Tulsa director brings 'Mercy Ships' stories to global audience

Tulsa-based filmmaker Tracy Trost has built a reputation in the independent Christian film industry, directing projects such as A Christmas Snow and 77 Chances.

His latest work is a reality series called The Mercy Ships, streaming on Angel Studios’ platform, angel.com. The show follows the volunteers who serve aboard two floating hospitals off the coast of West Africa.

Trost sat down with News On 6 anchor LeAnne Taylor to talk about the series, the people behind it, and how viewers can get involved.

Q: Tell us about your latest project and how it came about.

Trost: The Mercy Ships is a reality series that focuses on the people who volunteer on these two floating hospitals up the coast of West Africa — one’s in Sierra Leone, one’s in Madagascar. The whole purpose of doing this is really to draw attention to the volunteers. These ships go over there on like 10-month services. They bring much-needed care. It can be anything from orthopedics to cataracts to cleft palates to goiter removal — you name it, they can do it. And these are countries that are very underserved when it comes to healthcare.

I’ve been working with them for about 10 years on their fundraising side. When I’m on the ship and I’m meeting these people again, who volunteer their time to be on the ship to do this thing, I thought, “Gosh, this is really a story that needs to be told.” So we talked with Mercy Ships and said, “Let’s create a reality series called The Mercy Ships.” Fortunately, it was picked up by angel.com.

Q: You’ve already started filming a second season. Where have you been so far?

Trost: We’re filming Season 2 right now. I just returned from Madagascar in June — I was there for four weeks — and in October I’ll be in Sierra Leone for four weeks.

Q: How do you choose who is featured in the show?

Trost: That’s the great thing about this show. Everybody who volunteers — or characters in our show — are unique individuals. They are willing to leave their world here in the U.S. (and I say the U.S., but it’s actually represented by 60 countries) and go volunteer anywhere from two weeks to two years. Some people have been there as long as 28 years.

They basically go help people they’ve never met, people who could never thank them, to do something that’s good beyond who they are. Many of them see it as their service to God, others as service to humankind. They don’t get paid. They don’t make any money. They don’t get any accolades.

Q: What impact do you hope the show will have?

Trost: Hopefully the show will draw attention and cause people to — number one — watch the show, because just the way things work with Angel, finances come back to Mercy Ships. So if you watch the show, you’re supporting Mercy Ships because there’s a monetary aspect to it. You can also volunteer or donate.

The main message of the show is: you can make a difference in the world with the skills you have. Everybody thinks when they look at Mercy Ships it’s doctors, nurses, and surgeons. Quite honestly, it’s plumbers, electricians, housekeeping, admin — because this is basically a floating city. It takes all these different talents and skills to make this happen.

Q: What’s it like to watch the finished episodes?

Trost: Seeing the show on Angel and seeing these stories — it’s funny because when you’re making the show, you’re so hypercritical. I watch every scene, I watch every cut, I watch everything. I don’t enjoy it when I watch it. Now that it’s on TV and I’ve actually seen it for some friends or just seen it on TV, I go, “Wow, this is actually a really good show.” I’m gonna say so myself — this is a good show.

Q: How can people watch?

Trost: Go to angel.com/mercy-ships. The first three episodes are free — you just put in your email to watch. If you like it, you can get the subscription.

Q: What’s next for you?

Trost: We’ve got movie projects we’re working on. Hoping we’ll be shooting a film here in May in Broken Arrow.

If you’d like to learn more about Trost’s work, visit CityGateEntertainment.com.