Tonight I had the privilege of listening to the Founder of
Mercy Ships, Don Stephens, get up in front of the Africa Mercy crew and speak
to us. He brought us back to the beginning of Mercy Ships and walked us through
the history of the three ships previous to the one we are sitting on and
looking ahead to the one that’s being built in China as we speak. Three crew
members (Keith Brinkman, Gary and Susan Parker) were also awarded their 25 years of service awards, a little late, as each
of them have actually served from 26-29 years at this point. Honestly, as I sat
at the back of the room, my heart swelled. I am so proud to have given so many
years of my life to an organisation that speaks life, not just into the people
that we are here to serve but to each other.
I remember sitting in the International Lounge, as I was tonight,
in 2009, during a community meeting when the 5 year awards were being given
out. Person after person and then a few families too were called to the front
of the room, spoken encouragement to and given their awards. I had signed up
for 6 months and 5 years seemed like an eternity to me. I was a young nurse,
just starting a career that I loved. I had come to give 6 months of my time and
then return home to normal life, but something in me caught fire that night and
has not stopped burning. I wondered if I was cut out for living 5 years of my
life in this place. Well, so far I have surpassed that and I can’t believe how
quickly time has passed. This ship is my home. This community is my family. The
hospital and people of Africa are my passion and love. They are now a permanent
part of me that I will always carry with me.
So often I have looked around at my community and felt sad about
the missing faces of friends who have come and gone over the years. We joke
that the only constant with Mercy Ships is change. How true that is, but the
work is always the same. It is the faces of my patients who spur me on, who
have changed me from the inside out. I don’t even know when it happened and can’t
really articulate what it is, but if you had the chance to walk inside my
hospital ward I could tell you the story of each of my patients. If you could
see their faces, scarred and misshapen and see the way that they are
transformed, not just physically but from the inside, you might understand. I
wish I could show you their faces every time they look in their mirror to
stare at their new reflection staring back. I would love you to see their hands
raised in praise to God during morning devotions, the thanks spilling out of
their hearts for this free surgery and a chance at a normal life. I would point
out to you the community at work in the ward, in a room full of patients who
previously didn’t know each other and had probably never seen the other patient’s
conditions before, but now they walk and share life together. See the two
ladies in bed 2 and 3? They are lying on their beds, heads propped up on their arms,
facing each other talking, like two highschool girls on a sleepover. See the
uncle of the little boy in bed 7? He is the baby whisperer and how no matter
how upset the child is, if he takes them and rocks them, they are soothed. The
man in bed 12, on doctors rounds, he grabbed the surgeon’s hands and began to
cry. He explained that he didn’t think he would ever be able to have surgery,
but now he had been given this gift and he is so thankful. The little 3 year
old girl in bed 10, just wandered over to see why the little girl in bed 6 was
crying. She came right up to her bed, gently touching the girl, looking up at
the dad caring for the crying girl, as if to say, “What is it that’s making her
cry? Can I help?” Or that time after church in the ward when one
patient, about my age, had tears streaming down her cheeks as she walked back
to her bed. I walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder with a concerned
look on my face and opened my arms, she eagerly wrapped her arms around me and
we stood there, embraced by each other, her tears soaking my scrub top.
It’s these moments that catch my breath in my throat and
make me proud to be a crew member of the Africa Mercy, to be a nurse and to be
here.
An update on Olivia: she is continuing to heal. We have
tried a new dressing technique for her face which is working well, but still the
progress is slow. Her donor site on her leg has made a dramatic improvement.
Thank you so much for praying, but please do not stop yet! We still need you to
continue!
And while you're praying, could you pray for my health? I've been sick four times in the last five months and would love to stay healthy!
Thanks friend!
