Renato Zalamea first began mission work by joining Health Volunteers Overseas in 1998. He served in Guyana teaching regional anesthesia and techniques to the local physicians. After his two weeks of service there, he began to contemplate service of the challenged community in the Philippines. He organized the first medical mission of Memphis Mission of Mercy in 1999 to Guimba Nueva Ecija. Since then, he has conducted annual and sometimes semiannual missions to various parts of the Philippines, both rural and urban. In 2017, the group will conduct its 22nd mission.