Credit Must be given where it is due









This is a young man from Africa with a tumor growing out of the front of his face. Below is a picture of the same young man after his surgery. Now I have seen even more hideous tumors such as one the size of a basketball growing out of an old mans face and neck, or a tumor that was growing out of a mans eye that hung down to his stomach and to tell the truth some of the deformities these and other poverty stricken folks have to deal with is something that bothers me and causes me question the fairness of a god that would allow such awful things to happen( especially to children). However because of the work of Mercy Ships a Charitable Christian missionary organization thousands of people ( Africans) have been saved from slow and painful deaths. This young man for example was on his way to being either suffocated or starved to death all because of a mutant tumor that was removed by Christians on board of a Mercy Ship.








Although I do not endorse religion of any sect these guys from Mercy Ships, http://mercyglobal.com/harris.htm) are putting in serious, profound and revolutionary work on behalf of humanity and for the Christian god they represent. For that I must show them love. Mercy Ships were formed back in 1978, they are a Christian Charitable organization, they operate a fleet of ships that travel all around the African coast providing free health care as well as other types of humanitarian aide. They have performed thousands of surgeries to correct life threatening deformities resulting from tumors, disease and not having access to even basic health care. These conditions are made worse for many people by not having access to clean water and sanitary living conditions. Add to that the lack of education and the damage to these places from war and unstable governments and you have a situation where the sick have very few places to turn to for care.


These Mercy Field workers often travel long distances to pick up patients in remote villages then drive them back to the Mercy Ships for Medical treatment. They also make these trips to find people in need of the services provided by Mercy, all of these services are free. When the Mercy Field workers find people with debilitating conditions and deformities they show those people the pictures of past surgeries of others with similar conditions who were helped by Mercy, then they try to convince them to travel to the ship to be screened and possibly treated. They also provide services such as teaching rural villagers new farming techniques, road building and repair in order to provide access for additional aide and commerce and well digging so that people can have access to clean drinking water. Over the years they have earned their credentials as warriors in the cause of making a positive difference in the world, when it comes to this they are innovate, relentless and effective. All of the Medical care and job skills training Mercy provides is free and most of the workers including the Doctors are volunteers who charge no money for their services. www.mvanastasis.com


For some people Mercy is a Miracle straight from heaven one which they have prayed for all of their lives. Because of the grotesque nature of some of these ailments, some people had been been ostracised by their communities and families, because it was thought that their deformities were caused by witchcraft. Some people had been ridiculed and abandoned by their own family members because of their conditions. Some people had exhausted all of their savings and traveled hundreds of miles over dangerous roads and territories to seek treatment in what few hospitals their are in those countries. Only to be told things such as the surgery would cost too much or that their ( African Hospitals) were not equipped to perform the surgeries. One boy did receive treatment for a giant tumor growing out of the front of his mouth www.mercyglobal.com/alfred/alfred1.htm, however the treatment he received was an intravenous drip which the tumor greedily drank and grew even bigger from. Some people helped by Mercy have even converted to Christianity and started working in the name of god to bring. Some people who received care from Mercy said that the kindness and love showed to them by the mercy staff had reaffirmed their faith in god and given them hope in humanity.


Now don't get me wrong I am resolute in my dislike of all religions and I will never let an opportunity to bash and/or to discredit any religion get away from me. However the truth must be told and broadcast to the world 24x7 no matter what the truth is because generally speaking I believe that the truth is the best policy. The Mercy staff are truly warriors and although I ain't feeling the Christianity part of their mission I do appreciate and respect the service they provide. I respect the Mercy folks for bringing love and hope were their was once despair and for relieving thousands of people of painful ailments and deformities. The Mercy folks are warriors in the struggle to improve the human condition and I would go into battle with them on behalf of that cause any day of the week. Credit most be given were credit is due. Major Kudos to Mercy ships and their staff they are truly a righteous christian organization.