Give Thanks
Beloved Family and Friends,
What a joy it is to be back with you! Right now, every one of our MOST team members is home, reunited with family, sharing their experiences serving the people in Comayagua, Honduras. This will be the last blog post to share about the last full day of eyeglass clinic, which was Thursday.
It was a good day, with several rain showers on and off, and every one of our team was aware it was the last day. We arrived before nine in the morning, as usual, and had a wonderful devotion on our identity in Christ before we got started. How amazingly applicable the devotion was by the end of our day!
We saw over 100 people, and by four pm as we were cleaning up, a couple of people came in to be seen. Our team did not turn away a single person. After four days of eyeglass clinics, we gave away 769 prescription glasses and 740 sunglasses to a total of 554 men, women, teenagers and children. What an amazing blessing they were to us all!
What was humbling for each of us was the gratitude expressed by every single person who walked through the clinic. There were multiple times when a little more than checking for eye infections took place at the nursing station. Sharing stories of pain and struggle, of hurt and resentment happened several times. It became opportunities for the MOST team nurse to pray with several of these hurting people. The hugs and gratitude received from these special cases were extra special, though there was not a single person who came through the nursing station that did not say thank you.
Then there was the testing station. What a wonderful experience it was for our MOST testers to see those smiles when things became clear and visible for the first time in only they know how long. Once again, the gratitude given to the testers was genuine and encouraging, which helped them draw fortitude and patience when the tough cases came along.
The pulling/distribution station is where things got interesting. Not only were people coming to this station eager to get glasses that would help them see, but they were also looking for something that would flatter their faces. It took time and perseverance from our MOST pullers and distributors to find the right frames, with the right prescription, that would have each person leave for the next station with a sense of excitement, along with a little blue basket holding their chosen glasses in hand, but not without saying thank you to the pullers and distributors at this station.
The last station was the fitting, where two of our MOST team members took the time to patiently ensure the glasses chosen would fit correctly on their nose and over their ears. Bending, tightening, gently shaping, they worked with diligence as their interpreter helped them communicate with the person before them. Once their glasses fit just right, they got to choose their little bag to store their glasses and a pair of sunglasses. And not a single one of them left without saying thank you.
"What you are doing here is the work of God."
"Thank God for bringing you here to help us."
"Why are you doing this? We now have hope we are not forgotten."
"Praise the LORD! You are sent by God to help do these miracles."
"May God bless you as you have blessed us."
"I can now read my Bible. You helped me be able to read my Bible."
"Thank you for praying for me, for praying that I can let go of bitterness."
Family and friends, there were so many "thank yous" received. Smiles, hugs, fist bumps, high fives, mangoes, notes, and trust in us. All because we brought them glasses to be able to read and see from a distance.
These glasses are donated by multiple people throughout the United States when they're no longer any good. In all essence, these glasses we bring are tossed aside, but for these people in Honduras, and in other countries where MOST does eyeglass clinics, such as Mexico, India, and Africa (to name a few), these glasses are miracles making it possible for them to enjoy something we take for granted.
What a humbling experience it was to see how God used what we think of as useless to bring usefulness to hurting people!
And so, with each of us back home in Texas, Montana, Michigan, and Colorado, we give thanks to God for blessing us with 554 Hondurans who showed us the mightiness of our God. They taught us of His faithfulness. They expressed His love and mercy to us. And they returned the grace of God through Christ with every "gracias" they gave to each of us.
Until the next time.
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him...but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 3:7-9a, 13b
Comments
Post a Comment