As I had mentioned in my earlier post, we had 2 teams here at the same time with different ministries. The earlier post showed the work progress of the project Island Gospel Tabernacle came to do. The team not only came and worked non-stop on the project itself, but they also worked one year prior to coming hosting many fundraising events to pay for the total project! This is a huge blessing in reaching the finishing construction to be done here at Pan de Vida. However, the orphanage continues to grow and new projects are being presented monthly.
The other team here was through Samaritan's Purse. The team was made up of people from different areas of Canada coming together to be trained to lead future eye clinics for SP in all areas of the world. What a learning experience it was. Of course it started off with a leader's nightmare when customs denied them to bring the used eye glasses across the border. Jack, the leader, made every effort to get them before leaving but with the weekend and the hour of the day, we were told nothing could be processed until Monday.
Usually this wouldn't be as catastrophic because most SP teams have multi projects. However, this one was focused completely on eye clinic training. Much can be done in the classroom, but on-field clinic is very important when teaching leaders how to deal with setting up clinic with facilities provided, language barriers, illiteracy and other challenges you meet in 3rd world countries. However, with the 1st week planned in the classroom, there wasn't an immediate need for the glasses.
Then as the week progressed with many phone calls, we received one saying we could have the glasses. As Justo and Jack went to Mexico City, we held our 1st clinic with plan B. Plan B was to go to the dollar store and buy reading glasses and help those we could with readers. We were also able to focus teaching people about hygiene in reference to caring for their eyes with the smoke, dust and sun hazards they have daily. The clinic went smoothly and many people were given reading glasses and we were even able to go to the location the local Pastor was Church planting and pray over the project there.
Upon arriving back to Pan de Vida, we learned we were not getting the glasses. So much hinged on custom laws being changed and they are still making up things as they are presented and they didn't have anything in place for used eye glasses. Again, we continue with Plan B and went to buy more dollar store readers and sunglasses.
The next clinic would be to the remote mountains of Amealco. It is a 2 hour drive and the community is unique in the fact they still live and dress the same as their ancestors. It is here that God revealed He was still responding to our prayers. The host approached Donna, the eye clinic leader, and asked if she could use some eye glasses he had. She thought he meant a shoebox full of donated glasses that we wouldn't be able to identify prescriptions in. She agreed to look at them and to her amazement, he pulled out a box from Operation Eyesight that had 100's of glasses in it and each one was in an individual bag and had the tag inside with the prescription of that pair of glasses on it. These had probably been around 8 years because now all the glasses come through the Lion's Club and then sorted.
We all started getting the clinic organized with the glasses we just received which were mostly for distance and guess what? They were what we needed. Many of the women sew and needed readers but most needed distance glasses. After the clinic, the host then presented us with a 2nd box and gave them to the team to use in the remaining eye clinics. We now had about 500 pair. God provided in a way we were never expecting. The morning before the devotion was Psalm 121:1-2 I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Well, here we were on this mountain and God helped us! I also believe that he saw the faithfulness of the team to proceed and not be discouraged despite not getting the glasses.
Then on Sunday, Donna presented me with my own set of Retinoscopy sticks so I could continue to have eye clinic outreaches. Dario has already asked me to screen all the kids in the school. We saw many of the girls in the training time at Pan de Vida, but none of the boys have been done. So we will start this and then Donna and I can arrange with customs to get the glasses we need here. I am very excited for this ministry.
The rest of the clinics were held the following week and we were able to fit many people with glasses. It was also the first time for many of the churches in hosting this type of clinic and we have already been invited back. People are now equipped with glasses to allow them to read and sew or learn how. They were blind but now they see and we pray the touch of God on their lives as well!
This has been a bit lengthy but I could not pass the opportunity to testify to God being alive and active in what He did during this outreach. I will post some pictures for you to enjoy!
