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 situation.

It was a rewarding day which ended in song and prayer with our Caring Friends partners.  In the evening, David and Janey of Christian Outreach for Africa  prepared a delicious dinner for us at their beautiful home.  We also celebrated Team Leader Annette’s birthday there.

Tomorrow we have  an early start, leaving at 6:30 am for a site that is about 2.5-3 hours away.  This will be our last clinic