My First Blog

Welcome to Vessel of Mercy. This is my first attempt at blogging and I'm not sure why I haven't done this before. Many times when I've been home in the States people have asked if I am keeping a journal of the stories that get passed to them via email. Or I'm told that I should write a book. Regretfully, I have not kept a journal and have no aspirations to write a book. So, I think blogging just might be the answer.

Why "Vessel of Mercy"? Two thoughts: I work with an organization called Mercy Ships. So this one is obvious; a ship is referred to as a vessel and we bring God's mercy to the poor and needy of the world. The other reason is we personally are God's vessels. The dictionary defines a vessel as "one in whom something is stored for use". What has Jesus stored in you? And are you using it? If we know Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we know His mercy. And as I look at the life of Christ in the gospels, He was full of mercy. We are called to imitate Christ and we are vessels of His mercy. So my question is, how do we manifest His mercy as well as His grace? His compassion? His love? These are some things I want to explore in this blog as well as share some stories and thoughts...