By Airman 1st Class Benjamin Stratton

ST JOHN’S, Antigua -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) has provided immeasurable support throughout the Continuing Promise 2009 humanitarian and civic assistance mission in Latin America and the Caribbean.

On board hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), CP09 combines U.S. military and interagency personnel, non-governmental organizations, civil service mariners, academic and partner nations to provide medical, dental, veterinary and engineering services afloat and ashore alongside host nation personnel.

“We are here to provide humanitarian aid through donations and volunteers,” said Rob Voynow, Comfort licensed practical nurse and LDS liaison. “Our personnel are for the most part members of the nursing staff. Our staff comes from a very strong pediatric background.”

“I think it is really great to be here because it shows what our organization is all about,” said Rachel Morrell, Comfort certified nurse assistant and member of the LDS team. “This has been a really cool experience for me. You get to see many people come together and united in one purpose. We are here doing as much as we can to help and work alongside the people of each host nation. We are all in one cause together.”

It is commitment such as this that makes the CP09 mission the success story it has become. Comfort has treated more than 19,000 patients in the three countries it has visited and is scheduled to partner with four other countries to provide the same health care in the coming months.

“Our team is really looking forward to supporting the Comfort team wherever we can,” Voynow said. “We feel privileged to be a part of this important mission and enjoy the opportunities to learn from other doctors and nurses of the countries we are visiting, as well as the myriad of other non-governmental organizations involved.”

CP09 provides an opportunity not only to provide humanitarian assistance but also to learn from host nation partners and train a diverse team of experts who are able to respond to a regional crisis.

“This mission allows us to touch people not only physically, but also on the mental level,” Voynow added. “When you see people break down and tear up after you have helped them, you know you are making a difference.”

This “making a difference” is a core goal for the mission; one that has been reverberated in each country of the mission so far.

“As this is our first deployment with the military, it has been a real pleasure,” Voynow continued. “We hope through this mission we can continue to build a relationship with the military to further our outreach and involvement in more missions, such as CP09, to come.”

Comfort is currently in Antigua and Barbuda and is scheduled to be here through May 16. The ship has visited Haiti and the Dominican Republic since the beginning of the mission and is scheduled to visit four other countries to complete CP09: Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama.