a regular basis.
Churches agree to sponsor specific nights at the center, where they interact with the seafarers.
Roma Dravis, a long-time volunteer at the center and a member of its supervisory committee, said, “Dr. de Souza has a good balance between leadership, authority and discernment. … He’s an encourager. And he’s very open to say, ‘OK, you help me with this and you help me with that.’
“He’s very talented in obtaining agreement from all different parties, either from the churches, the seamen or the Port Authority people,” she said. “It takes a person who’s very balanced.”
The results, she said, are in the steady stream of lives that are changed as a result.
“I’ve seen more people saved here than I have in a lot of Baptist churches,” she said.
“These people are hungry for the gospel. You’re not having to ask them 48 times to accept Jesus,” Dravis said. “He presents a simple evangelistic message, and these people are open to hearing it.”
From de Souza’s perspective, he simply trusts God to meet the needs — and has never been disappointed. (BP)
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