(Photo: Mercy Ships)
An unexpected health crisis last year became a turning point for Emma Janavicius, a paediatric nurse, leading her to fulfill a long-held aspiration to serve with Mercy Ships. The international Christian charity, known for providing free surgeries in sub-Saharan Africa, had been on Emma’s mind for years, yet life circumstances had always postponed her plans.
Emma’s journey to Mercy Ships began with a medical emergency marked by severe abdominal pain and fainting episodes, eventually diagnosed as a ruptured ovarian cyst and internal bleeding. This critical condition required immediate surgery to remove over three litres of blood, a delay of which could have been fatal.
Reflecting on this life-threatening ordeal, Emma expressed, “That experience of being so close to losing my own life made me realise that I needed to stop putting off all the things I wanted to do and instead take some time off and volunteer.”
Emma had first learned about Mercy Ships through her local church in Brentwood and later during her studies at Anglia Ruskin University. Despite her interest, the loss of her brother at a young age kept her tethered to home, as she explained, “After losing him, I always felt the need to stay home and be near my family.”
Encouraged by her colleague and veteran Mercy Ships volunteer Leo Cheng, Emma eventually joined the Global Mercy in Sierra Leone, where she used her expertise to assist children undergoing complex surgical procedures.
“I received safe surgery when I desperately needed it and it saved my life. I decided it was my turn to volunteer and make this possible for other people,” Emma shared. Her past experiences fueled her desire to provide medical care, driven by a passion to aid those who are often marginalized. She described her time on the ship as profoundly rewarding and transformative for her approach to patient care.
Emma’s commitment to Mercy Ships led to an unexpected personal surprise. Her boyfriend, David, secretly traveled to Sierra Leone to propose, orchestrating a memorable beachside engagement with the help of her crewmates.
Emma recounted, “My friends had organised a little leaving party for me, to one of the most beautiful Sierra Leoneon beaches, Bureh Beach. I thought we were just going for a swim and dinner. Without me knowing, my friends had planned for us to play a round of hide and seek, blindfolded before commencing other beach games. I was the first one to count to 100 and little did I know that David was at the beach too. When I reached 100 and took the blindfold off, I screamed in surprise to see David in front of me. I couldn’t believe it when he got down on one knee, dug the ring box out of the sand in front of me and asked me to marry him.”
Now back in the UK, Emma and David are preparing for their wedding later this year, with aspirations to return to volunteer with Mercy Ships as a couple.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
