Mission Opportunities Short Term (MOST) Ministries provides for the physical and spiritual needs of more than 10,000 people each year by connecting Goers, Senders and Receivers. By the end of 2014, the organization’s 25th anniversary, they will have sent out over 5,000 people on international mission trips.
THE NEED
One of the opportunities to serve is through eyeglass clinics. MOST’s website states that “This year, 4 million pairs of eyeglasses will be thrown away in the US, while 150 million people worldwide suffer from uncorrected vision. The cost of a pair of glasses in many developing nations is equivalent to a year’s salary. Without assistance from MOST Ministries, hundreds of thousands of people would go without the glasses they need to work, read or attend school. MOST Ministries often provides the only pair of eyeglasses a person will ever own.”
With this need in mind, and a passion to serve in their hearts, a team of 15 people from three Michigan congregations (Shepherd of the Lakes, Brighton; Trinity, Reed City; and Grace, Monroe) was trained and sent off to Guatemala in August, 2014. They spent a week leading the clinic in Los Limones, a very small village about 3-4 hours from Guatemala City. The group also led VBS, and about 100 children heard the name of Jesus. You can visit their blog with pictures here.
WHAT THEY DID
Team leader Debby briefly describes what they did: “We were trained to use a very simple method of testing the eyes for appropriate prescription and then selecting and fitting the right glasses. Each patient receives a pair of glasses (or two, if both distance and reading glasses are needed) as well as sunglasses and information on how to protect their eyes.”
The team served 260 people. “All patients are registered, and these registrations provide names and addresses for the local church for follow-up evangelism,” says Debby. Also, “while patients are waiting or being tested and fitted for eyeglasses, they are given personal witness of a team member or a local church member and sometimes given tracts or other evangelistic materials.”
Upon returning to the US, the team leader reflects back on their time spent in Guatemala. Besides serving through the clinic and VBS, “The team was able to support deacon Ubaldo and his family during their time of grief, love on each person who came through the clinic, and pray for the community during our prayer walking time. May God continue to grow the faith of those we served.”
Another team will be going to Guatemala for eyeglass distribution at the end of November, 2014. For more information, visit http://www.mostministries.org/.
