For Union alumni Lenny and Perla Finn, nursing has opened the door to a world of adventure — and more importantly to giving back.
The 2016 and 2017 graduates spent two months volunteering with Mercy Ships in Sierra Leone. Mercy Ships is a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to delivering free, world-class healthcare services to underserved communities in developing nations. The Finns served on the Global Mercy, a state-of-the-art hospital ship currently docked in the port of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Patients from across the nation came aboard the ship to receive life-changing surgeries. In addition, Mercy Ships invests in long-term development projects in Sierra Leone, such as training local healthcare professionals, supporting community health initiatives and renovating medical facilities.
“We had donated to the Mercy Ships before, so we knew about the organization,” said Perla.
“We were thinking and praying about them, and we felt drawn towards volunteer medical work like we had done as students at Union.”
Lenny and Perla met and fell in love at Union Adventist University (then Union College), where they were both nursing students. While in the nursing program, they were introduced to many opportunities to volunteer their skills in the Lincoln community and beyond.
Lenny said, “We took Kristine Folletts’s Global Health Nursing classes and went on a week-long mission trip during spring break. We went to Nicaragua to help provide medical care and bring medicines. We hiked back into the jungle — the mud was up to our knees at times — carrying all the supplies. It was a little crazy. I really appreciated that Union introduced me to ways I could use nursing to volunteer. ”
“We did a lot of volunteer work at People City Mission and Clinic with a Heart,” Perla added.
“We wanted to give back because we were given so much.”
The Finns saw volunteering on the Global Mercy as a great chance to use their nursing skills to serve. The volunteer application process is rigorous, so they applied more than a year in advance. Finally, they heard that they had been accepted for the positions last fall. Since volunteers live on the ship, room and board were covered, but the Finns needed to pay for their own plane tickets and vaccinations. “We’re very thankful for the people who were able to donate towards our fundraising,” Perla said. “We couldn’t have done it without them!”
As travel nurses, the Finns have flexibility in their schedules that made serving in Sierra Leone for two months possible. When they arrived in Sierra Leone in January 2024, they went straight to work as ward nurses. Lenny worked in a pediatric orthopedics ward, caring for children receiving surgeries. Perla floated between adult and pediatric wards.
“I got to see one of the little kids — probably nine years old — be able to see again,” said Perla. “He was born able to see, but he developed cataracts that caused him to lose his vision. He had cataract removal surgery and then had to have the bandages on for 24 hours. When the physician came in to remove the dressings, it was like night and day. He was able to see again. He had remembered his colors from before he lost his vision. His mom was so excited and kept pointing out things and asking the little kid what colors they were. The feeling was so overwhelming, but in a good way.”
“Some of these kids were outcasts because their legs were so severely deformed,” Lenny added. “Without the Mercy Ship, they most likely would never have been able to fix that. There were adults with tumors as big as a cantaloupe on their face. Any of these conditions would make it on the nightly news in the United States. But there, it’s almost common; there aren’t many opportunities for healing.
Ortho patients playing bingo.
“It was amazing to see how God was present,” he continued. “Global Mercy Ships is a Christian group, so we were able to pray with patients if they asked. Hearing people praise God for the healing they had received gave me a sense of how much He was working on the ship.”
After Perla and Lenny returned to the United States in March, they went back to their usual travel nursing jobs. Since the couple began travel nursing in 2022, they’ve worked across the country, from Colorado and Texas to New Mexico, Washington and Hawaii. Although they spend months at a time in various states, their home base is still Lincoln, Nebraska, where they put down roots during college.
“Growing up, people tell you that everyone has different skills God has given them,” said Perla. “I think that Lenny and I have been given the gift of nursing, and it’s fulfilling to be able to help people in need and see the difference a simple surgery can make.”
