Mercy Ships

Here is a GREAT organization worth investing in.  Mercy ships used to be part of Youth With A Mission and still maintain close ties with the mission.  Don and Deyon Stephens were part of the founding fathers of YWAM at the first base in Lausanne, Switzerland in the 70's.  These were  heady days when Corrie Ten Boom, Francis Schaeffer and others would come through the base and revolutionize these young people's lives.  They would then spread to the four corners of the world and found bases that are still pillars of the mission: among the ones close to my heart: Holmstead Manor in West Sussex (where I did my Discipleship Training School in 1984), Hurlach, a Bavarian castle near Munich, the King's Mansion, a gorgeous period mansion in Kealakekua, Hawaii, etc. etc.  But the MV Anastasis is my favorite.  This is YWAM's first ship and the stories behind the purchase and launch of this "mercy" ship are just great. They're included in the book,  Is that Really you God? by Loren Cunningham

I have my own story about the Anastasis.  When we started the SBS (School of Biblical Studies, a YWAM school) in Togo, West Africa in 1991, we didn't have a classroom, no furniture, no housing for ourselves, etc.  Basically we were starting this Bible school from scratch.  The Anastasis happened to be in Lomé, Togo at the time, doing their wonders with surgeries and helping those who were in need of medical attention.  Well, the ship had some old furniture from the original furnishings of the ship from the Fifties:  desks, dressers, etc. Thanks to our very resourceful  co-leader Paul Dangtoumda, from Burkina, we inherited some of these pieces of naval interior decoration. Our students were very thankful.  The whole time that the ship was in town, we made sure to visit the ship regularly and enjoyed some really good food.  What a great ministry.  Now, they have several ships, including the Africa Mercy, their largest ship which is currently in the Republic of  Congo.