FOX News host Dana Perino spent her Thanksgiving doing something very different than many other Americans. She went overseas to serve people in desperate need.
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Perino, who is affiliated with Mercy Ships, an organization that operates hospital ships around the world, was on vacation in Africa to help people get surgeries and specialized care they can’t get in their home countries.
Her work with Mercy Ships began years ago when former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush asked her to interview them for an event organized by the organization.
“This was the kickoff for a capital campaign to raise money to build this new ship,” Perino said. “Mercy Ships is a surgical hospital ship…founded by Don and Deyon Stevens from Texas. They had a goal of helping the hopeless and the forgotten poor…and this was a mission based in Jesus.”
Perino said the couple wants to bring surgeons to areas of Africa where there are typically fewer doctors to serve the needs of many people. Sadly, some people suffer without access to medical intervention or surgical treatment. This is what Mercy Ships can help you with.
“In the United States, there’s one surgeon for every 10,000 people, or something like that,” she says. “There’s one surgeon for about 2 million people.”
Currently, Mercy Ships provides a traveling hospital filled with volunteers. Some surgeons stay for a week or two, others longer. Perino is one of the people helping out. After serving in various locations in the past, she spent Thanksgiving doing just that.
But even more powerfully, she’s using her position at Fox News to tell the stories of those aboard these ships: inspiring stories of medical assistance, love, and compassion.
“They never waste a dollar,” Perino said of Mercy Ships. “I’ve been there a few times. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. They manage the donations they receive very well.”
The experience of serving with Mercy Ships inspired and strengthened Perino’s faith.
“I grew up in the Lutheran church,” she said. “My parents were very strong supporters of refugee programs in Denver, Colorado, so when we were kids we spent weekends helping resettle refugees from Vietnam and the former Soviet Union.”
She said the experience made her understand what it’s like to help others.
“It reminds me of my childhood, my formative years,” Perino said, adding that she is grateful to work in a place where she can openly talk about her faith.
The TV host added that people would sometimes thank her for being so open about God.
“I always think, ‘Oh, yeah, of course.'” But then I remember Jesus saying, “Oh, yeah, of course.” “You’re going to be challenged like this.” It’s going to be hard to talk about,” Perino said. “So, in a small way, if I can give people the confidence to speak their minds and confess God’s love, that’s a good thing about working[at Fox].”
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