Kim Anna Kronester’s Inspiring Journey
Kim Anna Kronester’s early childhood looked quite different from most. School lessons were taught by neighbors who lived only a few feet away. Her playground was open to the mist of the ocean. And her friends were patients who had just received life-changing surgeries.
She was only 2 years old when she and her family moved from Germany to serve with Mercy Ships. And now, nearly 30 years later, Kim Anna has felt the call to bring hope and healing, this time as a volunteer nurse.
“I thought it would be nice to come back,” she said. “It’s a wonderful experience to see things from the other side, as an adult and a nurse. I’m fulfilling the dream I had when I first arrived here.”
A New Calling
In September 2024, Kim Anna joined the hospital crew of the Global Mercy in Sierra Leone and then decided to continue serving on the Africa Mercy in Madagascar.
“Being on board the Global Mercy already felt like a return to the familiar,” she shared. “Especially the community, which was like coming home, yet still new.”
Growing up on three different Mercy Ships vessels — the Caribbean Mercy, the Anastasis, and the Africa Mercy — Kim Anna had navigated her formative years between Central America and West Africa. Over the years, friends from all around the world walked through life with her as she grew older. As a teenager, she discovered a vibrant community and got involved in a range of activities like any other teen would. One of the more unique experiences was during high school when she had the opportunity to shadow volunteers around the ship.
This impactful experience led Kim Anna to discover her true calling. Watching the volunteers in the hospital ward, her own passion for helping others began to grow, and she decided to become a nurse.
After years of study and establishing her nursing career, Kim Anna was finally ready to return to the ships she knew so well. On board, she found herself once again inspired by the hope she saw and the contagious joy of patients finding healing after so many years. And that inspiration has continued as she has gotten to be part of shared moments of prayer among patients and on the frontlines of what God is doing:
“I got to be there when they removed [a young patient’s] eye patches [after surgery] and she said, ‘Oh, I can see you!’ It was such a beautiful moment to witness, seeing that instant transformation in her life.”
We are so grateful for volunteers like Kim Anna. For every child on board, there is a mother, father, or family member who has prayed and longed for hope. For every husband, there is a wife waiting eagerly for him to return home. And our volunteers are tasked with walking alongside each and every one of them… until hope takes root and healing becomes a reality. And you can be part of the journey too! See how you can Find Your Place On Board today.