Hawaii Aloha arriving in Kona. (Photo courtesy of YWAM Ships Kona)

MEDIA RELEASE

YWAM Ships invited the city of Kona to write in offering possible names to be chosen for their new vessel being home ported in Kailua-Kona and a name has been chosen.

She will be christened Hawaii Aloha just in time for her departure on her inaugural voyage serving the region of Micronesia.

She has been in dry dock in Honolulu the last month and will arrive back in Kona for her naming ceremony and blessing at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8.

Immediately afterwards she will begin 10 days of provisioning before setting off on her nine months deployment Dec.18. The voyage will first take her to Christmas, Fanning and Washington islands serving there until end of March, then over to the Marshall Islands through June, then a planned trip to Pohnpei and Kapingamarangi in July and August before returning to Kona September 2014.

The navigation students completing their studies at Port YWAM on Alii Drive will embark eight of their graduates as crew on Hawaii Aloha for this voyage under Capt. Ann Ford. There will be 23 missionaries on board as she visits the isolated islands south and west of Kona doing work such as Bible distribution, educational seminars, medical, dental, and optical clinics and assisting with fresh water technologies.

The good-will of the Hawaiian Islands will be well represented both by her name and her crew.

The meaning of the names chosen is particularly important to YWAM Ships because it represents not only what she intends to do but the people from where she was sent.

There is a long-standing missionary tradition that has the people of Hawaii serving across the region Micronesia. It dates back to the mid-1800’s when people from Hawaii served on board five different ships each called the Morning Star, a vision and project of Hawaiians desiring to give away what they had been blessed with, to other places on earth.

YWAM Ships seeks to continue this tradition with this 74-foot, 86-ton, sailing vessel being named the s/y Hawaii Aloha.