The young school girl happy she could see.
Old man is happy seeing again. Their supply of glasses.
Measuring a patient's eyes. Happy girl now that she can see.
The team rejoices after a successful trip.
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Phillipines, 2018
Here is a testimonial from the team leader:
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Holland -
Thank you again for your optical ministry. Our Minnesota based mission team was able to serve as the hands and feet of Christ to the people of Bais City, Negros Oriental, Philippines. During our week long clinic, the eye station was able to hand out somewhere between 5,000-7,500 eyeglasses between the Kendall Optometry glasses (nearly 6,000 pair brought), readers, and sunglasses. This year we decided to have two auto-refractor kits to serve more patients, and our team was able to conduct many eye exams in a short period of time. The average income in this area is around $60 US/month. A pair of glasses may cost $100-200 US, so many people cannot afford to purchase glasses, or cannot afford to buy a better pair as they get older. It was great seeing so many happy people who could see as they walked out of the eye station!
We had several memorable patients. The first was a young school aged girl, probably in her teens. Her mother said she could not see past her nose, and the other kids would make fun at school of her because of her blindness. The auto-refractor read -17 sphere, and just as on other missions, God provided the Rx she needed! In fact, you had written on the pair of glasses "not accurate measurement - do not know" because they were so strong. They were very thick lenses but she was able to see for the first time! It was great.
Another patient was an upper middle-aged woman who needed bifocals. Unfortunately we did not have a good set of bifocals that matched her RX, but we did have readers and distance glasses that did match her RX. We told her that she could keep both of them and she was then brought to tears. When asked why she was crying, she said she was overjoyed because she sews for a living and was about to lose her job because her eyesight was deteriorating. Praise God!
I know there are many more stories like these two, and the glasses that were given out over the course of the week long clinic were an answer to a prayer in many cases. We were humbled grateful and honored to be part of God's miracle to these patients. Thank you for your ministry!
In Him, Jeff
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