Friday, May 25, 2012

CBS 60 Minutes On the Africa Mercy

Time is winding down here in Togo, West Africa (Only 2 weeks of surgery left and I leave in 2 weeks!) and I find myself so busy with last minute projects that I quickly forget about my blog! The past few weeks have been filled with patients, vision trips, and media teams. One media team that has claimed some of my time is 60 Minutes! You’ve got that right; CBS 60 minutes had 2 producers, a film crew, and even Scott Pelley (anchor of the famed show). It has been quite an adventure working with them.

First, I drove them 3 ½ hours north to a small village where a patient from 1995 lives. Let me tell you, 7 hours of defensive driving in West Africa is tough, but the conversations were rich and I hope I was able to help the producer get a sense of who we are.

Later that week, something completely frustrating happened. One of the film crew had their hotel room broken into! So I was “blessed” with the opportunity to be Mercy Ships representative and help him at the police station. This ended up being a 4 hour interview/interrogation that left everyone unsatisfied.  

Monday, I drove two of the film crew to the airport. I have to say that I am both impressed and blessed to have met such a wonderful group of people. Their professionalism made our job a lot easier and we could tell that they really respected us. Where some people fear of what they will report (60 minutes is known for their investigative tactics that shine the light on all sorts of issues in the world) I said goodbye to them completely comfortable that Mercy Ships has made a positive impact on their lives.

As they all make their way back home, I pray that God will bless them for the way they have blessed us. I pray that Mercy Ships vision and mission truly inspire them to see the heart of us volunteers and that they will want to report on the thousands of lives we change every year. I hope that as they have to go through the pain staking process of dwindling 1800 minutes of footage down to a 12 minute show that God would guide their hands, minds, and spirits as the decided what to choose. Lord, most importantly, I pray that as they go back to their lives you keep itching at their hearts. That what they’ve seen here in West Africa inspires them to see the power of your hand in everything we do. Thank you Lord, so much, for such a wonderful opportunity for the USA to hear and see the detail of what it is we do here for the people of West Africa.

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