On Sunday afternoon, April 1, 2001, immediately after the morning service, a group left for Norfolk, Va., to tour the Caribbean Mercy, one of the Mercy Ships. The Jr. Youth group sponsored the trip and we were pleased that other adults and young persons joined us making a group of 28 persons. In spite of the rainy, cold weather, it was an enjoyable and informative trip.

The mission of the Mercy Ships is to "bring hope and healing to the poor and needy around the world, primarily through ocean-going vessels, providing medical care, relief, development and education." According to the founder, Don Stephens, "Mercy Ships is a Christian response to a world that has lost hope." The vision is to "serve one million people annually by 2004." The Mercy Ships fleet began as a dream in 1978, and has completed projects in more than 70 ports areas around the world. According to the website, "The ships provide medical and dental assistance, agricultural skills, and relief and development services. Mercy Ships bring food, life-changing operations and long-term sustainable change." The Caribbean Mercy is the second largest ship in the fleet of Mercy Ships. The length is 262 feet with a crew capacity of 160. One of her sister ships, the Anastasis, is the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world. The Anastasis is 522 feet with a crew capacity of 475.

Members of the staff represent over 40 nations, from doctors to deck hands, and pay their own way to be a part of the project. Entire families live on the ships. Staff serve for as little as two weeks or may serve for a lifetime. Since the staff members pay their own way, finances given to Mercy Ships go directly to helping the poor. When it comes to medical treatment, a little goes a long way. Eye surgery that cost $150 on the Mercy Ship would cost thousands of dollars in the U.S. Cleft lip and palate correction on board a Mercy Ship cost $150 in comparison to $6,000 in the U.S. However, the patients pay nothing for their care.

Other projects of the Mercy Ships include providing clean water by drilling wells and providing water purification equipment. Mercy Ships teams build schools, hospitals, and clinics. They also work to help communities become self-sufficient in food production to break their dependency on crisis food aid. Most importantly, by ministering to persons in the name of Jesus, they bring others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

For more information concerning the Mercy Ships or if you feel led to send a donation or wish to look into service opportunities, please check out the website, www.mercyships.org.

(Much of the above information was obtained from the website.)