A Record-Breaking Day


 On Thursday, we visited our our final site.  We travelled about 3 hours to a rural site, traveling through a beautiful area with many citrus groves to a church in another very poor area.  

The weather was hot — about 90 degrees — and sunny.  Many people were already waiting  in the sun and in what little shade was provided by a small canopy.  We quickly set up in the small building.  We saw over 240 people and distributed over 400 pairs of glasses— a new record.  We served ages from 100 (yes 100!) to age 8.  I tested the 100 year old woman who inspired me with her dignity and smile.  She was very mentally sharp.  Can you imagine waiting until you are 100 for a pair of glasses?  One gentleman came in a suit and tie (in that weather!) for the occasion.  I tested one young man who said he could not see the board at school and also could not read his textbook clearly.   

Through the week we have developed a strong working relationship with the Caring Friends Team and we were able to work together very efficiently.  Even so, we had to turn many people away at the end of the day and they were quite disappointed. You can imagine what it is like to sit in the sun waiting patiently only to be turned away.  But we had been working for about five hours straight in the hot sun and we were  also running out of some of the more common prescriptions.   Many people asked, “When are you coming again?”

We ended with song and prayer with the Caring Friends team.  They gave us each a beaded bracelet.  Many hugs , pictures and some tears were shared.  Then we were off to Kruger National Park for a safari the next day.  Due to more load shedding we were unable to get dinner, but shared snacks when we got to our resort for a much needed rest.

The church where we tested


At the end of the day:





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Third Day

 Today we served at St. Peter College.  There was plenty of notice prior and the members of St. Peter Confessional Lutheran Church encouraged the community to come. We served 208 people and distributed many more pairs of glasses.  We think that this might be a record for an eyeglass clinic.  Unfortunately we had to turn some people away.   Each day brings fresh evidence of the great needs here.  I spoke with one young woman who lost her glasses five years ago and hasn’t been able to replace them.  She hasn’t driven her car since then because she can’t see well and she doesn’t want to get a ticket.  Reading had become increasingly difficult also.   Clean water is also a great need here.  We bring plenty of water wherever we go .  At our last site, Caring Team members saw people drawing drinking water from an area   where drinking water and flushing water are mixed.  One woman that came to the clinic had damaged eyes from a water-born parasite.  Unfortunately, glasses cannot help in that
Read more

No "Goers" Without "Senders"

Image
The youth group from St. Luke Lutheran, Itasca, IL (team member Walt's home congregation) packed up 973 (yes, 973) pairs of eyeglasses for shipment to Ann Arbor.   We're hoping that they might be future MOST mission team members!   We are thankful to them and to all the senders for the love that makes our trip possible.    
Read more

We’ve Arrived!

Image
 We arrived safely this evening in Johannesburg.  We travelled an additional hour and a half by van to reach the guest house in Middleburg.  Our driver Knut was wonderful.  We were greeted at the guest house by our gracious host Muzi who led us in a prayer of gratitude.  The guest house is beautiful and stocked with food for us.  Tomorrow we will meet the Caring Friends team and enjoy a braai (barbecue) with them. 
Read more