Have you ever seen one of those yellow smiley face icons?
Believe it or not, this Friday, October 7th, is World Smile Day, when people all over the globe are encouraged to spread kindness in order to help one person smile.
As I think about this day, I can’t help but reflect on the many smiles that Mercy Ships makes possible each and every day as they help those in desperate need of medical care.
Though the truth is that Mercy Ships provides patients with much more than a smile.
Behind each joyful face, there is a story of such magnitude, redemption, healing and hope that words cannot even begin to express fully the impact of each surgical procedure.
Each smile serves as a portrait of thanksgiving, and a testimony of endurance…a sweet depiction of God’s gracious hand working in the lives of those who have withstood great pain, embarrassment, fear, and hopelessness.
Thanks to the dedicated crew on-board and the mercy of the Lord, Mercy Ships is able to turn that fear into peace, pain into healing, embarrassment into joy, and hopelessness into the future their patients have always dreamed of.
As we look towards World Smile Day, may we seek to not only help others smile, but to impact the story behind the smile…as that will last a lifetime.
Grateful for the faithfulness of all who serve aboard the Africa Mercy and for the many smiles they have yet to bring to the world’s forgotten poor all across the globe.
