WEBVTT - MERCY SHIPS 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:08.520 Have mercy. Mercy is what this episode of Love Someone 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:13.119 is all about. Mercy Ships, to be more precise, giant 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:18.200 floating hospitals that travel to the furthest reaches of the 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:21.720 globe to bring medical care to some of the poorest 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:27.720 communities and to those most in need. For over forty years, 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:33.400 Mercy Ships has been changing lives, healing lives, saving lives, 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:37.760 serving as a beacon of hope. They provide free medical 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:42.440 procedures over one hundred thousand to date to those with 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:46.239 no other access to medical care, aided by volunteers in 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:50.040 the medical field and countless other professions who support the 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:56.520 ship's operations the galley crew, housekeeping, hospitality, administration, education, and 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:00.280 many many more areas. And what's really amazing is that 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:06.120 it is all sustained by the generosity of volunteers and donors. 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:09.880 Today we're going to take a deep dive into how, why, 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:14.200 and where these high seas adventures take place. And to 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:17.280 help me tell this tale, I'm being joined today by 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:22.120 Carrie Peterson, vice president of Advancement at Mercy Ships. You 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:26.560 have served with the organization, Kerry for how many years, well, 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:31.080 on and off for probably thirty three years. I took 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:33.480 a tenure break and I've been back for the last 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:37.240 twenty two years. Wow, you have been helping to bring 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:42.480 about some amazingly successful fundraising efforts by the organization. You've 0:01:42.480 --> 0:01:47.760 held several management positions during your time there, uh in finance, 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:53.120 the on ship general manager. So you understand the ends 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:58.480 and the outs of this beautiful, beautiful organization. But before 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:02.240 we get to the adventures of our swashbuckling surgeons in 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.080 the ship's crew, we're gonna send a ship to shore 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:07.440 signal to one of our sponsors right now, the folks 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:12.280 who make this podcast possible. This podcast is sponsored by 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:16.000 a company making a wonderful product designed to help grow 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:20.640 and strengthen hair. It's Neutraful. Over thirty million women are 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:24.399 impacted with weekend or thinning hair, so no matter what 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:28.720 stage of life, thinning hair can be a huge problem. 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.320 Neutraful works by offering two targeted formulas clinically shown to 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:36.679 improve hair's growth and thickness with less shedding. Neutraful targets 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:42.040 the five main causes of thinning hair, stress, hormones, environment, nutrition, 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:48.079 and metabolism. Its physician formulated and one percent drug free. 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:53.280 They use medical grade botanicals in consistently effective dosages giving 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:58.359 the most reliable results. Hair growth takes time. Over of 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:02.800 the women using neutrafuls owed hair growth after only six months. 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:07.359 Not only does Neutraful help transform your hair, it helps 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:12.440 restore confidence as it works, growing thicker, healthier hair with 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:17.480 the help of Neutraful. Neutraful neutra f o l dot 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:22.600 com into promo code Hope and save off your first 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:26.800 month subscription. This is their best offer anywhere and you'll 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:31.760 receive free shipping to get off at neutraful dot com 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:35.880 spelled in u t r A f o L neutraful 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:40.760 dot com. Use the promo code Hope. Back with me 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:44.280 is Carrie Peterson, who has been with Mercy Ships almost 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.440 as long as Mercy Ships has been around, because they've 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:51.160 been around like forty years right a little, and you've 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:53.320 been on board and off board the ship, off and 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:56.200 on for thirty two. So you got to come on 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.640 board Mercy Ships when they were an infant, right as 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:03.680 they were getting started. Tell us who our Mercy Ships. 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:07.800 Give us the backstory and a little general overview of 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:12.520 this amazing, amazing ministry that I want to shout from 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.080 the rooftops. How proud. I am of the work carry 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:20.880 that you guys do. It's changed so much over the years. Um. 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:24.160 You know, basically we've been called to help people, and 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:29.280 I think the original vision came from our founder Don 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:33.680 Stevens when he was just a teenager having served in 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:38.360 the Caribbean after a hurricane and seeing the devastation and 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.960 getting the vision for having a ship that could come 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:47.960 and provide aid and deliver relief supplies. And that was 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:51.720 really where the dream started. It was many years later 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:55.040 when it actually became a reality with our first ship, 0:04:55.160 --> 0:05:00.400 the Anaestosis. That would have been in seven the eight 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:04.679 So just as I was graduating high school, the first 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:08.080 ship was taking to the seas to go to the 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:12.000 poorest of the poor. Well it didn't start that glamorously 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.919 and actually and we graduated high school about the same time. 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:21.039 But anyways, um, now in the first ship was bought. 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.680 It was an old ocean liner that served in the 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:27.600 Mediterranean and it was purchased for the price of one 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:31.839 million dollars and converted that It took several years to 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:35.400 convert it and make it into something that was usable. 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:40.320 Back in the old days, we would have one hour 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.160 of power a day, where we would go and buy 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:46.560 a fifty gallon drum of fuel so that we could 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:50.080 have power for one day. And we had volunteers chipping, 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:53.880 rust and standing and trying to get the ship back 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:59.000 in shape to be of service. And that ship was 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:02.440 joined later by a couple of other ships, smaller ships, 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:08.160 and it served, I believe, up until when it was 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.919 replaced with the Africa Mercy, the ship that's now currently 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:17.599 in service one hour a day to do all the work. Yeah, 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:19.880 and if we had more time. There are so many 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:23.720 other stories of having no heat or having no air 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:28.760 conditioning in Africa and all the wonderful hardships that we 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:33.719 had um and I really say that fondly because it 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:37.200 was so many challenges, but it was a community of 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.480 people that were we're called to be there to serve others, 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:46.599 and we met the challenges together and it was it 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:49.719 was just a wonderful time of community while we were 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:53.600 able to serve so many other people. And now tell 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:58.560 me what Mercy ships looks like. So Africa Mercy replaced 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:02.880 the Anastosis back into only twelve and it has been 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:06.920 serving in Africa. We have a crew of about four 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:10.640 hundred and fifty people that's people from all walks of life, 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:14.840 over forty different nations of crew that come and give 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:18.520 themselves to volunteers. Some of them come for years, some 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.600 of them come for months. We have teachers and engineers, 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:27.320 and doctors and nurses and cooks, um We have an 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:30.720 onboard academy for the families, for the children of the 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.200 families so that they can go to school and the 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.360 families can stay together as part of the community. And 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:41.840 currently we are preparing to go back after COVID into 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:48.320 Senegal starting in January of two and we are just 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:52.280 so excited about being back doing what God has called 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:56.360 us to do. So I know that you do amazing 0:07:56.480 --> 0:08:01.360 things on the ship, but I did not know until 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:04.120 this past year when we started kind of working together 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:07.880 the amazing things you do off the ship, which blew 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:11.640 my mind because I think a lot of times when 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:15.800 people go into a community and do good and then leave, 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:20.080 sometimes it leaves a void. But what Mercy Ships does 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.880 is you go into the community wherever you dock, and 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:26.960 you set up clinics, and you teach the doctors and 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:31.400 the nurses, and you work with the local population so 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:34.559 that when your ship pulls out of port, the community 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:37.520 is not just got healthier people who had surgeries or 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:42.560 who had medical treatment, but the whole community is empowered. Yeah, 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:46.040 that's that's one of the amazing things about the model 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.520 that we have, and we've been doing that for years, 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:54.000 and honestly, for all of the bad that COVID has 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:57.760 brought us, they're one of the blessings that it's really 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:01.640 allowed us to focus in on finding new ways to 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:05.559 expand that. So as during the season where the ship 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.960 has not been able to serve in Africa, we still 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:12.280 are able to find new and innovative ways to continue 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.080 to help even more people on the ground. And I 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:18.800 think that model is going to continue in years to come, 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:21.920 so not only using the ship and all its resources 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:26.000 and the training facilities, but you know, finding new ways 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:28.880 to train even when the ship before the ship gets there, 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.880 after the ship leaves. And as you know, we have 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:34.520 a new ship, the Global Mercy, that we should be 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:39.480 taking delivery of in the next sixty days, and that 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.640 ship we got to design that from the ground up. 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:46.360 Our other ships have all been refit for other uses, 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.319 but this one we were able to design using all 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:53.640 the experience we've had for the last forty years. In 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:58.199 how to build a functioning hospital, but even more important, 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:02.760 this one is built for training. We have simulation labs 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:06.400 and training rooms, and that ours are designed so that 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:12.240 we can be training local physicians and surgeons, so that 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:16.160 long after we go, people are still receiving the help 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:21.760 that they so desperately need. Carrie, tell our listeners how you, personally, 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:27.240 more than thirty years ago, got involved with mercyships and 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:32.000 why you keep coming back. Well, that's a complicated story 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:34.959 because when I first joined, I was in the middle 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:39.840 of my college experience and kind of a workaholic and 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:44.360 was getting burned out between my work and going to school, 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:50.040 more work than going to school, and I needed to 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:53.360 take a break. And I had known Don Stevens, the founder, 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:59.200 from several years before, and I asked if I could 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:01.600 come and join, And I flew down to New Zealand 0:11:01.640 --> 0:11:04.839 and joined the ship down there, served with them for 0:11:05.000 --> 0:11:08.640 a little while. I think it was while I was single, 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:11.920 and then I met my wife back home and she 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.520 moved on board. We had our first son on board, 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:17.679 so we served for a couple of years and then 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:22.000 I left. I kind of finished my schooling and took 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:25.200 a job consulting for ten years, and why I came 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:29.560 back was simply because I knew that I knew that, 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:31.640 I knew that this is what God wanted me to do, 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:35.800 and that's why I'm still here today. And how many 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:39.120 surgeries I mean, I know because of COVID it changed, 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.680 But how many surgeries does the Mercy Ship typically do 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:46.480 in a ten month time in a country? Well, I 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:52.080 believe it's just over a thousand. So um I see, 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:59.760 before COVID we had mentored a hundred and fifty healthcare professionals. 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:03.880 There were a little over eighteen hundred surgical procedures, so 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.560 some people have more than one procedure, but so it's 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:09.920 probably about a thousand, little over a thousand patients. So 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:13.960 we also trained about a little over twelve people in 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:21.880 UM essential pain management, safe surgery, primary trauma care, anesthelia procedures, 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:25.120 things like that. So that's part of our overall commitment. 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:28.520 When we leave, we want the health care infrastructure to 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:32.320 be so much stronger than before we got there. I 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:34.520 think that's one of the things I love most, Carrie, 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.760 is that you're you're not just going into a community 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:40.720 or going into a country and doing good and leaving 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:44.280 you're going in and changing lives and changing the whole 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.079 healthcare paradigm. So even after you leave, you're still there. 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.559 You're still impacting lives. You're still changing lives. You're still 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:56.800 saving lives and blessing people and making communities stronger. Well, 0:12:57.120 --> 0:13:00.360 that is what we're called to do, alright, Arry, Now 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:03.439 that we have a better understanding of what Mercy Ships 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:06.680 is all about and how you got started, I'm going 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:09.280 to share some incredible conversations here that I've had with 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:13.559 a few of your volunteers. Their stories are amazing. So 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:20.080 right now, let's listen to Rayanne. Rayanne share her story 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:23.800 of why she chose Mercy Ships, she and her family 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:28.319 and how that has changed the trajectory of their lives. 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:32.360 Drane and her family joined Mercy Ships, I believe ran 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:36.760 in the summer of twenty nineteen. Yes, that's correct. And 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:39.240 how many of you went to live on the ship? 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:41.640 Was it just you or was it the whole family? 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:45.600 Our whole family went. We have three children, a son 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:49.520 who is twelve, and we have twin daughters who will 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:53.000 be fifteen in April. And your hobby went with what 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:55.199 was your role on the ship and what was his 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.960 so my husband was hired to be a chaplain on 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:03.840 the ship, and when I first arrived, my role is 0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:06.600 the primary airgiver, so I had to make sure my 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:10.240 children were taking care of first, and after that I 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:14.840 worked in the communications department as the creative coordinator. But 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:18.280 really my passion was to also do chaplaincy work with 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:24.000 my husband, and come March of I was able to 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:27.440 transfer over into the chaplaincy department and that's where I 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:29.920 served for the rest of our time. And how long 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:33.400 were you on board the ship? Not even an entire 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:37.560 year because of the pandemic, So what what did you 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.480 have to go through? What did you and Roger and 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:43.240 the three kids go through in order to be a 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:46.920 part of Mercy Ships for that year. Well, it was 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:51.640 actually quite a long process. My husband started researching it 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:56.280 for quite some time and he applied for his position 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:01.800 and I want to say November of and then it 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:08.000 was just a long process of interviews, background checks, references, 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:11.120 and one of the hiccups was trying to find a 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:14.200 space on the ship for our whole family to live in. 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.640 What was how he doing that? He could just just say, oh, 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:19.800 by the way, I want to go live on a ship. 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:23.080 With my family. He was in law enforcement for almost 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:28.440 twenty years and decided that he wanted to retire and 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.000 perhaps go back into full time ministry, which he was 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:35.440 doing prior to being with the police department, and he did. 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.560 He tired from his job when we knew that we 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:42.800 hadn't offer for Mercy ships. Tell me how this impacted 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:47.760 your children. Our kids are incredible and they are total troopers. 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:52.360 They all were in we went. Definitely the first couple 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:55.160 of weeks, if not the first couple of months, there 0:15:55.160 --> 0:15:57.720 were lots of tears at night. You know, we miss 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:02.600 our home, we miss our friends. It was difficult, but 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:06.560 I told them, isn't it ironic? One when we left 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.560 the ship, there was far more tears and they were 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:12.720 devastated that we had to leave. They did not want 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:17.960 to go, and they were radically impacted by this experience, 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:23.240 mostly because their worldview was blown up, and not just 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:27.640 because they were living in West Africa, but more so 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:30.520 because we were living in a global community on the ship, 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:34.400 where there's people from over forty different countries in the 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:38.960 world living on the ship together. So their eyes were opened. 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:43.600 So do you have a favorite story, something that just 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.160 blew your mind? Maybe with one of the patients, with 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:49.040 yourself or one of the kids, or or your hobby. 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:52.920 What an amazing opportunity to be a pastor to people 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:57.960 from over forty countries. Oh my goodness. I have so 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:01.320 many stories that I share with you, but I think 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:08.600 the one that really impacted me deeply was was March fourteenth, 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:13.480 twenty when the ship went into lockdown and we were 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:17.239 told that we were gonna conclude operations as soon as 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:22.359 possible to be able to leave sent Ugal quickly, and 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:26.879 Mercy Ships employees over two hundred of the local people 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:29.479 to work on the ship while we're in country. Whe 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.480 We call them day crew, and they are essential. There 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.360 are translators, They help in the engine room, in the galley, 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.800 in the hospital. They're very essential. But because we were 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:43.560 going into lockdown, we couldn't have those day crew going 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:45.560 home to their families at night and then coming back 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:49.440 to the ship and risking any infections. So we asked 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.680 over seventy of the day crew if they would stay 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.520 in isolation with us, not returned to their home, and 0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:59.440 help us pack up until we were able to leave. 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:04.879 Surprisingly enough, all of them said yes, and a couple 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:07.119 of days later we were down on the docks saying 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:10.120 goodbye to some of the crew that were flying back 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:13.919 to their home countries. And I looked you up and 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:16.840 I saw this one Senegalese man. His name is Mamballa, 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:19.600 and he was one of our security guards who stood 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.600 at the gate of our dock leading into the port 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.200 to make sure we were safe. He monitored who came 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:28.760 in and who came out. My daughters had got to 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:32.560 know Mamballa a little bit because they would take the 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:35.680 trash out each week for the academy and they had 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:37.879 to go out into the court to do that, and 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:40.600 so Mamballa would open the gate for them. And when 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:42.760 we would leave to go into town to have dinner, 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:45.080 and we would speak with Mambala. And on this day 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:48.040 I saw him and I walked over to him and 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:50.600 I had tears in my eyes, and I said, Mamballa, 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:53.640 thank you so much for staying with us, thank you 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:58.080 for helping us and staying for lockdown. And he looked 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:02.040 at me and he said, oh, mom, you are my family. 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:07.159 We are together. Of course I'll stay. And I was 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:14.960 so impacted by this sentiment. And I learned that in Senegal, 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:17.720 in their native language of wool Off. There is a 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:20.760 phrase called Nokia book. I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:23.960 that correctly, but it means we are together. And this 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:28.119 is really a lifestyle for the Senegalese people, and I 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:31.000 learned later that it's not really just unique to Senegal, 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:34.200 but it's really the continent of Africa and the people. 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:39.520 They believe that the whole is more important than the individual, 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:44.720 and so it was really powerful for me to see 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.639 someone sacrifice being with their family, the comfort of their 0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:50.120 own home and their bed and their food to lock 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:53.200 down with us. And definitely, I think being in a 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:57.320 culture that's very individualistic, like the one I grew up in, 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:00.760 it just really impacted me and convicted me. Made me 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:03.440 feel that I want to live my life considering other 0:20:03.520 --> 0:20:05.800 people as more important than myself, and I want to 0:20:05.880 --> 0:20:09.800 raise my children in such a way that they look 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:12.480 at looks at others as more important than themselves and 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:15.800 live their lives in a way that is self sacrificing 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:18.359 like this man did and several of the other son 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:22.639 Agal people did for us. I love that. It was 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:26.000 amazing because Mumballa told me, he said, I will be 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:29.159 here until you leave. And I have a video and 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:31.840 a picture when our ship pulled away from the dock. 0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:35.679 The dock was completely empty and the only person that 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.920 was there was Mumballa waving goodbye to us. M h 0:20:40.560 --> 0:20:43.360 and how soon before you go back? We'll go back 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:45.560 as soon as we can. So I was going to 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:48.520 say that I saw the project that you do. Is 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:51.600 that our Point Hope, Point Hope, And we're hoping that 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:54.840 we can team up with Mercy Ships because as you know, 0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:58.000 not only do they you know, they poured at different 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:02.520 places in developing countries, but they teach the local doctors 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:05.200 and nurses so that the work they do is sustainable 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:08.840 and continues on after the ship pulls out of port. 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:12.840 And we are so hoping that Point Hope can team 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:17.040 up with Mercy Ships for some of that wonderful training 0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:20.560 and that goodness that they impart on the not just 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:22.960 not just you know, the people that come on board 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:29.320 the ship, but they impart goodness on the whole community forever. Yeah. Absolutely, 0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:32.040 Oh that would be wonderful, It would be great. So 0:21:32.080 --> 0:21:34.040 that's what we're hoping for. But I just love what 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:37.720 Mercy Ships and what they do, what they've done for decades. 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:40.480 I I know several people who have been a part 0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:42.239 of it and who have traveled with them and who 0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:44.920 have made the two year commitment, and they all say, 0:21:44.960 --> 0:21:48.000 I am such a much better person, a different person 0:21:48.560 --> 0:21:52.360 because of what Mercy Ships in that community on board 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:55.639 the ship brought into my life. So so proud of 0:21:55.640 --> 0:21:59.120 you guys. Well, thank you. It was it was such 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:01.679 a privilege and that And honestly say, for the last 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:04.600 ten months that we have been off the ship, my 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:07.040 husband and I have been grieving. There is not a 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:11.480 day that goes by that we don't more in that experience. 0:22:11.560 --> 0:22:15.400 And they're so devastated that it ended short for us. Well, 0:22:15.440 --> 0:22:18.240 God's got a plan, that is for sure. He wouldn't 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:21.720 have broached it back early if he didn't have a plan. So, um, 0:22:21.760 --> 0:22:25.640 I've got your number and we're going to be in touch. Wonderful. Well, 0:22:25.680 --> 0:22:28.200 thank you, I'll talk to you soon, honey, God bless you, 0:22:28.840 --> 0:22:32.080 Thank you you too, Thank you, Rayanne. Now we're going 0:22:32.240 --> 0:22:34.600 to spend a little bit of time getting to know 0:22:34.960 --> 0:22:38.760 Marta and we're going to find out how Mercy Ships 0:22:39.040 --> 0:22:42.479 has helped Marta and how Marta has helped Mercy Ships 0:22:42.560 --> 0:22:46.879 and one very special special patient in particular, Hi, this 0:22:47.000 --> 0:22:51.399 is Marta. Hi Marta, this is Delilah. Thank you for 0:22:51.960 --> 0:22:55.399 agreeing to spend a little time talking about Mercy Ships 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:58.959 with us. Oh my goodness, it is such an honor. 0:22:59.119 --> 0:23:01.679 I just I can't leave. I was even asked, so, 0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:04.560 how old were you, Martha when you decided to be 0:23:04.600 --> 0:23:06.880 a part of Mercy Ships. So when I was back 0:23:06.880 --> 0:23:09.760 in high school and thinking about being a nurse, my 0:23:09.880 --> 0:23:13.080 dad had kind of heard about Mercy Ships and he said, 0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:15.560 you know, there are lots of opportunities for missions, and 0:23:15.640 --> 0:23:18.080 so there's even a floating hospital out there. And I 0:23:18.160 --> 0:23:20.560 was like, what, that sounds so cool. And so that's 0:23:20.560 --> 0:23:23.040 when I first heard about Mercy Ships and kind of 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:25.240 kept it in the back of my head. Right around 0:23:25.320 --> 0:23:27.679 after I had been working as a nurse for two years, 0:23:28.119 --> 0:23:33.040 sixty Minutes did a special on the Mercy Ships, and um, 0:23:33.080 --> 0:23:36.320 I remember watching that with my mom and just bawling, 0:23:36.880 --> 0:23:39.640 and I just knew, like, this is something that I 0:23:39.680 --> 0:23:42.760 need to do. So it was actually that night I 0:23:42.840 --> 0:23:45.800 printed the application and started the process, and then it 0:23:45.840 --> 0:23:48.760 was about a year from then when I actually landed 0:23:48.760 --> 0:23:51.920 on the ship. How long was the stint that you did? 0:23:51.920 --> 0:23:54.879 How long did you volunteer for Yeah, it was about 0:23:55.000 --> 0:23:58.720 seven months, so it was long enough that I had 0:23:58.760 --> 0:24:01.879 to quit my job and I really wanted to be 0:24:01.960 --> 0:24:04.920 on the ship from the start field service to the end. 0:24:05.119 --> 0:24:07.280 And that year was the first year in Mada Gascar, 0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:13.399 so it was a seven months spent. Was it transformative, Yeah, Delilah, 0:24:13.440 --> 0:24:16.680 it absolutely was. I really wanted to make a difference 0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:18.760 in love people. I was going to say, tell me 0:24:18.800 --> 0:24:22.040 about some Bonni. Yeah, he is the one patient for 0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:26.000 my time there that stands out the most. He arrived 0:24:26.119 --> 0:24:28.760 with a I think it ended up being a sixteen 0:24:28.840 --> 0:24:33.520 pound tumor on his base, and he was so weak 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:36.320 he actually had to be carried for the whole journey. 0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:38.840 He lived. He loved way out in the boonies, like 0:24:39.160 --> 0:24:42.320 there were no roads they had. His grandson carried him 0:24:42.320 --> 0:24:44.080 for two days just to get to a road so 0:24:44.080 --> 0:24:46.560 they could ride a bus to the ship. The surgery 0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:49.719 was risky just because the tumor was so huge and 0:24:49.800 --> 0:24:52.440 his body was so so weak. So you know that 0:24:52.560 --> 0:24:56.000 doctor talks about, you know this this kind of a 0:24:56.040 --> 0:24:58.520 life threatening surgery. Are you sure you want to do this? 0:24:59.119 --> 0:25:01.679 And he said, like, I feel like I'm dead inside 0:25:01.720 --> 0:25:04.760 already from this tumor. It's worth the risk for me 0:25:04.800 --> 0:25:07.600 and I want to get this tumor removed. And so 0:25:08.280 --> 0:25:10.199 he went in for surgery and I think it was 0:25:10.400 --> 0:25:12.959 it was an all day surgery and he ended up 0:25:13.080 --> 0:25:16.840 meeting ten or eleven units of blood. It was amazing. 0:25:16.840 --> 0:25:18.800