SO far the
facts speak for themselves, 1000’s have been healed and 1000’s have been
trained, since we arrived in Madagascar in late August 2015
As Mercy Ships seeks to follow the 200 year old model of Jesus and bring hope and healing to the world's forgotten poor, we too want to leave a lasting impact. We
want to leave a lasting impact on our patients and on those we train. We want
to be remembered as an inspiration to 100’s and 1000’s.
So, I wonder who
or what inspires you?
Maybe you had
a teacher who encouraged you at school.….maybe you have sporting or political
icon who you look up to…. maybe it was a professional mentors who inspired you
in your career? Or maybe it was just a quotation you read somewhere, and is now
a motto you seek to live your life by. I have several friends whose email
signatures contain a quote, which is particularly meaningful to them.
When we think
of these inspirational individuals, while some of us will think of something
specific they did, often I think we can't. We don’t remember exactly what they
did or said that inspired us, but rather it was just a sense of something about
them. Something tangible yet difficult to articulate. I think it is often the
sense of relationship that creates the feel of lasting impact. A sense of being
believed in, or trusted in, or invested in……simply loved and encouraged.
And I hope
that is what every single one of the numbers above feel. The 1000’s of patients
and 1000’s of healthcare workers we have trained. I hope we have been an inspiration to them
and had a lasting impact on them, in a way that outlasts the time Mercy Ships
is in Madagascar. We will leave here in a couple of months and I hope we have
made a difference. They wont remember everything that I told them about their
surgery and anaesthesia and post-operative instructions, but I hope they
remembered we cared, and that inspires them to care for others. They won't
remember everything I taught them on a training course, but I hope they
remembered we were pleased to be there and enjoyed teaching them, and that
inspires them to teach others.
When I watch the
Mercy Ships YouTube videos https://www.youtube.com/user/mercyshipsvideos
and read the comments on our training course feedback forms, I think I know. We
have made a lasting impact. And I have loved every minute I have spent here. It
is worth the sacrifice.
