Day 3 (10/13/24)

Today we worshiped at El Redenter -Balboa. What a beautifully remade sanctuary, from what it was just a short time ago (after having sat through an entire year with NO ROOF). We were able to contrast the scene in the fellowship hall (which has not yet been restored, and is mostly used for storage) 

with the scene in the sanctuary, where there is gleaming tile on the floor, a metal roof, fresh paint, many fans, etc. 

We are thankful for the donations and cooperation that happened to bring this building back so that it can serve as a worship center again. We are thankful for the people who worship there regularly...We are thankful that we had the opportunity to join with them in worship today.. ...

 Although we were worshipping in Spanish, which is not familiar to most of us, we were able to sing along, and Pastor Rickman was kind to give the sermon alternating between English and Spanish. It reminded us that whether we worship in Spanish at  El Redenter or in English at Our Redeemer, we worship the same God, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. 

After worship, we rearranged pews and added tables into the sanctuary to set up for our first Eyeglass Clinic. 

It took us a while to get organized, but we are confident we will be able to do it faster tomorrow since we will have done it once before! 

There were 5 stations - a Nursing station, where we asked questions to determine what the vision needs were. Many of the people coming to the clinic had been prescribed glasses, but couldn't afford to fill the prescription. Some had filled the prescription, but their glasses had broken and they couldn't afford a new pair. Some, like this young man, had been wearing broken glasses for a long time. 

The next station was the Evangelism Station, where the Good News of Jesus was shared with adults and children alike using many different visual methods.

The next station was the Testing Station, where vision was tested using a hand chart. The "pointers" pointed to the various hands on the chart and the person whose vision was being tested would position their own hand to match the direction of the fingers of the hand on the chart.

The next station was the Distribution Station, which involved "runners" who picked three pairs of glasses with corrective power approximating what the person would most benefit from, and the "tryers" who would ask the person to try on various pairs of glasses to see which one improved the person's vision the best. Here is Marilyn helping Marilin find that right pair of glasses!

The last station was the Fitting Station, where final fit adjustments were made so that the glasses fit well on the person's face, and also this station also handed out sunglasses. 

When we were done, Pastor Rickman and the entire mission team thanked all the volunteers who helped by interpreting for us today. The volunteer interpreters gave of their time and talents, and this clinic would not have been possible without them!

We got all our supplies packed up and back on the bus - we had started setting up right after worship today (around 11:30), and we left church around 6:15 pm. In that time we were able to serve 145 people by providing them with a pair of glasses. Unfortunately, many were also turned away due to lack of time. 

We had dinner at TGIFridays in the hotel where we had the opportunity to come together as a group and reflect on the day. Following devotions (up in Craig's room), we shared with each other how we saw God at work today.  Here are just a few ways

-by being able to provide purple sunglasses to a little girl whose favorite color was purple, and to see her face  light up when she saw that purple frame be pulled out for her.

-by seeing volunteers from several local churches all come together to help support this clinic

-by seeing the genuine love of those in the congregation for us (people they had never met before);  how they smiled to see us, came up and hugged us, and how they naturally ended pretty much every conversation with "gracias". How would our lives be different if we said "thank you" even half as much?

-by coming to a deeper understanding of what Jesus was saying in Matthew 25 : 34-40

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Lord, we saw You today in so many ways, in so many faces - in the children who have noticed that the words seem blurry at school, in the college students who get headaches because they have to squint at the computer screen, in the working parents who just can't afford glasses, in the grandmas and grandpas whose vision is declining faster than they can buy glasses. They were all eager to be able to see better.  We know that by serving these people we were really serving You because all of these people who we encountered today are Your children, precious in Your sight. You know all of their needs including their greatest need, which is to be connected to You.  May what happened today strengthen their connection to You and also our connection to You.