Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalms 37:4
The stadium in Contonou, Benin in Africa is packed with people who traveled for days in search of medical care. People with tumors so large that they’re in danger of suffocation. Children with cleft palates. Adults left nearly blind after years of struggling with cataracts. The need is overwhelming, and it will take hours to screen and care for the thousands who need medical attention. But Ashley Sellars is undaunted. In fact, there’s nowhere else she’d rather be. A nurse from a surgery unit right here in Dallas, Ashley donated four months of her time to serve on the Mercy Ship, a charitable hospital ship offering medical services to the poor around the world. She recently returned to Dallas and continued serving at Watermark and in her nursing job. She is sharing how God used the Mercy Ship experience to encourage her faith and shape her walk with Him.
I began thinking about becoming a nurse as I was finishing high school in Houston. I always liked helping people, and nursing seemed like a good way to use the gifts God gave me. I started nursing school in 2002, and honestly, it was by God’s grace that I made it through. I actually failed the first licensing exam I took. But God used that failure to strengthen me and teach me perseverance, which was essential both in the operating room and necessary for serving the staggering needs on the Mercy Ship. During my senior year in nursing school, I started thinking about what area I wanted to specialize in and asking God to show me where He wanted me. Later, I toured the operating room at Baylor and saw it was the right opportunity for me. The O.R. would allow me to get the two years of experience I needed to serve with Mercy Ships, another opportunity that God put on my heart.
I moved to Dallas after college and was drawn to Watermark’s ‘come as you are’ atmosphere. It was a relief to be in a place where I didn’t have to put on a happy face to be accepted. I was struggling with control, purity and bitterness over a past relationship, and knew I needed to resolve those issues so God could work more fully through me. Going to Celebrate Recovery, Watermark’s biblical recovery ministry, helped me see my own sins and struggles more clearly. The Lord began to heal my heart, release me from guilt and shame and help me accept the forgiveness and grace that had been mine all along. That freed me up to pursue His will for my life.
I eventually had the opportunity to work on the Mercy Ship, and it was amazing. There are 450-500 crew members on the ship at any given time – all volunteers. Doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers and others from around the world pay their own way to work on the ship. For me, it was an exercise in flexibility, team building and putting into practice some of the biblical conflict resolution skills I’d learned before. God gave me many opportunities to show His love through serving others.
While on the ship, I worked on many surgeries, including a procedure to help heal women from complications from childbirth. Before one surgery, I talked to a woman who’d been dealing with bladder leakage for years. There’s a social stigma about that in Africa, and women are often disowned by their husbands as a result. The woman was obviously distressed and shared that she didn’t think that the surgery would work, because others had failed. I told her that this experience would be different, not because of doctor’s skill or that the outcome was certain, but because the Lord was with us, regardless. I prayed with her, asking God for help and comfort as she went through with the surgery. During the surgery, we were able to repair the damage. But the most special thing was talking to her about God’s faithfulness and the hope He offers. God used this experience to teach me that He wants me to come to Him with everything – the big, the small, and the stuff I think I can take care of myself. Seeing Him work in such mighty ways on the ship helped me pray “bigger” and more frequently.
God gave me opportunities to pray with many patients on the ship, and that’s helped me have the courage to be bold as I serve here in Dallas. It’s been great to look back and see how God has used each step in my journey to prepare me for the next opportunity. In many ways, my faith in Christ is a lot like walking on stepping stones. God encourages me to take the next step, even though I don’t know where He’s leading next. My favorite verse, Psalm 37:4, has helped me take the next step of obedience in my walk with Christ. The Lord has put His desires in my heart and really prepared me for each new challenge.
