"Starfish..."

On Sunday night, Dr Keith Thomson an anesthesiologist who has been volunteering with Mercy Ships for the last 20 years, told a wonderful story.  The story he told was about a young West African girl who was walking along the beach an saw thousands of starfish on the beach.  She began to pick up the starfish one by one and throw them back into the ocean.  A man came up to the young girl and told her the task was impossible, she would never make a difference with all the starfish on the shore.  The little girl continue to pick up the starfish one by one, throwing them back into the ocean saying:  "I make a difference to this one, and this one, and this one, and this one..."

So goes the ministry with Mercy Ships.  Sometimes the task laid before us seems impossible.  We will never make a difference in every single life in West Africa.  For every one person who receives surgery there are many others who will never receive surgery.   But one by one, over the years, Mercy Ships has touched millions of lives.

 In our short time with Mercy Ships, we can think of a handful of churches, pastors, schools...people whose lives have been touched.  We have reached out to the people who the Lord has put into our path.  One by one we can make a difference.