W.J.D.I.A.T: A Day with the Eye Team

Sunday, August 3, 2008

A Day with the Eye Team

Thursday I was able to take the day off from the dental team and tag alongside the eye team for the day. It was wonderful to see how God is working through the other teams. We left the ship at about 7:45 am and traveled for the next 30 mins to Gaye Town. When we arrived there were tons and tons of people waiting outside the clinic where they work. We packed in all the supplies for the day and set things up and then the team leader headed out to face the crowd. They screen 100 people a day for possible surgery patients and glasses patients. I was able to register patient which at times I had a little bit of difficulty understanding what the patients were saying. English is not the same in all parts of the world. After I finished that task I was given the job of performing visual acuity tests. It was great to be a part of the team even if it was only for a day.

I was watching one of the team members fit a lady for glasses, she put a pair on her and handed her a piece of paper she said can you see this the lady said no, so the team member took that pair off and put on another pair and immediately the lady said “WOW!!! Oh thank you Jesus I can see again. I can see again this is amazing, this is such a blessing. Thank you!” Who would have thought a pair of reading glasses could change one’s life. And the blind shall see….literally

I must say I was out of my comfort zone most of the day. I have absolutely no knowledge of the eye or the different diseases of the eye. I know mouths and everything that comes along with mouths. Mouths are my gift. It is so good that the crew of Mercy Ships is filled with an array of gifts that the Lord has blessed each of us with. We are all able to work together to essentially treat the entire body of the people here in Liberia. Not just the mouth. There are lots of teams that are doing wonderful things here and it was nice to get out and experience that first hand.