Stepping into missions can be scary. What happened to get you over that fear?
About six months ahead of me learning about Mercy Ships I asked God to make me conscious of something that He wanted me to focus on. I wasn’t sure where that would be, homeless, food pantry, children’s home etc. When I did hear about Mercy Ships and the surgeries that were being performed I believe that God had prepared me to receive that. The next hurdle that I jumped over was the fact that I was looking for a paying job, not volunteering position. Upon first hearing that it was all-volunteer I kinda shut it out of thought but I couldn’t get over it. The next day I went back online to see if it had magically changed and it still said the same thing “Mercy Ships is an all-volunteer organization. Then I felt like God was teaching me that if I was faithful to him and obedient to what He asked then He would make sure that all of the finances would happen.How do you serve Jesus by serving others through Mercy Ships?
Working with Food Services it’s already in a “Service” Industry. I’ve always had jobs where I provided a service for people. Here on the ship I can use the gifts, talents and abilities that God has supplied me with to further the work of this community. I have a supervisor that I report to, but when it comes down to it the mental and physical work that I put in go to glorify God through the mission of the community. Healing and equipping the ship, local, and national community that we are set in.How was your faith impacted during your time with Mercy Ships?
Faith is impacted like any muscle in your body. The more you use it the stronger it gets. The less you use it the more it hurts when you do. For myself the impact and fruit of faith is often not seen till some time later. God builds this root system inside of you that nobody sees and it’s often when he moves you to the next season of life that you can see where God has changed your life.Why would Mercy Ships be a good organization for someone taking their first mission trip?
Mercy Ships isn’t for everybody, but if you like meeting with people from all over the world, want to make an impact with the work you’re doing then it can be a great fit. There are almost as many different jobs onboard that you can think of and there are all different commitment lengths available.Leaving everything behind for a little bit can be expensive. How did God supply your needs?
I have a network of supporters that have made it possible for me to serve with Mercy Ships for over four years. If I were to add up all the money I would probably cry to know that people have supported me with that amount of money. Moving into a job that requires international travel, repatriation insurance and no income at the same time is a lot to think about. The people in my support network give at different levels and different intervals but God makes sure that the bills are payed when the need to be.Sometimes I hear other crew say that they didn’t do any support raising because they didn’t want to have to ask other people for money but when that happens they (potential donors) often miss out on the opportunity to be part of everything that Mercy Ships does. They might not have the time or energy to support Mercy Ships but they are happy to make it possible for people to serve.
Would you briefly share what you do as a Food Services Manager that another Food Service Manager would be interested in.
Most anybody that has been in the Food Service Industry is already aware of the cost and rewards of the work that they do. But with any job with Mercy Ships our effort is multiplied and magnified as we work together and do things that no individual would ever be able to do on their own. I’ll never be able to do surgery on a patient with a large tumor or rebuild a dental clinic that will serve thousands of patients but I can plan, supply, cook, serve and clean up after a meal that give others the ability to do that job.
The level of food that we serve is much higher than you can imagine. Many people come expecting the most simple basic foods but we try to blow them away as much as possible because we know an army marches on its stomach and the level of food served can make a large difference on the moral of the crew.
