Mercy Ships: Hope On the Horizon — NorthStar Navigator

By John C.

Cruise Ship Silhouette in Aegean Sea at Sunset by Sasaran Olteanus Images Created in Canva

This year, two Northstar students are living onboard one of the Mercy Ships. You might be asking, “What is a Mercy Ship?” Mercy Ships is a Christian charity that was established by Don and Deyon Stephens. Currently, there are two Mercy Ships known as the Global Mercy (GLM) and the Africa Mercy (AFM). Zara explains, “Mercy Ships provides free surgery to people in Africa. They do surgeries for people with tumors, bowlegs, cleft palates, and other diseases.” Zara also mentioned, “The organization aims to 'Follow the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor.’”

Life on the Mercy Ships is very unique. Zara gives a great summary of life onboard the GLM by saying, “On the GLM, I go to school, hang out with friends and play sports. There are about 500 people who live onboard so there are always people to talk to. We have church, global gatherings, and do lots as a community.” Mia gave a great answer about her life on the ship, “My life can be a little crazy sometimes as I encounter frequent changes throughout the year, sailing from country to country.” Mia also mentioned how she feels blessed to be able to experience so many different cultures and witness the different ways that God works in people’s lives. Mia describes a typical weekend on board the ship, saying, “After school and during the weekends I have the opportunity to go down to the hospital wards and hang out with the patients. We are also able to go off the ship whenever we like, (Not during school hours of course) exploring the city and encountering the culture in a very real way.” The Mercy Ships clearly offer a variety of activities and experiences to make life unique.

Although Zara has only lived on the GLM for a few months, she has clearly expressed a love for seeing the patients as they come and go. Zara also enjoys the communal feeling of living with so many other Christians who are all working towards the same mission. Mia describes some unique experiences by outlining the ways she has gained work experience. Mia talks about a week where some of the students on board take a week off from school to shadow the workers as they work. Mia says, “For this, I decided to join the physical therapy team and see what their week looked like. It was so interesting to see and help out. I watched pins be pulled out of a patient who was recovering from bowed leg surgery, as well as helping the orthopedic children with their leg exercises! I watched patients walk for the first time, allowing me to really see what strong people we have living on board in the hospital.”

How does this all connect to God? Since Zara has only spent a few months on the GLM, she has not yet had many opportunities to spread God’s word. However, she mentioned that “it has been really amazing to see patient stories and how the community comes together and prays in times of need.” Zara also pointed out that there is so much that could go wrong with five operating rooms running and the Hope Center, so it is a gift from God that everything runs smoothly. Mia, with more experience witnessing the spread of God’s word, was clear in explaining her experiences in this area. Mia says, “Every patient and their family that comes onboard gets to hear about the Gospel through Sunday morning services and times spent with the chaplains. They are given Bibles and are prayed for often by the nurses and Surgeons. We have 280 local people come onto the ship every day to work as day crew in different departments and they get to be part of morning devotions and hear about Jesus through the people they work with. Healthcare workers from every country we go to come to the ship for further training and so they also have the message of the Gospel shared with them.” Mia also mentioned that some members of the crew have not heard the Gospel before, while some have become Christians while serving on board.

Zara was clear to explain that she prefers her life on the GLM saying, “I love living on the GLM - the people, the work it does, and the community. I would live here if I had the choice between my old home and here.” Mia gave relatively the same answer as Zara, saying, “Of course, I miss home and sometimes wonder what it would be like to be a 'normal' teenager, but I would not change a thing. I think that the life I live has given me a much wider worldview, growing me so much as a person and in my faith.” While many would likely wish to be a “normal teenager,” the experiences of Mia and Zara have clearly not been disliked. Both girls love their lives on the GLM, and both obviously love the community and environment of the ship.

The experiences and life that Mia and Zara have from living on the Mercy Ships have definitely made a big impact on them. It is clear that both Mia and Zara enjoy life on the Mercy Ships, and they obviously both feel blessed to have these types of experiences. I have learned a lot about the Mercy Ships from both of them, and I am very grateful that they were willing to answer all of my questions. I hope this article has taught you everything you want to know about the Mercy Ships. If not, I suggest going to the Mercy Ships website at https://www.mercyships.org/.

Columns: 👤NSA People

John C. lives in the Middle East with his parents. He is in eleventh grade and has been studying at NorthStar for five years. This year is John's second year with the Navigator, and he is working as the assistant editor-in-chief. John enjoys working out, playing basketball, playing video games, watching TV, and listening to music.