I Was Just Guessing at Numbers and Figures

It's been over a week since I returned from a medical mission trip to Parral, Mexico and tonight I feel the tugging obligation to write about my experience before it begins to seep into the deeper recesses of my mind and lose some of its focus. Let's begin in Joe Friday fashion. In other words, "Just the facts, mam." I, along with fourteen others, journeyed to Parral, Mexico (the hometown of Pancho Villa) to staff a medical clinic that served as an outreach ministry for two churches in the city. Parral is a city of approximately 150,000 people in the state of Chihuahua and when first viewed from a highway heading into town looks strangely like San Francisco.

I worked in the section of the clinic that provided free eyeglasses for members of the community. I should also note that while the patients had the opportunity to visit professional doctors and dentists at the clinic, they were stuck with a not-quite-professional optometrist in yours truly who would have probably not have been able to find glasses that provided enough correction in the available selection. Such is life.

There were moments of mental and physical frustration in trying to reach across linguistic and cultural barriers. Laying on the bed at the hotel after a day of trying to translate instructions regarding the operation of the optical equipment,my mind would ache. Whoever the sage was that stated, "You use or it you lose it" was not kidding. Nonetheless, each day was a joy at the clinic.

There is something beautiful and touching about providing eyeglasses to a child who is then able to see clearly for the first time in his or her life. There is something powerful in giving reading glasses to an aging man or woman so that they can read to their grandchildren. There is something special in allowing God to use you even when you don't think you have that much to give.