Sharon meet Sharon

It was 10 years ago that Sharon first joined Mercy Ships and that first year included a field service in Sierra Leone. The war had just finished and we were met by the sweetest of people who graced our decks as dayworkers. At that time Sharon worked with the deck department as the deck administrator and got to know many of those who worked alongside her. One was Andrew. Andrew worked diligently on our gangway and was very useful in translating the odd krio sentence that we couldn't make out.

The sad part is, Sharon never got to say goodbye just before they sailed off, as his wife had gone into labour with their 2nd child, but the day we sailed Sharon was handed a note, scribbled on a scrap of paper, "a baby girl, named after you, Sharon - Andrew". That was the last she heard of them.

Sharon has always wondered how they are doing. So she enlisted the help of her friend, Alfred, who was also on board in the deck department at that time and continues to serve to this day and he remembered Andrew from when we visited his church. It turned out Alfred was attending the same church again (obviously he has a very good sense of direction as Sharon would never have found it!). Andrew had moved on, but with some enquiries and phonecalls he was able to track him down and we were able to meet again after just over 9 years.

"Little" Sharon is a beautiful girl with a big smile. It had been her fathers dream for her to meet the peson she was named after, but he thought that was never possible until this day. We look forward to seeing more of them during our time here and this time we won't loose contact!