Where it all began for us

Exactly 10 years ago, I found myself sitting on a dusty boardroom floor in Tijuana Mexico listening to a presentation on Mercy Ships. Images of the people of Africa and Central America embedded themselves in my heart. To my 16 year old eyes, the injustice was overwhelming. Beautiful people living with overwhelming deformities. The video went on, touring through African villages highlighting living conditions I could never have imagined. Still, the smiles and laughter of the children in those villages was unforgettable. Mercy Ships had arrived nearby, and medical help was no longer a dream but a reality. I watched the transformation of both children and adults as they received the much needed medical care they deserved. To me, the solution seemed simple enough, and my interest in nursing began that afternoon. I have followed the ships progress ever since.

After high school, i traveled to Guatemala with Canadian Mennonite University for three months. My eyes were further opened beyond the comforts of North American living. I learned what poverty really was. I volunteered briefly in a hospital, further cementing my desire to get a nursing degree. After three years of university, I joined a Texan surgical team for a two week whirlwind surgical trip to the remote mountain villages of Guatemala. As a nursing student, my skills remained limited. However, I helped where i could and learned even more. I have now been nursing for three years as an acute medical nurse at St. Boniface Hospital.

When Giles and I first met, we had both traveled and worked with various volunteer organizations. Giles had worked in a Guatemalan orphanage for a year, along with various construction trips to Mexico and the Caribbean. Giles and i have always talked about continuing our volunteer work, giving to the poor and helping where we can. Mercy Ships has always been a dream of mine, and when job postings appeared simultaneously for a ward nurse and carpenter, we were ecstatic! This will be the first time Giles and I have worked together, working in the fields we excel at and enjoy doing.

Please join us in our journey as we help bring hope and healing to the people of Benin. - adrienne

Bloging

Giles and Adrienne Smalley
Mercy Ships
Benin, Africa
http://www.mercyships.org/home
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Departing: May 21st, 2009
Returning: August 3rd, 2009

Destination: Benin, Africa
Purpose: Medical Missions Trip



The purpose of this Blog will be to allow you to share in the experiences that we will be having as we serve on board the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship. At over 500 feet long this ship is a fully equipped hospital where Adrienne will be volunteering as a Nurse and myself as a Carpenter. The Africa Mercy is one of Mercy Ships floating hospital ships where they perform thousands of free operations to those that need them the most. The best part is the operations are free. Hundreds of professionals devote their time and efforts to serve those that are in need.

We hope that we will be able to give everyone a little insight into our lives while we are away. So don't be afraid to check back here for updates and the latest of pictures. - Giles