Unsung Heroes

I thought I'd take some time to introduce you to some of the people who don't get a lot of attention or credit, but whose jobs are still essential to the ship's operation. There's a whole world outside the hospital that I don't get to talk about much, and there's some pretty cool folks giving their time and love to make things run smoothly. I feel so lucky that I get to call all these people friends, and that some of them will still be around when I return.

Ruth Marie Måge, 32

24 Weeks Total Service
(Congo, Madagascar, & Benin)
Housekeeper & Dining Room

Q: Where are you from? 

A: Norway

Q: What did you do before joining the ship?

A: I´m a preschool teacher, working in a kindergarten.

Q: What brought you to Mercy Ships?

A: I heard about it from a friend who had been there in 2011.

Q: What's the best part about working in the Dining Room?

A: There are two "best parts."  The first thing is to be a part of the amazing work Mercy Ships is doing! The other thing is to work with local people from the country Mercy Ships is located in. Get to know them and their culture - and working with them is always a lot of fun!

Q: What's your favourite memory from the ship?

A: Wow - there are so many memories! But, what I love most is to go and visit the patients on the wards or on deck 7 (they are going out on deck 7 in the afternoon). Since I do not work at the hospital, I am so happy to have the opportunity to spend some time with the patients, play games, football in the hallway, try to learn som few words from their local language and have fun together!

There are so many stories, and it´s amazing to see how the patients get their life changed after surgeries!

One of my favorite memories is to attend the dress ceremony. It´s a ceremony where we are celebrating the healing of women from obstetric fistulas. There is a lot of music, singing and dancing - and we get to hear the women´s stories - how they lived years of shame, and now have hope for the future!

There are also a lot of other memories! It´s a great community on Mercy Ships and we´re doing a lot of fun!

Caleb & his wive Eve, a pediatric nurse

Caleb Saunders, 26

12 Weeks of Service
Cook

Q: Where are you from? 

A: New Zealand

Q: What did you do before joining the ship?

A: Lawyer at a commercial law firm

Q: What brought you to Mercy Ships?

A: My wife and I were planning to move overseas to live in London and had always wanted to serve in mission in some capacity so we decided that after we quit our jobs we would work on Mercy Ships for 3 months before moving to London. Several of our friends from church had been and served on the ship and only had amazingly positive things to say about it.

Q: What's the best part about working in the Galley?

A: I really enjoyed the social-ness of working in the galley - there were always people around to chat to or practice my french with, we always had music to listen to - it was just a really great atmosphere plus it was satisfying to know that you were serving in an essential role - without you and your team mates there would be nothing to eat.

Q: What's your favourite memory from the ship?

A: My favourite memory from the ship is all the great people I got to meet both among the crew and the patients.

Nicole Ward, 27

2 Years of Service
Head Receptionist

Q: Where are you from? 

A: I am from Northern California, about 45 mins. outside San Francisco.

Q: What did you do before joining the ship?

A: I was a Case Manager at a Family Home Agency. We helped with housing for adults with developmental disabilities. I would conduct home visits, help set goals, care plan, and make sure my clients had all the resources they needed.

Q: What brought you to Mercy Ships?
A: My coworker was a chaplain on board for five years with her family. The more that I talked with her about it the more I felt like it was right for me. For years I had been looking for an organization to serve with. I applied in August of 2016 and was on board the ship in March of 2017.

Q: What's the best part about working in Reception?

A: There are a couple of things I love about working in Reception. I get to meet almost all the crew and welcome them on board the ship. It's really fun to meet so many people from such different parts of the world. I also love getting to see the patient transformations. The patients walk to the wards through reception. I get to see them come on the ship for the first time. Then I get to see them leave the ship after surgery. Right now we are doing orthopedics and it has been so amazing to see how much the patients change after surgery. The change isn't just physical there also is a change in them. I like that I get to be apart of that.

Q: What's your favourite memory from the ship?

A: My favorite memory from the ship is a really hard question to answer. Each season and field service is so different from the next. I went on a trip with my friends to explore Togo and Ghana and I loved that. The sails on the ship have been so memorable - even though I haven't seen any Dolphins or whales. Exploring the countries that the ship is in is also great. Getting to know the people that live there and the culture is amazing.

Joni doing another important job on the ship - blood donation!

Joni Karjalainen, 32

15 Weeks of Service
Deck Cadet

Q: Where are you from? 

A: Lahti, Finland 

Q: What did you do before joining the ship? 

A: Studying in a maritime college 

Q: What brought you to Mercy Ships? 

A: As a part of my studies to be a ship's officer, I need to work and study as a cadet on different ships. Africa Mercy is an obviously unique ship and the whole working environment seemed very interesting. I've also always wanted to do hands-on charity work, so when the opportunity rose I didn't even need to think about it. I couldn't miss the chance. 

Q: What's the best part about working in deck? 

A: The crew. Both the officers and the deckies were such jovial, hard-working and good people that it really felt like a privilege to be working with and learning from them all. This kind of atmosphere can be rare on ships. 

Q: What's your favourite memory from the ship? 

A: The surprise birthday party thrown for me by a group of friends. The true (and easy) answer is the people in general, and the friends made, but for me that friendship and those people came together in that surprise late-night chocolate cake. Also definitely something that does not happen on the bulk carriers I've previously worked on.

Tsiferana joined the ship as a volunteer
after working as Day Crew in Mada!

Rakotoarisoa Tsiferana, 29

2 Years of Service

Medical Capacity Building Project Manager

Q: Where are you from? 

A: Madagascar

Q: What did you do before joining the ship? 

A: English teacher.

Q: What brought you to Mercy Ships? 

A: My dad pushed me to volunteer.

Q: What's the best part about working in MCB?

A: Getting to know fantastic people and helping another country poor like mine.

Q: What's your favourite memory from the ship?

The first time I entered into my 3 berth cabin! 

Chris Grory, 34

(L to R) Second Officer Alden, Deck Cadet

Joni, and Third Officer Chris

6 Months of Service
Third Officer

Q: Where are you from? 

A: Glasgow, Scotland

Q: What did you do before joining the ship?

A: Trained for my officer of the watch qualification, filler jobs.

Q: What brought you to Mercy Ships?

A: Aside from the inherent good the organisation does I also lacked professional experience (being newly qualified) which I hoped this would remedy.

Q: What's the best part about working on the Deck Crew?

A: Real hands on and a free hand to complete tasks as you see fit. Also, helping the lower ranks learn the trade.

Q: What's your favourite memory from the ship?

A: Whenever someone leaves deck dept we gather together to say goodbye and then pray for those departing. My leaving was one of the most touching things I have ever experienced.

Well, that's all for now, folks!

I'll keep you in the loop as my return grows closer and closer! I'm beginning to look at flights, and it looks like I'll hopefully have enough funds raised (including the surplus I had last year) to cover them outright, which is a tremendous blessing!

À la prochaine!