Missions: 10 Weeks

Week 10 w/answersMercy Ships

Welcome to our tenth and final week of studying about missions and focusing on the mission–related work currently on–going in our neighborhood and around the world. This week we’ll look at the Mercy Ships organization.

Missions

Since over 50% of the world’s population lives near a coast, the founders of this organization determined that ships were the best way to reach people in need with personalized, state–of–the–art medical care.

Around the world in places without access to medical care, there are children, teens and adults suffering and dying from treatable causes. Without help, one child in eight dies before age 5. Mercy Ships reaches these vulnerable children and families and provide the hope and healing they have been praying for.

Mercy Ships’ hospital ships are filled with state–of–the–art medical equipment and a volunteer crew of doctors, nurses, medical staff, technicians, teachers, physical therapists and other caring people driven by mercy to help make the world a better, healthier place for all.

Information regarding the Mercy Ships organization can be found at MercyShips.org.

Based on your findings at the Mercy Ships web site linked above, answer the following:

  1. What is the stated mission of Mercy Ships?
    1. ANSWER: "We follow the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus, bringing hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor."
  2. What are the values espoused by Mercy Ships?
    1. ANSWER: "We seek to love God, love and serve others, demonstrate integrity, and strive for excellence in all we do."
  3. What are some of the services that the Mercy Ships organization provides?
    1. ANSWER 1: Eye Care (surgical eye needs)
    2. ANSWER 2: Mental Health (those suffering mental illness are often marginalized by their communities)
    3. ANSWER 3: General Surgeries (free corrective surgeries for many conditions children and adults suffer from)
    4. ANSWER 4: Oral Health (filling cavities, but also providing basic oral health education that changes lives)
    5. ANSWER 5: Maxillofacial Surgeries (healing cleft conditions and facial tumors where specialized surgery doesn’t exist)
    6. ANSWER 6: Orthopedic Surgeries (healing clubfeet and twisted limbs to help relieve the suffering of people who otherwise have little to no access to surgery)
    7. ANSWER 7: Palliative Care (follow the model of Jesus in the tender care for terminal patients and their grieving families)
    8. ANSWER 8: Women’s Health (provide a holistic approach to women’s health issues and treatment)
    9. ANSWER 9: Plastic Reconstruction (provide relief from painful disfigurements through specialized surgical interventions)
  4. Who founded the Mercy Ships organization, and when was it founded
    1. ANSWER: It was founded in 1978 by Don Stephens.
  5. Who are some world figures who have spoken out in support of Mercy Ships?
    1. ANSWER 1: Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister
    2. ANSWER 2: Max Lucado, best–selling author
    3. ANSWER 3: Mary Flake de Flores, former First Lady of Honduras
  6. How is the money that Mercy Ships raises allocated across its expenses?
    1. ANSWER 1: 75% goes directly to its Ship and Field operations
    2. ANSWER 2: 12% of its income is used for fund–raising
    3. ANSWER 3: 13% of its funds is used to cover General and Administrative costs
  7. What rating does Mercy Ships have with CharityNavigator.org?
    1. ANSWER: 4 Stars
  8. How can people support Mercy Ships?
    1. ANSWER 1: One-time gift
    2. ANSWER 2: Monthly gift
    3. ANSWER 3: Funding specific surgeries
    4. ANSWER 4: Purchasing Mercy Ship merchandise and jewelry
    5. ANSWER 5: Praying
    6. ANSWER 6: Sponsoring one or more crew members
    7. ANSWER 7: Volunteering
  9. What types of volunteers is Mercy Ships looking for?
    1. ANSWER: Mercy Ships needs volunteer medical professionals, maritime officers, teachers, administrators, I.T. specialists, accountants, cooks, logistics professionals, tradespeople, as well as people who just want to serve in any capacity needed.

In my home church, Southview, we had a medical volunteer who volunteered with her husband for many years for Mercy Ships.

It is encouraging to see an organization that ministers to people’s physical and spiritual needs, demonstrating the love of Christ to them in a very tangible way.

In Christ,

Wes

[2024]

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