The opportunity to serve came in 2009 when Deb and her sister Sarah went to the ship which was docked for a ten-month assignment in the West African nation of Benin. Sarah served as a laboratory technician and Deb as a ward nurse.
"When I left the ship at the end of 2009 I felt as if I had left my heart behind. I knew God's call on my life to serve with Mercy Ships had not finished. I wanted to return for a longer term this year, so I completed the Gateway course at the charity's International Operations Centre in Texas, prior to heading for this year's assignment on the ship in Sierra Leone," she says.
"The Africa Mercy houses a state-of-the-art hospital with six operating theatres, 78 hospital beds, and all of the necessary equipment and associated services. I serve as a charge nurse in the wards, watching over patients with doctors and specialty team leaders, guiding nurses and co-ordinating day volunteer translators. Occasionally I work as a hands-on ward nurse, and it is a good change sometimes from the other role which involves more administration and organising than actual nursing."
Deb knows that what she is doing does change a person's perspective about many aspects of life. "If you come to Africa with open eyes and an open heart, you cannot go home without being changed. There is something special about the people of Africa. They have a heart for each other and their culture. They are a patient and relaxed people. I watched and listened one day when a caregiver for one of the patients in the ward just gave another patient some money for transport home from the ship. That patient did not ask, but just said she didn't have any money. It is glimpses such as this act that change my heart."
"It is a mad environment in which to work. When the ship arrived in Freetown at the start of the current assignment, 21 paediatric patients arrived all at once to receive their free surgery. All were children, all had caregivers with them and two of the children also had baby sisters who also came. You cannot imagine how crazy that ward became. But we had such fun with these children as they waited for surgery and as they went through the healing process. We became like one big family. Some of the recovering patients also provided care to the newcomers. It is such a sweet part of my job to watch all of that and to learn from it."
Deb has committed to serve as a volunteer this time around for two years. "Beyond that is in God's hands. I believe what I am doing is being able to use the talents and the passion that God has put in my heart to give something to some of the world's poorest people. But in so doing, I am blessed so much more than I can every give. I have no special talents or abilities, but am only using what gifts God has given me. There is a huge need in Africa. These are people who are desperate for help, and I am blessed to be able to use my hands to provide some of that help," she concludes.
Mercy Ships is a global charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978 providing free health care and community development services to the forgotten poor. Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor. Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves. The result is a way out of poverty. Mercy Ships Australia, one of 15 international support offices is based on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.
To contact Mercy Ships, visit CTindex.