Returning to Mercy Ships

Serving April 19-July 25, 2026

We will be volunteering aboard the Global Mercy off the coast of Sierra Leone, West Africa. The ship has been docked at Freetown since August of 2025. We will be serving in the galley and the dining room, serving the 600+ staff on board. The ship ends its service in Sierra Leone in June of 2026 and we be sailing with the ship to the Canary Islands, where it will be in dry dock for yearly maintenance.

The Global Mercy is one of two hospital ships, the Africa Mercy and the Global Mercy. Onboard they are performing life changing surgeries to some of the poorest nations in the world.  Sierra Leone does not have access to the to the kind of surgery that Mercy Ship provides free of charge.  The ship is filled with state-of-the-art medical equipment and a volunteer crew of doctors, nurses, medical stall technicians, teachers, physical therapists and other caring people driven by mercy to help make the world a better, healthier place for all.  (See  Mercy Ships )

Below are Some examples of surgery performed on the ship. Photos are from the Mercy Ships website.

We first learned of Mercy Ships when our daughter volunteered as a nurse in 2011 for eight months in Sierra Leone.  We joined her there for two weeks on the Africa Mercy.​ We were able to experience life onboard the ship working in the housekeeping department for two weeks. Mercy Ships hires local dayworkers and through Alyssa’s friendships we visited some in their homes and visited a local church. We continue these friendships today.

Thank you for following along on our journey! Please keep us in prayer that we would be faithful, kind and humble as we serve the Lord and the people we meet. More posts to come as we arrive and begin our service and as we meet with old and new friends in Sierra Leone! Tim and Kathy