Mission News: We Saw Her Ship Go Sailing Out

By Gail Seward

Having resigned from her job and selling her Baltimore house, Vicki N. and her children left a few months ago for the Gateway training program. This program prepares candidates for work with Mercy Ships International where Vicki will soon be starting her full-time ministry.

The Gateway team, to which Vicki was assigned, lived in community during the months of training, leading to rough transitions and real blessings as they learned to work together. The final part of the training was a short-term missions trip to the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Vicki writes, "As we traveled to our hotel, it hit me just how foreign everything was. It was a strange and difficult feeling. Not just Spanish being the sole language, but the environment and living conditions. It wasn't until the next day, when we went to the Haitian villages and to the slums of the city, where we would be working, that reality hit. No matter how much training attempts to prepare you, nothing is as dramatic as the truth. The poverty is only something you would see in a National Geographic Documentary. When you can see it first hand, touch it, smell it, you are forever changed. These people become your life. Their hopes and dreams become your hopes and dreams. Their children become your vision that goes beyond something more than yourself."

Such a description gives a small taste of Vicki's vision to do ministry in underdeveloped countries. Her zeal for working with Mercy Ships continues to deepen.

Please greet Vicki today in the Concourse and hear first hand about her family's trip and their hope for the future. Vicki's Community of Care at Central invites you to a luncheon at 12:30 pm today in Room 210 (Knox), where Vicki will be sharing about what God is doing in her life. If you miss these opportunities, Vicki will be in Baltimore until January 2nd. She would enjoy an invitation to visit with you in your home and/or meet with your small group. One of the reasons Vicki has returned from Texas is to seek financial support to make her dream a reality. Please pray about what God might be asking you to do to support this ambassador for Christ.