A Prince George couple is leaving their home and selling most of their possessions for the chance to work on a charity hospital ship for two years.
Larry and Sandy Hewitt are set to climb aboard a hospital ship docked in Madagascar in November and donate their decades of medical expertise to provide free care for local, often poor, patients.
The Hewitts said they were sold on the "love and healing" message of Mercy Ships, a non-denominational Christian non-profit.
"That really struck me. That's really why we do what we do," said Sandy, 49, who was scrolling through an online feed in 2013 when she came across the organization.
She clicked on a story about the non-profit and something clicked with the couple too.
"We felt God was calling us to do that," said Larry, 53, who will act as a biomedical technician, servicing and repairing medical equipment on the 400-crew ship expected to do more than 2,000 surgeries over 10 months.
Sandy, who has worked as a retail pharmacist for 26 years, said she's looking forward to working in a hospital environment.
"I just feel like every day there's something to be learned," she said.
Both spoke of stories of routine medical conditions - cataract surgery, cleft palate, facial tumours, clubfoot - that if left alone act as barriers to daily life.
"You're ostracized by your community," Sandy said.
"What they are doing saves people's lives," said Larry of the Africa Mercy, which specializes in treating disease common to countries affected by poverty and war. After 10 months in Toamasina, Madagascar, the ship will move to another port.
The way the Mercy ship model works, the crew all volunteer their time and pay their way - that includes flights and room and board. The Hewitts estimate it will cost them $3,500 CDN a month for both of them.
They've raised about two thirds of that cost and have been stuck by the support from family and friends.
"We can't do this by ourselves," said Sandy.
"It's a community," Larry added.
They only got the official nod in March, leaving a few short months to deal with all the logistics.
"It didn't seem like as a daunting a task," said Sandy with a laugh. Larry kept working right until Friday and the two only moved out of their seven-acre home last week.
They sold their truck, will sell their car and aside for some key possessions they're keeping in a storage locker, much of their past life has been sold or given away.
"It really wasn't hard to part with things. The hardest part was giving up the animals," said Sandy of finding homes for their two horses, two dogs and two cats.
"Mine was my shop," added Larry, who had built what he calls a "dream garage."
They spent the summer saying goodbye to family and friends and spending time with their son and daughter, who both go to school in Ontario.
"We've loved our life here," said Sandy. "It's been a teary week"
Aside from some things they've stuffed in storage containers, their lives will be packed into two 50-pound duffel bags.
They leave Thursday for a week in Toronto and then head to Texas for training.
"I just want to get there," Larry said.
