P U R P O S E F U L LY P I P H I
A Call to Serve After a fulfilling 17-year career in marketing for a technology firm, California Epsilon JULIE GOODRUM TOPLIFFE retired and found her true passion in life— as a student of her faith. But it wasn’t until Julie saw a 60-second clip of a local news anchor visiting onboard a Mercy Ship that her life as she knew it would forever change. “As soon as I learned about Mercy Ships, my attention was grabbed,” Julie said. “I went to my computer to learn more and realized that Mercy Ships was celebrating its 40th anniversary. Coincidentally, my husband Keith and I would be married 40 years that upcoming summer. I hollered to him, ‘Hey, Keith, do you want to celebrate our 40th anniversary on a hospital ship in Africa?’ He said, ‘Okay,’ and the rest is history.” Mercy Ships offers hope and healing through free medical treatments and surgeries to children and adults who otherwise would go without. These large, floating hospitals have transported thousands of volunteer professionals to more than 57 developing nations, performed more than 100,000 medical procedures and have trained over 42,000 local nurses and doctors in modern procedures during the ships’ time at port. Julie and Keith volunteered for a three-month term onboard the Africa Mercy—giving their time and talent as a ship chaplain and ship carpenter, respectively. Because their experience was so fulfilling, the couple signed up for another term of service—this time for 13 months onboard the ship. “Within the first month onboard, we knew we weren’t ready to go home. I wanted to be on the ship for the entire experience, from sailing into the port, experiencing the patient selection process and assisting with the field service,” Julie said. “Three months only gave us a taste of it—and I wanted to be part of it all.” Julie’s job involved working on a team of four chaplains, all who provided emotional and spiritual support for the ship’s crew and medical staff—including church services, Bible studies, worship celebrations and private counseling. And while she acknowledged it could be very challenging to live, work and be around so many people
10
Julie playing with children at the Hope Center, a space for patients to stay close to the ship and get ready for surgery. Patients also stayed in the Hope Center post-surgery to be close to the ship for check-ups before going back to their villages.
all the time, Julie found the greatest thing about the Africa Mercy was the community. “It was a privilege to be part of such an amazing ministry—the people were amazing, talented and committed, and I was always humbled that somehow I got to be there,” she said. Julie also found that surgery wasn’t the finish line—it was the beginning. Some of her most memorable moments were not only seeing the children’s happy faces after their surgeries, but witnessing the parents’ faces once their children began their journey toward healing. “When the parent sees the casts on their child’s legs—which are now straight—they begin to cry," she said. "The healing begins in their eyes, with the darkness of despair slowly giving way to light.”
