Begging for Mercy: A Story of Medicine, Missions, and Miracles
SUCCESS STORY.
By Mackenzie Ailes | Nursing Major
Eight-year old Sandrins opened her eyes and immediately began scanning the room for her twin sister. For as long as Sandrins could remember all she wanted to be was just like her. Although they were identical twins and were practically joined at the hip, one major factor had always stood in the way and had separated them to greater lengths than they had any control over. Sandra was a beautiful, vibrant young girl that bounced with light and brought joy to every situation. Sandrins could easily be described in the same way accompanied by the unmissable deformed right foot that proved to be the bane of her existence. Sandrins had always looked on at the other children enviously of the way they were able to run and move about with no trouble at all. She wanted to be just like the other kids and had always prayed that somehow her foot would be able to be healed. She had no idea that her wish was even a possibility to come true until Don Stephens and the entire Mercy Ships crew came to her small African village. In just six short months chocked full of surgeries, physical therapy, and hard work, Sandrins was finally completely identical to her best friend and twin sister. She was able to return to school and run freely and keep up with the other children, she finally felt like she was one of them.
This story is just one of the hundreds that Dr. Don Stephens is able to keep in his tool belt of success stories (qtd in Mercy Minute). Leaving his spot as one of the most prominent and successful doctors medicine had seen in a long time, Stephens felt a call on his life to go to places that seemed forgotten or forsaken. Don Stephens reinvented the world of medical missions and used his expertise and passion to begin giving underdogs an opportunity at life that they would not have had otherwise.
Don Stephens reinvented the world of medical missions and used his expertise and passion to begin giving underdogs an opportunity at life that they would not have had otherwise.
Dr. Don Stephens, the founder of Mercy Ships, has an incredibly impressive list of experience when it comes to the world of medicine. Coming from a long line of doctors and being brought up with medical jargon as familiar to him as English, Stephens got a head start on his 10,000 hours and expertise at an early age. For almost 20 years Stephens practiced medicine in some of the most prestigious and state-of-the-art hospitals in the world before he decided he wanted to do something more with his talents. He knew that he had an impeccable, God-given skill and felt that in order to be obedient to God, he must practice those skills to the best of his ability and be the literal hands and feet of the Kingdom (Scott, Mercy Ships video clip).
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell proposes the idea that in order for one to reach a level of expertise in a particular skill, they must put at least 10,000 hours towards it. Once those 10,000 hours have been completed, one is then able to refer to themselves as an expert (Sanborn, The Making of an Expert). Don Stephens was nothing short of just that, an expert with effortless skill and a passion to match. While he had mastered the art of medicine in top-notch operating rooms, Stephens felt that God was calling him to a new battle field, one that did not promise cleanliness or even ensure safety.
Stephens felt God calling him and his wife to bring modern medicine to places that did not have the means nor the equipment to successfully provide the medical care that was being demanded. Stephens being an expert in his field, was not only an added bonus but an imperative asset. Providing medical care in the circumstances that third world countries offers doctors to go above and beyond what they are asked of in most situations. Stephens had to deal with a multitude of obstacles while also making sure that he properly trained up a team of qualified doctors and nurses that he trusted to have by his side. He needed to be a good doctor and an even better teacher. He soon discovered that achieving excellence in the medical field would prove to only be half of the battle.
Stephens also showed the meaning of what a life doing meaningful work entails. In accompaniment with expertise, Gladwell also talks about the importance of doing meaningful work when it comes to being successful. Obviously Stephens has had no trouble mastering that aspect of success. His entire mission is centered around wanting to do something that is completely outside of what is beneficial for him. Dr. Stephens wanted to do something that was going to completely revolutionize the world of medicine and pair it with the mission field in a way that had never been done before.
In a short podcast interview that Stephens did he was asked to tell a story of a time where he questioned if he made the wrong decision. Dr. Stephens went on to drop listeners right in a moment that he knew was going to change his life forever. He set the scene as it being a scorching hot day in the middle of a small African village, so hot that anything he touched felt as if it was going to burn his skin off. He was sweaty and slightly nauseous due to the heat and lack of proper nutrients that his body had become so accustomed to. Stephens looked tiredly at the long line of people that were waiting outside of the makeshift clinic that had been set up on land due to the power outage of the hospital that had been built on board the ship. He looked to his left and right and saw a crew of medical professionals that were experiencing the same ailments and he seriously considered if all that he was doing, if all that he had given up, was going to be worth it.
Just as he was considering turning everyone away, packing everything up, and returning first thing the next morning, Stephens heard the voice of God in the form of a six year old boy and his mother. Amir was a local village boy that had been blind since birth due to a growth that covered his entire left eye. Amir was the next patient in line to be seen by the doctors. In talking to the young boy, Stephens began asking him about his life, the way Amir answered one question in particular is something that Stephens will hold onto for the rest of his life. Stephens looked at Amir and asked him what he was most excited to see once he regained the vision in both of his eyes. Amir simply looked at Don and told him that he was most excited about being able to watch for Jesus to come back and being able to see him with both eyes because there was no way he would miss Him. This sort of answer was different than what Dr. Stephens was expecting and it was in this moment that God revealed to him just how meaningful his work really was. Without knowing the extent of the impact he had just had, Amir ended up bringing Stephens back to the exact place that he was in when he first felt God’s calling (qtd in Mercy Minute).
He realized for the first time just how completely different the world that he had entered into was from his own. He remembered that although what he was doing wasn’t easy, it was completely worth it, it was meaningful (Qtd in Mercy Minute). In listening to this podcast and that way he answered the various questions brought the scene back to when Tim Bascom came to class and spoke to us a little bit about his journey and his childhood and the things that helped him get to where he was. Bascom talked about how his parents were missionaries and while he respected their decisions to do what they considered the Lord’s meaningful work, it was in no way easy. These two stories were able to help paint a picture that explained how doing the Lord’s work is not always easy.
The third Gladwellian idea that Stephens emulates is the concept of the underdog. Gladwell has said before that everyone loves the story of an underdog. We love seeing people defy odds and overcome things that they otherwise would not be able to (Pelczr, The American Dream Has Always Been About the Underdog). Stephens did exactly this when he went over seas to bring medical care to those that would not usually receive it. In doing this Don is able to bring medical attention to places of the world that would never get to receive the kind of care he is able to provide. What Don is doing is giving the underdog a chance at a life that is so much better than they could have ever hoped to have for themselves.
In reading on the Mercy Ships website, they told the story of a woman that was bed bound before mercy ships saved her. She had dreams of becoming a scientist and desperately wanted to get out and practice the things that she had been self teaching herself from her bed.
Fast-forward a couple of years and that same woman is now a doctor that stands next to Don as he performs these miraculous and life-changing surgeries(Stephens, Mercy Ships). Stephens and the entire Mercy Ship organization hands underdogs the same opportunities that the most successful people have also gotten the chance to have. We are able to see the lives of people transformed through this organization.
These stories in particular depicts that underdogs can come in all shapes and sizes and will oftentimes take form in different ways than the ordinary. The underdog is not always the medical student at Yale that is on scholarships because he can not afford it. The underdog is not always the dancer studying at Juilliard with a bad ankle. It is not the child that learns addition slower than the rest. The stories that Mercy Ships highlights has shown that in most other places, the underdog is the child that is not able to see but desperately wants to write books. Sometimes the underdog is the young boy that wants to be on a soccer team but has deformities in his legs making walking impossible, or the underdog is the woman that wants to cook dinner for her children in their hut but is unable to use her arms to do so. Regardless of what the underdog looks like, Don Stephens and Mercy Ships gives underdogs the opportunity to do things they never would have been able to otherwise, simply by granting them the beauty of health and a working body that is so easily taken for granted.
This paper was asked to be written on someone that is considered heroic, someone that emulates success in this day and age and sets the tone for the things that others should strive to be one day. Looking at the life and decisions of Dr. Don Stephens, calling him hero is an easy thing to do. While his medical career should absolutely be respected, his motives for doing the things that he does should be held in higher regard. He felt that God placed a call on his life and he intended to follow that call regardless of how hard it seemed, regardless of the fact that it demanded him to uproot his entire life and risk everything he had to bring medicine to people that saw clean water a privilege. Medically speaking, Dr. Stephens is an easy hero, but it goes deeper than that. We are called to this earth to ultimately advance the Kingdom of God in any way possible. One of the biggest attractions for wanting to go into the medical field is to show people the love of Jesus in unexpected places.
Obedience is not always easy but is imperative if there are going to be lives transformed for Jesus in the name of medicine.
Stephens paired medical ingenuity with a selfless heart and in doing this has completely changed the world’s definition of medical missions and has in a lot of ways changed pre-existing views on the definition of what it means to be passionate about something. Stephens did not make the call that he felt was going to be the easiest, he made the call that would ultimately make him the most faithful, even in adversity. This is why Dr. Don Stephens, the founder of Mercy Ships, is one of the greatest success stories ever heard and is able to be considered heroic. Eight year old Sandris was given the gift of life, the gift of opportunity and the sacrifice that one had to pay for her to get there is small. Obedience is not always easy but is imperative if there are going to be lives transformed for Jesus in the name of medicine.
Works Cited:
Anderson, Laurel. “Critical Care Nurse.” Aug2013, Vol. 33 Issue 4, p61–67. 7p.
Ericsson, K. Anders. “The Making of an Expert.” Hbr.org. N.p., July 2007. Web.
Evelyn Pelczar,”The American Dream Has Always Been About The Underdog.” Elite Daily The American Dream Has Always Been About The Underdog Comments. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Kirch C. Gladwell on Slaying Giants. Publishers Weekly [serial online]. July 21, 2014;261(29): 9. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 14, 2016.Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2008. Print
- — — Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2005. Print
Gregory, L. Scott Mercy Ships Overview. Mercy Ships, 2013. Video Clip.
Sanborn C. 10,000 Hours. Canadian Musician [serial online]. November 2012;34(6):30. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 14, 2016.
Stephens, Don L., Dr. “Mercy Minute.” Mercy Ships. N.p., 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 6 May 2014.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mackenzie Ailes, a freshman from Prior Lake, Minn, would one day like to work as a nurse while using her skills to influence lives both in the realm of medicine and faith. She apires to one day work on board a Mercy Ship and aquire skills that she would not be able to otherwise in a conventional western hospital. Ailes likes weekends at the lake, her mom, and scary movie marathons.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED:
Something as trivial as the spaghetti sauce you choose can give an insde look into who you are, especially when it comes to prego or ragu.
Being told you are an underdog should not be taken as an insult. Instead let it be what catapults you into a mode of motivation that turns you into an unstoppable force.
Sometimes there is more than making the team and getting to wear the cheerleading skirt. Everyone seaches for the door that promises them their escape.
Allow your opinions to change; understand that just because it is your FIRST judgement does not mean that it is the correct one. Allow growth to be a prevalent factor in your life even if it is uncomfortable.
Find the beauty in being an outlier.
Make a schedule and stick to it. Do not save your entire book club book for the plane ride home.
Value authority figures that take an interest in your life. Spend time interpreting what they are really trying to say. Find your favorite coffee shop and do your hardest work first. Give credit where credit is due.
It is much easier to fall in love with a dog you have given a name. Don’t be afraid to allow other people to fall in love with it too.
Buying six packages of donuts for a 9 am class chocked full of college students sounds like a good idea, maybe less really is more.
Everything holds a purpose: the mundane, the overly specific, the trivial.
There is power and there is healing in unexpected places. As I sat at my desk and began writing my defining moment, I realized that words are therapeutic, honesty is therapeutic. We need to challange ourselves to snuggle out of the facade of contentment and complacency. Learn how to wear your battle scars as medals of honor of a fight you have won. I learned that no one is going to look at me and see the stamp of ABANDONED that I have gotten so comfortable wearing on my head. Or maybe I realized that everyone has things they wake up every morning and dress themselves in. The beauty is seeing those things not as negatives but as definements that you should not shy away from. Write your hardships on paper, write your sucess on paper, do not be afraid to be honest about the dark places you have come from, instead use them as your own personal power. I began to write the story I promised I would never tell and saved it knowing that you must open up the broken pieces if you hope for healing.
