Forty Years With Mercy Ships

By -

 Today marks a milestone in my career. Forty years ago, on July 2, 1983, I joined the Organization #MercyShips. Back then, the dream to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor was mainly work, a lot of hard work. But as my parents used to tell me, work doesn’t kill anyone; I’m here to say that they were right.

In those forty years, I sailed the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Visited three continents and ministered in 42 countries. Countless volunteers from around the world worked without ceasing on the first Mercy Ships, the Anastasis, and the other ships that followed her, the Good Samaritan, the Pacific Ruby, the Caribbean Mercy, the #AfricaMercy, and now our newest ship, the #GlobalMercy.

#Mercy Ships has delivered services to more than 2.86 million beneficiaries during this time. Provided services and materials in developing countries valued at over $1.77 billion, including the following:

  • Performed more than 108,000 life-changing or life-saving surgical procedures such as cleft-lip lip and palate repair, cataract removal, orthopedic, facial reconstruction, burn contracture release, pediatric, general, and obstetric fistula repair
  • Performed over 521,000 dental procedures for over 197,000 dental patients.
  • Trained more than 6,680 local professionals (including surgeons), who have, in turn, trained many others
  • Trained over 50,300 local professionals in their area of expertise (anesthesiology, surgery, nursing, biomedical, sterilization, trauma, leadership)
  • Taught over 268,000 local people in basic healthcare
  • Completed over 1,115 infrastructure development projects

I feel privileged to be part of Mercy Ships.

Let me with seven things from these forty years I’m grateful for: 

  • I’m grateful for my family, who followed me everywhere this organization took me. 
  • I’m grateful for all the friends I made along the way.
  • I’m grateful to friends, family, and churches who made this mission possible financially. 
  • I’m grateful for a vision bigger than myself.
  • I’m grateful for the opportunity to use my merchant marine, education, and theological skills to help those in need.
  • I’m grateful for intercessors who pray for me, my family, and the ministry.
  • I’m grateful for colleagues and coworkers that battled beside me as we went through thick and thin.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Tribute to Pelé

By -
 I was 15 years old at the time of the buzz about Pelé’s 1000th goal. The countdown began on the 910th. Local, national, and international media followed his team, Santos FC, everywhere. The conversation at the offices, factories, bars, street corners, and the no-grass soccer fields was about when, where, and how the historical feat would happen. At the time, the closer goal scorer was four hundred goals behind. We wanted to know who would go into history by association just for being under the crossbar at the wrong time for them but at the right time for the rest of the world. Our imagination wondered what kind of special magic Pelé would use to score a goal that would be in our memories forever. Would he score with his head after rising a foot above his marker? Or would he score after controlling a crossed ball with his chest, looping it over a defender before kicking it to the back of the net? Would the goal happen after a spectacular run from the mid-field leaving behind counte
Read more

Happy Father's Day!

By -
It is a beautiful East Texas Sunday. A perfect day to celebrate Father’s Day. No matter if he is your biological father, an adopted father, a stepfather, or just someone who has the role of a father figure in your life. Today we celebrate fathers. I can’t resist reflecting on my father, Mr. Manoel Barbosa Dos Santos, a hardworking man who was always there present in my life. He brought me to my first day of school, took me to my first soccer game at Maracanã stadium, was with me when I joined Merchant Marine Academy, and helped me to fix my first house. It is hard to remember an important event in my life when he was not present. He was always there. And he did it without saying anything. He was from an era when it was unnecessary to say to those you love; I love you. I know of his love for me not because he said it but because he demonstrated it. I remember one time when I was playing soccer at the local fire station’s futsal court when I glimpsed my father with a grin on his fa
Read more