Day 2 of Clinic

The second day of clinic was a long day ... but an interesting day, too. The day started early with the team on the road by 6:20 for the long ride to the site of their second clinic. Overall, it was a smooth trip and they set up the clinic at their new location. Here's a picture of the walk they had to take from the main road to get back to the clinic site.

They begin each morning with a meeting and prayer with the volunteers and translators.

The team was quite impressed with the use of the large bamboo poles, creating this large tent for registration.

Without structural walls, they were quite creative with the "eye chart" locations. 

The temperatures are in the mid-80's, so the team has to find ways to handle the heat while working outdoors.

Eyeglass clinics can only be successful with the help of so many local volunteers and translators and our team is so grateful for the amazing people they have working alongside them.

I'll try to include some more pictures in the coming days of the sights (and maybe sounds), but for now, here are a couple of neat things to see.

Here's a fun picture of a rice field.

And Becky found this really cool flower growing ... what a beautiful flower!!

The "numbers" for Day 2 ... 141 people through the clinic, with 171 eyeglasses distributed, along with 141 sunglasses. What amazing work for a "short" clinic. The clinic closed around 4:30 so the team could pack up and drive the few hours back to the hotel for a late dinner and some sleep. 

Thank you for your continued prayers for this mission and the team. Pray for renewed strength as they have another long day ahead. Most importantly, pray for those that are receiving glasses ... that they would also receive the message of God's mercy and love and that it would grow in their hearts.

God's blessings!

First Eyeglass Clinic

 It's finally here! The first day of the eyeglass clinic that has been so many months in the making. Months of planning, training, praying ... and it begins. You want to know what we all want to know ... how many people were seen today. How many people received the gift of sight? How many people heard of God's love for them in their native language? Well, keep reading ...

If you're not familiar with an eyeglass clinic, we'll give you a brief overview of what happens. If you are familiar, enjoy looking at the pictures of this first day in a brand new location!

The clinic utilized tents and other structures to provide shelter and shade. Each station is identified with a sign and church members help direct each person to each station. The first, of which, is registration.

 

 

Karen then educates them on the process to come and also on eye health and communicable diseases, and then checks each person for any such eye problem and overall optical health. What a blessing that her translator is also a nurse!

 

Next, they move along to the testing station. They are testing for distance and reading with simple eye charts and flipper lenses (better now or better now?).

This fairly basic testing gets their prescription within .25 (i.e. prescription is 1.5 and the actual need ranges from 1.25 to 1.75), which will be honed in later.

While Tracey takes the prescription and pulls glasses within the range described above, the person gets to sit and hear the gospel shared by a member of the local church.

They, then, move on to another station where they try on three sets of glasses (six if they need distance and reading glasses) and find the glasses that work the best. This is usually where you start to see the smiles ... and not just from Larry! 

The final stop is Fitting. This is where their new glasses are tweaked and modified to fit their face, cleaned, and given to them with a case.

Okay, let's answer your question ... how many people came through the clinic and were served on the first day? The total people served was 188! 188 people that might see clearly now. 188 people that heard the gospel of our Savior, Jesus! Pray for that message to take root in their hearts. Pray that this clinic has created a relationship with this local congregation, so they may hear more about our Jesus.

Pray, also, for our team. They saw clients until about 6:30pm, then packed up the clinic. After their night in the hotel (some are dealing with jet lag and not getting as much sleep as they would like), they were on the road at 6:20am to head to the site of the second day of clinic. It was expected to be a 3 hour drive, then they set up and are currently running day 2 of the clinic. 

Thank you for following their adventure and for your continued prayer support. Any comments we receive are shared with the team, so feel free to post! 

I'm looking forward to receiving and sharing more pictures, details, and stories in the coming days!

God's blessings.

Worship and Praise

The best way to start a mission trip is with a day of praise and worship! The team was able to worship with the local congregation, celebrating the Lord's Supper, and praising God with music and dance. Clay shared (with the help of a translator) about God's calling and mission.

Some of the young ladies performed a choreographed dance.

The children also sang and danced ... and Alison handed off her camera and joined in the joyful worship. 

One of the ministries the host church offers is an extensive children's program. One of the outreaches is a daily program for children ages 5 and up from the community (they come from up to 1km away) to come and learn and do activities. All of them are from a Hindu background and the church has seen the fruit of this mission.

Hospitality is incredible in India, and the team was served lunch and dinner on the roof of the church.

 

  

 

 

Tomorrow (actually, very shortly for them), they will start the first day of the eyeglass clinic. Please pray for everything to go well and for open hearts to hear God's love shared from local church members in their own language. 

How Did we Get Here?

Let me tell you how the Kolkata India trip came together. It was over 16 months ago when "D" and I (Clay) were talking. I was telling him what an eyeglass camp looks like and how it could help his awareness in the community. I had him inquire with MOST to see if they would even go there. When we found out they were willing to check it out, we were ecstatic. 

St. Matthew already had a trip scheduled for Punjab, India. The director of MOST, Marty, met me in Kolkata at the tail end of the Punjab trip to see if it was a viable location for an eyeglass camp. That was one year ago almost to the week. 

Much prayer and planning was started, and MOST finally gave the nod to move forward. I pledged to D, I would do everything in my power to spread the word to raise a team. I asked the Lord who he might want to go on this trip. He said ask everybody. If they don’t go this time maybe they will go next time. 

I asked all the members of St. Matthew that had gone on previous trips. I asked friends and family. I asked D’s friends from his town who were in Ohio running a shelter. They knew of a full time missionary that was stateside in Ohio that might want to go back. 

Many were asked. God revealed who he wanted on this trip. But that was only 8 coming up on the deadline. We needed 10. Then a wonderful thing happened. People I didn’t know. And they didn’t know me, started signing up for the trip out of the blue. I knew it was a God thing. Makes me well up with emotion as I think about it. Today, we fly half way around the world to share our Jesus with D’s community members. 

I was hoping people from other places would come to help. And they are. The only thing I did was pray. Our God is an Awesome God, He reigns in Heaven and Earth!!! 

I did what I could to help raise a team. But, I fell far short. God raised this team, and I am looking forward to meeting them in the field. Praise the Lord for the way he works in our midst. I love seeing his brushstrokes across our lives. 

A servant of the King,
Clay

Arrived in India!

After over 24 hours of travel, including three flights, the team has arrived safely at their hotel in India. Please pray for a restful night, a great day of worship when they wake up, and for their preparations and setup for the eyeglass clinic. 

India Team 2024 ... The Journey Begins

The team is currently on their flight from the US to India. Please pray for their safety and preparation for their clinic. When they land, they have another flight to get them to their home base for the week. They will have 5 days of clinic in 3 locations. We'll be updating you with additional information about the team members and their mission over the next several days. 

Thank you for your prayers for the team as they begin this amazing and important trip.

Final Thoughts from Ray

Please read this wrap up from third time India missionary, Ray.

I’m asked by a lot of friends if I enjoyed my vacation. I smile and say “Yeah, it was great”, but vacation would be one of the last words that I would use to describe our trip. The travel is brutal, and the work is non-stop once you get there. But there certainly are sights to see along the way. The ways they transport goods and people are very interesting, and in the U.S. would result in a ticket minimally, if not jail. These were all taken on the expressway, not rural roads!

I think the word I would use to describe the trip would be overwhelming. Overwhelmed by several things.

First of all, I am overwhelmed by the spiritual darkness. Hindu temples are everywhere and images of Hindu gods are ubiquitous as well. They dominate the skyline of every town, village and city we passed through. The current ruling party in India has made their agenda clear; to make the entire nation a Hindu nation. Our Christian brothers and sisters are praying for a change in regime at the next election cycle (India is the world’s largest democracy) and we join them in that prayer. Persecution against Christians has broken out in India, especially in the southern regions, (we were in the north) but there are signs that it is traveling northward. I was told that while the government does not take an active role in the persecution, they turn a blind eye to it unless somehow forced to address it. Pray for our brothers and sisters.
 

One of the churches of Everlasting Life Ministries is in the city of Hoshiarpur. Hoshiarpur is an area where Hindu extremists are based, and the church and its members have been attacked on occasion. Yet these brave Christians (virtually all of them converts from Hinduism) still gather to sing His praises and hear His word. The “church” is a building that was fairly recently built after they outgrew the home churches they were meeting in. It is simply a rectangular brick building with a dirt floor. They spread carpets over the floor and sit on the floor and worship Him with an enthusiasm that is remarkable. Their worship can be heard throughout the neighborhood, which can be dangerous, but they want others to hear His message, even if they are afraid to come through the doors.

As you travel through the country (it’s a 12-14 hour bus ride from the airport to Dasuya) it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the poverty and the living conditions a large percentage of the population live in.
 

Even those that live in homes and buildings have very little and make do with what they have. Yes, we have the poor in our country, but the scale and degree of poverty you see there is staggering.

Despite this, they are a friendly, welcoming people. The church members were especially open to us, but even strangers passing in the street were happy to welcome a group of Americans.

But mostly, I am overwhelmed by what God is doing in this place. Even with the difficulties of resistance from the culture and the government, God is moving His kingdom forward through His chosen people in India. The church in Dasuya continues to grow, and the influence of Everlasting Life Ministries is spreading throughout Northern India. Pastor Daniel trains and mentors pastors throughout the region and they are founding churches and through the Holy Spirit bringing people to faith. We happened to be there the week of a pastor’s conference. These are some of the dedicated souls that God has called to do his work. Pray for them.

 

Most overwhelming of all is that our team saw just under 1000 people, with around 700 of them hearing the gospel for the first time. They came for eyeglasses, but as part of the process they go to a station in the clinic where the people of the church witness and minister to them, giving them Bibles and other information in their own language. Pastor Daniel tells us that every time the eyeglass clinic comes, there are people that join the church as a result, are baptized and their eternal destiny is changed. To be a small part of that is the most overwhelming thing of all. It is such an honor and a privilege to have had this opportunity.

 

Waiting to get into the clinic.

Sunday service in Dasuya.