beWARM

On the Amazon river, there is a spot where Colombia, Brazil and Peru intersect called Tres Fronteras.  Leticia, Colombia is the city that sits closest to this juncture.  It is here where our 72 member MMI team has set up an eye clinic which has been operating for the past week.

Each time we work on a project, I am amazed at how the hundreds of bags that we bring are expeditiously emptied – in less than ideal surroundings.  A school is transformed into an eye clinic; a modest general operating room is transformed into a 3 table ophthalmic surgical suite.

Seasoned MMI General Helpers train new team members to take visions, operate the auto refractor, and fit reading and prescription glasses. Eye care professionals go about their usual work in a Third World vernacular.

Inevitably, there are challenges; electricity, essential for much of our equipment, can be inconsistent. Logistics of patient flow sometimes need adjusting after the first few days.

It is a wonder how it always comes together.  But before too long, our group settles into a rhythm; patients are evaluated and treated, and visions are improved.

This year, we saw a record 780 patients on our first day of clinic, and scheduled 65 cataract surgeries.  By the end of  the week, the surgical schedule was almost full for the second week of the project.

The need for eye care here in Amazonas is dire; an ophthalmologist comes to the area once every 2 months. Besides that infrequent presence, most people cannot afford the cost of glasses or surgery.

We have barely touched the tip of the iceberg.

In my mind, the “B” in this title stands for blessings. There are Blue moments during every project, to be sure, such as blind patients that we are unable to help – but by and large, God’s providence abounds…and astounds.

• Meeting Rebecca, a missionary who has prayed for 10 years for an eye team to come here.
• A man blind in both eyes for 15 years who can see again after his cataract surgery.
• A 10 year old boy who cried when he saw in the mirror that his crossed eye had been straightened by strabismus surgery.

I could go on and on….but you get the idea.

Though optimism is thriving here, our team still has The Blues about the 2000 pairs of glasses that are still being held in Customs in Bogota, for no valid reason…miles away from the many eyes that need them. We are praying that a heart would soften enough to sign papers for their release.

This morning, I am also praying for each of you as you live out God’s mission for your lives.  Every one of us has work to do for Him – and not necessarily in a Third World country.

Live joyfully!  Settle into the cadence of the life you have been given, beat the blues as you rely on Him…and count your multitude of blessings.

He is at work everywhere.

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. ~Matthew 18:20