RN Debbie Left Her Heart in Karati Village

Debbie Hammond-Watson, an RN from the Newcastle area, has been on board the YWAM Medical Ship for two outreaches now- one in 2010, and Outreach 4 this year in the village of Karati, Gulf Province, PNG. If you were to ask Debbie last year at the beginning of the outreach if she was going to come back for another outreach, her guaranteed answer would have been and adamant “No”.
Debbie’s trip to Papua New Guinea to join the YWAM Medical Ship last year was a trip of many firsts for her. It was her first time to leave Australia, her first time on a plane, her first mission’s experience, first time on a ship, and first time away from her family for that period of time. Debbie will admit that she struggled the first few days last year, yet something within her told her to persevere. By the end of the outreach, Debbie’s testimony was: “It was an amazing outreach! I feel that being on the Primary Health Care Team has changed me both in myself and in my nursing career.”
Not only did Debbie go on outreach again this year, but she also brought her daughter Samantha with her. Along with that, her husband Neil will be assisting in the engine room for two outreaches. It wasn’t enough for Debbie to have the experience on board the YWAM Medical Ship alone; she wanted to share it with her family too.
Debbie has said that she will be back on the YWAM Medical Ship again next year. Yet she has made special request to come back when the ship returns to Karati village in the Gulf Province. She was able to make some really special friends in this particular location and told her clinic leader, Alana that her heart is for Karati village. The medical team on the Ship is very excited to have Debbie back for another outreach next year and they are confident Karati village will be too.