4:49AM

Here I am wide awake thinking what I would be doing if I was still in Sierra Leone. 

My mind has been working overtime since we farewelled Africa last Friday, trying to digest the beyond-words-African-experience I've had over the past two weeks. Somehow, the video that was played during Africa Mercy's community meeting last week is now on repeat in my mind.

I can hear the words from the video echoing and moments we had in Freetown flashing in my mind, like a heartfelt reminder of the precious things I have gained from this trip.

"...Often there is a level of suffering here that is unimaginable.

But it's hard to reconcile the challenges many Africans face, with the joy I see in the people.

The images spilling out of my television showed only misery, and I was fooled.

I bought into the the lie that circumstances defines happiness.

In places where despair should thrive, I find adults dancing and sing.

Children playing soccer with a ball tied of trash.

Relationship and faith provide joy.

My new reality...My joy should have no regard for my circumstances.

I want what I have learned to trick down from my head into my heart.

I no longer want to need the "next thing" to have joy.

Africa does need our efforts and partnership.

But for me, I need Africa more than Africa needs me.

Because it is Africa that has taught me that possessions in my hand will never be as valuable as peace in my heart"

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAB-zJPsJjs )

While the world may never understand the logic behind the sacrifices many volunteers make, giving up their time, finance and comfort to serve the forgotten poor in Africa, the timeless truth continues to stir the hearts of more than 1200 volunteers over 40 nations to serve on Africa Mercy each year. The truth is - we need fulfillment more than comfort. .

The delight of being part of His miracles to the desperate and the sense of deep satisfaction when hope is made tangible to the despair will always make serving a rewarding experience and encourage the human soul to seek serving others over personal comfort. 

The inspiring conversations and stories I have heard of individuals faithfully serving with Mercy Ships has only made me realize how much I had underestimated the magnitude of the reward that comes with following the 2000-year-old model of Jesus. The fulfillment from serving is well described in Isaiah 58:9-11 "If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always. He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails."

The good news is, we don't have to travel half a world to Africa to serve others or to live out the example of Jesus. If we can just pause and look around our immediate community, we will find more than enough reasons to be a beacon of hope and love to others. It sure is easier to see physical poverty like what we were confronted with in SIerra Leone, however, many in our world today are actually suffering from emotional, mental and spiritual poverty which are easier to hide but equally damaging as physical poverty. The needs in this world can seem so overwhelming at times and it's tempting to throw ourselves into everything and everyone in need of our skills, love and time but I have come to learn that lives are best changed, one at a time.

Afterall we are all equally imperfect and equally in need of His grace to live out the life He has purposed. God is faithful and our relationship with each other makes all the difference. Simply instilling hope in another human being when hope is most needed may just change someone's world forever.

African adventure

The first week on Mercy Ships in Sierra Leone has been exciting, fulfilling and somewhat overwhelming!

We happened to arrive during the week when the founders of Mercy Ships (Don & Deyon Stephens) and the international board were also on the ship for a board meeting, hence lots of inspiring presentations and exciting updates straight from the executives - which have left the volunteers deeply encouraged and honored to be part of God's loving intervention in Africa through Mercy Ships.

Coming back to Mercy Ships for the second time, it took little effort to integrate into the ship's culture on our arrival last Sunday after nearly 40 hours of travelling - long but definitely worth going the distance!
I did not realise how much I had missed this culture until I walked through the familiar gangway of the 7 decked 'floating hospital' and instantly felt connected to the unique community of Mercy Ships where you know most people didn't end up on the ship by mere accident but because God at some point stretched their faith and called them to this part of the world so deprived of hope and resources.

Travelling through the streets of Freetown (Capital of Sierra Leone), we were confronted by the lingering aftermath of civil wars and many years of government corruption which have left the citizens crippled in every way. I saw ditches and sewage drains filled with rubbish, children sleeping amongst the rubble, mothers with babies on their backs and bags of material on the tops of their heads that I can barely carry with both hands, mad drivers cutting through traffic and men with animals trying to navigate through everything and everyone on the road, all going in dfferent directions.

Amongst the crowd I saw many indifferent faces, but occassionally I see eyes pleading for compassion which remind me of the reality for many here - poverty that I can leave behind in a flight upon completing 2 weeks of service. Unfortunately this IS life for many here in Sierra Leone. While I thought I was doing a noble thing flying half a world to serve the poor, when I begin treating the Africans it became clear to me that I was the recipient of something precious that I could never give myself - fulfilment and purpose. Afterall, I am the one who is being fueled and renewed on the inside through serving in Sierra Leone. It feels like a compass finally finding it's North.

We began treating patients the day after we arrived and performed over 1000 extractions between the 4 dentists in only 5 days! The reality of having only 7 local dentists for the entire 6.4 million Sierra Leonians almost seems a little unbelievable, but the dental condition of most patients we saw proved the fact.
Though many times I found myself completely overwhelmed by the significant amount of treatment required for each patient we saw and am often exhausted physically from the continuous, non-stop, serial extractions, something in the eyes of the Sierra Leonians spoke to my heart and motivated me to keep going everytime I appracoh them with a prayer or smile. It's like a spark of hope that they have been longing for, and once again I count myself SO privileged being used by God as an instrument to inject hope and love to those in desperate situations.

To live and serve in Africa requires a lot of faith. Every morning I wake up to a very real world filled with intense suffering, hopelessness and injustice. If not for the grace of God sustaining all the work that goes on at Mercy Ships, many could've been defeated by the challenging conditions here.

His grace is sufficient.  The fact that we struggle and fall short actually qualifies us for it, because we were created to operate out of His grace in all that we do.