Support LeeAnn's Mission with Mercy Ships

Dear friends and family,

As some of you know, I have received the opportunity to serve with the organization Mercy Ships in Madagascar, Africa. Mercy Ships is a non-profit Christian organization that has provided hope and healing by offering free needed surgeries to the poorest of the poor since 1978. They have several large cruise ships that have been re-outfitted as hospital ships that they sail to the coasts of countries where medical services are severely limited. My volunteer role will be as a “Hope Center Facilitator.” The Hope Center is the land-based center located next to the ship where patients are first received and also discharged. My role will entail coordinating with both local staff at the center and the volunteers on the ship in order to get patients to and from their surgeries. My background working in hospitals as an interpreter and in logistics for an automotive plant should both be helpful.

All of the personnel that come to serve from both the US and other countries are unpaid volunteers. As such, we are all required to raise our own funds to cover our expenses. I am writing to see if you would like to partner with me on this journey. For those who are able to support me monetarily and feel a desire to do so, of course that would be helpful. However, I also truly appreciate those who may not be able to support me financially but are willing to support me with both prayers and encouragement. Cheery words of support from home can be just the thing to lift one’s spirits on a hard day! Fortunately, the organization has received sufficient donations as of late in order to cover most of what I need for my room and board and my flight, except for an emergency fund they ask me to retain in case the flight has to be changed to bring me home sooner. However, I am required to cover certain costs, including my physical exam, my own health insurance, my vaccines (yellow fever, typhoid, Malaria prophylactic, etc), incidentals, an emergency fund, and required clothes and gear. My current estimated expenses are $3695 for my service period that will be from the third week of February through mid-June.

I am excited about this opportunity that is quickly approaching! I had applied to serve three years ago and was in their database as a potential volunteer. Then they reached out to me recently asking me if I could come on short notice to fill a critical need. I decided that it was now or never! There is much I don’t understand about what God does or doesn’t do in our world, but I do believe that we are following in Christ’s footsteps when we serve “the least of these.” Together we can do a lot to serve many of these and bring them hope and healing!

Many of these patients receive life saving or life altering care that they simply would not receive otherwise. To learn more about Mercy Ships and the amazing work they do, check out these links:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xT2qZu6zE5s

https://www.mercyships.org/our-mission/

If you have any questions about my service or the organization itself, please let me know. Also, if you’d like to stay on my mailing list for updates regarding my time in Madagascar, please let me know and share your email address with me.

Thank you and much love!

LeeAnn Mathews