Fun in the Sun and Ice

Today was our "free day" and we all went in groups to see the sights and in some cases relax. The group I was with went to see the third largest geyser in the world and then head out to go sandboarding. Anyone that knows me is probably a little surprised to hear that, but it was really fun.

Anyway, we headed out to the geysers at about 4 AM and rode the bus to arrive at about 6:15 or so. It was a looooooong bumpy ride, but really great. We arrived at just the right time to see the old and young geysers start blasting off. The place was amazing! We were able to get closer to them than you would ever get in the US. We were actually walking on top of some of the bubbling geysers! Back home, you would be looking at them from a football field away.

Anyway, at one point we were actually standing and letting the steam sweep over us as we stood and just experienced the moment. It was great. It was about -14 C when we got there (rather cold if you ask me), but warmed up steadily while we were there. We also saw some native animals and birds that were pretty cool.

We left the geysers to head back to San Pedro for lunch and to pick up our sandboards. Lunch was really great. Some of us ate at a small place in the middle of town, while others chose to shop and just grad a quick bite. We grabbed the boards and headed into an area that was truly in the middle of nowhere.

We drove out to a spot I would never be able to find again in a million years. The scenery was incredible and the sky was beyond blue. While the sandhill the were climbing was rediculous to climb, it was worth it when we got to the top of the hill. We had an absolute blast going down the hill on the boards and filling our shoes and pants with sand. Some of us managed to plant our faces deep in the sand and are probably still trying to clean sand out of various orifices. It may be months before I get sand out of my various cracks and crevices.


It was more than worth it to climb the hill, eat some sand, and ride on possibly the least comfortable bus in this hemisphere as we saw and experienced things that will stay with us for a lifetime.

I speak for all of us when I say this has been amazing experience and a beautiful land. The people here have opened their hearts to us and have been beyond appreciative. This team has been great. While it is my first mission, I feel like I have done it forever. I can't think of a single person on this team I don't consider my friend and I would open my home to all of you.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog over the past few weeks. I will update a few more times, so please continue to check if you have the time.

Long Way Home

Today was our last day in clinic. We have a free day Friday and then start our journey home Saturday. It is somewhat bittersweet to have to pack up the clinic. In one way we are all excited to be home and see our friends and family. In another way, we are sad we are unable to continue to see the new friends on the team and the wonderful people we have met here.

It was a great day as far as clinic goes. We were supposed to wrap up around 2 and ended up going until almost 4. The we had a chance to thank the local students, Lions and the army for their generosity and hard work. Everyone that helpedus had a chance to pick out a pair of sunglasses and to pick a donated item from the our homes. It was a great time and I wish we could do more.

I really don´t have any amazing stories right now and I am having issues with posting images. I will try to get more on the blog as soon as possible, but I am not sure what I will be able to do. Access has been limited, so I am sorry for that. I will add more photos when I get home if I can´t do it before.

We have a dinner with the Lions Club this evening that should be pretty great. Then many of us are going to see the local water spouts that are about 2 hours south of here. They are said to be amazing and so far no one has misled us about these things.

I know that many of the volunteers are reading this blog and I want to take a moment to thank them for all of their hard work and huge hearts. You have made us all feel so welcome and been so gracious. We all appreciate the hours and effort you have given to this clinic and the love you have shown to us.

To our family and friends back home... We miss you and can´t wait to see you. To the our family a LUX... thanks for making this possible. Your care and support have made it possible for us to be here while you have been back home. We can´t wait to see you all and share the stories of this amazing experience.

Thanks for reading.

Muu Muu Coup!

So we had our live auction last night. As the fundraising chair, I was able to serve as the auctioneer (a great honor) and had the talents of Anna to serve as the Vanna White of the mission. She strutted her stuff for the traditional items, while I played the channelled Howie Mandell and asked for bids. Anyway, we were able to raise more than $2000 for GOS, but there is much more. I will need to share the pictures, but I will try to tell the story.

One of our teammates (Big Michael as we are calling him) has this habit of wearing a wonderful Muu Muu. It is bright orange and he is quite tall. It makes for a striking combination! Even pictures do not do it justice.

Anyway, his birthday was the other night (he owes me the poem he wrote to post on here!) and he wore this dress. It was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time as towered over the room in this bright orange dress. He looked about two feet taller that the ladies waiting tables.

He decided to auction off the opportunity to make someone wear the Muu Muu at clinic for a day. Well a mission coup (the Muu Muu Coup) was quickly organized and much money was raised to make Janet, our mission leader, wear the dress. Ahhhhh, but it is not that simple. We are a devious bunch and Michael is quite funny. He and several others (Sheila led the charge) and hatched plan to hide the intent until late in the bidding.

So after the ¨ususal¨ items were acutioned, Michael began to tell a story, I can´t even begin to tell the story the way he told it, but needless to say, it involved buying the 1956 Western Regional Dance Champion´s dress on consignment, wearing to to an LA bar dearing Gay Pride Week(?... I was laughing to hard to be able to catch that part) and entering a bar where he was accosted by a raging Queen that said ¨Nice Dress, where´d ya get it!¨

Michael responded immediately, ¨I will have you know that there is only one Western Regional Dance champion of 1956, and I am wearing her dress,¨ or something to that effect, I told you I couldn´t relay the story. Imagine playing the telephone game, but with 30 drunk, tired maniacs that are laughing until they cry.

Well, needless to say (though I will), the bidding began with Michael taking over the auction. After all, who could follow that story? After several bids came through the bidding was over $400. A surprise came when an annonymous bidder called in a bid of over $500! Well, a shocked crowd was unable to respond before the bidding ended. The ¨anonymous¨ bidder chose to have Janet wear the Muu Muu and she was, of course deeply honored and excited.


A quick thing lass from Hawaii, Dana, proposed that we raise funds to provide the honor to a second individual. A rousing applause was heard as everyone agreed. Everyone except Eric Anderson, who may have had a sneaking suspicion that he would be the one selected to wear the Muu Muu. After a quick vote, he was correct and did indeed for all you back at home, wear the Muu Muu. It showed off his legs smashingly as our British contingent, Becky, would say.

Well, that is all I have for now... I will leave you to wait for pictures of Eric, Janet and Michael in the Muu Muu.

Thanks for reading!

Don´t Stop Believing

We had another great experience today. At clinic we saw more than 3200 patients and it seemed like only 2000. We had so many great experiences that have made the team come together even more than we could have thought. There is not a single person on the team that I am not proud to call my friend and I believe that we all feel the same way.

Today I spent the day in IMS, a station I have been in before. I think many of us returned to places we had been and are now comfortable. We all are getting the hang of it and in many ways are sad to see the end is near. We all pressed hard to day and kept the faith after our wishes from home. They powered us through the exhaustion, both mental and physical and made it possible to deliver the highest single day of the clinic. We have only a half day left and it has been getting harder and harder to find great matches for the patient´s Rx, but we all wish we could help every single person, just like we do back home.

I have a few stories today. One is from my roommate and friend Dr Dave Oebkr. Today he brought a pair of glasses from his home store that was a pretty significant Rx (plus tens). He asked the folks in IMS if they found a match to get him and he would like to be the one to dispense that glasses. A little time passed by and he was called to head up to the dispensing area and fit the glasses for the patient. As the name was called a few people wispered, Oh my gosh, he has no arms! The patient had been in an electrical accident and had lost both of his arms. The man was very excited to get glasses and came boucing up. As Dave sat him down and went to fit the glasses, he realized the man also had no right ear. It had been lost to the accident as well. Dave partnered with several team members (Eric Anderson and a few others) and was able to find a glasses strap to hold the on the man´s head. He was so greatful and the Rx matched almost perfectly. Dave was almost overwhelmed! The man had so much joy in his heart after so much difficulty, he was truly an inspiration.

A second story actually comes from me. The other day, I was working on making glasses with Shawn Deckert, my fellow Target Team Member (he is amazing, by the way) and Eric Anderson (I feel a Target moment coming on) came to me and asked if I could help with a patient. He had Auto-Refracted a woman and her mother. The woman was a MINUS 25! Imagine the world through those eyes. Her mother was a minus 6 and both had no glasses at all. I can´t imagine life in that manner. Well, we worked hard to find a good match and found an almost perfect one for the mother. She was extremely happy and gave me a big hug. For the daughter, 35 years old mind you, we were only able to find a minus 10. Hoping for the best and explaining this was not a perfect match, I put the glasses on her face. I knew immediately it was not what we were hoping for. She shook her head and said ¨No.¨ Our translator told us that she could only make out shapes and light and that it was just very cloudy. After a long talk, we realized this was probably the best we could do. With a very heavy heart, I walked her up the stairs, talking the whole way through the translator. The women told me they were both kindergarten teachers (My sister Meredith taught kindergarten) and that they loved their work and the kids. I knew that it must be next to impossible to work the kids and not be able to see them. Once I walked them out, Eric approached me. He saw how much I had been moved (believe me, it showed) and asked me if I would be willing to sponsor the woman. Very excitedly, I said yes and asked what I needed to do, thinking I would pay $400 or so and get her glasses made. Instead Eric told me Target would donate the money and I would just need to coordinate the process. Shawn Deckert, Kim Wentzel, Meera Dua, Sherrie Henderson and others, I probably don´t even know are working to make this happen and we received an email today, saying the glasses should be ready and on my desk when I get back on the 3rd! It just shows how far the spirit of giving can reach and why I love Luxottica and Target Optical. Thank you to everyone involved and thank you to Eric for asking me to help.

Wow, that was a long and emotional post. With that I will wrap things up other than to say that we all love the folks back home and can´t wait to share the joy we have experience here in Calama. Today one of the volunteers said, ¨Nothing is impossible. We are Chilean and we will make it so. Just believe you can.¨ That is the spirit of the Gift of Sight, the people we are helping and the amazing Team we are a part of.

Thanks for reading.

Candid Camera!

Tonight we received care packages from friends, family, and co-workers. We want you all to know how much it means to get a piece of home here in Calama. We are all very tired and emotionally spent and to get this is such a blessing. It has lifted our spirits and we are so looking forward to driving this clinic home and helping as many people as possible!

I would like to personally say how much it means to me to have the support of my friends and family. You are all great and your support has made this possible. I love you all and can't wait to see you. I am sure everyone here feels the same way about their loved ones so from all of us here, we miss you all and love you!

To all that have not seen there familes for a looooong time, here are some pics from the past few days. Enjoy.

Memories

Today we wanted to share an amazing experience from clinic. One of the docs, Alan Levy from NY, has lost his father in the past year. He has been wearing his father´s flanel shirt to honor his memory. His father believed strongly in the importance of giving back, so he felt that this mission was the perfect place to ¨give the shirt off his back.¨

Alan has been working the Penthouse clinic which is the area above the main floor of the clinic for patients that are unable to climb the stairs or have other issues that would keep them from going through the lines. He encountered a woman with a rather severe Rx that had no legs. He happened to have in his pocket one of his patient´s glasses. The patient had heard of his mission work and wanted to make sure someone was able to use them.

As he gave her the glasses he became very emotional. The woman was extremely greatful and was trying to console him as he started to break down. He then looked at her husband and realized that this was THE opportunity to truly honor his father and gave him the shirt. Through an interpreter, he shared the story of his father and what this meant to him. The man was very appreciative and several patients came to console him. It was very moving.

Several hours later, the man returned with a gift of fruit. An experience that can´t happen anywhere else.

Thanks for reading and we´ll try to post more later.

Open Your Hearts and Your Wallets

Hello everyone.

Just a quick update after our silent auction. We were able to raise $1787 tonight and almost everyone came away with a memory to bring home. For those that don´t know, each mission has a silent auction where team members bring items from home to auction off during the mission. In addition, people purchase items in country that have special meaning to the team. Some amazing things were included tonight such as custom crafted jewelry, sunglasses, shirts and hats.

We will have a live auction tomorrow to really bring it home. This team is so generous and so giving, it is amazing. There are some special items for the live auction including an autographed flag.

We are having some issues with getting photos uploaded, but we will make sure to get as many as possible on in the morning.

I want to thank my friend Johanna for updating the blog tonight. She did a great job while I was coordinating the silent auction.

SUDDENLY I SEE

After two days off the clinic it was fairly hard for everyone to get up and be at the bus at 07:15. Barb was slightly late did get to wear the cheerleading uniform the whole day and do a cheer for us during morning brief. This got everyone in a good mood and the day started off well.

Throughout the day we were able to help 2236 patients. We had a lot of exciting and moving moments when we were able to help patients that had not seen for a long time or had never had glasses. The three most moving stories will follow.

A 42-yr old woman came to the prescription station and presented Ron with a -23 and being very nearsighted. The woman had never had glasses before and literally could see anything clearly no further away than 2 inches from her nose. Ron was able to find her a pair of glasses with the help of Cynthia that were -12, approximately half of the prescription she needed. The moment we put the glasses on her, she was excited how clearly she could see although we were not even able to give her a perfect match. At that point Alan walked up to see what the excitement was about and suggested to try and piggy-back a second pair of glasses to attempt to give her an even better result. Ron went to IMS to find a smaller pair that was able to be fitted onto the first pair and managed to make the prescribed glasses up to -20. This almost gave the woman perfect sight and her amazement was apparent. As this moved us a lot this story is not over yet.

Ron offered to make her the perfect glasses when he gets back to his office in Detroit, MI and send them to her, so she will be able to see with one pair of glasses in the very near futures. We truly gave her the gift of sight.

Another moving story we came across was a mother that had a -16. We managed to get a pair of glasses that were -10.Although her little son did not have a sheet and was not supposed to be checked, Michael Siebert proposed to check him as well. He was checked although he did not have myopia but he had 4 diopters of stigmatism and we made sure he received glasses. The woman also had a 3 months old daughter, Michael explained to her how important it was to check the daughter in, as she would probably face difficulties in sight as well when she grew older.

We are seeing a lot of high cylinders, which are due to genetic reasons and not as common in first world countries; making it quite difficult for us at this point of the clinic to find perfect matches for everyone. Nevertheless everyone is trying really hard to find a very close match and a pair of glasses that matches age and gender.

The last story we have for today which really moved those in dispensing was of two little boys. One got a big pair of old glasses and the other pair was pink. Dana (our birthday-kid of today as we keep on celebrating birthdays throughout our trip..) did not want to supply the boys with what was given to her. She went to get Chabellas for one of them. She told the little boy she was putting them onto, that they were specially made for him. The boy started crying because he was so moved. Dana however realized these glasses were not intended for the boy that got them and had to call him back. Moved by how he reacted she went down to Shawn to get another pair of Chabellas for him as well. The outcome was more than worth it.

Tonight is silent auction and everyone is now putting in their items to fundraise money for the gift of sight foundation. Trying to rise the price people walk around praising their items to everyone else.
We will of course try to raise more money than previous missions all depending upon generosity, probably creativity of items that can be bid upon and the supports of you guys out there who can support us as well ....online!! ( pls. see website www.givethegiftofsight.com and look for team chile 2008 team leader tim mohrhaus - thanks for supporting us in advance!)

Finishing tonight we want to wish Dana a great birthday and all that she wishes for to come true. She has been so cheerful and supportive to everyone in the team, volunteers and of course to the patients. Stay the way you are "cow-girl".

All the Way to the Moon and Back

Today was a great day. Our hosts took us to some amazing places and we had the chance to see things I could never have imagined.

We went to the town of San Pedro and had a chance to tour the local archeological museum and learn about the history and the culture of the area. They had just recently removed some of the mummified remains that had been on display here to be more respectful to the discendants. It was very cool to learn about the culture and the history of the area.

We then had a traditional lunch on one of the local restaurants and were off to see another very unique thing. An ancient town that had been abandoned and swallowed by the desert. It is currently being excavated and so were were able to see some of the buildings as they were unearthed.

Once that was finished we had a chance to see more of San Pedro and do some shopping (A special thanks to our student volunteers, Natalie and Jose. They have been babysitting me as I attempt to speak Spanish and learn more about the country. They are truly Rock Stars!). There was something for everyone (and yes Angie and Nathan, I picked up several things for you). The shops were cool and the items were amazing. They were all handmade and the craftsman were, in many cases, right there!

Finally we went to ¨The Valley of the Moon¨. As my Team Member, Cyn Boulton (Hello to Chris and Lara. Much love is coming your way from Calama). The area is incredible. As the sun comes down and hits the salt in the rock it is a sea of color. As Cyn said, it is amazing and was everything we were told and more. It is like you have been taken from the Earth and transported to another planet. In fact, NASA has used the are for training for moon landings.

Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone back at home and in the CSC. To my Target and CSC friends participating in the Recycle Challenge... keep up the good work as you really are a huge part of it all. Without quality glasses here, nothing can happen. Thanks for taking part.

Dust in the Wind

Good morning

So I told you a little about the tours we took, but I want to get back to clinic stories for a moment. One of our my fellow CSC friends was telling me about some of his experiences in clinic over the past few days and had some great stories to share. After a few moments trying to remember the best he wanted to share. Brian Michel (hi to Patty and much love) told me about his time in dispense and just how appreciative the people are and how many hugs he has received in his time here. While he didn't have a single story he wanted to share, he talked most about the children. When you dispense to the kids it just pulls at your heart!

Another story from clinic comes from one of our docs. Sheila Chamberlin (Hi to Kendall and Hercules! Stay safe and keep the grass short) told me about a couple that came through. They were an older couple and somehow the wife lost her paperwork through the day and ended up waiting for several hours. As she talked with her, she realized that while she needed bifocals, all she really wanted was to be able to see to be able to do her needlepoint. Sheila went and grabbed a pair of +4 readers and put them on her. The smile was amazing. The wife cried... the husband cried... Sheila cried. It was just one of those moments.


One of the student doctors was telling us about how powerful the trip has been for her. Niki Henriksen (Hi to everyone back at home and at IOC) was sharing how the entire trip has been amazing. Her most powerful experience was the first one. When we entered the base on the first day, there were hundreds of people lined up to get glasses. As we went by they cheered for us like we were rock stars. It was crazy. Niki was moved to the point of having to wipe tears from her eyes and it just powers you to give even more.

While there are more to share, we are getting ready to head out so thanks for reading and we will share more later!

Touring Chile

Well, today we spent the day touring the area and got to see some amazing things. I am going to be short and without pics for now (I have added them now).

We toured Chiu Chiu today and it was very cool. Good representation of the desert towns of the area with nice shops for the American tourists. Many of us purchased hats, shirts, socks, seaters, scarves, etc for our families. All handmade and very wonderful.

We then toured a lake... that´s right, a lake in the desert. Very wild to see. It is speculated that a meteor struck and caused an underground river to surface, but no one is certain.

We then toured some ruins. Lasana is a small town with a fort made of stone. It is many stories high and really amazing.

Some of us went into the square in Calama and saw a tradition religious dance and did more shopping. Some of the volunteers took us around and were really great. Now it is off to dinner and then to bed.

More to come Sunday! Thanks for reading.

Blog Happy in Calama

So, it is Saturday morning and I have been a little blog happy in the last 12 hours. Two posts last night and one this morning! So, we are in the hotel lobby sucking up some free wi-fi and talking about the great stories from the day before. We are going to head out on a tour of a, Chiu-Chiu (Choo-Choo), small traditional Chilean town around 10, but until then, lets get to the stories.

Yesterday, was great as I said before. One of the docs, Michael Siebert, has been great with his camera and his heart. He took some time during one of the lulls and went around to take pictures of the recipients and the volunteers. He ended up lending a hand all around the clinic, but when he ended up in dispense he met a wonderful older woman that just lifted his soul. She was adorable and so gracious, he couldn't help but snap the picture you see here.

Another Team Member, Emma Horn, had one of those Mission Magic moments yesterday. She had been putting off bringing her husband Frank's (Hi Frank! Emma sends her love) glasses to dispense on a mission (she has been on about 736) and brought them this time. Shawn Deckert (fellow Target guy), had just read the Rx on the glasses for her. As she mentioned to Dr. Mike (from the above paragraph) that she had them with her, he happened to have in his hands the paper for a recipient that had a perfect match. While the pair he was about to give them was good, this was exact! Talk about timing! Emma had the chance to talk with the man and share what the glasses meant to her. He was so appreciative and sweet. Emma, what a great story.

Jammin Jamie Hall had another great story from a few days ago. (BTW, Courney, Salena, Don, Forrest... Jamie says hi) She and Dr. Michael (why is he in all these stories) found glasses for a patient with -10 OU Rx. They were brand new glasses with AR, just perfect. Dr. Mike found the patient and came to Jamie to see if we could find a match. Jamie was able to find a PERFECT match (she is the Queen of IMS). Michael dispensed them right on the spot. With the challenge of finding good matches, it was sooooooo amazing to find something so close and so wonderful.

Well, thats it for now. We will try to update later today if not more!. Thanks for reading and stay classy.

Mostly Tim Sharing His Day

On Friday I had the chance to spend the day in dispense. We’ve talked a little bit about what that is, but you can’t describe it until you experience it. The reality is this is the place where people talk about Mission Magic. It is where you see the smiles on the faces as they see the world for the first time in years. There were so many people that I encountered that warmed my heart and showed me the true meaning of joy that it is hard to relay here. Also, our local volunteers were amazing. They spend hours and hours translating my non-Spanish to the recipients and helping in every way possible. Most of them are local students that are missing school to help. When I talk to them I am blown away by the generosity and willingness to give of themselves.

As I am riding on a buss and typing on someone elses lap, I will be quick. It is hard for me to pick one story from my day as there are just so many. I could tell you about the laughs we had as I attempted to pronounce any of the names in Spanish and the belly-laughs of the recipients as they attempted to understand me. I could tell you about the people that had waited for hours and had lost their Rx information and I worked to rush through the system to make sure they received glasses before the clinic shut down and how greatful they were. I could tell you about the gentleman that came through that told me after he put on his glasses that this was the first time he had read a paper on his own in more than 15 years.

Instead I think I will tell you about the kids. They are so… so hard to describe. In so many ways they make me miss my son Nate. I think of how he wears glasses and how we would not even know he needs them if it weren’t for working for Luxottica. We are so blessed to work for a company that makes that possible and for a company that makes this experience possible.

The children simply make me realize why we are here. One in particular comes to my mind. She came to the dispensing area and I pulled her glasses and, of course, mispronounce her name. After the crowd laughed and I bowed for entertaining them, she came to the front and I fitted the glasses for her. Immediately, I knew there was an issue. Through our great translator, Paula, I found that she could not see anything with the glasses on, but could “sort of see” with them on. After talking with her and her mother, I found that she had not been able to understand the doctor when he was performing the exam and so her Rx was much higher than it should have been. I grabbed the nearest doc. It happened to be Dr. Ron Spalter and he was able to work with her to revisit her Rx. He found that she was way off! We got her a great new pair of glasses and her smile… I can’t even describe how wonderful it made me feel.

I will work to share more stories in the AM. Thanks for reading and know that we were all safe and sound and that we will have wonderful stories to share.

Oh… I should mention throw a quick hello the Target Optical team from Eric, Tim and Shawn. We thank you all for making this happen and will need to share with you the story of Eric and his vocal stylings!

I Have Seen

Today was another great day. We saw almost 2450 people and had so many amazing experiences it is hard to even capture all of the warmth and joy. While I miss my wife and son (Hello Angie and Nathan.. sorry to all of you who are not related to me, but this if the benefit of being the blogger… also I, Johanna, want to say to all those who DID click the link to read the blog lots of love to all of you) this is something that I could not have imagined. I can’t express how full my heart is from the experiences I am having.

Johanna has a great experience to share (hello from Anna BTW… people are coming up and asking to say hi while I type!)! She was at the Auto-refractor (where I was yesterday) and met a family of four. The mother and father were there with their two daughters and of the group only the father did not need glasses. None of the ladies had worn glasses before and as she worked with them she saw that they were rather significant. She was so touched by their warmth and appreciation that she made sure to follow them through to dispense (where they actually get the glasses that were prescribed) and was able to help ensure they had a wonderful experience. The reality was, I think anyway, that Johanna had a more powerful experience than they did. She is overflowing when she shares her story! As she says, “It was sooooooo cute.” Trust me, it was… I was right next to her.

Another story comes from our friend Anna. She shared how amazing the passion of the people of the clinic, the team and the volunteers, is to her. She has said that as the clinic closes for the day, everyone chips in and is makes sure that the final people that have been waiting for so long get the care they need. This is after 8 long hours of standing and working and being overwhelmed emotionally as we work with people we know will have a new life because of what they are receiving. She is so right. Everyone is willing to stay and make sure that EVERY recipient gets the care they need. She also mentioned that no matter how small a request, everyone is willing to do what it takes to get the job done.

It is an amazing team and was an amazing day. We are heading home VERY late and so we will sign off for now, but know that all of your family or friend here in Chile are experiencing something that could not happen without your love and support. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts (co-workers, family and friends)

We have arrived!

To all the concerned friends and family, we are here and safe! The first two nights we stayed on the local army barracks and had no access to internet and limited phone access. We have now arrived at our final home away from clinic. The hotel is the Hotel Agua del Desierto (56-55) 367-700. While the Chilean army was very nice to allow us to stay on base, the lack of heat and hot water made for two long nights!

We have dispensed over 3000 prescriptions so far, so things are going very well. The people of Chile are wonderful and we cannot say enough for the local volunteers and the military. They have made sure we have everything we need (minus a warm shower).

Some amazing stories have come out of the first two and 1/2 days of clinic. I will share more over the weekend, but a few to get you started.


On day one we saw more than 1000 people in just 1/2 day of clinic. A young man came in with a high prescription and a very home-made pair of glasses. They looked a little like a pair of swim goggles we have seen Olympian Michale Phelps wearing as he broke so many records if he held the lenses in with bathtub caulk! The poor guy could barely see and everyone in the clinic was hoping for a perfect match to make his life better. After refraction it was found that he was a minus 15! and the "glasses" he had been wearing only corrected to a minus 10 in one eye and were plano in the other. WOW! In an almost miracle, we were able to find an almost perfect pair. Mission magic for sure.

Another amazing story from day one was one that just shows how big the hearts of the local people are. An older woman was at clinic and was about to get a new pair of bifocals. As is often the case the new glasses were a major increase from her current Rx. The woman kept trying to tell our team something, but all of the folks that worked with her spoke little Spanish. Finally she was able to tell us through one of the volunteers that she wanted to donate her glasses to another recipient so that they could get the same gift that she was receiving.

I can say from my experiences so far (I have worked in IMS which is the computer system thet identifies glasses, as the Information Officer where you direct people where to get their glasses and in auto-refraction where you use a machine to give a general Rx prior to seeing the OD) that this is absolutely amazing. The people are wonderful, the mission team is fantastic and have made me feel like family, and the volunteers are great as well. We were talking earlier saying more people should get the chance to experinece the joy that is a mission!

While I miss my family (Hi to the joy and light of my life, Angie and Nathan) this is something that I hope to be able to be blessed to experience again sometime and I count myself fortunate to have been a part of.

One final note, yesterday a woman got glasses for the first time... a typical story here. She was so greatful and kept telling Eric Anderson through the translator how much it meant to her. She was obviously not wealthy, but a few hours later she returned and gave Eric a gift (an orange and an apple). This was a huge thing for her to do and shows again the infinite size of the hearts of the people here and reinforces that what we are doing changes lives.

More to come. Thanks for reading!