Courage and something a whole lot more powerful

This last week I was listening to some stories one of the Mercy Ships crew had gleaned from some of our patients. They were remarkable stories. Often the people here are suspicious of what we do, possible from a lack of knowledge and maybe from the stories made up by other people. One person was told that if she came to the ship she would have her hea completely shaved by us. Another man was needing an operation and believed he would be circumcised whilst he was having his other surgery that he needed. Another lady had been told that the ship would sail away with her still on it.
But you know what, each of these people still came, so desperate for their surgery and for some hope, they were willing to come anyway. What is even more remarkable is that the lady who was told she would have her head shaved, shaved her own head before she came to the ship...
To know that people come despite their fears, tells something about the need here. So many of our patients tell us of how God has spoken to them and told them to come to the ship.
One of our patients told us about his journey to the ship in ward church yesterday. He had had to wait and take a long time to get here to be seen, but he was determined and has had his surgery and is so thankful.