Thursday, July 13, 2017

I'm going to Africa!

Hello Friends!
Many of you know this already but if you don't let me fill you in!

I am going to Africa for 3 months to volunteer with Mercy Ships.  I will be there from November 19- February 10. While I am there the ship will be docked off the coast of Douala, Cameroon. 

Mercy Ships is such an amazing organization and is staffed by volunteers and funded by donations.  For those of you who don't know, the Africa Mercy is a cargo ship turned into a floating hospital. Many Africans don't have access to healthcare, There are only 2.5 physicians per 10,000 people in Africa, compared to 25 physicians per 10,000 in the U.S. The Africa Mercy basically brings a state of the art hospital to different countries in Africa. The cool thing about Africa Mercy is that they stay docked in a country for months at a time so there is follow up with the patients and opportunity for them to receive therapy services. Mercy Ships also educates and equips the local population, for long lasting impact in the host nation.

I love missions PT and wish I could volunteer full time but that doesn't really work financially ;) I have been interested in Mercy ships for years,  I kept looking but there wasn't an opening for PT's. Finally this winter I noticed there was a PT opening and applied! The application process was very easy and I was accepted right away. The recruiters that work for Mercy ships are so thorough and efficient!

The first question people have asked about Africa is-Do you get paid? Nope! It's volunteer. I actually will pay to go to Africa. Strangely the biggest expense will be the vaccinations needed to go! I have been saving up in order to pay my bills while I'm gone and pay my own way on this journey. 

When I first applied I decided that I wanted to fund my own trip. I felt that I had made the commitment and therefore, I should pay my own way. I didn't take into account the other people that would WANT to contribute. I have been told by several people that they would love to contribute to my trip, because they too want to help.  Since they can't go volunteer their time, they want to help me financially. I wasn't expecting people to volunteer to support me but since I've had so much interest I signed up for a fundraising website through Mercy Ships. My funding page is for my crew fees only, I will need $1,890 for my monthly room and board. The money on this account can only pay for Mercy Ships fees, if excess is donated it goes into the Mercy Ships account as a general donation. All donations on the funding page are tax deductible. Bonus! My flight and vaccinations will cost ~$2,000, but that will come out of my own pocket and I can't use the money from my funding page for those expenses. So if I meet my $1,890 goal and you want the money to go to me, just contact me directly :) Again, I am NOT asking for money; I plan on paying my own way. But, if you WANT to help me volunteer then please visit my funding page to help out! More important than monetary support...please add me to your prayers! There are always concerns when traveling and living in another country, and the best preparation for me is trusting that God is preparing the way in Cameroon.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and support on this journey! I love hearing how excited everyone is for me! I love the encouragement! I know this experience will be challenging, fun, and exciting and your prayers/thoughts/good vibes are so important to me!

I know I am inconsistent with this blog, but I will try to keep it more up to date during this exciting trip!