The Beginning
in the Middle
It is hard to decide when
my story actually began and considering, I have just celebrated my 41st birthday;
I know my story did not just begin. I have contemplated and pondered writing my
story for many years. Friends and family have encouraged me to write a book. I do not know if what I am writing will turn
into a book, or how much I will write, but we are starting from where I am
today. It is almost exactly 15 years since
I stepped onto the warm soil of the African continent to serve with Mercy Ships,
in Monrovia, Liberia. I have walked many miles in the past week; miles down
memory lane. I have let myself relive sights, sounds, passions, pleasures, and
pain, from some of the best years of my life in Africa, onboard the Africa
Mercy, working for free and paying to work as a volunteer nurse.
I believe God is a good
God and working all things together for me because I love him” (Romans 8:28)
and I am fully aware in my heart I plan my course, but the Lord directs my
steps (Proverbs 16:9). So it is hard to pinpoint where my “story” actually
starts. God is the author and my story has had some great plot twists. But, to
not get stuck on technicalities and in the interest of time, I will quit trying
to determine when my story started and just start the beginning in the middle.
June 24, 201
Email file from 1156 hrs
JoJo and Ashley,
Hello! Great to hear from you! Thanks
for your interest in Mercy Ships and for thinking about featuring a number of
us TWU nursing grads in an article. Awesome! So sorry for my delay in writing
responses to your questions... I will do my best to answer the questions you
asked- without writing a book. J I will also throw in a few details you
may care to know or not know…J I may have trouble getting the exact
type of photo you requested because I am currently off the ship-working at a
mission hospital in the bush- and will be here for the next 2 months- until I
return to the ship again in August. I can send you a few of the best photos I
have- hopefully one of them works. Sorry, most of them have patients in them-
because I don’t often pose for photos by myself.
1. What made you decide to serve with Mercy Ships?
I don’t even recall how I first learned of Mercy Ships- but I first
applied to work with Mercy Ships in 2008. But my call to missions started when
I was about 10 years old. I was listening to some missionaries speak at church-
I heard their accounts of interactions with people in foreign lands, I saw
photo after photo of the needy, hurting, poor, desolate, and broken. I heard tales of
how God had transformed the lives of people in remote tribal villages. I heard
the missionaries speak about the rustic environment they lived in, where there
was no running water, no air conditioner, bugs so big they had lips, no cars,
extremely hot weather, and no hospitals, or official roads. As the missionaries
showed more photos from their time overseas, a song played over the church
sound system. The lyrics to the song described the life of a Christian who was
comfortable with his current life situation; he didn’t want to leave his home
and his life of luxury. In the song the man begged God to let him stay where he
was. Over and over he said, “Please don’t send me to Africa… I don’t have what
it takes; I don’t care much for gorillas or snakes… Please don’t send me to
Africa where the natives are restless at night…” The words of that song echoed
loudly in my mind, I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly, but that song did
something to me. I contemplated, how horrible it was to have to do things I
didn’t want to do. I thought. “I hate being told what to do; I don’t want to be
like the man from that song. So I flippantly said, “God, you won’t make me go
to Africa…I don’t want to be like the man in the song, I will be willing to
go.” I thought I would be smarter than God….:) But that is when God started
moving in my heart to go overseas.
Throughout
the years, I heard many missionaries speak; saw their pictures and slideshows.
I browsed through their information booths with intrigue. My family hosted
missionary families for weekends in our home. The concept of missions was
always in my face, but I didn’t mind it at all, there was actually a tender
place in my heart toward missions. Every time the topic of missions arose in
conversation, I would perk up and remember the “Africa song” I heard years
before and I thought about the flippant commitment I had made to go to the
foreign mission field. Somehow that glib commitment I had made earlier was turning
into a real commitment, one I was developing a growing passion for.
Soon my greatest fear was
what if God asked me to stay- to stay in Canada or America…and he didn’t let me
go overseas…I surrendered my life to God either way. I enrolled in nursing-
knowing that even if foreign countries wouldn’t let “missionaries” in-they
would almost always let health care workers in…I thought in that manner- I
could be a nurse- missionary-under-cover- taking care of the physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual needs of my patients…After graduating from TWU in 2005
I started seeking out mission organizations that were looking for nurses. I
happened upon Mercy Ships and was very attracted to the organization because
they required a minimum of two year experience as a nurse, so I didn’t have to
stay in North America too long- I could go overseas very soon. Mercy Ships’
motto is “following the 2000 year old model of Jesus Christ, to bring hope and
healing to the world’s forgotten poor” echoed my heart’s desire and passion; to
provide holistic medical care- and offer eternal hope at the same time. In
2008, I was accepted to serve for 8 months with Mercy Ships (my test period to
see if I loved the work or not)..I love it! I am now in my 5th year of
service with Mercy Ships! (Random info if you want to know more… I served with
Mercy Ships in Liberia 2008 as a ward nurse, Benin 2009 as a Charge Nurse &
Team Leader-Nurse Manager for VVF (Vesico-Vaginal Fistula Patients), then took
a break in 2010 to study tropical diseases in London, England, and joined back
up with the ship in Sierra Leone 2011 as Orthopedic, Plastic Surgery Nurse
Manager/Team Leader, Assistant Ward Supervisor& interim Ward Supervisor. In
Togo 2012 I was a Ward Nurse Clinical Educator & Assistant Screening
Coordinator-Triage Nurse. I served on land as the Advance Medical/Hospital Liaison
spring/summer 2012. In Guinea 2012-2013 I took the role of Screening
Coordinator- Head Triage Nurse- this is the position I remain in… We are next
headed to Congo- Brazzaville!)
2. Why is the work you're doing
significant to you? The work I am doing is significant to me because I get to see
lives changed daily, not only physically, but eternally, and that is what
really matters. Mercy Ships provides the perfect platform to deliver tangible
hope and share eternal hope at the same time- to those who would be interested.
We don’t take advantage of the vulnerable state of our patients- but it is so
awesome to be able to tell my patients I am there- working for free &
paying to work- because there is a God who loves them and has not forgotten
them. And there is nothing like seeing the mama of a cleft lip baby- smile and
kiss her baby when he returns from the OR- knowing she has been given life
back- she will be able to return to her village- showing her baby wasn’t
actually cursed..Or seeing a patient that had a football sized facial tumor
removed look in the mirror for the first time…
3. How has
this experience impacted you? This experience has changed my life! I am happily,
forever ruined for the normal. I don’t know how I would ever return to North
America to nurse again. There is something so amazing about working with nurses
from over 36 different countries, hanging our IV bags by magnets on the
ceiling, asking the German nurse on shift with you to confirm the medicine you
are giving because the label is only in German because that is where the meds
were donated from. Where else can you tie a baby on your back during your shift
with African colored cloth and carry on with your work of taking vital signs
and doing assessments. We put stickers and scripture verses on each other’s
report sheets, dance and sing with our patients, sometimes have to use 5 people
to translate one message to our patients, and make our own enema bags when none
our available. I don’t plan on leaving mission nursing any time soon.
4. What is one
life lesson you find yourself learning? After a few short weeks aboard the
ship- I learned or was reminded once again- that God is the true author and
giver of life and death. Although the ship delivers first-world medicine in
impoverished areas and we have the great benefits of a lab, x-ray, CT Scan, 6
operating rooms, a well supplied pharmacy, excellent surgeons and doctors from
around the world, we don’t have all the tests, equipment, and accessibility to
ALL the materials and interventions we have in North America…I found myself-
saying-, “if only we had this…if only we could call this doctor…or we could give
this medicine for weeks”… thinking we could save more people….but in reality-
in North America- we are no more in control of life and death than anywhere
else in the world- we just fool ourselves into thinking we are because we can
prolong life longer- or try 5 different medications, or change treatment
régimes, we don’t run out of options fast…all our efforts make us “feel”
better- like we are doing something…and we are- but overall- I have been
learning over and over- that we do the best we can- love fully- use all the
medical knowledge we have- but the Lord gives and the Lord takes away- & I
praise his name.
5. Any advice
for current nursing students or recent grads? To all current TWU nursing
students- Keep up the great work! Push through those long hours of lab and
classes! The opportunities of where your nursing can take you are endless! Once
you become a nurse- you can go anywhere and do anything- even if you don’t
speak the local languages- it doesn’t matter- you are nurse- and the love &
care you can give- will break all language barriers world-wide! Dream big! And
go get your dreams!
God Bless,
Laura Ziulkowski
RN BSN
And that’s the
beginning from the middle…