At 72, Frankie Wilson is ready for her next big adventure.
The bubbly Plant City resident has a newly rediscovered zest for life after returning in June from a six-month trip volunteering with Mercy Ships, a global organization that brings necessary medicines, services and surgical procedures to the impoverished all over the world.
THE MERCY MISSION
Wilson, a registered nurse, heard about Mercy Ships from her daughter over a decade ago and made the decision that she would one day volunteer. She was already a registered nurse, and had become a certified case manager 14 years prior. After seeing a special on Mercy Ships on “60 Minutes,” Wilson decided that her time had come. Over the course of a year, Wilson completed the application process, was vaccinated, went through multiple interviews and read about the organization online.
Then, Ebola struck. The trip was postponed.
Still, Wilson persisted. She accepted a field service position for January through June, and after a 56-hour trip, arrived in her destination, Madagascar, on January 25. It was a foreign nation, with no one that Wilson knew. People all around her needed immediate help, and she needed a translator to get past the language barrier.
When asked if she was scared, Wilson broke into a big smile.
“Scared?” Wilson laughed. “Oh, no. Excited. Excited beyond description.”
Immediately, Wilson began bonding with the other crew members. While in Madagascar, she worked in the admissions tent as a nurse for the Mercy Ships hospital ship, the 16,500-ton Africa Mercy. Wilson’s crew had between 400 and 450 people including doctors, dentists and chaplains. One of her favorite parts of her trip was breaking bread daily with people from all walks of life.
“That is the beautiful thing,” Wilson said. “The different cultures. What’s so unique … is that you leave your ego at home.”
Although the amount of people in need could at times be overwhelming, Wilson found support and hope in her fellow crew members.
“Everyone’s work is so valued,” she said. “We all realize that we’re there for one reason, and that’s to serve.”
The Malagasy people, too, gave Wilson faith when she felt disheartened.
“The Malagasy people have such resolve,” Wilson said. “Their homes were shacks, but they were proud.”
Wilson says that the majority of Malagasy people are Roman Catholic and Protestant. Many of them earn less than one dollar a day, but that didn’t stop them from inviting Wilson and other members of the crew to their homes, where they gladly shared the little food they had. To celebrate their guests, they sang, danced and played drums. Their kindness and gratitude continued to motivate Wilson for the duration of her six-month trip.
In Madagascar, people frequently have to walk days through the brush to get health care from a clinic. Since coming to the country, Mercy Ministries, a part of Mercy Ships that is dedicated to outreach, has built five clinics in Madagascar, with the potential for a sixth one.
“This is something I’m especially proud of,” Wilson said. “It’s a really great thing.”
Doctors and physicians from all over the world will go to these clinics every two weeks to care for patients who would otherwise not have any health care.
MIRACLES IN MADAGASCAR
Surgical procedures have brought hope to the communities, as well. Mercy Ships has doctors and surgeons who perform dental surgeries, eye work, plastic surgery and pediatric care in addition to treating burns and other general surgeries. Women have especially benefitted from this.
In Madagascar, women are often forced to marry and have children at a young age, many of them barely 13.
“Most women cannot deliver children,” Wilson said.
Some women become so damaged from the complications with their pregnancies that they cannot control their bladder. Their communities shun them, and they are forced to live in the brush. In Madagascar alone, this is the reality for 5,000 women.
Mercy Ships has changed one of their centers into a clinic for these women to do reconstructive surgeries. During her service, Wilson was able to see the women before and after the surgeries. When they first came to her admissions tent to have their blood drawn, the women wouldn’t look Wilson in the eye. This, for Wilson, proved to be the biggest challenge. She was determined to earn their trust.
First, she prayed with them, and later learned their history as she did lab work. She, along with other members of the crew, served the women and the other patients lunch. It was a simple meal of bread and butter, but the patients were thankful. By the end of the day, Wilson had earned the trust of her patients.
She would then take them to the surgeons, who schedule them for surgery the next morning.
“I make sure they will be safe and they will be loved,” Wilson said.
The recovery is very long, but after the surgery, the Mercy Ships crew celebrates the women. Wilson, along with the rest of the staff, gave the women dresses, hats and makeup to make them feel beautiful.
The women were able to return home to their villages, where they are once again welcomed.
FINDING HER FAITH ABROAD
Wilson, who is an avid member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Plant City, was was sad about missing Easter at home while she served with Mercy Ships. Luckily, the organization had a celebration that made Wilson feel right at home. The night before Easter, she attended a service conducted by a Baptist minister and participated in the ceremonial washing of the feet.
“For someone to do that to me, I can’t tell you what that did for me spiritually,” she said.
The next morning, Wilson attended the Easter sunrise service, where people from all over the world spoke and played music. The service was followed by an Easter dinner that members of the crew had spent days preparing.
“It was special to all of us,” Wilson said. “The crew on Mercy Ships was my family.”
Wilson witnessed many of the other crew members defining their faith through their work, as well. Dr. Gary Parker, a neurosurgeon who volunteered on Mercy Ships, told Wilson that he openly prayed before each surgery. Wilson was selected to see Dr. Parker’s second procedure on a 5-year-old girl, Mioti, who had become severely disfigured.
“She learned to trust,” Wilson said.
Prior to the surgery, Mioti was brought to Mercy Ships screaming and crying. She needed major facial reconstructive surgery. After the first two surgeries that Dr. Parker performed, Mioti was happily running around the offices and engaging with the staff. She is also now in school.
“She has hope and healing,” Wilson said. “And God is good.”
HOMECOMING
Wilson returned home last month, and although she is glad to be back with her family, she has had some trouble adjusting. During one trip to Wal-Mart, she became overwhelmed and had to stop momentarily. Her trip has taught her to never take anything for granted, especially her health or the surplus of food around her.
Wilson is involved once again with St. Peter’s by helping with the community garden. She is also sponsoring children in Uganda and hasn’t ruled out a second run with Mercy Ships.
“There’s so much need here locally,” she said. “I have been asked to go back, but I haven’t decided yet.
“I’m forever changed,” Wilson said. “I have an awareness now of the world I only wondered about. I don’t know what my next adventure is going to be, but I’m not through yet.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com