There's one really cool story that I recently became aware of...right when I was feeling like all the patient stories had finished up for this field service, God brought another my way...
I was out on the dock one day helping some people pack up the physiotherapy tent and had been walking back and forth carrying things from the dock to our containers inside the ship...As I was busy scurrying about, a patient called me over (the hospital had closed but there were still a few last days of post-op appointments to check up on the patients)...His name was Daouda and he proceeded to tell me his story...
He told me the story of how he had come to Mercy Ships for surgery...It all began with a love story...he had met his fiancee and fallen in love...(which was quite a story in and of itself...my favorite part was that when she didn't want to give him her number, he asked to borrow her phone one day and called his own number so that he could save it in his phone...sneaky and persistent...but it worked in the end!)...So, he and the girl had fallen in love...and got engaged about a year ago (which was also quite a process because in their culture, the guy has to meet all the family members and they ALL have to approve before their sister can marry him!)...But, he hadn't been able to marry her yet...he was born with his fingers stuck together...so he wasn't going to be able to put a ring on his ring finger until he had surgery to separate them!
So, he started saving up money...and a year later, he was still saving...and waiting...Then, he heard about Mercy Ships and was able to come for a free surgery to separate his fingers! He was so grateful for Mercy Ships! After telling me his story, he gave me a wedding invitation and told me he'd like me to come! I was so excited because I had heard about this guy before...but hadn't met him before...and hadn't heard his whole story...and now, he was inviting me to his wedding!
So, this weekend, some friends and I got decked out in our African outfits and headed to the wedding...It was really special to be a part of such an important day...We felt really honored to be there too because there were less than a hundred people in attendance and nine of us were from Mercy Ships!
Me and a couple friends at the wedding reception
The wedding ceremony was a bit different than what I'm used to...and different than the last African wedding since this one was a Muslim wedding...but, it was great to see Daouda and his wife so happy and to be a part of their big day! Even though Daouda isn't a Christian, it was so awesome to see how God worked out the timing of Mercy Ships coming to Togo so that he could have his surgery before his wedding...and I pray that the Lord continues to use the impact of Mercy Ships to bring him closer to Christ!
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