Financial Information

If you are interested in supporting US financially, first of all: THANK YOU for your generosity!

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We understand that it does seem strange to volunteer our time AND pay our own way, so we’d like to be as open as possible with why we need support! We have worked through a budget with the Mercy Ships financial advisor, who helped us list the expenses we will have on the ship:

• Crew fees (this includes room and board)

• Medication (this is mostly for our anti-malarial meds)

•Insurance (both medical and evacuation insurance)

•Personal costs (day-to-day materials, such as cosmetics)

• Travel Expenses (travel to and from the ship)
• Taxes and Tithe

All of this adds up to $1700 per month that we will need to live on the ship for two years, starting in September. 

Because we will not be making any form of income while on the ship, we need monthly financial support in order to pay our expenses. 

If you are considering supporting us, there are several ways to do so; either through the Mercy Ships organization or through our home church, Vineyard Fellowship. Whichever option you choose, you will receive a tax deductible receipt. 

      Give Online through Mercy Ships

      Every crew member has their own personal financial page on the Mercy Ships website. Click here to go to our page. On the right side of the page, click on the green “Donate” button. This will take you to a page where you can make a one time gift or pledge to give monthly.  

      Giving at Vineyard Fellowship

Make check out to “Branching Out Ministries” and place in giving box at Vineyard Fellowship. Write “Jordan and Kaitlyn Stull” in the memo.

      Branching Out Ministries (through Vineyard Fellowship)

      Branching Out Ministries

      888 S. Furlong Rd.

      Laura, Oh, 45337

Make check out to “Branching Out Ministries” with "Jordan and Kaitlyn Stull" in the memo. If sending cash, please include a note with “Jordan and Kaitlyn Stull” written on it.

      Mail to Mercy Ships

             Please make your check out to “Mercy Ships”. Write “3595 Stull” in the memo. This is our account number. Mail to:

                    Mercy Ships

                    P.O. Box 1930

                    Lindale, TX 75771 

Job Descriptions

Of course the first question people ask when they hear we are moving to a ship is "What will you be doing?" Here's some information on what our job descriptions will be.

Jordan will be the ship's carpenter; although "maintenance man" is probably a more accurate term. The ship has electricians, plumbers, and engineers, and any project that does not fall under those headings gets shoved onto the carpenters plate. When we visited the ship, the carpenter that was on board showed us his stack of work orders; evidently there is a LOT of non-electric, non-plumbing, and non-engineering projects to do!

So here's the things that Jordan will be responsible for [straight from our information sheet]:
**General repairs of vessel's accommodations including carpentry, flooring, and furnishings work.
**Maintain the carpentry shop and associated equipment
**Assist in the mooring of the ship

I (Katie) will be a hospitality hostess. I tend to think of this as pretty much what I do anyways, just on a ship and as an actual job description. There are lots of volunteers that come to the ship for just a few weeks so there are constantly people coming and going. This means that lots of cabins need to be cleaned and a lot of people need to be given tours. Also, because the ship works closely with local governments, there will be occasional visits by the local officials. The hospitality department is responsible for hosting these meetings.

Here's what I will be responsible for:
**Reporting to the Head Hostess for daily tasks (i.e. cleaning; yay!)
**Baking for arriving crew members and functions (I almost leaped for joy when I saw this)
**Set up/serve for special functions


We are both really excited about our jobs; obviously we wouldn't have applied if we didn't have any desire to do them. Learning more details about our jobs-to-be has been exciting too; another way that God has worked out even the smallest of details! Jordan will be on the deck department so he will be able to learn all kinds of "ship" things. His duties while the ship sails (it says to and from the Canary Islands each summer) will be completely different than anything he's done and he's excited to learn! I was a little concerned that I would not get a chance to do anything in the kitchen; I don't think I'm enthusiastic enough about cooking to want to work IN the kitchen but I do enjoy cooking/baking. And what do you know--my job descriptions says that baking is a routine part of my job!

It's fun to see God work out big things AND little things. Looking forward to what He has for us.

How it started

We've been blown away by the response we've gotten after making our announcement! We've also gotten a lot of questions about our decision to serve on a boat. So I thought I would write out the story here for you who are interested. 

Thanks to an invitation from the Mano Church and the support of some incredibly generous people who helped buy our tickets, Jordan and I got the chance to go to Guinea during December/January 2012. We stayed a few extra weeks to spend time with my family and found ourselves in the capital of Conakry for a couple days before we returned home. Now, anyone who has been to Conakry can tell you that there is not just scads to do. So we arranged ahead of time for a tour of the Africa Mercy, the world's largest civilian hospital ship. We were both familiar with the organization and thought it would be a rare and cool opportunity to go on board. 

We did the regular tour and then the woman with us asked if we'd like to meet with the current carpenter. Jan, the head of the deck department, came to meet us. We were shown the shop on the ship and we met the carpenter (Rob) that was on board then. He was super friendly and showed us what a typical day looks like for him and what his responsibilities were.

Jan also took us to an empty cabin and we spent probably 45 minutes just standing there asking him questions. He was incredibly helpful; he even gave us his email and told us to email him first if we wanted to apply (he did add that we should pray about it first but he seemed fairly convinced that the Lord would be fine with it). 

Jordan and I left the ship and got back into my family's car, both of us thinking the same thing. I remember looking at each other and whispering, "I really want to do this." However, we decided that this was probably just a spirit of adventure and we should give it some time of prayer and thought. But over the next few days, the Africa Mercy was literally all we thought and talked about. We discussed it with my family and had their support and excitement. OK. So maybe this is more than just adventure talking. But surely when we get back to Ohio, we'll fit right back into life and forget about this.

We got back to Ohio and fit back into life but we did not forget about that boat. Over the next 2 or 3 weeks we thought and prayed and talked and still it was all that was on our minds. We finally admitted that this was something we genuinely felt was from God and that we needed to make the next step. 

We told Jordan's family and asked for their advice and prayer and of course had their support (although we all tried not to think about future goodbyes!). 

Next step: we wrote Jan, honestly not expecting him to reply for a few weeks, thereby giving us some more time to back out (not just super brave of us I know but there you have the truth). Jan wrote back in EIGHT hours, and his excitement that we were applying practically bubbled out of his email. He put us in touch with the recruitment office in TX and we started the application process. 

So, a very long and impatient story short, we have been accepted and have agreed to serve for 2 years! 

There you have it. We have been blown away by people's interest, encouragement, and support! Your excitement has made us even more excited.