For Those Of You Who Asked Me To Post The Benin Statistics

The following is a summary of a small part of what we did in Benin during the 2009 outreach. These statistics alone cannot convey what happened while we were in Benin. These statistics don’t tell of the friendships built and the hope shared, they don’t show the many local people who (called day workers) worked on the ship and spent time with us. They don’t tell you how many orphans were played with, or about the prisoners who finally had someone to talk to, or churches who invited us in to have fellowship with them. These figures are only a small part of what is achieved through Mercy ships, but hopefully they give a small idea of the scale of what you and I are doing here:
996 reconstructive and plastic surgeries;
185 cleft lip and palate repairs;
1161 general surgeries;
2 local surgeons trained;
3,521 cataracts removed;
570 other eye surgeries (pterygia and stabismus);
2 local eye surgeons trained;
33,851 eye evaluations and other treatments;
7,083 pairs of sunglasses distributed;
5,689 pairs of reading glasses distributed;
18 community eye field workers trained;
154 obstetric fistulas repaired;
4 local surgeons trained in fistula repair;
231 orthopedic operations;
10,175 dental patients seen;
794 dental hygiene patients;
13,174 oral health education;
25 oral health teachers trained;
2 dental assistants trained;
28 patients received palliative home care;
6 Burkitt's Lymphoma patients received palliative support;
19 families trained in wound care;
10 agricultural staff trained;
23 local agricultural trainees;
1 hostel constructed for agricultural college;
19 mental health workers trained;
119 church & community leaders trained in mental health;
50 prison officers and workers trained in mental health;
2 church leaders conferences attended by 602 attendants;
and 12,000 people watched the Jesus Film and many made a commitment to Christ.

Wow! That's a whole lot of people. Even though it’s NOT all about the numbers nearly 80,000 people have been directly exposed to hope and healing brought by the medical facilities of the M/V Africa Mercy. A great many made a personal commitment to Christ as a result of the love and care they were shown whilst receiving medical attention onboard, or at one our mobile clinics. So thank you for commissioning me to serve our Lord in this very humbling way. Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and support! I could not be here if I didn’t know I was being lifted up by all of you!

We have said goodbye (for now) to Benin and as of February 2010 have been docked in Lomé, Togo, West Africa with the same goal in mind - to help the poor and needy as we can while here and all the while glorifying God by being Love in Action.