it was about 9 p.m. on a thursday night when dr. gary parker, chief medical officer of the mercy ship anastasis, told me of deborah's arrival and asked me to take her picture. we rarely admit patients at night, so i knew she must be a special case.

deborah lived in lome, togo. she sold towels for a living. when the tumor began growing, her customers stopped coming. deborah hoped and prayed that she would find a cure. upon a visit to her sist er's church, she was told of our floating hospital ship, docked in neighboring benin. it was almost financially impossible for her to make the journey, so she prayed that God would tell her in a dream...

the next morning, she began the voyage that would take more than 9 hours and change her life.

please click here to meet deborah.

warning. some images are disturbing.