I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me….
Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25: 35-36, 40
Surgeons and nurses come from ALL over the world and pay to live on people in Togo for surgeries they could do on the ship. They scheduled as many surgeries as they could possibly do. I have been told that in one day they can do up to 30 or 40 cataract surgeries. In the US and Europe doing four a day is a good day–so I am told. They also pray for every patient, and get to know families! How awesome is that!!
Other people pay to serve this ministry in many different aspects. There is a coffee shop, where people my age are giving up two years of their life, just so these great men and women of God can have coffee whenever they want it. There are people that fly in from all over the world to cook, for maybe two weeks at a time every year, so these doctors and nurses don’t have to worry about cooking after a long day of surgery. There are countless places people are serving. There is a librarian, a photographer, plumbers, electricians, the dishwashers, day volunteers, teachers, etc etc. All of these people are serving–paying to serve- so people all over West Africa can be blessed. All of these people are from different backgrounds, denominational lines, as well as, cultural lines, yet they have one thing in common- LOVE. A love for Jesus that pours out onto other people.
It is not just about how many people they can help, if it were they would do the surgery and then go on to the next person, but it is about quality and Christ’s love. So let me tell you about the quality people mercy ships has on board …They have this building called the hospitality center, and this is a place for care-giving and recovery. There was one girl who had surgery on both legs. She had TWO cast
s up to her hips. In order to stay at this hospitality center as a minor, there has to be a family member or friend of the family to serve as her caregiver. Her mother was the caregiver for a while, but needed to go back to selling mangos, because this is the season. Her mother pulled her child out of the hospitality center. I feel like MOST people would have let the child go with the thought “That is sad, but there is nothing I can do about that.” However, that is not what the supervisor did. Yesterday, Annie Walker and I were able to go with the head of hospitality to make a home visit to this child and her mother. After an hour or so, the mother made the decision that her child was more of a priority, and she is getting checked back in to hospitality center today.
