When paediatric nurse, Emma Janavicius, collapsed last yr from an undiagnosed medical emergency, she had no concept that what began as a terrifying health crisis would develop into a catalyst for answering a long-postponed call by God to serve.
For years, Emma, 28, had felt stirred to volunteer with Mercy Ships, a global Christian charity providing free, transformative surgeries across sub-Saharan Africa.
But between personal tragedy and the busyness of life, she kept putting it off, until the Lord used her own suffering to open her eyes to what truly matters.
“Throughout all of it, I felt just like the Lord was protecting me and turning what was scary and unknown into a gorgeous moment to reflect on His goodness and faithfulness,” Emma recalled. “He took what the enemy meant for evil and turned it for good.”
Her health crisis began with sudden, extreme abdominal pain and bloating, and inside a couple of hours, Emma was rushed to hospital after collapsing multiple times.
Doctors discovered an ovarian cyst measuring 20cm that had ruptured and caused massive internal bleeding.
Surgeons removed greater than three litres of blood in an emergency operation that, had it been delayed, would likely have resulted in cardiac arrest.
“That experience of being so near losing my very own life made me realise that I needed to stop pushing aside all of the things I desired to do and as an alternative take some day without work and volunteer,” Emma said.
Her connection to Mercy Ships runs deep, first hearing concerning the charity through her local church in Brentwood, and again while studying at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford.
But the lack of her older brother at age nine had made her hesitant to go away home.
“After losing him, I at all times felt I the necessity to stay home and be near my family,” she explained. “So, although I used to be drawn to the thought of Mercy Ships, I never felt like I could go.”
Encouraged by a surgeon colleague and a long-time Mercy Ships volunteer, Leo Cheng, Emma finally applied and joined the Sierra Leonean Global Mercy crew in January.
There, she used her medical training to care for youngsters undergoing complex orthopaedic and maxillofacial surgeries.
She shared: “I received protected surgery once I desperately needed it and it saved my life. I made a decision it was my turn to volunteer and make this possible for other people.
“I believe due to what I went through losing my brother at such a young age, I actually have this passion to assist others and look after them from a medical perspective.
“It was a blessing to make use of my skills to bring hope and healing to those that are so often ostracised.
“It was one of the rewarding experiences and it has shaped how I look after my patients going forward.
“Seeing their reactions after surgery and the quick sense of, ‘Wow’, was a large privilege and amazing to be a part of.”
Yet God had yet one more surprise in store.
As Emma’s service was nearing its end, her boyfriend, David, secretly flew to Sierra Leone and, with the assistance of her crewmates, planned a surprise beach proposal.
Emma recounted the magical experience: “My friends had organised just a little leaving party for me, to one of the beautiful Sierra Leoneon beaches, Bureh Beach. I assumed we were just going for a swim and dinner. Without me knowing, my friends had planned for us to play a round of hide and seek, blind folded before commencing other beach games. I used to be the primary one to count to 100 and little did I do know that David was on the beach too. When I reached 100 and took the blindfold off, I screamed in surprise to see David in front of me.
“I couldn’t imagine it when he got down on one knee, dug the ring box out of the sand in front of me and asked me to marry him.” Having returned to the UK, the couple are planning their wedding for the tip of the yr, with hopes of returning to serve with Mercy Ships together in the long run.
 When paediatric nurse, Emma Janavicius, collapsed last yr from an undiagnosed medical emergency, she...){kind=link}