My service with Mercy Ships on the m/v Africa Mercy

Please join me on my African Mercy Mission! Photos: Debra Bell

Email: dbafricajourney@gmail.com /
blog: http://debonroad.blogspot.com/
Phone the ship: 1-954-538-6110 - ext 1610

Proverbs 31:8-9 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Who Is Mercy Ships? http://www.mercyships.org/
Mercy Ships, a global charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978, is the leader in using ships to deliver free world-class health care and community development services to the world's forgotten poor. Mercy Ships has chosen to follow the 2,000 year-old model of Jesus: the blind see, the lame walk, the mute speak. Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the forgotten poor by mobilizing people and resources worldwide, and serving all people without regard for race, gender, or religion. The newest vessel the m/v Africa Mercy is the world's largest charity hospital ship, with six operating theatres, 78 hospital beds and crew of 450 + volunteers. Ship specs: length-152m, breadth-23.7m
(for more info go to my Jan 2011 archive: MERCY SHIPS and the m/v AFRICA MERCY HISTORY: 1/14/2011 update)

PARTNERSHIP WITH DEBRA: Please prayerfully consider partnering with me as I serve the ministry of Mercy Ships and the forgotten poor of the nations of West Africa. I am the ship's photographer, capturing impacting visuals that enable Mercy Ships to share with the world the hope and healing of a better life for the people of West Africa. We as volunteers are required to raise funds for participation in Mercy Ships project expenses such as crew fees and living expenses. Your donations, prayers and encouragement will make a great difference in the lives of the people we serve. It will allow me the honor to partner with you and enable me to continue serving long term with Mercy Ships. Thank you to those who have blessed me with friendships, partnerships & prayer support. Many lives have been changed including my own. For this I am eternally grateful.

OPTIONS FOR DONATING:
1) Donate Directly On Line
2) Send tax-deductible checks payable to Mercy Ships, indicate on a separate note donation for Mercy Ships Project #2077

CANADIAN Donations mail checks to:
Donor Services, Mercy Ships Canada, #5-3318 Oak St, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8X 1R1, Toll Free ph: 1-866-900-7447 /
To set up credit card or debit donations: Ph: 250-381-2160
web:
www.mercyships.ca / email: msca@mercyships.ca
(Identify donations with Project #2077)

CANADIAN Direct ON LINE Donations click here:

http://mercyships.donorpages.com/MERCYGIFTS/DebraBell: (Identify donation by Project #2077)

USA & other Country Donations mail checks to:
Donor Services, Mercy Ships Shipmates, Box 2020, Lindale, TX, USA, 75771, Ph: +1-903-939-7190
(Identify donations with Project #USMS2077
USA Toll Free ph: 1-800-772-7447 www.mercyships.org /

USA & other Country Direct ON LINE Donations click here:
https://connect.mercyships.org/page/outreach/view/crewmates/Debra

Mercy Ships Crew Mates -Debra's Bio Donate-Contribute Now. (Identify donation by Project #2077)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

SIERRA LEONE - QUEEN SALLY

“Sometimes, I would just sit down and cry,” said Sally with great emotion. For seventeen years, people laughed at her and mocked her because of her legs – horribly misshapen and knock-kneed. The constant verbal abuse made her feel ashamed. Walking was difficult and tiring, so she didn’t go to school. She just stayed at home in her misery.
The problem was caused by an automobile accident when she was only ten years old. A witch doctor blanketed her legs with a native concoction of boiled leaves. Splints of wooden sticks were tied to her legs for three months. But nothing changed; she returned home with bent legs. Without money for surgery, she had to learn to live with her disability.
Three years ago, Sally’s parents died. Since she had no siblings, she went to live with a friend. Her friend found a mentor to teach Sally to sew, and she eventually went to work at a dressmaker’s shop. In fact, she hopes to own her own shop some day.
A new friend at work told her that a Mercy Ship, offering orthopedic surgeries at no charge, would soon be in Sierra Leone. She encouraged Sally to go to the screening. The volunteer surgeons on the Africa Mercy surgically repaired her legs and put them in casts.
When she awoke in the ward, she was delighted to see that her legs were both straight in the casts. But when her casts were changed, she was ecstatic. “I could SEE my legs were straight!” said Sally with a brilliant smile. “It’s like a dream, and I’m an angel that can walk on straight legs!”
While Sally was recuperating from surgery, she received some very special guests – the wives of the President and Vice President of Sierra Leone! The moment was captured by a photographer and printed in the local paper. This was a highlight for all the patients in the ward, who dubbed her “Queen Sally.” She had never received such recognition before and thoroughly enjoyed the reflected glory of the event. It was a great start in helping Sally think of herself in a new and more positive light.
Another bonus of the surgery is that her straightened legs add height to her physical stature. When she walked on her bandaged legs for the first time, she exclaimed, “I’m so amazed! I used to be a short somebody. Now, I’m tall!”
A free surgery revolutionized the life of this young woman with the bubbly personality. Sally already knows what she will do first upon being released from the hospital ship. “I want to give my testimony at church of what Mercy Ships did for me,” she states firmly. “If it were not for Mercy Ships, I was going to die with legs like that, because I had no money. I was mocked every place I went. I’m thanking God for what He has done for me, and I’m asking Him to bless you people.”

Story by Elaine Winn
Photos by Debra Bell

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