The start of something wonderful.....

       Welcome to my blog--I am so glad you have found it!  I am going to be using this space to keep all of my friends, family, and supporters updated in my adventure. As of right now this will serve as a place to help raise support and keep everyone updated to my fundraising endeavors. I am going to be sending out letters shortly, but until then I will tell you a bit about my plan. 

       August 24th, I will be boarding a plane and moving my life to a boat in Africa. Now when I say a boat, picture a repurposed cruise liner that has been fashioned into a hospital. In fact, it is the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship. It has been cruising along the west coast of Africa since 2007, following in other ships footsteps (or I guess a little more literally, their waves).

 On this boat I will live and work with 400+ other volunteers from all over the globe. We live in a tight community of believers dedicated to serving the people we come in contact with. It will be amazing to be in such connection with so many people who share my passion for service. Some people are just staying for 2 months, others committed to two years, and others who have dedicated their lives to the ship and are literally raising their children upon a floating hospital.

        I will begin my service in Conakry, Guinea- a place where Mercy Ships has not been since 1999. This corner of Africa is a place where children and adults are abandoned and are left outcasts because of their diseases or malformations. It is an extremely superstitious culture, and it is common belief that many of the things we are sailing in to cure are caused by demons. This breaks my heart that I am here in a country where I can do anything and be anyone I want to be, and an infant across the ocean may not make it to their first birthday simply because care is not available. Please take a moment to think about this; for every 100,000 people there are only 2 physicians to care for them, 1 in every 5 children will not make it to the age of 5 and nearly 30,000 deaths will occur this year alone from preventable causes. How can I stay here when these truths exist?

Here is where the ship comes in, first let me share with you a few "fun facts" of the organization. (you can also check it out at http://www.mercyships.org/)

• Since 1978 Mercy Ships has performed services valued at more than $834 million and impacting over 2.9 million people with over 563 port visits in 53 developing nations and 17 developed nations.
• Common surgical services provided are for hernia repairs, cleft palets, bow legs, burn victims, cataracts, tumor removals, and fistulas residual from giving birth. (check more out at http://www.mercyships.org/index.php/pages/mission-health )
• They have dental and vision teams who set up shop for the duration of our stay to reach a further population.
• We have a sect that sets out into the African villages to provide education on farming practices.(see link below)
• Isn't it amazing to hear that we are not only curing people, but sharing the resources with them to be able to make a better life for themselves and their families!?! http://www.mercyships.org/index.php/pages/mission-capacity
• Finally-- to check out just a FEW stories of lives who have been changed, please visit http://www.mercyships.org/index.php/pages/mission-stories

Whew! That was a lot, and as much as I want to continue telling you all how passionate I am about this organization, I hope that you will explore them for yourself. I have attached many links on this post for your viewing. Please investigate, and let me know what you think! I promise to keep up on this blog throughout the process of actually getting to the boat- and as often as possible once I actually begin living on the ship. I am desperate for your prayers, and support. Once my fundraising page is complete I'll be posting it with information on how to give. Thank you so much for all that you have done already simply by taking the time to read this.

Grace and Peace, 

Hannah