Mercy Ships^®

Mercy Ships^® is celebrating 10 years of doing free obstetric fistula surgeries on women in Africa.  

And May 23^rd is International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. Here is a brief summary:

Obstetric fistulas occur during childbirth when the baby gets lodged in the birth canal.  In the African countries where Mercy Ships^® works, many mothers have no access to healthcare.  Therefore, no emergency C-section is performed as it would be in the USA to save the baby's life and protect the mother from injury. 

In contrast to the USA, in some parts of Africa, the mother agonizes in ...

When listening to upcoming programs of The Mercy Minute^®, May 7th's message really touched my heart.

The story of Jalloh's lunch box and the mercy that was shown to him really parallels our story. As Don Stephens encourages:

"Opportunities for mercy surround us everyday. Stay alert for a chance to show mercy to someone today."

For me, those words are convicting. How many times do I walk by someone when I could briefly walk into their lives and offer mercy before continuing on? How many times do I avoid when I could embrace?

More times than I would ...

Tick, tick, tick, tick...

Anyone who watches television on Sunday nights knows this sound and immediately associates one thing.

60 Minutes.

60 Minutes is a television documentary, of sorts. They show the stories that are compelling, sometimes heart wrenching and almost always raw with real life realities.

And, a few weeks ago there was a story that aired that is gaining the attention of people all across the nation. A story of a hospital ship outfitted with the most up to date medical technology. A story of a crew and medical staff willing to make undeniable sacrifices in their own ...

I'm a ship captain's daughter. Well, I was. My dad retired from the Merchant Marine some time ago but the memories we have of that time in life are still so vivid.  

At the height of his career, Dad was the captain of a working container ship; at the time when he took the helm, it was the largest ship of its kind in the world.

The President Polk (all the ships in the American President Line fleet were named after presidents) was five football fields long and one football field high. The gangway was outfitted with a ...

Mercy may be described as showing compassion or forgiveness towards someone when they don't warrant it.

Isn't that the foundation of Jesus' time on earth? Our whole faith, really. God has forgiven our sins, loves us unconditionally and welcomes us with open arms into His Kingdom. Christmas is the purest expression of God's mercy towards us - his son Jesus, here on this earth. Born to live and die, to restore, heal and lift up.

Mercy Ships^® is taking on the message of Jesus, and the true meaning of showing compassion, everyday while in port. They are offering ...

There's nothing like experiencing something first hand.

Whether that's as fun as attending Game 4 of the World Series as the San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers on Sunday or as serious as being affected by hurricane Sandy as it created havoc and heartbreak over the weekend -- your perspective will be altered because of it.

Just ask our very own Jim Sanders and Evelyn Gibson as they recently returned from a trip to the Africa Mercy to visit the mercy givers serving the needy in Conakry, Guinea. (Read their reports of the journey here.)

One of ...