My name is Jaci and I have joined YWAM Ships Kona as a Dental Assistant, working in Papua New Guinea. It all started when I was eleven years old and I first heard the call of the Lord on my life to missions. While I never specifically felt called to Papua New Guinea, I knew that God gave me the desire to meet people’s physical needs along with their spiritual needs. I felt God was leading me to YWAM Ships Kona, a ministry with a heart for the South Pacific, and knew I needed to trust him. I felt the call on my life and I said yes. I feel like it’s important to see people as they are, while providing care such as fixing a toothache as part of being the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s my heart to show the Lord’s love through this action. I love...

My name is Luis and I am a Peruvian dentist serving with YWAM Ships Kona.  There is one story I always like to share from my involvement in medical outreaches in Papua New Guinea. One of the small Islands we went to was called Nissan Island, where around two thousand people live in small huts. There is only one nurse to meet the needs of this island and she was working with us during the medical outreach. One day she came to me crying and asked for me to teach her some basic dentistry. I was able to explain how to pull broken teeth before they get infected. She was very happy to learn and worked alongside me for a week. At the beginning she was afraid to practice any dental work, but by the end of the outreach she was working, helping the people. It is important for us...

My name is Emily West, I’m a Registered Nurse, and I have had the opportunity to serve with YWAM Ships Kona as both a nurse on our ship as well as the Medical Coordinator.  From the moment I became a nurse, I knew that I wanted to use nursing for medical missions. I knew that where I came from there were plenty of nurses and doctors, and that there were places in the world that had very few medical professionals. However, when I first thought about giving my life to mercy ministry, I really didn’t know the fullness of what God had in store. When my husband and I joined YWAM Ships Kona, we started with our Discipleship Training School. In the middle of the school, I can remember one day specifically standing before a map and  looking at all the countries. I had always seen the large and more...

My name is Claudia and I am a dentist with YWAM Ships in Kona. I joined YWAM Ships because they are all about reaching remote and isolated people on islands and in different villages that have no access to healthcare. Serving a vision like this has been deeply rooted in my heart since I was very little.  I grew up as a missionary kid and my parents were serving in the jungle of Peru. One day I was invited to translate for a medical team that was coming to serve the villages down the rivers in the jungle. Through this opportunity I was able to see how far away these people live from any hospital or facility and how they were in pain or even chronic pain. It was a very tough reality for them. I was so blown away by the needs that I was seeing. This is when...